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The total population of Nangi village is approximately 800. It
is at the center of five other villages with a total population
of about 3,500. We don't have any factories in our village. All
of the people living in this area are farmers. The practice of
farming is very primitive, as no machinery tools are used. Oxen
are used to plow the field. Our farming tools include wooden plows
and iron spades; axes, sickles, chisels and hammers are the simple
tools we use for working. We do all work by hand and carry all
the things on our back.
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Women porting grass bundles |
Thrashing of Wheat |
We don't use any chemical fertilizers in the field to grow crops.
Dry leaves fallen from trees during the winter are a very important
source of fertilizer for us. The leaf litters are mixed with cattle
dung and urine to make compost. We use the compost to fertilize
the field and grow crops.
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Plowing of the fields |
Terrace Slopes |
There is not much flat land around the mountain, so we must make
terraces on the slopes to keep the soil from washing away. Every
family in the village owns a couple of acres of terraced land.
The main crops we grow are potatos, corn, millet, barley, beans
and buckwheat. We practice a mixed cropping system. Examples of
some of the mixed cropping are as follows:
- We plant a crop such as potatos, pumpkins, cucumbers, beans
and soybeans with corn. We also replant millet seedlings after
the tassels come up in the corn plant. Once the ears of corn
of the corn are picked up by hand, we cut the corn stalks and
stack them on tree branches for feeding cattle in the winter.
- We plant radishes, turnips, mustard and peas in the barley
field. Once the radishes and turnips are ready, we take them
out. We cut the radishes and turnips in small pieces and dry
them to save for later use.
About 99% of the people in the village are farmers, and our farming
system is only for subsistence. Although we are farmers, we don't
grow crops in abundance; we don't even have enough food when hail
destroys the growing crops. Sometimes we grow some extra potatoes
to sell.
The main source of the cash income for the villagers is military
service. This area is home to the Pun Magar, one of the Gurkha
tribes who are traditionally recruited by the British or Indian
Government in their regular army. We have no records of when the
men from our village started serving in the British army, but
older people remember that men from this village fought in the
First World War.
Young people from our village prefer to join the military service
rather than work at other jobs because the army service does not
require a higher level of education. Young men only need to have
completed eight years of schooling to be admitted to the army,
and they will receive a pension after the retirement, which provides
financial security. As a result, the biggest dream of a young
boy in our tribe is to join the British Army. As soon as a boy
turns eighteen, he appears before the recruiting team of the British
Army. Before that, he and his parents worship and pray to as many
gods as they know, asking for their favor. If he is not selected
in the British Army, his will then try for the Indian Army. If
that also fails, there is nothing ahead for him other than working
in the village as a farmer.
There used to be families with all of the three or four or six
brothers serving in army. Those who couldn't join the army were
considered the unluckiest people in the community. Right now,
there are 75 retired soldiers in the village and 40 soldiers working
in the Indian Army.
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