For the Van Gujjar communities of the Himalayan foothills, buffaloes are central to household income, mobility and food security. When families move with their…
Articles
Traditional Van Gujjar recipes for preserving buffalo meat
Stopping child marriage: SOPHIA's work with Himalayan pastoralist girls
In the high-altitude forests and river valleys stretching from Uttarakhand through Himachal Pradesh and into Uttar Pradesh, Van Gujjar communities have…
The Struggle For Domicile Rights: Van Gujjars In Uttarakhand’s Urban Centers
For generations, Van Gujjar families have moved seasonally between Himalayan forests and foothill settlements with their buffalo herds. This pastoral rhythm…
Van Gujjar Myths And The Living Story Of The Buffalo
For Van Gujjar communities in the Himalayan foothills, the buffalo is far more than a source of milk or household income. It is a companion through seasonal…
Designing A Mobile Veterinary Clinic For Nomadic Herders
A mobile veterinary clinic must follow animals and people through changing landscapes, rather than expecting pastoral families to reach a permanent facility.…
Buffalo grazing, fireflies, and healthy foothill forests
In the Himalayan foothills, a buffalo trail can connect pasture, forest edge, stream bank and village settlement. These everyday landscapes support much more…
Badugi Poker Rules And Safe Play For Australian Readers
Badugi poker rules create a distinctive lowball draw game in which players try to build the best four-card hand with no repeated ranks or suits. Unlike…
Why Van Gujjar Families Are Putting Down Roots near Towns
A seasonal rhythm has long defined Van Gujjar life in the Himalayan foothills. Each summer, families herded buffalo toward cool alpine meadows, then descended…
SOPHIA's oral history workshops with the Van Gujjar community
Tucked into the lower Himalayas, the Van Gujjar pastoralists of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh carry generations of ecological knowledge in memory, songs,…
Wild Greens of the Foothills: Knowledge Held by Van Gujjar Women
For centuries, women of the Van Gujjar community have moved with their buffalo herds between the foothills and high meadows of the western Himalayas, gathering…