Various factors driving young shepherds away from shepherding, say community elders

The lure of the modern lifestyle, changing climate and vanishing grazing land have led to young shepherds moving away from shepherding, community elders said in an interaction with the public in Belagavi recently.

The leaders felt that the desire among rural youth to live in the cities among urban amenities, erratic rain patterns, destruction of grazing land, diverting public spaces for non-farm activities and modern day stress are discouraging youth from continuing their family profession of shepherding. They gave a call for environment protection measures aimed at preservation of common grassland.

They were sharing their experience and wisdom with a group after the screening of Bhed Chal (Herd Walk), a documentary film on Deccan Pastoralism, at the Belgaum Foundry Cluster Auditorium in Udyambag.

The film by community educator Ankit Pogula and U.S.-based Harsh Satya has won an international award at the DokuBaku film festival. It was shortlisted for the Green Oscars. The premier screening of the film was organised by Belagavi-based by Dakhnii Dairies, a voluntary organisation.

Members of the general public, shepherding community and residents of villages like Kadoli, Uchagaon, Chachadi and Amdapur where the film was shot were invited for the screening.

Spiritual leader of the community Neelkanth Mama Kurubar said that aspirational lifestyle and destruction of the natural habitat of the sheep are the main causes of reduced number of sheep and shepherds.

“Before Independence, there were an estimated four crore sheep and goats in Karnataka. Now, however, their number has reduced to 1.4 crore. Goat’s milk is considered an Ayurvedic medicine, as herds graze around 30 types of grass and plant leaves. However, with the changing climate, reduction of grassland areas due to encroachment and diversion and erratic rainfall, some of these plant species are vanishing. We need concerted efforts to arrest this trend,” he said.

An elder Vazir Demannanvar said that the trend among youth to compare their earning levels with other professions and the general disdain among society about shepherding is making it less attractive for the youth.

“Sheep provide us with fertilizer, food, milk, clothes and other goods and services. Goat’s milk is nutritious for women and children, among others. We need to promote this ancient knowledge among the current generation,” said leader Babu Sambrekar.

He recalled the contribution of Rev. Fr. Joe Chanakala and G.N. Gopikrishna in organising the community and launching several welfare programmes.

“The film explores a powerful question: why should the sheep keep walking?” said film-maker Pongula. He described the film as a powerful journey with two kuruba shepherds keeping their lineage alive across North Karnataka’s ancient landscapes.

“The culture of these community members in the Deccan seemed distinct from other similar communities,” he said.

Film-maker Harsh Satya said that he was fascinated by the practice of native gene pool preservation by the followers of Balu Mama.

“The Balu Mama shrines on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border are rearing over 40,000 of native varieties of sheep. This can be a lesson for conservation efforts,” said Dr. Sathya, who is a researcher in the U.S.

Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S. Guled congratulated the film-makers for their passion and dedication. “City dwellers like us tend to remain oblivious to the fact that our roots are in the village. Such films tend to rejuvenate our spirit whenever we get lost in the cacophony of the city,” he said.

He said that the wool handicrafts training centre run by Dakhnii Dairies is an interesting experiment in training women in sharpening their crafting skills and teaching them modern marketing methods.

The Bhed Chal team and shepherd community leaders were felicitated. Handicraft promoter T.B. Dinesh, members of the Jai Bharat Foundation and Belgaum Foundry Cluster, industrialists Sadanand Humbarwadi, Sameer Kanabargi, environmentalist Nitin Dhond and others were present.