FOLK MEDIA for BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION a Pilot Project from the Himalaya-Hindu Kush

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The International Communication Gazette COPYRIGHT © SAGE PUBLICATIONS 2009 LOS ANGELES, LONDON, NEW DELHI, SINGAPORE AND WASHINGTON DC 1748-0485 VOL. 71(4): 321–346 DOI: 10.1177/1748048509102184 http://gaz.sagepub.com

FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION A Pilot Project from the Himalaya-Hindu Kush

Susan Höivik and Kurt Luger

Abstract / Developmental communication through mass media has been practised and researched for years, its successes and failures documented in this and other journals. Yet hardly any effort has been made to utilize traditional means of communication like puppetry, poetry, street drama or folk song for development goals. Such ‘folk media’ would appear to have many advantages: they are locally accepted, adaptable and low-cost; moreover, they presuppose neither literacy nor modern technology. This article presents a pilot project from the Himalayas that investigates how indigenous or traditional practices of communication can be employed in remote areas to raise awareness on environmental issues.

Keywords / alternative media / biodiversity conservation / development communication / entertainment–education / folk media / Himalaya / Hindu Kush / indigenous knowledge / natural resource management / popular culture

The ICIMOD Alternative Media Project For years, developmental efforts have encountered a major stumbling block: how to get the message through to the local people? The idea of the Alternative Media Project (AMP) originated at ICIMOD, the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, in connection with ﬁnding ways to improve communication between development organizations and target communities in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region.1 The AMP became a pilot project to examine and promote the use of traditional media to convey information on natural resource management and environmental issues to local communities, so that the villagers themselves could set about improving their livelihoods. The project sought to identify and test non-technical modes for conveying information related to natural resources, conservation and environmental governance and advocacy. More immediate objectives involved assisting local NGOs to deliver developmental messages, improving methodologies, transmitting skills and promoting grassroots participation. In the ﬁrst phase, the focus was on conducting baseline surveys and selecting partners in the four project regions: the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh; 322 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4

Nagaland, India; two rural areas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal; and Chitral Valley in the northwestern provinces of Pakistan (see Table 1). The emphasis then shifted to pilot packages for transmitting information through the types of traditional media selected. The third phase concentrated on feedback received from the assessment of results, with further development of prototypes and delivery mechanisms. At the ﬁnal workshop in May 2005, representatives of the partner organizations shared their experiences and assessments of three years of work with the AMP. Throughout the project period, a wide range of meetings and workshops were conducted in developing pathways of transferring knowledge through traditional (i.e. non-mass) media (see Table 2). Two types of sample prototypes were developed for better understanding how to employ local materials and ways of delivering messages to isolated communities. The prototype training and development workshops at the grassroots level also conveyed two important messages to villagers: that the transfer of knowledge can provide greater long-term beneﬁts than handouts, and that development lies in their hands. In turn, the project team learned two important things during the project period: (1) local mountain communities have a considerable store of indigenous knowledge that has remained largely untapped and (2) indigenous or traditional media can be well suited for communicating development information.

