India is estimated to have about 635 indigenous communities. Each of these groups of people have a unique identity, with their very own brand of culture, traditions and folklore. Unfortunately, most of this knowledge is passed on from generation to generation in the oral form, and in the face of dwindling tribal population, advent of modern education and widespread displacement in the name of development, most of this ancient wisdom is getting eroded. This is where a group of individuals calling themselves Acoustic Traditional are making an effort to preserve the precious heritage.
Dear Readers,
“Once upon a time…the kind king got married…together they slayed many demons…and then the king and the queen lived happily ever after…”
Do you relate to similar stories your Grandma would have narrated to you a few years back? I remember listening to fairy tales and mythological stories from my parents and grandparents before switching off to my dream world of imaginations. Then while I was growing I graduated from story listener to book reader and then to a story teller. I guess many of us share a similar upbringing. This time The Better India got a beautiful and extensive opportunity to know, interact and hear stories from Acoustic Traditional (AT).
The Acoustic Traditional Team and Volunteers
It was during the year of 1999 in Nepal, when Mr. Salil Mukhia Kwoica and Ms. Barkha Henry thought about preserving the mountain folk music by documenting and transcribing them into sheet music (staff notations) in the hope that the music would be available for the generations to come. Mr. Salil Mukhia Kwoica says,
I was teaching music at one of the schools in Kathmandu those days and often found time to travel the country side to listen to some old folk tunes which I would send to Barkha (who was in Darjeeling). She would then transcribe it for an instrument (usually Guitar). However, the process of documentation quickly revealed a vast arena of study as we came across the stories, myths and legends on which the music was originally based. The realization that these stories, myths and legends were in fact the bed rock of the community’s identity, culture and heritage and that they were becoming extinct as they were passed down from one generation to another usually through ‘oral storytelling traditions’, led us to study this area and to include a wider community in our work.
There are many indigenous communities, where population is gradually reducing and the only way their history passes on is by oral narration usually from a Shaman to his successor (a Shaman is the head/priest of the community). However with urbanization, such history is becoming lost and remains untold to the younger generations. This is where AT has taken the initiative and works in the area of documenting the oral history, the community stories, and their way of life etc, through research and dissemination projects. Their flagship annual event “the Festival of Indigenous Storytellers” is one such initiative which brings together tribal storytellers from across the country in view of sharing their stories with the world.
A snapshot of the Festival of Indigenous Storytellers 2011 - an annual event held by AT
These narrations are not just stories but have a lot of significance in day to day rituals and are a matter of anthropological study and research. Example: Mr. Salil Mukhia Kwoica, once narrated “For a particular period in the year, some communities worship the river and do not kill the fishes; it is not superstition but actually in this month, fishes swim upstream to reproduce and lay eggs and hence should not be killed.” All such practices are relevant and interwoven by AT. Currently, they have been traveling around Eastern Himalayas – Sikkim region and documenting folklore on Yeti and have come across many people who claim to have seen the Yeti. AT is working day and night, enjoying living with the community members and capturing their stories and planning to extend this research trip to Nepal and Bhutan.
It was an engrossing time discussing stories and obtaining views and opinions of Mr Salil Mukhia Kwoica, Ms Minket Lepcha and Ms Barkha Henry. Below is an excerpt of the interview by the group:
What geographies does Acoustic Traditional cover?
Acoustic looks at working especially with mountain and forest based communities – also those communities which are seemingly vanishing (in terms of population) and where the documentation of oral traditions is nonexistent. Our focus areas have been Eastern Himalayas and the Nilgiris.
But in terms of storyteller identification/participation, we have a national reach (Karnataka/ Tamil Nadu/ Andhra Pradesh/ West Bengal/ Manipur/ Nagaland/ Sikkim/ etc.)
How would you describe your work life? How would a day of yours be like?
Ms Minket Lepcha: “As a documentalist my day involves working around with interviews mostly with the community elders, especially the Shamans. The interviews usually imply gathering of information on the community’s oral mythology and folklore. This depends on the nature of the project, but usually these are the things that I document. My work is mostly based in tribal villages (in Dzongu at the moment) and starts early. I often have to walk long distances to meet up with the people, sometime it takes over a day just to reach a particular community by walk. I usually spend over a week’s time at the informant’s house just to get him/her comfortable with speaking. Since most of the Shamans are old it is difficult for them to recollect stories, myths etc. and many times I join them in their household chores trying to get the story out.
