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	<title>The Holiday Scout Indigenous Knowledge | Tag | north east india</title>
	<link>https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/</link>
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		<title>Portrait of a Conservation Pioneer</title>
		<link>https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/plant-wisdom-and-medicine/portrait-of-a-conservation-pioneer/</link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0530</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Located about 25 kilometers from Tawang near the Indo-Tibetan border, Gomkhang village is home to Tsering Topgey and his unique organic nursery. The 68-year-old dedicates himself full-time to cultivating wild medicinal plants, to practicing Tibetan medicine and to creating awareness about the need for conservation.As a young man working as a nurse in the Indian Army, Topgey accompanied Tibetan healer Tenzin Chotala on long treks in the Tawang hills to assess the availability of medicinal plants needed for Tibetan medicines. Chotala introduced Topgey to the notion that the forests of western Arunachal Pradesh are a store house of medicinal plants that contain the ultimate medical resources of the future.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;With great enthusiasm, Topgey showed us his two-acre garden and greenhouse where he currently grows more than 20 medicinal plant species, each in its own plot and carefully labeled. From these he prepares medicines to treat illnesses ranging from common cold and cough to diarrhea, viral infections, and asthma. Over the past several years Topgey has helped over 1500 local villagers.Topgey told us that local youths have expressed interest in learning his methods, but at present he lacks the infrastructure required to conduct such training in a systematic way. With support from the state government, for example, Topgey is sure that he could establish a traditional healing and Tibetan medicine training center in Tawang along with a rare and endangered plant garden to supply the raw materials needed for medicine preparation. We applaud Topgey&rsquo;s perseverance and share his hope that, with the upsurge in popularity of Men-Tse-Khang facilities for Tibetan medical treatment recently set up by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the concepts born in his organic garden in Gomkhang will take root on a larger scale across Arunachal Pradesh and beyond.<br>Original post at: <a href="https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/plant-wisdom-and-medicine/portrait-of-a-conservation-pioneer/">https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/plant-wisdom-and-medicine/portrait-of-a-conservation-pioneer/</a>]]></description>
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		<title>Tawang Focus &ndash; The Art of Making Paper</title>
		<link>https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/tawang-focus-the-art-of-making-paper/</link>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0530</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="true">https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/tawang-focus-the-art-of-making-paper/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was a mild morning in May with barely a wisp of cloud in the cobalt sky over Tawang, a perfect day for our visit to Mukto, a village inhabited by Monpa tribals who are known for their traditional papermaking craft. When paper was first made in the Himalayas cannot be dated back exactly, but archaeological finds indicate that it has been used for writing Buddhist manuscripts for over a thousand years. This very art, handed down for generations, is what we hoped to witness.After 90 minutes drive on a rough road that transverses several mountainsides we arrived in Mukto, home to a population of around 700. We were warmly welcomed by Rinchin Gombu, former village Sarpanch and patron of the local NGO whose aim it is to preserve handmade paper production in Mukto. However, we quickly learned that this undertaking faces difficult odds, for as of today as few as 7 or 8 households still practice the art of shuk which means &lsquo;paper&rsquo; in the Tawang Monpa language. We went to view the paper making process and watched as an elderly woman showed us the steps.First, the bark of the indigenous shuk shang or paper tree is harvested and delivered to the paper maker for further processing. Those who harvest this all-important bark receive half of the finished paper as barter for their labor. It appears that only a handful of men still do the harvesting at all.The shuk shang bark is peeled and dried in the sun for 2 &ndash; 3 days. Then it is soaked in water, cut into pieces, boiled twice and made into a paste without any additives. Next, a fine screen is placed in a water bath over which the bark paste is expertly spread. The screen is then stood upright in the sun to dry and finally, the sheet of finished paper is removed.The manual process behind making this paper is very time consuming and cannot be replaced by machinery without sacrificing the unique and beautiful texture of the finished product. The paper is sold to local craft centers and to monasteries. But unlike weavers, for example, whose goods are finding their way into a blossoming market for boutique textiles, the paper makers of Mukto do not enjoy a channel of international demand. Ironically, it is the remoteness of Mukto which has helped preserve the indigenous knowledge of papermaking in this village over the eons; but the same isolation has also pushed the time-honored technique to the brink of extinction.<br>Original post at: <a href="https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/tawang-focus-the-art-of-making-paper/">https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/tawang-focus-the-art-of-making-paper/</a>]]></description>
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		<title>Traditional Silk Production in Manipur</title>
		<link>https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/traditional-silk-production-in-manipur/</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 May 2017 00:00:00 +0530</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="true">https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/traditional-silk-production-in-manipur/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Manipur is a state rich in culture where each tribe has its own customs and language. But from the rugged hills to the loamy valley, there is one common thread that unites them in tradition: all across the land, Manipuri women are expert weavers. There was a time not long ago when handloom skills belonged to the general education of every Manipuri girl, and she who had not mastered the arts of spinning, dyeing and weaving could later have difficulty finding a husband. Such was the importance of handwork as a component of household income.Even today, despite global mechanization of textile production, weaving in Manipur remains a thriving cottage industry whose techniques are handed down and whose products are unique and distinctive. For example, among the Meitei community who inhabit the Imphal Valley, almost every step that goes into the creation of silk garments is done by artisans working from their homes.Farmers hand pick silk worm cocoons found growing on mulberry trees. These are then boiled and sold to silk spinners. Extraction of the raw silk from the cocoons onto reels is done both by hand and in an automated process. The raw silk thread is then transferred onto a 4-pronged spindle where it is wound into loose skeins. These skeins are boiled and subsequently dyed by hand based on orders received from weavers. To produce one women&rsquo;s shawl, known as a &ldquo;rani phi&rdquo;, a weaver requires around 40 &ndash; 50 grams of silk which is the yield from around 50 silk worm cocoons. Depending on the intricacy of the pattern, she will then work an average of one week to complete the shawl. This is a highly labor intensive and time consuming process but without a doubt, the beauty of the finished result is unequalled!It can only be hoped that the indigenous knowledge which this type of weaving entails remains intact and is perpetuated. Fortunately, given the growing demand for hand-crafted goods by discerning collectors and customers world-wide, the future holds promise.<br>Original post at: <a href="https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/traditional-silk-production-in-manipur/">https://theholidayscout.com/indigenous-knowledge/arts-and-crafts/traditional-silk-production-in-manipur/</a>]]></description>
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