Communication for Development Communication for development encompasses all organized efforts to use communications processes and media in order to promote social and economic improvements in developing countries. In the post-Second World War period, it was felt that the West and its media should show empathy with the ‘underdeveloped’ world and encourage the modernization of traditional cultures. The dominant paradigm involved an ethnocentric conception of ‘progress’, based on the achievements of Western Europe and North America. Development was viewed from a macro-economic perspective – economic growth through greater industrialization and urbanization. This approach proved problematic. The concept of modernization as based on neoclassical economic theory – aimed at a capitalist form of economic development – was heavily criticized. There came calls for a broader concept of development, one that would include the physical, mental, social, cultural and spiritual growth of individuals in an atmosphere free from coercion or dependency (see, for example, Melkote, 1991). Initially, development was seen as a top-down process, whereby centralized mass media could bring about widespread change. This era coincided with the beginning of mass-appeal television series, with their message of social change – ‘soaps for social change’ – and the development of a new approach: the entertainment–education (E–E) method (Nariman, 1993). Together with criticism of the ‘dominant paradigm’, came attempts to use other – alternative – media approaches to counter the modernization mania. But not until the 1980s was there a gradual transition to an ‘alternative paradigm’ that emphasized a participatory approach, especially in connection HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 323 with the emancipation movements then spreading throughout the South. The focus was on the importance of the cultural identity of local communities, with democ- ratization and participation at all levels. The voice of the grassroots level was now to be incorporated in development projects – from the initial identiﬁcation of problems, and right up to the decision-making process (Servaes et al., 1997; White et al., 2002). Not all projects today follow this methodology, but it has at least become commonly accepted that the local people should participate actively in the task of transforming their communities (Seyfang and Smith, 2007). Likewise, greater importance is given to preserving and sustaining traditional cultures, as these constitute the media through which people structure and interpret their reality.2 Media and communication efforts must be sensitive to the problems and the situation at hand. When the aim is to bring about fundamental change in deep- rooted cultural habits, even the best-intentioned campaigns will fail if the local population is unwilling or unconvinced. In India, for example, attempts at lowering the birth rate by involving the media in information campaigns were generally less successful than anticipated (Johnson, 2000; Kumar, 2004). Thus, the initial optimism that any and every developmental problem could be solved by professional media campaigns became relativized by actual experience. Today a more critical view pre- dominates, in which the extent and goals of employing the media are determined by the developmental concepts involved, with the technical media no longer playing the pivotal role as ‘champions of innovation’ (Singhal and Rogers, 2001; see also Singhal and Rogers, 1999). Greater emphasis is put on the carriers of the innovation process, the ‘assistants of change’, supporters active especially at the grassroots level: the leading actors in every development process (Beyer, 2007; Singh and Hart, 2004; White, 2004).

Entertainment and Popular Culture to Promote Social Change Entertainment can serve as a vehicle for spreading information – on health problems and family planning, or on forms of participation and environmental protection – thereby changing attitudes and perhaps even actual behaviour. This has been shown by the studies and projects carried out within the framework of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.3 For years the Center has been assisting with the production of pop songs, dramas, radio and television series, in over 20 countries. The message of ‘family planning’ or ‘protection against pregnancy’ is neatly packaged in entertaining texts and images, transmitted through television and transistor radios. The result: a clear increase in interest in family planning among the target populations. Where televisions and radio sets are not yet common – as in remote Himalayan villages, in the Sahel or the rainforests of Latin America – the entertainment–education approach involves a return to well-proven traditional methods of information dissemination. Storytellers and village clowns entertain at the weekly market; puppet shows and dances attract attention while managing to deal with touchy issues. Taboo subjects can be approached in a light-hearted manner, evoking relaxed laughter as 324 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 well as discussion. Also wall newspapers, posters, picture-books and comics are employed – these can usually be understood also by the non-literate. Many development projects concerning health or education issues now make use of popular culture for wider dissemination of new awareness and new attitudes. Here we may mention ‘Alfabetización Sanitaria’ in Peru; AIDS projects; contracep- tive information transmitted by humorous television spots in Brazil; promotion of oral contraception (‘the daily secret for enjoying love’) in the Dominican Republic; ‘family planning soaps’ in Bangladesh, Egypt and Turkey (also with videos shown in clinic waiting rooms); in Tanzania, the radio soap opera Twende na Wakati, with its message of family planning and HIV prevention. Everywhere, the media and communication strategies are being employed to disseminate information through humour, entertainment and suspenseful popular drama. Some 25 years of experience with the E–E model have shown that serious messages can be transmitted in this way to large numbers of people. Continual repetition of the message – deliberate redundancy as a method – and audience identiﬁcation with the actors provide the preconditions for effective learning. On the other hand, we cannot expect that the E–E approach alone will solve the enormous problems of the developing countries. Condoms cannot provide protection again poverty, exploitation, unfair world-market prices or war. What these soap operas have shown is that the great suggestive power of the media can be put to use to serve social goals. Provided that they respect the underlying sociocultural characteristics of the people of the Third World, they can contribute to ﬁnding ways out of the vicious circle of poverty (Dutta-Bergman, 2004; Singhal and Rogers, 2001).

