Belgaum Trip
Report
By : Shalini A
Trip Dates : 4th – 8th Nov 2012
Team Members : Sonal Mobar Roy and Harsh Satya from IIIT- Hyd, Shalini A and T.B.Dinesh from Bangalore, Gopi Krishna and Neelkant kurbar mama from Belgaum.
Covered places : Akkol, Chachadi, Kanakagiri, Ramdurg.
Types of shepherds: Nomadic, Semi-nomadic, Residential.
Socionity team members carried out a 5 day trip to belgaum to track the shepherd community and explore their lifestyles with the sheeps. This is the first trip made in order to plan out the schedules, observe the pace of movements of the shepherds that has to be worked out for the rest of research and the field work. The team was assisted by the team head Neelkant mama, shepherd by himself and Gopi, brings up shepherds through the organisation Mithan Handicrafts.
Day 1 – 04/11/2012
The journey started towards Akkol village which is approximately 95 km from Belgaum paying a visit to Baloo mama's temple. This visit was planned after a person from the shepherd community at Mitan Handicraft office was telling us the story behind Baloo mama's miraclous activities and about his blessed spiritual sheeps. His sheeps are still on the move and to whichever villages these sheeps are found, there would be mela organized which would bring the neighbouring villages peoples too to get blessings the spiritual sheeps and placing a hospitality to shephards. We tried to locate the Akkol sheeps which could have been a nice starting point although it was not considered as a main target. Our contacts had only a trace idea about these sheeps current location and search turned in vain. But we still kept enquiring for the rest of the visits.
Day 2 – 05/11/2012
Since the shepherds were already on the move we started early in the morning. We were targeting one of the shepherd named Wazeer mentioned in the data sheets who had moved to the nearest place from Belgaum. It took us one whole day to locate his current location, since his mobile number was not reachable. We had already reliazed the importance of the route track. This projects the importance of carrying out the Socionity project. But on the way we were attracted by sheep flocks penned at the big farming land on the chachadi road 41km from belgaum near Nesargi. Two families each with 100 sheeps had contracted the millet land for grazing and sheep droppings for 4-5 days. They are paid in terms of food and fodder. They are nomadic sheperds. We placed a good conversation with the families as everybody were very excited because that was the first group we had met. We could see affects of the cold after staying over-night in the cold breeze as they were smashing the mucus upon us when we were trying to capture some of their photographs. We collected information from the questions in the datasheet with only one family as the other family head person already took the sheeps for grazing. The shepherd named Vittal introduced to his family members. He had 5 children, 2 girls and 3 boys and the youngest is 5yrs old. He left his one child at chachidi itself, his village. Along with sheeps he had 2 dogs and 3 horse. The lambs were separated from the adults and were feeded separetly. They were 30. Out of 100, 8 were goats and rest were sheeps and lambs. Interestingly there is no head count. They are all identified through varieties like color, length of ear. Vittal categorised them into 17 different varieties.
7.Haligyari
8.Baligyarige
9.Belukalu kuri
10.Matthu kuri
11.Basaru Matthu kuri(Big ear)
12.Hanchk basargari
13.Yelgu kuri
14.Kempaadu
15.Hachu kari adu
16.Huraga
17.Kodina Basara kuri
The women folks were busy preparing the food, cleaning and fetching water from a distant of 2kms. The market place to sell the sheeps/goats depends on where they are grouped. Near by places were yerghatti, Bailhongale, Kittur, Baagaywadi.
Still enquiring about the Baloo mama's sheep and trying to reach Wazeer on his number we stopped at a nearby place to meet Shri Nagraj Desai who lives in a 200yr old building, took us around his house and showcased right from the photographs hung in the verandh to little rich musuem and even showed us the jains origin of that place. Outside his house was a like fort like temple in wade. The place is called chikchakki maha agrahara. The history is that the place is used to store the gun powder as early independence activity which were later identified by the britishes and blasted the place. We could see the headless nandi in the middle of the temple and floor and sides of the wall damaged. As well as payed a short visit to the nearby temple where we got slight hope of getting to know about the Baloo mama's sheep through one of the residential shepherd in that village even though Gopi was hurrying up b'cos to reach wazeer before dark. But later the little hope also became a mystery and we continued our journey.
