Cold, High and Dry: Traditional Agriculture in Ladakh
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Nick Wilson February 6, 2009
PIJ #49, Dec1993 – Feb 1994
Manjushri, the embodiment of wisdom, hark!
The Gods, the Lhu, and owner spirits of the Mother Earth, hark!
May a hundred plants grow from one seed!
May a thousand grow from two!
May all the grains be twins!
- Ladakhi sowing song
Ladakh lies at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau, tucked north of the Himalaya between Tibet and Kashmir. The people are mostly of Mongol stock, with strong, weather beaten faces that are prone to crease into wide smiles at will. Administratively part of India, Ladakh’s culture is much more Tibetan, particularly in the practice of Mahayana Buddhism that infuses all aspects of life. Religious practices are pure Tibetan, and secular culture, though distinct, is similar.
Pushed skyward by the colossal force of India moving north into Asia, virtually all of Ladakh is above 3000m (the capital, Leh, is at 3500m). The Himalaya blocks nearly all the rains from the south, creating a desert in the rain shadow, with most areas receiving only about 100mm (4 inches) a year.
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