Folk Media in Development The tools for bringing modernization into traditional cultures were the big media – television, radio, pop songs and multimedia campaigns. For years, scant attention was paid to the small media used by the local populations: indigenous media and indigenous knowledge were deemed equally irrelevant. Folk media – storytelling, folk theatre, puppetry, folk songs, folk dances, ballads, mime and other interactive forms of religious or secular communication – constitute a culturally embedded communication system that existed before the arrival of modern technology and mass media, and that still serves as a vital mode of communication in many parts of the world. Folk media stand as living expressions of the varied lifestyles and cultures that have evolved over the centuries (Melkote and Steeves, 2001). Recent concepts of development focused on capacity building, grassroots participation and empowerment have led to an examination of the advantages of traditional media as vehicles for development purposes. They are part of the rural social environment and, hence, credible sources of information to the local people. They command the audience as live media enabling two-way communication; they can generate grassroots participation and dialogue between performers and audience. They tend to be ﬂexible, open to any subject. They invite the people to take part without any restrictions as to roles, providing fertile ground for experimen- tation. And they are inexpensive. HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 325

Participatory Strategies in Social Change Communication is indispensable to participatory approaches. If development is to have any relevance to the people who need it most, it must start where the real needs and problems exist – in the rural areas or urban slums where the poorest live. From participatory rural appraisal to the application of participatory methods in policy planning and poverty reduction strategies, stakeholder participation is the new ‘mainstream paradigm’ in development cooperation (Mikkelsen, 2005). One best-practice model of environmentally sensitive development that is grassroots- based, egalitarian and participatory is Sri Lanka’s Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya (Sarvodaya) Movement, which sees communication as a vehicle for liberation from oppression, assisting in the creation of a sense of fellowship among the members of a group or community who seek to change their situation.4

Indigenous Media: Traditional Forms of Communication Language is a prime vehicle for communication in any culture – whether in its conventionally recognized spoken or written forms, or in such less recognized but nonetheless authentic systems as the fully developed sign languages of the deaf, or the many whistled languages once found throughout the world. All these systems – whether they are interpersonal or based on sophisticated technology – operate with an agreed set of codes and symbols in order to create meaningful messages (Baraldi, 2006; see also Atton, 2002). The AMP focused on such traditional means of communication and entertainment as storytelling, puppetry, street theatre, poetry, music and song. These are forms of communication (‘media’) deeply rooted in human societies everywhere. They entertain – and they convey messages. Unlike most modern means of mass communication, they do not presuppose a literate audience, or the availability of electricity, equipment and other technology. They require a minimum of props and/or instruments, and tend to be portable as well as low-cost. They are ﬂexible, adapting to local circumstances – a major reason for their continued existence. These factors also render them well suited for conveying messages to audiences in remote areas. These considerations – the widespread popularity and acceptance enjoyed by such media, their ﬂexibility and range of possible forms, together with their extreme ‘portability’ – formed the point of departure for the AMP. As a background to understanding the AMP, let us take a brief look at some of the range of traditional media found throughout the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region.

Storytelling: Genre sans Frontières In many ways, storytelling is the precursor to the other folk arts, drama and puppetry in particular. The HKH region is rich in storytelling traditions, in verse and prose. Storytellers and singers are active and recognized in Pakistan as well as in neigh- bouring Iran, traditionally with a strong religious element. The Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) in Islamabad has been especially active in protecting Pakistan’s oral heritage.5 326 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4

