The high terrain of the Himalayan district of Rasuwa is covered with snow throughout the year. The residents here are involved in agriculture, animal husbandry, herb collection and tourism. After the practice of federalism, the roads connecting the villages have brought about changes. And, the roads connecting the villages to the capital have attracted the new generation of Himalayan villages to the cities. Some have gone abroad. However, the previous generation is still engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Dawa Finjo Tamang, the vice-president of the Rastriya Panchayat from Rasuwa, has written in his book ‘Bhedigoth to Rastriya Panchayat Sammi’, ‘I was born in the barn of Chyolangkharka, hence I am a shepherd by birth.’ Tamang, who spent a long period of his life as a shepherd, had five barns of cows, bulls and goats along with sheep. In 2027 BS, when the then Crown Prince Birendra visited Gosainkunda, he was impressed by Dawa’s help and became close to the palace.

The white snow range shimmering on the high peaks is attractive. Those who come to visit for a few days feel ‘wow’. However, the daily life of the people born and living here is extremely difficult – rugged mountains, steep land, most of the areas covered by forests! The sufferings of the farmers of this difficult geography who migrate in the cold season are manifold.

Senam Phurpu Ghale (45), who lives in a cowshed, is a sheep farmer and has 56 sheep. When contacted by mobile phone, he said that he had purchased 3 more sheep from his family in Sindhupalchowk and was heading towards Rasuwa, saying, ‘I have reached the peak valley of Nuwakot.’ Now he has 59 sheep. He has been a sheep herder since childhood and hails from Dhunche, Gosainkunda Rural Municipality-6. Ghale, who says, ‘A sheep herder does not have a permanent address,’ moves his sheep shed to 14 places in 12 months. He says, ‘After the heat, from Chait to Asoj 15, you have to climb up and down the mountain to reach Gosainkunda.’

After Asoj, you have to descend and reach Dhunche. Not only Ghale, but his previous generations also used to raise sheep. ‘I was able to educate my sons in Kathmandu by selling the milk of the goats, one of whom has gone to study in Japan, the other in Kathmandu,’ he says. Ghale earns a minimum of Rs 700,000 annually.

Gyalwo Tamang (50) lives at the foot of the Langtang Himal in Gosainkunda-4. He was previously a goat farmer, but is now the milk collector of the goats raised by the villagers, that is, the head of the cheese production center. He says, ‘We are providing services to local yak and goat farmers from here.’ According to Tamang, South Asia’s first yak and goat production center was established in Langtang in 2009 BS, where his father worked for a long time.

Gyanendra Neupane, a journalist from Rasuwa, says, ‘The high mountainous region of Rasuwa is a very profitable place for yak and goats.’ Cheese production centers have been established in five different places in the Himalayan pastures to make it easier for farmers to sell milk. The delicious cheese here reaches Kathmandu.’

‘There are four pastures around the Langtang Valley – Langsisa, Jhangbu, Nangkang and Yala – where farmers climb uphill in summer to graze their yaks and goats. When the cold sets in, the lower part descends all the way to the Lama Hotel,’ says Gyalwo Tamang, ‘The 2017 earthquake devastated Langtang. Farmers do not raise goats like before. Most of the villagers have turned to the hotel business.’ The Langtang landslide killed 175 local people and more than 700 goats in the earthquake.

Chippu Tshiring Tamang (44) of Sanohaku, Amachodingmo Rural Municipality-2 is a sheep and goat farmer. He travels from lake to valley throughout the year, following the sheep and goats. He carries with him – head, head, some burko (cloth), salt and satu-samal. At present, he has come down from the lake to the valley (his village – Sano Haku). He has more than 100 sheep and goats and 3 buffaloes. His family of 7 Tamangs, whose ancestral profession is agriculture and animal husbandry, has been living from this. When the weather starts to warm up, he climbs the lake with the sheep and goats and reaches the Somdang, Sangjen and Jageshwor pastures in the high Himalayan region.

