The Lhops or Doyaps in Samtse have lived off whatever nature provided them for as long as they can remember. But now, dishes like ema datshi and kewa datshi are on the menu. In Ngawang Dramtoe village under Tading Gewog, where a few communities of Lhops live, foxtail millet and maize are harvested. It is only recently that the Lhops learned vegetable farming.
38-year-old Nim Pem Doya in Ngawang Dramtoe said venturing into vegetable farming has benefited the community. She, like other Lhops in the village, started vegetable farming only last year.
“This is the first time we have done vegetable farming, and it has benefitted us a lot. We planted chilis, beans, and cabbages. We now don’t have to buy vegetables from Phuentshogling and other towns. On the other hand, we made some money too,” she said.
Until last year, Lhops of Ngawang Dramtoe did not try growing vegetables. Coupled with a lack of effort from relevant government agencies, Lhops spent little of what they earned in buying vegetables.
“Before, we ate whatever we could buy from the town and got the rest from the forest. The plants we get from the forest are ferns, bamboo shoots, and we also pick mushrooms. There is not much we get from the forest,” she added.
Her father, Ugen Threyba Doya, never knew chilis can be grown in his village.
“We used to get chilis as a gift from the people from Paro and Haa. We give areca nut in return. We love the chilis from Paro. It’s tasty. It got me wondering if chilis can be grown in our village, but my parents would say it grows in Paro and will not grow here. But now that we are taught about growing vegetables, it grows well,” said Ugyen.
When the Tarayana Foundation stepped into the village in 2019, vegetable farming was first introduced to the Lhops.
“It all started when the ECCD centre was launched. We checked for the type of dishes children brought to the daycare, and it was bad, including the way they prepared it. That is how the vegetable farming project began,” said Thinley Bidha, the Field Officer of the Tarayana Foundation.
The foundation taught close to 200 households in the village about land management techniques, ploughing fields, and weeding. A demonstration field was also made to assist in training.
“The main intention was to enable Lhops to make a home garden. We encouraged those who had land to convert 40 to 50 decimals to home garden and those who do not have to try at least 20 decimals. The people here agreed, and that way, we also expanded our demonstration field,” the field officer added.
In 2019, when the BBS first visited the village, none of the households had a kitchen garden. Today, almost all households have a kitchen garden. This change has made some youth who left the village for better pastures return home. One of whom is Kelzang Lhamo Doya.
“I wanted to leave my work outside to come back to the village and do vegetable farming here. At work, I had to do everything on schedule and could not save anything. Here in the village, I can work in my vegetable garden and do other work. This is what I wanted,” said Kelzang.
Meanwhile, for Nim Pem Doya, the fascination with growing chilis is just the beginning. Next, is to learn how to cook vegetables.
“We can cook and eat cabbage. It can also be mixed with cheese and chilli. But I learnt cauliflower and broccoli needs to be cooked properly. And chilis are tasty when prepared into ema datshi. I eat chilli more,” she said.
The Tarayana Foundation has plans for various training like cooking, making composts, and food processing.
Sherub Dorji, Samtse