However, documenting in a community is an extensive task and the engagement with the community is for a very long time, sometimes even years as we have to understand them and how they function for them to be comfortable enough to share their stories with us.”
What are the fun aspects and the challenges involved?
It is always fun in the field as the terrain is scenic and at times spiritual. Interacting with the community, being invited to their ceremonies, rituals, sometimes being chased by children and old drunken storytellers is even more fun. At the end, we make up a family.
Acoustics Traditional holds frequent engagements in schools in the Sikkim-Darjeeling belt to sensitize the children about their rich cultural heritage
Accessibility to the villages has been a major concern because the weather changes drastically in the mountains in a short span of time causing landslides. In winters the snowfall is very heavy and that is the time when I have to postpone my scheduled visit to the villages. The other major challenge is to correctly interpret the storytellers because of the language barrier. Though a local translator is also accompanying, however a lot of ethnic words do not have an equal expression in English hence get dissolved in the process of translation.
Tell us something about the Lepcha community.
The Lepchas or the ‘Rongkup’ (being their original tribe name) are the aboriginal people of Sikkim and Darjeeling in the Eastern Himalayas. Their belief system is based on nature worship headed by a ‘Bongthing’ (Male Shaman) or a Mun (Female Shaman). They are also one of the oldest tribes in the region.
It is often quoted that the tribal communities are getting disconnected from the rest of the populace over the years. What is your take on that?
While this might be a popular notion and in many developmental ways true, there is this entire phenomenon of them being de-rooted from their own community structures due to persistent developmental attitudes that governments, educational institutions etc. bring in. Of course they remain marginalized in terms of their bigger picture but what remains true is the fact that their meaningful development can be asserted not by coercive mainstreaming but by understanding them – the relevance of their amazing traditional knowledge, rituals, practices, oral history etc. In fact this is one priority area of Acoustic Traditional work – to bring out their relevance in their urban context.
Ms Barkha Henry’s take on the same: “But I think that disconnect with their own rich traditional base is more critical to take note of. In this regard, we are losing account of mankind’s primitive history and social/ spiritual development; Anthropologically this is a very big loss.
AT travels to remote areas and interacts with the communities, sometimes staying for a week in their homes and helping with chores, in order to understand their culture and record their stories.
It may be surprising to note but the whole notion of mainstreaming them is so intrusive and devastating, that it is making them quite disabled. We need to understand that tribal communities bring in their own “scientific heritage” and knowledge systems. Removing that completely from them and giving them a “new” education has hardly helped anything. In fact, in terms of sustainability and conservation, we still find that their mechanisms are far more effective than what most modern means offer.
As such, the context of integrating them organically is far more critical than merely mainstreaming them using mainstream ideas. I feel that first the general populace needs to understand them.”
Thank you so much for taking time to respond. Is there anything more you would like to share with our readers?
Ms Minket: “While I was listening and documenting stories – which are simple and yet so wise – it made me realize the importance that these stories held for the community. It was these stories that bound them together. The fact that I belonged to the same community and was coming closer to myself through these stories gave me a whole new experience and understanding of the lingering question of ‘why they do things the way they do?’ which I had in my mind. Most of the stories, when studied closely, had a reason to co-exist harmoniously as per my understanding.”
The Big Foot Campaign was run by AT in 2012 in order to raise awareness about the dying myths and legends of our tribes
When we asked the organization about the external support structure, Mr. Salil Mukhia Kwoica shared with us that they greatly valued individual support, where school children and working professionals are involved, and all of them together arrange funds by creating activities (story telling sessions, workshops etc), documenting and publishing stories. They organized a “Big Foot Campaign” in Darjeeling where students actively participated and roamed around in big shoes and the campaign was a huge success. They also receive some amount of Government support.
They are organizing their annual event – A Festival of Indigenous Storytellers, Confluence – III, on a big scale in the month of December. Click here to know more about the event.
All Photos: Courtesy Acoustic Traditional
There were protests, dissent and resistance. People asked, “How could a state that does not produce enough for itself turn to organic methods?” There were worries that production would fall and there would be costs involved -- the farmers were barely sustaining themselves.
