Organic by Default

Mountains by their sheer geographical features were bypassed by the green revolution. By default and need, farm operations continued with what was available in nature. Data and reports show that collection of leaf litter from forests is an essential chore of every mountain household. The chore by tradition is carried out mostly if not exclusively by the female gender. It is common knowledge that more than 90% farm area is rain fed, mountain regions have more than 85% forest cover. Harsh, torrential rainfall causes the loss of important topsoil every year. Typical socio-geographical situations have led the farming communities to relinquish whatever little chemical fertilizer was introduced to them.

Never before was the question asked- why did the farmer in the mountains renounce the "angrezi khad”! Also did one wonder why in the mountains the women religiously travel to the forests every day sometimes over twenty kilometers collecting dry leaf from mountain tops risking their life and health. The reason of course is agriculture. The leaf litter, which forms the bedding of the domestic animal in the barn ‘goth’ is cyclically removed from the barns and used in the farms every year if not twice a year. The rich manure is the only reason mountain agriculture has survived over the year. The mountain farmer realizes the simple relation of organic matter with the soil. Even if carried over by the subsidized chemical fertilizer the farmer bas never ended the operation of leaf litter connection, which is dutifully carried out by the fairer sex.