“The culture in agriculture is essential” – An educational journey to Northeast India

In preparation for the first World Food System Center Alumni Network educational journey, I have spent 5 weeks in the northeast of India this winter. During that time, I have learned so many new things about the culture, traditions, food and people in Northeast India. It was an amazing trip with many learnings, impressions and memories. Some of them I would like to share with you here.

Visiting Khonoma – A place full of history, beauty and (agri)culture

Spending the Christmas days abroad and away from the family is a strange feeling. But spending these holy days in Khonoma, a village of the Nagaland district in Northeast India, was a very impressive experience in many ways. Nagaland is after British missionary work at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century a district where the majority of the population is Christian. For Christmas many of the homes were decorated with a red star as a symbol for the star of Bethlehem as well as with colorful chains of light everywhere. There was also a big community lunch on the Christmas day after church – a pork dish for which the region is famous for with some local veggies and rice.

Rice and veggies are locally grown in a unique agroecological system. Due to bad road conditions and the very hilly geography, the region is still quite isolated and traditional agricultural practices endure modern influence and agro-industrial paradigms. While the village is located at steep hillsides and on top of a rugged ridge more than 1500 meters above the sea, one of the oldest rice terrace systems is situated down the valley on a gentle slope. In winter the villagers (only women) grow onions, rapeseed and other veggies. The terrace system consists of multiple small-scale family plots on which different crops are cultivated at the same time. In some of the rice fields even fishes are kept. Further up in the hills an incomparable agroforestry system is managed as well. This system is based on a shifting culture. When the branches of the trees are harvested for fire wood, crops are grown below. The trees regrow and the family shifts to their next plot. Thus, a family manages several smaller plots in a cycle so that there is each year enough wood available for cooking.

The main work in the field is done by women. Only for certain hard work like cutting trees man are as well in the fields. This division of work and gender specific roles in the community have their roots in the old tribal Naga-culture that is based on family clans and tribal hierarchies. Signs of the Naga-culture can still be found in the social structure and Khonoma’s architecture. Meanwhile, a small group of women started to be organized and learning about organic seed proliferation as a new source of income. Many young people have no future prospects in the village and are leaving their homes. Therefore, seed sovereignty and food sovereignty would open up new perspectives for women and young people. The preservation of traditional knowledge, education, empowerment, local agrobiodiversity, etc. are essential though.

One member of the women group watering the veggies with simple methods.

Unique Agroforestry system in the mountains.

Christmas lunch on the 25th of December.

Old tribal entrance of a clan district in the village.

Amazing people, amazing food, amazing place – Pabhoi Greens

What I really have learned during my time in Northeast India was how important the word fragment “culture” in agriculture actually is. While preparing the workshop I was very fortunate to be hosted for several weeks on the farm Pabhoi Greens. The people, food and environment were just amazing. Over a hundred different rice varieties are preserved on the farm – a quite labor intensive but particularly in view of climate change a very crucial task. Climate change is visible now and we experienced heavy monsoon like rain showers during the otherwise dry winter. These new rain patterns are threatening the rice harvest of many small-scale farmers who let their rice dry in the sun, and people have to become innovative and be prepared for any kind of rainfall.

Often, the rice varieties are not only adapted to different environmental conditions and have various colors, yields and resistances, but each variety has also a special use in the (North) Indian cuisine. For the harvest festival in January called Bihu, for example, there is a specific small white rice variety that is pounded into flour out of which the traditional Pitha sweets are made. It is very difficult to form the Pitha over the fire just out of the rice flour – but who does not like a challenge. Actually, preparing all the different kind of sweets for Bihu – mostly out of different rice varieties – was a very pleasant task during the cold nights where freezing hands were usual and sitting at the fire, having warm jaggary in the hands, was just lovely. Even though jaggary is the most common sweetener in the region, the farm started also with apiculture - all the (agro-)biodiversity on the farm is a paradise for bees and the bees are crucial for the seed production on the farm. The harvested honey was amazing and very appreciated to cure the cough that was common due to air pollution and freezing cold weather. Special was also that it had, in comparison with European honey a much higher water content which might be due to the weather conditions or the early harvest for the workshop participants.

Some of the rice varieties preserved on the farm laid out in the sun to dry.

Pitha making for Bihu: The Pithas are stuffed with a jaggery-linseed paste mix and quite yummy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Milena Wiget is an alumna of the WFSC Summer School 2016 in Rheinau. She studied environmental science with focus on agroecological systems and policy at ETH Zurich. Agriculture, the direct human interaction with nature and source of so many socio-ecological challenges and solutions, and its cultural diversity are fascinating her. She works in transdisciplinary groups on different agro-ecological and agro-political issues, and since 2019 she is part of the WFSC Alumni board.

I want to thank the Mercator Foundation for enabling this trip financially, Neelam for being an amazing host and travel guide, and finally Monika and Michelle from the WFSC for their long-lasting advice and very valuable tips for my journey, but also for life in general. Thank you!