Back to news

Yak Festival 2017

Promoting Yak Based Rural Livelihoods in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

Domesticated yaks play an important role in the lives of mountain people living in high altitude regions in India and Nepal. These animals have historically been used to transport goods across mountain passes, and for their milk, meat and hide. The Kangchenjunga Landscape initiative (KLCDI) has been working to strengthen and promote yak based rural livelihoods in the landscape, and organized a Yak Festival on April 14, 2017 to strengthen and promote rural yak based livelihoods.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Honorable Member of National Planning Commission and the chief guest of the Festival, Dr. Prabhu Budhathoki, addressing the local people in the event.

The festival took place in Phalelung rural municipality in Panchthar district, an area bordering Sikkim and the Indian territory of the Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL) at an altitude of 3,515 metres above sea level. The event was organized to preserve the culture of yak herding in the region by supporting the livelihoods of yak-dependent rural populations and linking them with high altitude ecotourism. Surketham Dairy Cooperative, the local District Forest Office and other district stakeholders organized the event with support from KLCDI, a transboundary initiative at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

National Planning Commission (NPC) member, Honorable Dr. Prabhu Budhathoki was chief guest of the event and inaugurated the festival. Among those attending were and the Chief District Officer of Panchthar and other district line agency officials. Dr. Budhathoki said that the NPC supports the idea of continuing such events in the future and will support yak-related activities through government channels. He also assured all present that the NPC will liaise with other partners to support such activities.


Yak in the Festival

Close to 2,000 people from the KL India (Sikkim, West Bengal, Darjeeling and Siliguri) and KL Nepal (Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Terhathum and Kathmandu) attended the event. About 500 yak from about 22 herds were exhibited, as were dairy products made from yak’s milk. In its second year of implementation, KLCDI is looking forward to promoting yak based rural livelihoods through transboundary ecotourism to ensure that landscape conservation also fosters regional cooperation.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

13 Dec 2016 News
International Mountain Day Celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh

ICIMOD participated in a discussion and mountain fair programme organized by the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts ...

1 Feb 2016 News
Post-earthquake Management in Tibet

The April 2015 earthquake had far reaching impacts in the HKH region. Although the epicentre was north-west of Kathmandu, Nepal, ...

18 Dec 2015 News
National Experts’ Symposium on Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Pakistan

  ICIMOD, in collaboration with the Mountain Agricultural Research Centre and WWF-Pakistan, organized a two-day ‘National Experts’ Symposium on Ecosystem Based ...

30 Jun 2017 KSL
KSLCDI Receives Special Grant Spotlight

The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI)’s efforts to link cultural heritage with conservation and development has received ...

8 Jan 2021 Ecosystem services
Systematic review of literature on HKH ecosystem services calls for holistic future research

Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) ecosystems provide diverse ecosystem services to nearly two billion people in the mountains and downstream, across ...

2 Jan 2015 News
Asia-Pacific Youth Forum and Training Workshop on Mountain Adaptation

Participants included high-level bureaucrats, youth leaders, researchers, and tech innovators from the region. They engaged in capacity building, ...

8 Dec 2015 KSL
ICIMOD Partners Day in China

To continue strengthening partnerships with Chinese organisations, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Chinese Committee on ICIMOD (CNICIMOD) ...

Strengthening Farmers’ Knowledge on “Animal Nutrition and Health Care for Improving Dairy Production” in the Kangchenjunga Landscape, India

From 16-18 November 2017, around 50 dairy farmers from Ribdi-Gorkhey, India, convened in Ribdi for a three-day hands-on training and ...