“But we were convinced, if we went organic, there will be a value addition that we can offer to both farmers and the consumers of our products. We have a terrain that cannot make us self-sufficient in food production. So we decided to focus on what we can grow in Sikkim and give them the value of being organic”, says Khorlo Bhutia, Secretary of the State for Agriculture, and Chief Executive Officer of Sikkim’s organic success. “Whatever we produce will be chemical free. Organic produce carries a premium demand, which can fetch good revenue for the farmers. We will have clean air, water and soil and we will do immense good for the biodiversity that Sikkim is blessed with. Also, the Himalayas are the source of water and when we have a clean land at the source, the rest of the country will greatly benefit.” With this conviction, the mission was on.
A Himalayan change in motion
Rough mountainous terrain, severe weather and 77,000 hectares that are scattered into small pockets of land holdings – that’s the canvas that Sikkim had to paint organic. Making the most of these small land holdings, which are unlike the vast lands of agrarian states like Punjab and Haryana, was a challenge. The biggest advantage was that Sikkim was never an extensive user of chemical methods of farming like these states. So the reversal, though immensely difficult, had a pedestal to begin with.
The Sikkim Organic Mission, which was carrying the baton of change, went out and out spreading awareness on the ‘why’, ‘what’, and ‘how’ of the mission. It provided seeds and manure, trained the farmers in organic methods, and even sent some farmers outside the state to get advanced training. The farmers slowly began to embrace the change.
“One of the most heartening aspects of the whole endeavour was that our farmers were ready to listen,” says Binita Chamling, a young entrepreneur who returned from London to be a part of Sikkim’s change. Binita’s start up, Organic Sikkim, reaches farmers like Norkit and finds markets for their produce. Norkit says earlier she was producing just what was enough for her family because she did not know how to sell, where to sell. She was not earning anything from the land. Entrepreneurs like Binita are eliminating the middlemen and dealing directly with the farmers to sell their produce to the rest of the country and the world. Norkit says she and her friends in the village are now cultivating together and producing in large quantities. The start-ups are buying directly from the farmers and Norkit is happy that she is able to sell and earn good money.
The farmers fought against plant diseases with pesticides made from locally available plant materials. They won over the Rhizome Rot Disease that plagued Sikkim’s most important cash crop, ginger. They rejuvenated Sikkim’s very own Mandarin orange orchards which were failing.
While the farmers tilled the land, the government made the infrastructure robust. Khorlo Bhutia says “We started building the entire infrastructure that was needed for this massive change. Bio fertilizer production units, seed processing units, automated green houses, soil testing labs, mobile soil testing labs, cold storage units and food processing units – all that was needed to complete the organic cycle started springing up in Sikkim.”
The fruits of a great endeavour
Sikkim’s 13 year penance became fruitful by the end of 2015. And on January 18, 2016, Prime Minister Modi declared Sikkim as the first organic state in India. Khorlo Bhutia says, “We are proud to have achieved this feat spending just Rs. 55 crores (as of November 2015).” The state is now in an ecstatic mood. The demand for Sikkim’s organic produce has soared and the farmers are now earning 20% more. New jobs have been created and one also gets to see a new breed of entrepreneurs springing up. Sikkim is now host to a new vogue – organic tourism.
Going forward, the state has to tackle the challenges of logistics and supply. It has to set up food processing units and find ways to manage perishable goods. But for sure Sikkim’s Himalayan determination will carry them through all these challenges.
Having shown the country that development can mean being close to nature as well, this small state is inspiring the whole nation to go back to its roots. States like Kerala, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are already working towards becoming organic.
Sikkim is calling
Aren’t we enthralled by the idea of getting rid of waxed, bloated and chemically loaded food? As Prime Minister Modi put it, Sikkim is indeed a sukh sthaan (happy place). If you are an entrepreneur, the Sikkim government is inviting you to engage in contract farming in the state, says Khorlo Bhutia. And Norkit says, “Aap Sikkim aa jaao, main aapko thoda organic farming sikha dungi.” (Come to Sikkim and I will teach you organic farming).
So if you like to scout around uncharted terrain, pack your bags and travel to these seven offbeat destinations in Sikkim.