In India, Rajasthan weddings and celebrations are attended by traditional ‘genealogists’, the Caran, who recite lineages and stories of the deeds of ancestors. In Uttar Pradesh and in Bihar, shepherd-poets called Ahir represent an important Bhojpuri literary tradition. Bihar is also the scene of the renewal of Buddhist legends – it was, after all, under the spreading ﬁg tree in Bihar that Prince Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment. Western Bengal is home to the Patua, who illustrate their stories with painted images on long rolls of paper; and Nagaland and the northern areas have ancient traditions of storytelling and verse.6 Multiethnic Nepal is fortunate in having a distinguished poet and translator who has devoted a lifetime to collecting, retelling and translating the rich storytelling traditions of his country: Keshar Lall has more than 50 publications to his credit, notably a seven-volume folklore collection (Lall, 1993–2000; see also Lall, 1988). Additionally, the Tharu of Dang region in the far southwest have maintained their fantasy storytelling traditions; and especially in western Nepal, the Dholi (Damai) or tailor-musicians represent an important oral tradition.

Drama and Street Theatre: Focus on Bangladesh The street drama of Bangladesh has been mainly influenced by folk song, folk dance and jatra7 staged in open places to celebrate religious and other festivals. Modern street theatre began after Liberation in 1971, with a focus on major political issues. Today’s Bangladeshi street theatre employs a wide range of themes, generally with a sociopolitical character. Such dramas, normally staged without elaborate props or scenery, are interspersed with song and dance. The audience, composed largely of members of the poor and lower middle classes, can readily identify with the charac- ters and the issues. Themes of street dramas staged in Bangladesh recently include women’s rights, education, family planning and child immunization programmes, as well as environment/health issues like indiscriminate tree felling, consumption of putrid floodwater from overflowing ponds and rivers, pollution due to unhygienic sanitation practices, air pollution from vehicles, and smoking by under-aged drug-addicted street children. Political issues provided the original starting point for street drama in Bangladesh: in addition to recent performances focused on human rights issues, voter education has become a topic. A complementary mass communications campaign has helped to deter violence, minimize intimidation and voter bias, and encourage women’s participation in electoral processes.

Puppetry: Focus on India

India has a rich heritage of puppetry, dating back to around the 5th century BC. Early puppet shows dealt mostly with histories of great kings, princes and heroes as well as religious themes – but they also included political satire and commentary. Puppetry is currently undergoing a revival in India, and is being used to spread education and nature conservation messages. This is due not least to the efforts of pioneering figures like Ms R. Bhanumathim,8 who uses puppetry as an educational HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 327 tool to create awareness about the environment. Puppetry is increasingly employed by voluntary organizations and educational institutions to convey social and environmental messages to rural and urban audiences. An official presentation at the Second UNESCO/Japan Seminar on Environmental Education in Asian-Pacific Region in 2004 further points to the growing recognition of puppetry and other folk arts for conveying environmental messages.9 Besides laying a foundation for environmental education at an early stage, an innovative strategy has been developed for forming village-level women’s community organizations in order to influence attitudes towards issues of natural resources management like water and forests.

Music and Song: Focus on Nepal The musical traditions of Nepal are as diverse as the numerous ethnic groups of the country.10 The most complex musical culture in the HKH is arguably that of the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, who are probably of ancient Tibeto-Burman origin. An important Newar occasion is Gai Jatra, the monsoon-time ‘cow festival’ – an entire week of music, dance and drama. Its traditions have proven increasingly ﬂexible, admitting modern adaptations and innovations. For example, the ‘stick dance’ (originally intended to lead the souls of the departed to heaven) has been adopted by other groups and is now used to spread news as well as sociopolitical criticism – permitted during Gai Jatra but rarely otherwise in Nepal. Songs spread by the Gaine tailor-musician caste have long functioned as ‘living newspapers’. Over the centuries, this group has maintained the tradition of songs presenting royal genealogies, with praises of kings and epic deeds interspersed with news and commentary on current events. The rupture between ancient traditions and modern commentary need not be very sharp – a relevant episode can usually be found in the Ramayana or Mahabharata, and then tailored to suit the occasion.11 In recent years, dohori geet (or lok dohori) male/female song ‘competitions’ have gained national popularity. Scarcely a week passes without reports of dohori geet used to convey, not just ﬂirtatious love songs, but information on serious issues like forestry, conservation, HIV/AIDS and maternal health. In the AMP, dohori geet were chosen by rural Tamang communities for communicating issues of natural resource management.

