Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save

In the Himalayas, human beings have developed several behaviors and practices in the process of adaptation to the harsh environment. The theme of the paper is to explore the notion of care through the local practices of caring for standing crops. The paper is based on the more than nine-month-long e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jiban Mani Poudel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Resilience Alliance 2024-12-01
Series:Ecology and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol29/iss4/art9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850033031164723200
author Jiban Mani Poudel
author_facet Jiban Mani Poudel
author_sort Jiban Mani Poudel
collection DOAJ
description In the Himalayas, human beings have developed several behaviors and practices in the process of adaptation to the harsh environment. The theme of the paper is to explore the notion of care through the local practices of caring for standing crops. The paper is based on the more than nine-month-long ethnographic study in the Nhāson Valley of Nepal. The findings reveal that caring for standing crops is not just rooted in technical rationality imposed by external agencies; it is cultivated in the concept of ethics of saving to save and respect for others’ property. The beliefs and practices of caring for standing crops reveal that the landscape is not only for humans and animals but also for divine beings, whose presence must be recognized and acknowledged when discussing human-nature relationships. The study challenges the reductionist approach of these relationships by focusing on how farmers’ workaday practices like fencing; implementing social regulations; and performing rituals bring science and society together. This integration creates a resilient and robust ecological framework for environmental study.
format Article
id doaj-art-1c11ce6a7f7f4fe688e238d3c2513bd2
institution DOAJ
issn 1708-3087
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Resilience Alliance
record_format Article
series Ecology and Society
spelling doaj-art-1c11ce6a7f7f4fe688e238d3c2513bd22025-08-20T02:58:22ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872024-12-01294910.5751/ES-15585-29040915585Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to saveJiban Mani Poudel0Tribhuvan University, NepalIn the Himalayas, human beings have developed several behaviors and practices in the process of adaptation to the harsh environment. The theme of the paper is to explore the notion of care through the local practices of caring for standing crops. The paper is based on the more than nine-month-long ethnographic study in the Nhāson Valley of Nepal. The findings reveal that caring for standing crops is not just rooted in technical rationality imposed by external agencies; it is cultivated in the concept of ethics of saving to save and respect for others’ property. The beliefs and practices of caring for standing crops reveal that the landscape is not only for humans and animals but also for divine beings, whose presence must be recognized and acknowledged when discussing human-nature relationships. The study challenges the reductionist approach of these relationships by focusing on how farmers’ workaday practices like fencing; implementing social regulations; and performing rituals bring science and society together. This integration creates a resilient and robust ecological framework for environmental study.https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol29/iss4/art9agriculturecaringhimalayan environmenthuman-nature relationshipnepalstanding crops
spellingShingle Jiban Mani Poudel
Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
Ecology and Society
agriculture
caring
himalayan environment
human-nature relationship
nepal
standing crops
title Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
title_full Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
title_fullStr Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
title_full_unstemmed Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
title_short Caring for standing crops in the Himalayas: embedded notion of saving to save
title_sort caring for standing crops in the himalayas embedded notion of saving to save
topic agriculture
caring
himalayan environment
human-nature relationship
nepal
standing crops
url https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol29/iss4/art9
work_keys_str_mv AT jibanmanipoudel caringforstandingcropsinthehimalayasembeddednotionofsavingtosave