An hour visit to Badami because our car broke down had refreshned us by putting us into a different track. Then finally we could get in touch with wazeer and got to know his current location kanakageri road which was 150 km from the Badami and moved by picking some groceries. As Gopi worried we reached the spot in the dark where wazeer and his Son welcomed us by flashing torch lights on the walkable path and the welcoming was still continued for some time untill the dogs stopped barking. Preapered under the tent offering us a goat milked tea and under the open sky and far beside a ghosty tree we had our tasty dinner. Later with little chit-chat with everyone I and Sonal left to check-in to a hotel in Gangavati, 20kms from wazeer's tent and others spent night at the shepherd place.
Day 3 - 06/11/2012
Starting the day by having breakfast in Sumha, an NGO which is 4km from Wazeer's tent, we planned our day. Wazeer is a nomadic shepherd. He contracted the cotton grown land for 15days from the landlord Ravindra from kankagiri. One fourth of the land was already grazed. The sheep and the goat lambs were seperated and penned under the shade and the leaves were tied for brunching. And the rest of the sheeps and goats were taken for grazing the farm land. The different type of leaves were
1.Bevina tappla
2.Pillipisiru
3.Zaari tappla
4.Simpigya hullu
5.Alabu
6.Chinchu
7.Halballi
Later we sat together, made a whole plan and shared work among ourselves. We synchrozied our clock on mobile phones and cameras so that the data we collect should match when we collaborate. Apart from the questions in the data sheets we also wanted to concentrate on the below mentioned land use map data.
1.Type of soil
2.Irrigated/non-irrigated
3.Source of irrigation
4.Crop details
5.Land ownership
6.Crop land/fallow land
7.Trees/creepers/herbs etc
Gopi, Dinesh and Wazeer formed up a team and went to meet nearby shepherd. Neelkant mama and Harsh formed up a team and Sonal and I accompanied the shepherds(Wazeer's 3 sons) who took the sheeps for other grazing lands along with the horses and the dogs. For sometime we sat together with womens under the tent who were busy preparing the lunch for the shepherds who were on the move, enquiring their roles and lifestyles.
The sun rays were already started to beat us and we were moving with shepherds. The whole grazing area would have been only 2km, but we almost spent 7-8hrs around the land tracking the routes,recording and capturing photographs. Initially we started a grass land. The grass land were majorily interesting for the sheeps where they munched for an hour or so. The next set of land was mostly 4-5 feet tall plants and this time goats were enjoying their time. To the favourite ones shepherds would the cut the plant and they will bring it to them. In kannada a female goat would be called as Adu and a male would be called as hoath. The kind of plants found eatable by the goat on that land were.
1.karikanti
2.Tugli
3.Kavuli
But the sheeps were not quite, the were also munching the grass which were found below the plants. When the sheeps are tired they will form a group and stand at a place. One could actual feel the fast breeth from them. Some sheeps will go and stand under a cactus where they use it for the shade as well as for scratching their body to get rid of the irritation because of the tit-bits. Goats will actually sit on the floor and rest for sometime. In between we were also chatting with shepherds enquiring about their personal interest, about their eductions etc. One of the shepherd who is 18 yrs old, finished his high school is highly interested to join Indian army. Other person was curiously enquiring about the urban life, kannada cinema heros.
The next set of area was the most happiest place. The pond especially the dog, completly rested his body under the water and enjoying. The sheeps and the goats drunk some water and rested on the land for sometime. The horses were not concentrated much as their legs tied so they were left carefree.
Final grazing land was wet and greenary. The sheeps liked spending more time around this place. Even the shepherds rested on the rocks listening to music on their mobile phones since that were only the mode of entertainment available for them. Sonal and I spotted a deserted temple and a borewell next to it. Freshed up and rested there for sometime in that temple. The way back was more faster. They didnt allow the sheep to graze much b'cos they have to graze the farm land too. After a lavish dinner and disscussing each ones issues and experience I and Sonal moved to Samuha were a guest room was arranged for us and we rested our night there.
