SMALL FARMS, WOMEN AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE- EXPERIENCES FROM KUMAON HILLS

Rakesh Agrawal

Abstract: Traditional knowledge system has been a key to the survival of the hill society, be it in cropping, forestry or health. It has not only ensured continuous livelihood of farm households but also ecological sustainability. Farming in the hills is highly interdependent with forestry and animal husbandry, and women have been the backbone to this totally integrated system. They have a high workload but have successfully preserved transformed and carried traditional agricultural knowledge from generation to generation. However, over the last few decades, this entire knowledge system has been threatened due to various reasons. Any way, women’s role as the preservers and carriers of this knowledge has not been adequately recognised so far. The paper is the presentation of a study carried out in 10 villages of a micro watershed in the hills in Uttarakhand—a north India state. It studies women’s role as the carriers and preservers of traditional agricultural knowledge, including the links to forestry and animal husbandry and agents of change.

Background

It is widely accepted that the development processes in India in the last few years have contributed to the growth of poverty by promoting economic and gender inequalities and thus have degraded the environment. The fact that environmental degradation has affected women's lives in ways different from men is well established now. Women have been identified as main victims of overall ecological degradation by many environmentalists, and this has been mainly attributed to the fact that they are responsible for producing, processing and gathering food, fetching water and carrying fuelwood. But Krishna (1996) has questioned the emphasis of eco-feminists on the biology of women.

Nevertheless, when we talk about managing and preserving traditional knowledge system, the pivotal role played by women cannot be ignored. It is true that women have much more pragmatic knowledge of the practices in which they are engaged, leading to a kind of specialisation; but whether the knowledge so produced is affected more by specialisation or by gender is not an easy question to answer (Gupta: 1996). Does gender make a difference to the nature of knowledge on the environment? It is a question on which research needs to be done.

Venkateshwaran (1992) points out that their conservative approach is not something inherent, arising out of their being women, but because of their role and work tasks. The close association between women and natural resources exists because of their social and economic roles which have for generations required them to provide food, fuel, and fodder from the surroundings. Except ploughing, women carry out almost all crop production tasks to help their menfolk (Chandra: 1981).

Women’s role becomes all the more important in the traditional society of Kumaon Hills, located in the mountainous region of the Himalayas, where the livelihood of the people is still dependent on the sound management of its natural resources and their sustainable utilisation. Subsistence farming still remains peoples’ main source of livelihood, but it cannot be seen in isolation. Forest, grasslands, farms, livestock and water all were organically linked with each other and everybody respected this link. Farming was done at a subsistent level with forest provided a strong support base. They provided leaf-litter for manure to be used in agriculture and fodder for animals. In turn, the livestock manure enriched forests and farms. Good forest especially the broad-leaved forest, was essential for the preservation of water in springs, which was in turn necessary to irrigate the fields. Knowledge and practices in a traditional society, living in a close proximity with nature, functioned like a well-oiled system. Unlike the modern knowledge it is neither atomised nor isolated. Rather, it was a highly interdependent network of actors.

The linkage between these sectors is well understood by women as they work between sectors and perform multiple tasks. Foreign travellers were invariably struck by the importance of women in rural economic life, unlike male-dominated European agriculture (Kennedy: 1886).Women’s work and knowledge is thus central to bio-diversity conservation and sustainable utilisation of resources in hill agriculture. But despite this, as farmers, they remain invisible (Shiva: 1993).

Women in Kumaon Hill Farming Systems

Traditional knowledge was the cornerstone of the society and its survival in the Kumaon hills. It provides locally manageable, sustainable and cost effective survival strategies for local community, especially to the poor. Women's knowledge has been the mainstay of crop production, animal husbandry, dairy and forestry. They have excellent knowledge about collection, storage and use of seeds as shown by a study done by Sahayog, an NGO based at Almora (Sahayog: 1995) and Das (1995).

Despite all this, their immense contribution to subsistence based rural societies remained veiled. Very few efforts have been made to analyse their contribution to, rural economy, traditional hill agriculture, continuance of traditional knowledge etc. (Gulati: 1975, Agrawal: 1985). Gurang (1990) also makes an attempt to understand how women can be considered "invisible" actors in agriculture and natural resource management in the hills.

