THE SPEAKING TREE

  Rafeeq on the water harvesting structure Naseera Begam smiles as she proudly shows her prized Holstein-Friesian cow. A Murrah buffalo and another H-F heifer calmly chew cud lined up in the neat and clean cattle shed. “She gives 30 litres of milk worth two thousand rupees a day!” explains Naseera Begam as she pampers the invaluable cow. On average, she needs about more than a quintal of green fodder every day to feed her livestock that contributes a major share in her family income. The entire green fodder is produced from her agricultural land throughout the year. A decade ago, Naseera Begam owned low milk yielding non-descript breed of cattle, that grazed in the forests while some green fodder was purchased at a premium from another village. Her land was parched and degraded that grew not much of greenery. Today, her land is fertile and irrigated to grow a variety of crops and fodder. This is the story of Naseera Begum and other households in a less known village of Himachal Pradesh