Barahnaja – Traditional Biodiverse Crop System in Uttarakhand
by Vijay Jarhdari
144 pages – paperback
version in English by Biju Negi
SOBTI- Sudhagarh
Barahnaja – Traditional Biodiverse Crop System in Uttarakhand-In Uttarakhand, among the practises decimated or lost was the system of Barahnaja – a traditional farming system of cultivating diverse crops in mixed formation during the summer cropping season. Literally, barah anaaj or “twelve foodgrains”, the Bahrahnaja comprised not just grains but pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, spices and even fibre crops. In practice for centuries, Bahrahnaja was critical to people’s food security and well-being, strengthened the traditional relationship between humans, their cattle, forests and streams, helped rejuvenate the soil and maintain the earth’s ecological balance.