Condition of women: In Kumaon hills, the condition of women is somewhat different from their counterparts elsewhere. Some development indicators pertaining to women are very favourable compared to the elsewhere in the State of Uttar Pradesh (Uttaranchal State was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000). For example, the sex ratio is comparatively better with a couple of districts even reporting a reverse sex ratio. Literacy rates and age at marriage is also higher. The practice of 'purdah' (veil) is more or less absent and the mobility of women is greater.

But despite these advantages women remain the 'second sex ' in this traditional hill society. The most important feature of a woman's life in Kumaon Hills is her workload. Women are expected right from girlhood to do all the household chores and contribute substantially to agriculture. The 1991 Census has recorded high female workforce participation rate in the hill districts. While it is quite low in the U.P plains (12%), in the hills the rates are comparatively higher with highest in Almora district: 49.6% (Bose: 2000). They are responsible for gathering fuel, fodder, leaf-litter and for caring of animals. They often work up to 14 hours a day. Still, , women do not have much right to either domestic or personal decision-making, thanks to the patriarchal nature of the hill society. Even the education of girls has not led to any significant changes in their socio-economic status: the educated daughter-in law is expected to be working as hard in fields and forest, and is as much under the prohibitive taboos as any other woman.

The economy: The economy of Kumaon Hills is largely depended on natural resources. Over the years, the region has suffered a major loss of its pristine natural resources. And the ever shrinking forest and water resources have hit women in Kumaon hills real hard. For one, they spend longer hours gathering fuelwood, fodder and fetching water. Then, the loss of forest cover and proliferation of chir pine has made agricultural activities more cumbersome. Women have directly borne the brunt and their workload has multiplied. The problem has compounded in the wake of most able-bodied men migrating to the plains and leaving the task of running the households squarely on the shoulders of women.

This economy was largely based on traditional knowledge system that is in disarray today. With the forest cover gone, the organic linkage between cropping and forest was lost, resulting in the reduction of transfer of biomass. The so called scientific knowledge system has been thrust upon the people which has threatened the very survival base of the hill society because people are fast losing natural sources and traditional knowledge to utilise them whilst the modern system remains inadequate and inaccessible to most people. Moreover these ‘imported scientific solutions’ have proven to be inappropriate, ineffective and irrelevant.

Government interventions, market forces, cash economy are some of the reasons amongst several others, are responsible for the downfall of traditional knowledge. Market forces and government interventions have also focussed on crops for the market. Therefore very little improvisation has been made in the technology which mainly concerns women such as processing food, cooking, fetching firewood, carrying water. Besides, external forces have completely marginalised women from the control and management of natural resources. These have not just added to women’s workload but have also made a dent in their status and power and made them loose control over their labour and knowledge. Her role as a carrier of traditional knowledge remains largely ignored by researchers

The Study

The present study is an attempt to understand traditional knowledge system used in managing small farm systems in a micro watershed in the Kumaon Hills and the role women pay in preserving, transforming and carrying this knowledge system, with a particular focus on the following issues:

· Traditional knowledge system as it evolved in relation to different crops, farming systems, forestry and animal husbandry;

· Role of women in all major enterprises of the farming system;

· How women preserve, transform and transfer this knowledge from generation to generation; and

· The agents of change.

To evaluate women’s contribution and analyse the existing status of traditional knowledge system in present day Kumaoni society, a study was conducted in 10 of the 27 villages on a micro watershed called Vamanswal Micro Watershed of Almora district in 1999. The 10 villages were selected on the basis of altitude and distance from the roadhead. Some were closer to the metalled road, situated almost on the road, while others were at a distance of 2 to 5 km. Their altitudes ranged from 1400 to 2200 m. To understand the role of women better in the farming sector, we also included their roles in animal husbandry and forestry as these enterprises are organically linked with one-another and cannot be understood in isolation. The key findings of the study are presented in the following section.

Study results

Crop production. Women have been traditionally involved in all cropping activities, because crop production is central to the agrarian economy in Kumaon hills. Even young girls contribute a big share of their time to help their mothers in the field.

Women’s workload: The study revealed that women's contribution in various cropping activities right is higher than men’s, both with respect to number of tasks performed and in terms of time spent. This applies to both subsistence farming (millets, lentils etc.) and commercial crops (potato peas, onion, garlic etc.). During the peak season when agree work is in full swing (in the month of 'asauj' or September-October), women’s workday exceeds 15 hours.

