In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the m... more In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the mid-1980s. Living conditions, child mortality, education levels had all improved greatly. Remissions from family members working overseas were supplanting subsistence farming. Community resources include agricultural fields and forests from 1600 to 4000 m on the southeast flank of Dhaulagiri Himal. I seek to preserve an account of the complex farming system the community used in 1986, describe how it appears to be dissolving, and speculate on the future. Unlike many parts of Nepal, in 2016 the people of Chimkhola farmed without industrial inputs, as they did in 1986. However, they reduced the area they were farming. It seems likely that, if recent trends continue, the communal system will collapse.
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
with Basanta Shrestha and Birendra Bajracharya offer us a beautiful Atlas of the Himalaya that el... more with Basanta Shrestha and Birendra Bajracharya offer us a beautiful Atlas of the Himalaya that elegantly combines thirty-odd tables and charts, almost 300 maps and photographs, along with analysis and comments. The authors provide a panoramic overview of the Himalaya divided into five parts: 1) The regional setting; 2) The natural environment; 3) Society; 4) Resources and conservation; 5) Exploration and travel. After fifty years of in-depth fieldwork and research in different places over the chain, following its opening to foreigners, many of us now feel the necessity to work on the scale of the Himalaya as a whole and to compare data. The work done by the authors of this book, which is indeed substantial, is one of the first attempts at such a synoptic perspective. It is worth pointing out that we can at last access reliable data which were, up to now, scattered among different books and papers. For this reason, the volume will be extremely useful for those working in the Himalaya or teaching about particular aspects of the range. Much of the information is original, and was recorded in the field by the authors, while other material is obtained from compiling and cross-checking a wide range of data from different sources: public administration records, atlases of the Himalayan countries etc. The many high-quality maps of the Himalaya, combined with an interesting text on its physical and human features, offer the reader a good idea of environmental problems in the region. The authors stressed the important fact that Himalayan peasants, thanks to their knowledge of their milieu, are not responsible for these problems but, on the contrary, contribute to solving them. They also emphasize issues related to environmental protection that are not often brought to the fore, notably crop damage due to wildlife and the necessity for proper participatory resource management. Nevertheless, this book is not exempt from criticism. In a way, it is a complement to and at the same time a summary of D. Zurick and P. P. Karan's earlier Himalaya. Life on the Edge of the World (1999), in which the
In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the m... more In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the mid-1980s. Living conditions, child mortality, education levels had all improved greatly. Remissions from family members working overseas were supplanting subsistence farming. Community resources include agricultural fields and forests from 1600 to 4000 m on the southeast flank of Dhaulagiri Himal. I seek to preserve an account of the complex farming system the community used in 1986, describe how it appears to be dissolving, and speculate on the future. Unlike many parts of Nepal, in 2016 the people of Chimkhola farmed without industrial inputs, as they did in 1986. However, they reduced the area they were farming. It seems likely that, if recent trends continue, the communal system will collapse.
... As the demonstrations escalated into riots, Birendra announced a referendum on the Panchayat ... more ... As the demonstrations escalated into riots, Birendra announced a referendum on the Panchayat system (Khadka 1991, p. 40-42). After nearly a year of campaigning and amid charges of election fraud, the king and his supporters barely won approval of the old system. ...
Mary Des Chene: I want to do three things this evening. First, some audience members asked me to ... more Mary Des Chene: I want to do three things this evening. First, some audience members asked me to discuss a several issues that were neglected during the paper sessions. Second, Iwant to respond to some things Iheard in the afternoon sessions. Lastly, I want to suggest some issues that we all need to be thmkmg about.
Farmers markets can offer solutions to several of the biggest problems besetting the US food syst... more Farmers markets can offer solutions to several of the biggest problems besetting the US food system: fair prices to farmers; healthy, fresh food for consumers; direct contacts between consumers and farmers; food for food deserts; support for local economies. Awareness of these benefits led us to study the farmers markets of Greater Cincinnati. Markets grew rapidly in the early 1980s, peaked in 2012, and declined 17% by 2018. Sixty-one percent of the markets that started since 1970 have closed. Two types of markets exist: farmer-focused markets, with farmer vendors, and consumer-focused markets, with farmers and specialist vendors. Detailed information about market management shows that managers, the majority of whom are volunteers or underpaid, have insufficient resources to be sustainable. Market decline is often blamed on an oversupply of markets, but other factors are involved: the inability of market personnel and customers to cross class and racial boundaries; the encroachment of online retailers; a scarcity of farmers; market manager failures. Individual markets need to form coalitions and gain sufficient resources from governments or private funders to employ specialists who can assist managers, expand the consumer base, and design promotion campaigns that effectively promote farmers markets in the changing retail food landscape.
