Living on the Move

Despite inhabiting a harsh and hostile environment, the Bhotiyas of the Kumaon Himalaya have developed over the centuries an intricate system of agriculture, pastoralism and trade based on transhumance and nomadism. The author describes how the Bhotiyas have coped with the forces of modernization while continuing to maintain their identity, cultural values and subsistence practices. Through detailed ethnographic work and utilizing the systems ecology approach, Vineeta Hoon locates her study of a particular community in the wider framework of livelihoods and environment.