{"id":60103563,"date":"2025-10-10T17:51:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T16:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=photo_story&p=60103563"},"modified":"2025-10-14T10:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:43:10","slug":"lessons-in-agriculture-from-nepals-indigenous-kulung-people","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/food\/lessons-in-agriculture-from-nepals-indigenous-kulung-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons in agriculture from Nepal\u2019s Indigenous Kulung people"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was 8pm and everyone in the house was preparing to sleep after dinner, but the fire was still flickering in one corner of the kitchen. Sambarman Okhati, a 66-year-old elder of the family, bore a hint of concern while hunching over a boiling pot. \u201cThe maize for tomorrow\u2019s tos<\/em> hasn\u2019t cooked properly,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/p>

This article is part of Dialogue Earth\u2019s Indigenous Voices fellowship. The eight fellows are Indigenous journalists and storytellers from across the Global South. The fellowship aims to foreground not just Indigenous issues, but also the storytelling, reporting and insights of Indigenous journalists themselves.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tos <\/em>is a land-worshipping ritual of Nepal\u2019s Kulung community, during which locals pray for a good harvest and are advised on what crops to plant by a shaman. Okhati\u2019s maize, one of the ritual\u2019s offerings, was still too firm. \u201cWithout a pressure cooker, it won\u2019t soften as it should,\u201d he sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Indigenous Kulung people are part of the Himalayas\u2019 larger Kirat community. They have their own language, culture, history, tradition and ancestral homeland \u2013 Mahakulung (\u201cGreater Kulung\u201d), located in Solukhumbu District in the eastern part of Nepal. Solukhumbu is known for being home to Mount Everest \u2013 which the Kulung and other groups call Chomolungma (\u201cGoddess Mother of the World\u201d) \u2013 and other high Himalayan mountains. Yet few are aware of the ancient settlements nestled below these snow-capped peaks. In Mahakulung, they sit at elevations ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 metres, surrounded by rugged hills and dense green forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n