In Assam, people sing traditional songs called Bihu – songs about a way of life that
has lasted for thousands of years. The songs bring to life the timeless relationship
between animals and the people who depend on them. One such song is about a man
who is destined to never find a wife because all his time is dedicated to his
buffalo and the endless tasks involved in tending to fields and crops.
In Seujia Pathar village, they no longer raise buffalo. In
1980, the villagers stopped this ancient practice and switched to raising bulls
-- an animal that requires much less feed and shade. Here bulls are constant
companions, often named in Assamese for the colour of their coats – ‘black’, ‘brown’,
‘mottled’ and so on. But, they represent
more than just companions; they are investments for the future. As one villager
described them – they are the local equivalent of a bank account.
Three young bulls in Seujia Pathar village, Dhemaji District, Assam
Try for a moment to imagine what it might be like to wake up
one morning and discover your bank account is empty. For people dependent on
their animals like Dipen Bora Gohain or Dalimiya in rural Assam, that is
exactly what a flood can be like.
July and August 2012 saw some of the worst flooding in
memory throughout the Machkhowa Block, Dhemaji District, Assam. Many animals
were lost. Some were washed away, others drowned while others fell sick to
illnesses that spread quickly, flourishing in the unsanitary conditions that followed in the wake of stagnant, fetid floodwaters.
A bridge washed away by recent floods
The mighty Brahmaputra river that traverses this northeast
Indian state overflowed its banks. An annual and predictable event, the floods
this year were larger and more devastating than any in recent memory. The river
– this bringer of life - showed its other nature: a destructive wall of death
and disease that kept some areas underwater for up to a week.
RajatBura Gohain, Seujia Pathar village
resident and Indian Army Medical Corps officer shows the high water mark left
from the recent floods
Dipen is thirty-seven years old and is actively involved in
his community. He is the local representative of the development-focused NGO Action for Food Production, and we
first met him when we came to his village in response to the floods and its
impact on the animals. Dipen owns a large one-year old sow named Phakhari (‘mottled’). He purchased her
one year ago for one thousand rupees (about $18 USD). She lives in his family
compound along with his wife Manulla Bora Gohain and his young son Mrinmoy. He
plans to sell her soon for 10,500 rupees (about $195 USD) – a significant
profit in the livestock and agriculture-based economy of the Dhemaji District.
Dipen and Phakhari
Dalimiya owns several cows and a young bull named Lal Bai or “red brother” in Assamese. She
and her family live side by side with their cattle near Seujia Pathar and
consider them to be members of the family. To meet the family, is to
immediately recognise that Lal Bai holds
a special place in their hearts. Dalimiya proudly showed us the animal feed
provided by WSPA – a month’s supply of rice bran. She offered thanks for seeing
her and her family through the worst of the floods while Lal Bai slowly ate the rice bran in the family’s swept mud
courtyard.
Living several houses down from one of the feed distribution
centres WSPA-sponsored, Dalimiya and people from the surrounding community rushed
over to greet us enthusiastically when they saw our WSPA t-shirts. Despite the
recent hard times, people smiled as they recalled someone being there for their
animals. “With your help, Lal Bai and
my cows had enough to eat and this helped them and my whole family,” said Dalimiya.
Dalimiya, her granddaughter Dili Rani and Lal Bai
Animals form the backbone of the local economy – plowing
fields, giving milk, eggs, meat and as the main source of income from sales. To
lose an animal in a disaster has a devastating effect on families. If the
animals manage to survive the initial flood, there is often a lack of food and
clean water to keep them healthy and floodwaters create conditions where diseases like foot and
mouth disease and dysentery flourish.
WSPA selected Machkhowa as the focus of our response in
Assam because the animal need here was greatest. In addition to supplying feed,
we worked alongside local veterinarians, to distribute veterinary medicines and
set up mobile veterinary clinics. Now we’re here working in Seujia Pathar
village to create a model plan that draws on local knowledge to determine
things like where to evacuate, how to source feed, what resources are available
to the community and how to access them when needed. Hansen and residents of Seujia Pathar documenting a goat's health information
Our hope is this plan will help the residents of Seujia
Pathar cope with future disasters and, if successful, be adopted elsewhere in
India. As always, our goal is to help break the effects of the annual disaster
cycle, ensure communities are better prepared and their animals are safe.
