Tibetan nomads
Can this traditional way of life continue?
“The reason why we should engage in religious practice is that no matter how much material progress there is, it alone cannot generate adequate and lasting peace. Indeed, the more we progress materially, the more we have live in constant fear and anxiety.”
The most traditional settlement, Sonamling, is located in the high plateau of the Himalayas in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the Tibetans who live here work in Leh as traders, small cafe and shop owners, construction workers and caretakers of animals for trekking. 1,539 nomads live in tents all year round at 17,000 feet (5,300 meters). They subsist as herders, following their yak, dzo, sheep and goats from summer to winter pastures.
Nomads move their tents twice a year to feed their flock.
Once cut off from the world except to trade salt, cheese and wool, families now send their children to schools in Leh where they interact with classmates from settlements with families who work in diverse professions. I have often wondered how much longer this timeless existence can continue, especially when confronted with global climate change. When I asked a teenager if he would follow his father’s footsteps when he graduated, he declared, “No, being a nomad is too hard. I am going to go into business.”
Mother and daughter-in-law milking pashmina goats
Nomad family during school holiday
Prayer flags