Wazeer had a 5 differnt type of sheep variety
1.Kadlu kuri
2.Zalu kuri
3.Kari gunnu
4.Basuru kuri
5.Hukku kuri
Day 04 – 07/11/2012
Accompanied by wazeer, we went to meet his cousin who are semi-nomadic near Gangavathi. They stay for 3 months in one place and move to another place which will be again a closer place. These people dont go to any market to sell the sheeps. The clientele will come to them to buy the sheeps and their dropping. Luckily it happened to meet a clientele who had come down on his bike asking for the head of the family, who had already taken the sheeps for grazing, to buy the goats/sheeps. He seemed like a butcher to us. But on enquiry we got to know that he purchases sheeps/goats from these people and transport to other states, one such place he mentioned is Salem in Tamil Nadu at a higher price. Thats were the meat price differs when we rural to urban to a metropolitan city. The data gathered were mostly from the women and her kids present in the tent. From there we headed back to belgaum. On the way we dropped Wazeer at Gangavathi where he had to buy groceries as it might have exhausted. We reached Mitan Handicrafts had dinner and I and Sonal were moved to boarding school hostel in Nesargi.
Day 05 - 08/11/2012
After breakfast and little shopping at Mitan Handicrafts we started to belgaum at Gopi's office. After the discussions and settlement, Sonal and Harsh had there way to railway station. Rest of us continued our discussion after lunch and headed back to bangalore.
Observations and Few thoughts:
Females in the family – common observations:
Females are also equally busy as men who take the sheeps for grazing. 3-4 times they have to fetch water from a distant area approx. 2Km, sometimes from a near by borewell. Take clothes and utensils to wash near the water area as they dont have storage space. Preparing foods. Cleaning the areas around the tent. Look after the lambs left in the pen. Sometimes take the sheeps for grazing if men's are not around. Couldn't spend much time with them. So just a little info.
Medicines:
Every shepherd has the good knowledge about the disease and the respective medicine. Some shepherds like Wazeer go for training, to get knowledge about the medicine, measurements, latest available medicines etc. But some just depend on the medical stores who recommends the medicines and they do trial and error to know the correct proportion of the medicine. It always puzzled me why no shepherd would like to the sheeps directly to the vets?
Are the vets located far and they don't have the good transportation facility to carry the sheeps?
Sometimes might be. Shepherds use only 2 wheeler to locate the next grazing point or to buy accessories from the town. If they want to move from one place to another they have their horses to carry out loads.
Are they not enough govt vets around the place or do they charge?
One family that we met said they spend100 rs for the medicines for just three goats. Condition will pathetic to spend more money for 100 sheeps. And no answer for why they dont want to see a doctor. But ready to spend money to buy medicines from medical stores.
Towards Civilization:
They are some shepherds families who seems wealthy but doesn't showcases. But on the other side there are shepherds who are struggling to satisfy their basic requirements. They dont any other mode of earning. No NGO/Govt support. Even their kids are forcefully pulled into the shepherding field. Like one wanted to join the Indian Army. He is hoping and finding ways through the friends of his schools days who are in touch with him over the mobile phones. One want to come to city to just go around. The other interesting thing the girl from the other family is well aware of the todays fashion even though she had not gone to school. When we questioned her like why have you not tatooted your hands like your mother, to our surprise she answered it is not under fashion now. Nobody will like to do it. I was interested to know who are her friends and how did she know? Is just by observation or by discussion. No answer from her.
Language restriction:
Sonal and Harsh had really a hard time. And some points were missed when Mama and Wazeer were trying to converse in Hindi so that eveybody could understood. But even I had hard time to pick up some words b'cos the kannada language differs from place to place.
Quick actions:
1.An easy mobile phone application to get the route information is in an absolute need. Young guys in their can easily operate b'cos they have quite a good knowledge about the mobile phones. But the elders might require oral narratives. Socionity is targeting towards this.
2.Renarrating the uploaded text/audio into the simple terms or into their local language could help much. We have alipi in hand which had already implemented this work and in progress.
3.A good training to make them understand about the lat long info and other usablities.
4.A clean understanding maps to easily identify the places like Neelkant mama was asking, now we are tracking routes, will the mountains on the either side of the road will be visible on the map? Its his understanding. We can try overlays.
