The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted economies across the world and yak herders in the remote mountains of Bhutan are no exception. For instance, at Tsento Gewog in Paro, nearly forty-five yaks have been slaughtered and sold for meat after the pandemic affected their dairy and Cordyceps businesses. In Dhur Chiwog of Bumthang Dzongkhag where there are about seventeen households of yak herders, life has become equally difficult for them amid the pandemic.
Since the government started imposing travel restrictions in the country, selling yak’s dairy products has become very difficult for yak herders in Bumthang. Most of their butter and dried cheese remain stacked up in their huts. It’s been a lean year for them and escalating prices for food items have added to their hardships.
Dorji, a resident of Dhur in Bumthang said, “the dairy products get sold only when there are unrestricted movements and more travellers transiting our Dzongkhag. But it has been a year of lockdowns and travel restrictions and moreover, as our products are not essential food items, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to sell them. In contrast, the price for imported goods such as rice, cooking oil and vegetables have either doubled or tripled over the last one-year or so. If the pandemic is not contained soon enough, it would become very difficult for us to sustain our livelihoods”.
“Rice, vegetable and chilli prices have increased steeply after the pandemic hit the country. But prices of yaks’ dairy products have remained the same. So the situation has become harsh for yak herders like me. In the past, the sale of Cordyceps used to be an alternative source of income but due to the economic distress caused by the pandemic, we didn’t fetch good prices for Cordyceps this year”, added Tawla, another resident of Dhur.
In Dhur, the practice of yak herding has remained largely unaffected by modernization. However, some of the herders fear that the practice could decline if the global pandemic situation doesn’t recede in the next few years.
“If the pandemic situation doesn’t improve for few more years and dairy products continue to remain unsold, I think people will consider giving up yak herding”, said Dorji.
The National Highland Research and Development Centre (NHRDC) in Bumthang says yak herders’ groups should inform the centre for intervention. The centre has trained yak herders in product diversification. One such training was conducted in Haa last year and another in Wangduephodrang last week. The centre plans to conduct similar training in all yak-rearing districts.
“Under the highland development program, what we are trying is to diversify dairy products in a modern way that includes value chain, packaging and in fact, we are also trying to see the nutritional contents in the diversified products. For example, some of the products where the herders were trained were making Rasgula, ghee and we are also looking into packaging, labelling and certification aspects. Unless we diversify the yak products, the market issue will always be there” said Dr Vijay Raika, the Program Director of the centre.
In addition to the marketing issues faced this year, yak herders in Bumthang have also been confronting bear attacks on their ration stores for several years now. Yak herders build a separate shelter by stacking stones to keep their ration. This is done due to difficulties in transporting the goods in the steep and rough terrains. As they keep moving from one place to another throughout the year, they use the store as a food-supply base. However, bears often damage the structures.
“Traditionally, bears don’t raid our ration huts. So, this is a fairly new issue. It’s been about five to six years now since such an issue was first reported. We have to guard our rations every night or else we would lose them to bears. The animals eat whatever they can and damage the rest. We have informed authorities about the issue and the Chhoekhor Gewog office told us that they would provide us solar-fencing to enclose the huts but we didn’t get any yet. It would be very beneficial for us if the government could help us in constructing concrete structures to store our provisions”, added Dorji.
“This is a very serious issue. We can’t keep guarding the ration stores all the time, as we have to move and settle in other locations with yaks. This is especially difficult for herders who don’t have any helper with them. As most children go to school these days, some of the herders stay alone in the mountains. That’s why our ration stores get attacked by bears often”, remarked Tawla.
The NHRDC is planning to propose a separate budget to address the issue.
“Actually the highland development program mainly looks after the products, packaging and value addition, so it doesn’t cover the construction works and infrastructure development of yak herders. But again we have seen that these are some of the issues not only in Bumthang but most of the highland areas, so now we are in the process of proposing a separate proposal whereby we can assist them in these areas, ” added Dr Vijay Raika.
With yaks about to move back to higher grazing grounds in about a month’s time, authorities might have to act fast to address both the marketing and bear menace issues.
Kipchu, Bumthang
