For centuries, the Van Gujjar community, a forest-dwelling pastoral people of the western Himalayas, has refined practical skills suited to a life shaped by…
Articles
horn combs and the Van Gujjar craft tradition
Tracking change on the margins: SOPHIA's M&E framework for pastoral communities
In the lower Himalayas, pastoral communities like the Van Gujjar depend on seasonal migration, milk marketing, and intimate knowledge of forests to keep their…
How Bollywood Shapes Van Gujjar Youth Aspirations
For Van Gujjar young people in the Himalayan foothills, films, music videos, television serials and social media provide windows into lives far beyond seasonal…
Understanding the Role of Elders in Resolving Herding Disputes
In mountain pastoral communities, disagreements over grazing routes, water sources, livestock damage and forest access can quickly affect an entire household.…
A Van Gujjar Healer For People And Buffaloes
Before sunrise in the Himalayan foothills, a Van Gujjar pastoralist may already have checked the herd, boiled tea and listened for the cough of a buffalo. For…
Plant-Based Colouring Traditions Among Van Gujjar Communities
For Van Gujjar families moving through the forests and foothills of northern India, wool and cotton are practical materials connected to pastoral life,…
Connecting Van Gujjar Milk Producers With Urban Markets
For Van Gujjar families in the Himalayan foothills, milk is more than a commodity. Buffalo husbandry supports household income, food security, mobility and…
When the Law Moves: How Land Acquisition Reshapes Van Gujjar Lives
For the Van Gujjar community, the forest is not a backdrop. It is a calendar. Each year, families move with their buffaloes from the foothills in winter up…
Buffalo calf gifting among Van Gujjars: a festival tradition rooted in the Himalayas
In the lower Himalayan foothills, where pine forests meet open grazing meadows, the Van Gujjar community observes centuries-old customs that bind families and…
Designing gender-sensitive livelihood projects for pastoral women
For women in the Van Gujjar and Himalayan village communities of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, daily life moves with the buffalo herd. Their…