Keepu Lepcha (right) receiving the Real Heroes Award in 2012[/caption]
Lepcha Cottage[/caption]
Children being fed at the Lepcha Cottage[/caption]
Padma Odzer Choeling School[/caption]
Children at the Lepcha Cottage[/caption]
People in Sikkim[/caption]
M G Marg, Gangtok[/caption]
National Sanitation Awareness Campaign organized at Geyzing[/caption]
Community Sanitation Campaign in West Sikkim[/caption]
Sikkim, and its organic advantage.[/caption]
While the rate of land converting to organic is only going up, the rate of naysayers declaiming the efficacy of organic farming hasn’t gone down. Going organic doesn’t mean that productivity goes down, as proponents of chemical agriculture claim. Context is extremely important while reading data.
For example, with chemicals, a farmer could produce, say, 20 kg. of wheat. After switching to organic, he might produce 10 kg. of wheat, which is what the pesticide lobby harps about. But they ignore the fact that the farmer has diversified their crop and now also produces 10 kg. of lentils as well as 10 kg. of fruits & vegetables, because these cropping patterns and rotations are a central theme in organic farming.
Principles we learnt in school, like nitrogen fixing, form the basis of organic farming philosophy—it’s not how much you grow, it’s how you grow things. Organic farming nourishes the soil and balances its health, while growing different crops for varied human consumption.
What’s more, what the naysayers never discuss is that the insects and so-called “pests” that attack different crops find it difficult to roost at organic farms due to the constant rotation.
I Say Organic and its role in the organic farming community[/caption]
Can our entire country go organic? Yes. If a few states can do it, then why not all of us? Studies show that incomes and profitability of farmers choosing this ancient tradition have improved, and we really need to get back to the future.
On a micro level, we might not even need studies. Communities and farmer networks do, and will, notice the difference in output, overall farm health, and the prospects of farmers and their families, and the change will begin for organic farming as well as health and wellness industries.
Climate change due to non-organic farming is a huge obstacle. Pollution due to pesticides, soil-erosion, and over-irrigation because of non-seasonal growing are all factors that are contributing to changes of carbon dioxide and ozone in the soil, water, and air, and thus the fluctuation of weather patterns all over the world.
Many firms and new entrepreneurs prioritise short-term gains, thus not supporting farmers in going the distance towards completely organic farming. These firms are fast becoming an obstacle on their own, as they are convincing farmers to stay chemical, as well as preventing conversions.
High-level government intervention is also an absolute necessity, without which change will still happen, but slower. India will go organic in 30–50 years even if the government doesn’t start promoting it very aggressively in the near future. This is because, by then, there will be no other option. As things stand, we cannot continue using chemicals without an end-date.
India is seeing a huge change in its farming techniques[/caption]
New forms of farming like hydroponics and aquaculture could go mainstream in a few decades. Take robotic farming, a topic that sounds like science fiction. How far a reality is it, given that we’re seeing driver-less cars on the road? In a few decades, farming will be completely different, and not necessarily even human. Even in this very futuristic and “out of a sci-fi movie” vision of the future, we are certain there is no place for chemicals. It’s simply a model of agriculture that’s had its run and is now outdated.
There is an urgent need for the government to shift focus. While complete shutting down of chemical industries is not possible overnight, the ratio of large chemical deals and token PR deals has to be flipped.
I Say Organic already sources from organic farms across India. Uttarakhand is a viable, promising next destination for us where we have already made significant inroads. We’re investigating options that will allow us to expand our product range, quality, and overall supply, while keeping our strict, self-imposed standards in place. We’re also looking at Himachal Pradesh, whose government has a very aggressive organic policy.
An illustration, fighting towards the water scarcity issue[/caption]
We have so far worked independently of the government, because there is no programme that we have come across that incentivizes or offers support to organizations working on market linkages for organic farmers. We have built our network of organic farmers largely through referrals, and have found that is the best way to find farmers who are eager to gain access to markets that understand and appreciate the value of organic produce.
This way, I Say Organic helps farmers willing to fight the good fight make a reasonably profitable living, encouraging their families to carry on their legacy and influencing others to join the organic movement. Continued partnership and support from firms like us as well as the end-consumer ensures that farmers do not revert to chemical use for financial reasons—finally more to our benefit. Having said that, as the industry develops and the impact of organic farming gets demonstrated on a larger scale, we hope that the government will also significantly ramp up its initiatives to promote organic.
I Say Organic aims to continue being credible, offering great prices, service, and authenticity. We’d like to ensure that both consumers and farmers are much better off with our products, by the simple method of going back to the future.
Join the organic movement by helping I Say Organic make organic farming and produce more prevalent. Find out more 