In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the m... more In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the mid-1980s. Living conditions, child mortality, education levels had all improved greatly. Remissions from family members working overseas were supplanting subsistence farming. Community resources include agricultural fields and forests from 1600 to 4000 m on the southeast flank of Dhaulagiri Himal. I seek to preserve an account of the complex farming system the community used in 1986, describe how it appears to be dissolving, and speculate on the future. Unlike many parts of Nepal, in 2016 the people of Chimkhola farmed without industrial inputs, as they did in 1986. However, they reduced the area they were farming. It seems likely that, if recent trends continue, the communal system will collapse.
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
with Basanta Shrestha and Birendra Bajracharya offer us a beautiful Atlas of the Himalaya that el... more with Basanta Shrestha and Birendra Bajracharya offer us a beautiful Atlas of the Himalaya that elegantly combines thirty-odd tables and charts, almost 300 maps and photographs, along with analysis and comments. The authors provide a panoramic overview of the Himalaya divided into five parts: 1) The regional setting; 2) The natural environment; 3) Society; 4) Resources and conservation; 5) Exploration and travel. After fifty years of in-depth fieldwork and research in different places over the chain, following its opening to foreigners, many of us now feel the necessity to work on the scale of the Himalaya as a whole and to compare data. The work done by the authors of this book, which is indeed substantial, is one of the first attempts at such a synoptic perspective. It is worth pointing out that we can at last access reliable data which were, up to now, scattered among different books and papers. For this reason, the volume will be extremely useful for those working in the Himalaya or teaching about particular aspects of the range. Much of the information is original, and was recorded in the field by the authors, while other material is obtained from compiling and cross-checking a wide range of data from different sources: public administration records, atlases of the Himalayan countries etc. The many high-quality maps of the Himalaya, combined with an interesting text on its physical and human features, offer the reader a good idea of environmental problems in the region. The authors stressed the important fact that Himalayan peasants, thanks to their knowledge of their milieu, are not responsible for these problems but, on the contrary, contribute to solving them. They also emphasize issues related to environmental protection that are not often brought to the fore, notably crop damage due to wildlife and the necessity for proper participatory resource management. Nevertheless, this book is not exempt from criticism. In a way, it is a complement to and at the same time a summary of D. Zurick and P. P. Karan's earlier Himalaya. Life on the Edge of the World (1999), in which the
In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the m... more In 2016, I returned to Chimkhola, a village whose farming system I had studied in detail in the mid-1980s. Living conditions, child mortality, education levels had all improved greatly. Remissions from family members working overseas were supplanting subsistence farming. Community resources include agricultural fields and forests from 1600 to 4000 m on the southeast flank of Dhaulagiri Himal. I seek to preserve an account of the complex farming system the community used in 1986, describe how it appears to be dissolving, and speculate on the future. Unlike many parts of Nepal, in 2016 the people of Chimkhola farmed without industrial inputs, as they did in 1986. However, they reduced the area they were farming. It seems likely that, if recent trends continue, the communal system will collapse.
... As the demonstrations escalated into riots, Birendra announced a referendum on the Panchayat ... more ... As the demonstrations escalated into riots, Birendra announced a referendum on the Panchayat system (Khadka 1991, p. 40-42). After nearly a year of campaigning and amid charges of election fraud, the king and his supporters barely won approval of the old system. ...
Mary Des Chene: I want to do three things this evening. First, some audience members asked me to ... more Mary Des Chene: I want to do three things this evening. First, some audience members asked me to discuss a several issues that were neglected during the paper sessions. Second, Iwant to respond to some things Iheard in the afternoon sessions. Lastly, I want to suggest some issues that we all need to be thmkmg about.
Farmers markets can offer solutions to several of the biggest problems besetting the US food syst... more Farmers markets can offer solutions to several of the biggest problems besetting the US food system: fair prices to farmers; healthy, fresh food for consumers; direct contacts between consumers and farmers; food for food deserts; support for local economies. Awareness of these benefits led us to study the farmers markets of Greater Cincinnati. Markets grew rapidly in the early 1980s, peaked in 2012, and declined 17% by 2018. Sixty-one percent of the markets that started since 1970 have closed. Two types of markets exist: farmer-focused markets, with farmer vendors, and consumer-focused markets, with farmers and specialist vendors. Detailed information about market management shows that managers, the majority of whom are volunteers or underpaid, have insufficient resources to be sustainable. Market decline is often blamed on an oversupply of markets, but other factors are involved: the inability of market personnel and customers to cross class and racial boundaries; the encroachment of online retailers; a scarcity of farmers; market manager failures. Individual markets need to form coalitions and gain sufficient resources from governments or private funders to employ specialists who can assist managers, expand the consumer base, and design promotion campaigns that effectively promote farmers markets in the changing retail food landscape.
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