As cold sets in, Myagdi's mobile cattle sheds move down from the highlands

As the cold intensifies, herders in Myagdi have begun bringing down the mobile cattle sheds they kept in Himalayan pastures through the monsoon toward pastures closer to their villages.

The nutritious grass found in Himalayan pastures is locally called 'buki,' and the place where sheds are kept is called 'kharka.' Harkabir Bik of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-1, Gurja, said he moved the shed closer to the village after grazing livestock for three months in the Phagune buki.

Bik, who returned from foreign employment and now raises about 35 buffaloes, said that after harvesting maize, the shed currently kept in a field will be moved to lower fields in Mangsir once the millet is stored. Herders drive the herd of livestock, fattened on grass, ahead of them while carrying their belongings as they move between highland and lowland.

According to Rajin Chhantyal, also of Gurja, village activity picks up once the herders return, and the pastureland near the village fills with cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. Farmers around Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Dhorpatan hunting reserves have long practiced animal husbandry through this traditional mobile shed system, and keeping sheds on farmland also fertilizes the soil. However, Kirtabahadur Ghartee said this form of livestock farming is now in crisis due to neglect by the younger generation and foreign employment.