Poetry: Focus on Pakistan Effective communication uses language – but language need not involve literacy. Poetry as an art form predates literacy: as a means of recording oral history, storytelling (epic poetry), genealogy (especially the lineages of kings and nobility), law and other forms of expression or knowledge that modern societies generally handle in prose. Poetry is also often closely identiﬁed with religion and liturgy, as the formal nature of poetry, with repetition, rhyme and other devices, aids the memorization of sacred incantations, precepts and prophecies. This love of poetry as a form of expression, combined with the ﬂexibility that has emerged from historical developments, has given poetry a special place in recent 328 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 environmental and other communication efforts in Pakistan. This became evident in the work of the AMP in Chitral, northwestern Pakistan, where poetry was chosen as a natural vehicle for expression.

Theory and Methodology

Background The AMP was intended as a pilot project focused on investigating ways of motivating, informing and activating isolated rural communities, rather than on research and the production of scientific data through carefully quantified case studies. When the authors joined the team, the third and final phase of the project had already started. The final assessment had to be based largely on the data collected by the partner organizations (see next section). However, they themselves had not been provided with clear instructions on this point when they started. So, in preparing the final assessment and report, we drew on the various interviews, observations, evaluation workshops, statistics and basic surveys conducted by the partners, adding our suggestions for the ‘final stretch’ of the three-year project. A more consistent and elaborate methodology might have delivered a statistically more valid outcome, but it should also be noted that the pilot character of the setting was a challenge in itself: working with capability-poor people in rural areas, and seeking to identify appropriate traditional, non-technical forms of communication. Here we should speak of testing a number of assumptions, rather than achieving conclusive results. Tables 1 to 3 provide a general overview of the project, its activities and com- ponents. Table 4 gives an indication of the diversity found, even within one project area. Boxes 1 and 2 provide examples of alternative media presentations developed by the villagers themselves.