Except for ploughing and harrowing, which are predominantly male activities, as well as sowing and occasionally harvesting wheat and mandua (a coarse grain) there is domination/ dominance of women's labour in land levelling, manuring, planting and sowing, weeding, harvesting and post harvesting activities like sun drying the stalks, winnowing, pounding, separating the husks from grains again and again. Some of the operations such as manuring, weeding, harvesting, transplanting are quite arduous, and different from those carried out in the plains such as the land levelling exercise. Even in male dominated operations, women perform a supportive role.

Division of labour: According to women in the area, paddy cultivation takes up their maximum time, followed by wheat and then vegetables. In comparison, coarse millets like mandua and madira and other traditional crops are much less demanding (although they respond very well to increased labour inputs and manuring.

Interestingly, the division of activities in most of the crops has been such that all jobs of status are performed by men. Men have monopolised the skill in plough culture in Kumaon hills, and there is even a certain kind of taboo attached to women handling ploughs. Thus, women are fully dependent on men to initiate the crop production cycle. Interestingly in almost all the crop operations where males perform a dominant role, draught animals are deployed, while women always depend on manual labour.

Social Capital: Inter- and intra-village co-operation constitute an important element of both on and off-field activities. Inter-household reciprocal labour exchange, carried out mostly by women and popularly known as 'palta', is a manifestation of traditional support mechanisms which exist in hill villages. It not only provides an opportunity to women to socialise and share concerns and experiences with one another, but also promotes community participation. This kind of exchange was an important component of traditional farming system but is less popular in the cultivation of new crops. However, this practice is still very much visible in highly labour intensive activities such as in paddy transplanting, weeding and thinning out mandua, wheat harvest, and the harrowing operation or 'danali in paddy crop. Shared labour arrangements have traditionally been an important coping strategy for farmers, particularly women, as there is a chronic labour shortage in this part of the hills.

Food Security: In earlier years women practised mixed and inter-cropping. It ensured a better nutritional balance and more food security in terms of variety and quantity. Even on the small farms of the study area, where land holdings per household varied between 0.2 ha to 1.0 ha, farmers used to grow a significant number of crops. This system was known as baranaaja where at least 12 different crops would grow on a single farm, and women were well aware of the different production practices including seed preparation of each variety of each crop. It led to better food security, especially as the region was somewhat isolated. Given the adverse geographical condition, it was considered best to grow as many varieties as possible in order to reduce vulnerability.

Today food insecurity looms large in Uttarakhand. FAO (1996) defines food insecurity as, ‘food insecurity exists when all people, at all times, do not have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’. More and more regions in Uttarakhand are becoming food insecure today with net-sown area, per capita food availability and access to food declining, especially in the hill districts (Chopra and Pasi: 2002). The availability of pulses (a major source of protein) and cereals (the most readily food available to the poor) has significantly declined.

The key agents of change are the government and the market. The government is promoting high-yield and hybrid varieties of seeds. The market, on the other hand, puts emphasis on cash crops such as potato, thereby creating a narrow market oriented production base and putting a big question mark on the traditional knowledge involving traditional seeds. This has also altered women’s role in managing traditional crops, and the emphasis on cash cropping has resulted in making men even more powerful.

Crop inputs: Another very essential operation in subsistence farming systems is the preparation of farm yard manure (FYM) which is again done by women. Pine needles and oak leaves (which were very easily available in the past) are gathered from the forests for animal bedding. These materials, when mixed with dung and household organic refuse, serve as excellent manure. This practice contributes to waste management and recycling, and provides macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. The government has encouraged the use of chemicals (fertilisers and pesticides) in the area by making them available to the farmers at highly subsidised rates. However, women believe that artificial fertiliser cannot substitute the moisture retaining capacities of dung and humus and the use of artificial fertiliser alone is harmful.

Seed preparation, collection and storage have been intrinsic parts of traditional lifestyles in Kumaon Hills. Like other indigenous practices, women farmers here have a remarkable know-how of the unique traditional methods which have evolved over the years to collect, prepare and store seeds. They are either stored in ‘tumri’ (hollowed gourd shells, prepared by villagers) or bhakars (wooden boxes made by pinewood) and occasionally in covered bamboo/ ringal (bamboo) baskets lined with cow dung (that are not much in use now). Seeds are usually mixed with cow dung (gobar) ash or walnut leaves or even smeared with oil to ward off insects and pests. Seeds of most of the crops are still prepared at home by women or exchanged within the village or with nearby villages or with villages with which women have natal kinship (maite).