Farmers in Gurez store their harvests underground to last the Himalayan winter. As the practice fades, local varieties and handed-down skills are disappearing too Hajra Begum rolls a potato in her hands, checking its skin for cuts, soft spots and signs of rot. After a day harvesting in her family’s field in Chorwan, a remote mountain village in Gurez, Indian-administered Kashmir, she is sorting the crop for winter storage. Some of the potatoes will feed her family through the cold months; others will be saved for planting in spring. “It should be perfect for planting,” she says. “If you keep a bad potato, you will waste the whole next year.” Continue reading...
Kashmir’s potato pits are vanishing – and generations of knowledge could be buried for ever
In short
Mountain communities in Indian-administered Kashmir are gradually abandoning subterranean storage techniques used to safeguard food supplies during freezing Himalayan winters. This shift threatens to permanently erase indigenous crop varieties alongside agricultural expertise passed down through local families. Losing these methods also jeopardizes the quality of seed stock essential for the subsequent spring planting season. In Chorwan, farmers like Hajra Begum must meticulously inspect each potato for rot, cuts, and soft spots to ensure the buried produce does not decay.
Key points
- The decline of subterranean storage threatens generational farming knowledge and local cr…: The decline of subterranean storage threatens generational farming knowledge and local crop varieties in the region.
- Storing damaged potatoes risks spoiling vital winter food reserves and ruining the follow…: Storing damaged potatoes risks spoiling vital winter food reserves and ruining the following year's agricultural harvest.
- Maintaining meticulous inspection habits remains vital to ensuring stored crops endure fr…: Maintaining meticulous inspection habits remains vital to ensuring stored crops endure freezing temperatures beneath the earth.