Choice of Partners and Project Sites With four participating countries, the AMP sought variety in the project sites where the alternative media approach was to be tested. Among the aspects taken into consideration were distance from major markets; variety in farming techniques and produce, in water resources and in ways of generating additional income; the impact of modern life in nearby cities; cultural diversity; and the availability of potential partner NGOs working on communication and/or issues related to natural resource management (NRM). In Bangladesh, the NGO partner was the Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA),12 whose development activities are implemented through various modes of cultural intervention. Four hamlets in the remote Chittagong Hill Tracts were selected as project sites (see Table 4). In Nepal, the main partner was Spiny Babbler,13 an organization with an exten- sive network in the fields of literature, the performing arts and visual arts. For work with the AMP, the focus was on the Newar village of Thaiba, located near the Kathmandu markets but still a predominantly rural settlement. HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 329 assess – AKRSP Continued over – Chitral, Partners Area Rationale: isolated conditions at high elevations. SB has Pasti villages. – SB – Thaiba, and DCCN Partner Area Rationale: to assess long experience in – ML – Nagaland: Area Partner Rationale: assess – BITA – Chittagong Area Partner Rationale: – Close to suitability of of the potential role working with 3 ethnic Hills: Bandarban Mopungchuk and Kathmandu Valley. Area: ICIMOD AMP Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Informal partner Rationale: through schools.through influences. admitted. Difficult, market, variety in livelihood/produce,farming techniques, villages in Tamang water resources, Kathmandu Valley. District. villages. Twensang NWFP: Prayeet and additional income generation methods, city markets, but nearbyimpact from (if any),urban areas no modern puppetry andcultural variety, or infrastructure availability of NGOs communicate and religion culture with experience in logging in area. informal drama to development. Heavy cultural and media technically complexcommunication NGOs already in NRM-related communication suitability of information in aand/or NRM-related issues, and the issues. communications, working in issues, and had an in Thaiba village. is Area required. multiethnic, established presence situation. traditional media for development Originally an communication in a multilanguage city distant from institutional support religiously remote, communities. agricultural markets; Christian settlement, Thaiba is experiencing no outside where conservative area development rapid urbanization agencies had been and rationale basis of distance to ETC ActivitiesSelection criteria Inputs Sites chosen on the Outputs Selection of Partners, Project Sites, NRM Issue Areas and Media Forms Sites, NRM Issue Areas Selection of Partners, Project TABLE 1 TABLE 330 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 wildlife/biodiversity. conducted by SB following community Issues to be in the addressed AMP chosen by in the addressed Issues to be AMP chosen by consultation with sites DCCN at project Thaiba villagers Issues chosen in to identify problem Survey conducted by : Issues listing and voting listing by various surveys. through issues. ICIMOD AMP Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan In villages chosen directly by ICIMOD team to pilot the project low agricultural pasture-production, plants/valuable land management, and medicinal reforestation. species. products. economies of forest pasture- production, land management, of protection communication mechanisms (singleor in combination). volunteers. discussions. the process and the process criteria for choosingan NRM issue for the selected by listing and voting among pilot project. among villagers. village development villagers. groups. Activities ofProcess Inputs Initial workshop Outputs ofProcess choosingmedium/media to Partners were traditional choose suitable Selected by villagers Selected by voting in workshop Selected by various Selected on the discussions. Determined by among villagers. village development basis of village-level villager elders and groups. survey questionnaire leaders, religious Main NRM issues identified shifting cultivation, Drinking water, river water system and market Shifting cultivation, Shifting cultivation and Deforestation drinking water. Drinking water, low agricultural identifying NRMissues held with all AMP partners to establish Continued TABLE 1 TABLE HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 331 CHT: and drama, Seerat conference. Resource Management; Resource HKH: Hindu-Kush Himalaya; ICIMOD AMP Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan and folk songs. puppetry/animation. poetry symposium AKRSP: Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (Pakistan); AMP: Alternative Media Project; BITA: Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts; Bangladesh Institute of Theatre (Pakistan); AMP: Alternative BITA: AKRSP: Aga Khan Rural Support Programme Media Project; Based on matrix compiled at ICIMOD by AMP project manager Sanjay Madnani with Anupa Lamichhane. Based on matrix compiled at ICIMOD by AMP project ActivitiesMedium/media Inputschosen Outputs Source: Abbreviations: plays, Drama/street Puppetry and street (Pakistan); SB: Spiny Babbler (Nepal). Province Frontier NWFP: North West Songs, street object animation drama and Street drama. Mass gatherings: drama and object puppetry. polo tournament, Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh); DCCN: District Coordination Council Network (Pakistan); ETC: Educate the Children (Nepal); Council Network (Pakistan); ETC: Educate the Children (Bangladesh); DCCN: District Coordination Chittagong Hill Tracts ICIMOD: International for Integrated Mountain Development (Kathmandu-based); ML: The Missing Link (India); NRM: Natural Centre Continued TABLE 1 TABLE 332 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 Pakistan Nepal Findings discussed/worked upon further and