Organic farming at 6,000 feet in the Himalayas of Northern India

The village of Supi high in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Uttarakhand region of Northern India, grows lush crops of wheat and barley in its south-facing terraced fields.

The crop is organic by necessity as no herbicides or pesticides are used and could not be afforded in any case. Consequently the fields are shared with wild flowers and insects, including bees and butterflies.

 Women collect fodder for their farm animals each morning, providing them with a rich and varied diet and 'weeding' the fields in the process.  The farm animals, mostly cattle, sheep and goats, are not eaten but provide milk or wool and manure, which is mixed with fallen leaves to spread on the land each year to put back what has been taken out.

Woman collecting fodder for her animals

Herbs and spices, garlic, cabbage and spinach are grown in smaller plots and gardens close to the house, so the totally vegetarian diet is varied and interesting, usually spicy and very Indian.

A woven basket of fodder ready to be carried home

There are no fences, private land or keep out notices so children walk to school along narrow field paths