Indigenous

Peoples can read

the Climate and

its Changes

I am a member of the indigenous

Tharu community from the

foothills of the Himalayas

For us a monsoon is a blessing because its the

ocean the mountains the wind and the forest

all working together to bring the rain

When the f irst rain comes its a signal to plant

your rice Everybody works together

helping each other plant we work with the

weather with the seasons with the climate

But over time things have changed

My dear grandfather used to read the clouds

He could see when the monsoon was coming

First the clouds would be small and puffy

then they grew big and menacing But now the

clouds are diff icult to read The clouds are not

speaking to us anymore

And the forest that we lived close to is further

away because a lot of trees have been cut

down for agriculture When it rains the forest

keeps the water in its belly and then gives the

water to us all year long But with the forest

shrinking so too does the water in the forests

belly This year people did not have water to

drink because it didnt rain

We are trying to bring the forest back by

planting trees I hope we can switch back to

our old ways of farming using less chemical

fertiliser saving seeds This traditional

knowledge needs to be transferred through the

generations What my mother taught

I must teach my own children And I do

Brijlal

Chaudhari

Brijlal Chaudhari is a member of the

indigenous Tharu nation from the foothills

of the Himalayas where the rhinos and the

elephants used to roam freely He is the

founder of Global Home for Indigenous

Peoples an organisation that advocates for the

rights and way of life of indigenous Peoples

He represents Indigenous Peoples of Asia

region as a steering committee member of the

Coalition on Indigenous Peoples Food Systems

at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations

wwwlinkedincominbrijlalchaudhari