He says that the pastures are a good place for grazing. In that pasture, he builds a house of head and plastic and lives. Chippu says – one has to spend 10-12 days on the way from the village to the pasture. It is not easy to reach the pasture, there is no place to eat, no place to stay . There are sheep and goats everywhere, living here and there . He says that the shepherding profession is not easy . His wife Karchung and son Nirmal help him from time to time . With the income from animal husbandry, he is keeping 1 son and 4 daughters in Kathmandu and educating them .

Gosainkunda- 5 Pasang Dindup Tamang (55) of Thulo Bharkhu is a goat farmer . He is the owner of 20 goats . Lakpa Tamang, Cyangwa Tamang and Nurbasonam Tamang are also in the shepherding group . They raise goats . To escape the summer heat, they reach the pastures of Lauribina, Cholangpati and Chandanbari around Gosainkunda, and to escape the winter, they go down to the banks of Trishuli via Thulo Bharkhu. This cycle continues throughout the year. Pasang says, ‘The farmers who raise cattle do not have a fixed barn or pasture, it is determined by the available grass and the hot and cold weather.’

At this time, it is starting to get cold in the villages of Rasuwa, Pasang is in the middle of the big snowstorm with the cattle. ‘We have to stay here until Magh, we will move up only when the weather starts to warm up gradually. There is a cheese production center of the Dairy Development Institute in Chandanbari, we sell milk there,’ says Pasang. A shepherd since childhood, the new generation after Pasang is no longer shepherds, the eldest son-in-law and daughter-in-law and son-in-law have reached France, while the youngest is German. With the income from animal husbandry, he has also built a 2-story concrete house in the Syafrubensi market below.

Phurpu Chowang Tamang (51) of Amachodingmo-3 Gatlang is a sheep farmer. Phurpu, from the high-mountain village of Gatlang, spends his life wandering around various pastures with sheep. There are currently 24 sheep in Phurpu's barn. And, now he has descended to the valley, around Bharkhu village. He says, 'As the cold increases, we descend further to Haku.' His shepherding journey is a struggle. Sometimes he has to climb to the pastures of the high-mountain region, sometimes to the valley. Mangchet, Gothen, Somdang, Jageshwor and Sangjen pastures are the grazing areas for his sheep. He is supported by his wife, Yukre Tamang, 45. Phurpu says, 'Our children are not in the sheep and sheep profession.' We have been educated in Kathmandu. Earlier, there was no school, no money, we used to go to the pastures and herdsmen with our parents, the current generation has left that.'

Hemnath Khatiwada, a journalist and president of the Community Forest Users Federation, Rasuwa, says, 'Sometimes there are pasture disputes between villagers over grazing of livestock. A few years ago, there was a big dispute between villagers in the Sangjen pasture. If the forests and pastures are not opened for grazing by livestock farmers, the lake-valley cycle of livestock farming will be disrupted. On the other hand, the basic services provided by the municipality are not sufficient for farmers. Due to the lack of a veterinary hospital and veterinarian in the district, farmers are forced to go to Nuwakot and Kathmandu. This has also led to a decline in the livestock farming profession in recent times.'

Shambhu Tamang, head of the Division Forest Office Rasuwa, says, 'Sheep and sheep farming are traditional professions along with the identity of the upper reaches of Rasuwa. We have started a multi-stakeholder discussion to ensure that this should not be allowed to die out. We are working on a plan to protect forests and pastures along with farmers and livestock.'

Chandika Tamang, vice-chairwoman of Amachodingmo Rural Municipality, says, 'We are trying to motivate and facilitate livestock farmers by removing poisonous weeds and grass from pastures and sowing new improved varieties of grass. There is a plan to sow grass in pastures using drones in the coming Falgun-Chait. And, in the coming Baisakh, we are organizing the Gatlang ‘Chauri-Mahotsav’.’

Gatlang farmer Mingmar Tamang says, ‘There are 67 yak-chauri, cow-ox sheds in our municipality, there are about 2500 chauris. We are organizing the festival for the first time. All the chauris and farmers will participate in the festival.’ The farmer says – neither the place of residence, nor the food. Wherever the weather leads, the journey takes place – when the cold starts, we go down (valley) and when the heat rises, we go up (lake). The life of the shepherd depends on the changing weather and time.