Since the family's main source of income is sheep farming, not only their childhood and youth, but also their old age are spent in Booki.
What you should know
It has been five decades since Narendra Chhantyal, 62, of Gurja, Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-1, Myagdi, started herding sheep with his flock.
He takes his sheep to the foothills of the Gurja and Churen mountains in the rainy season. The schedule has not changed since he was a seven-year-old boy who goes to the pasture near the village in the winter. 'I used to be busy taking care of the sheep and goats from morning till late at night. I never set foot in Jan Kalyan Secondary School near my house in my life,' he said. 'I regret not being able to study in my childhood due to the constraints of my family and the environment at that time.'
The most enjoyable, exciting enthusiasm and vitality of Narendra's life, who spent his childhood, youth and old age as the main source of income for the family, melted away with the snow in the snow. He only has experiences of enjoying the sun, rain, hail, snow and being chased by wild animals in the barn.
Narendra, who remembers the moments spent with the flock of sheep as a joyful childhood experience, did not leave the bookie even when he was seriously ill. The grazing area in the Lekali region is called the bookie and the place where the sheepfold is kept is called the kharka. Narendra, who has continued his ancestral profession, now has only 25 sheep and lambs in his sheepfold.
He used to raise up to 300 sheep in his youth, but now he is reducing the number as there is a shortage of shepherds. 'It is difficult to raise sheep alone, my life was spent in the bookie, now I only raise them to meet the household expenses,' he said. 'Since I am illiterate, it was difficult to count, price and keep all the accounts of the sheep.'
He has experienced that daily life is more difficult in the rainy season than in the winter. After it started snowing in the winter, he went to the village with the sheepfold and spends the rainy season in the bookie even in the heavy rains.
It is more difficult to raise sheep from wild animals during the rainy season. That is why he keeps dogs with him every year to protect them from the damage caused by wild animals. He said that the Bhote dog has helped protect him and the sheep from wild animals.
'I have escaped death by fighting back when a leopard attacked me,' he said, 'It is not easy to live in a sheepfold.'
Like Narendra, 68-year-old Gore Chantya of Gurja also spent more than five decades in a sheepfold with a flock of sheep. Gore, who started climbing towards Buki at the age of 9, is still surrounded by a flock of sheep. Even though his body asks for rest according to his age, Gore's daily life is no less than that of a teenager.
He said that he earns Rs 1 million by selling sheep annually. About 20 households in Gurja are engaged in commercial sheep farming. Ward Chairman Jhak Bahadur Chhantyal said that the sheep herd is being managed by the elders as the youth have started migrating for foreign employment.
There is no compulsion to go to the market to sell sheep. In the village, sheep herds are used to be sacrificed for various religious ceremonies and for meat. The rural municipality, the veterinary hospital and the animal service expert center have been conducting programs of grants, training and consultancy services to make the traditional sheep farming professional and systematic.
The rural municipality has also conducted vaccination campaigns against various diseases, drug treatment, tents for shepherds to live in, solar panels for mobile charging and sheepfold improvement programs targeting sheep farmers, said Rural Municipality Chairman Prem Prasad Pun.
The shepherds have also been linked to regular health check-ups. In Gurja, Lulang, Muna, Mudi, and Malkabang of Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality, traditional livestock farming is practiced in traditional mobile barns.