conveyed to partners. India Bangladesh play and object animation skills were Street training. passed on to the partners through Findings discussed/worked upon further and through conveyed to partners and grassroots workshops. Puppet show and drama making skills were passed on to the partner teams, who then developed Puppet show and drama making skills were at follow-up workshops. their own sample prototypes Play performed in Kathmandu for ICIMOD and local people, and presented in video form along with to the partners the process at on-site workshops. Outputs ICIMOD Play performed for the the ICIMOD community, local INGO/NGO community and AMP partners attending the 2nd workshop. The preparatory was explained, and process a two-day workshop was held with partners. drama cum To illustrate the variety of To possible AM forms, another was made: prototype play ’BeeCause’, a street w/object animation. Twelve new volunteers worked manager on space w/project design, object symbology, composition and acting. into Nepali. Translated show on step farming: ‘Step volunteers along By Step’. Ten manager with the project worked on this for three into Nepali. months. Translated Inputs demonstrate to partners To what was meant by alternative/indigenous media, the ICIMOD team made a shadow puppet on In-depth research elements, storytelling (reasons, and importance/ effectiveness) translation of stories into visual media was done and incorporated into on-site workshops. cum Use of Alternative/Traditional Media Use of Alternative/Traditional Activities Prototype shadow puppet drama show developed at ICIMOD Prototype drama street w/object animation developed at ICIMOD Storytelling TABLE 2 TABLE HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 333 Continued over Pakistan Outputs shared, discussed and established Outputs shared, during workshops. conducted by the and meetings were Trainings people at the project DCCN/Pakistan project sites of Prayeet and Pasti village. The outcomes observed by to the AMP were and responses the ICIMOD team on their visit. Nepal India Bangladesh Outputs shared, discussed and established Outputs shared, during on-site workshops with grassroots. trained in each country representatives Two team. observed. village community and responses to the broader presented were The prototypes ICIMOD Outputs 1st Alternative Media workshop at Godavari near Kathmandu: training in puppet making, puppetry and performing arts. sessions in partner Training countries at pilot sites manager conducted by project representatives with grassroots and volunteers. In-depth discussions on NRM and popular/ livelihood problems, on indigenous media. Voting most urgent NRM issues; sessions on storytelling, acting, performing, puppetry, object animation, visual Stories written representation. developed. and prototypes Inputs on advantages and Research impacts of visual communications, conducted with and shared/discussed during partners and grassroots on-site workshops. Continued Activities Visual communication Training partner representatives at ICIMOD On-site grassroots training TABLE 2 TABLE 334 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 Pakistan Mass gathering held, fostering a cultural in the area. revival Four prototypes developed. Stage shows and tableaux by pupils; poetry symposia; traditional and modern sports events; demonstration of Bio Sand filter for water purification. workshop on Training participatory project Planning organized by Monitoring AKRSP’s and Evaluation section. Nepal play for ‘My Street sub-activity, Tree’ developed by SB and volunteers, presented at Thaiba. India drama street Three developed prototypes Nagaland by three villages: on beekeeping, on orange cultivation and on cooperative marketing of forest products. Two prototypes Two developed by local people and presented in a village setting. One puppet show on shifting cultivation developed with the help of an expert at a 12-day training workshop. A street play on protecting medicinal/valuable plants also developed. Bangladesh took up puppetry BITA to enable communication of technically complex issues. A 10-day workshop with a Indian renowned puppeteer was held. song event on Outputs ICIMOD developed prototypes Two with villagers from Chapakharka and Tribeni. With the help of ICIMOD team and ETC, the villages a collectively presented dohori geet and a problems road-related play on drinking street water. Inputs Source and abbreviations: see Table 1. see Table and abbreviations: Source Continued Activities Prototypes developed by partners Enhancement of existing skills TABLE 2 TABLE HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 335 Pakistan DCCN trained villagers of Prayeet and Pasti on site, explaining the concept of the AMP. Respected village elders also mobilized and trained viillagers. Villager elders/religious leaders discussed with community and then took decisions. people Villagers, project all designed the project; were prototypes in connection presented with cultural events and festivities. Nepal Local people were to plan, empowered test, fine-tune, and deliver alternative media packages; their efforts integrated with were indigenous performances such as traditional music, dance, and theatre. Village-level survey undertaken by SB. designed by Prototypes volunteers assisted by SB. Issues to be addressed in the AMP chosen by listing by village development groups. India Bangladesh Issues to be addressed in the AMP chosen by listing and voting among villagers. making was designed such that in the end, ototype ICIMOD listed by Issues were villagers, discussed, and chosen correlated voting. by them through Outputs of pr The process This made the grassroots workshop facilitator could withdraw completely. and involved, enhanced the sense of ownership. responsible more of Villagers came up with unique styles in storytelling, symbology and mixture media. Inputs sessions at pilot Training sites in partner countries manager held by project of w/representatives and grassroots volunteers. Workshops discussed NRM and at livelihood problems length. Villagers were encouraged to take decisions themselves. At all workshops, inputs (on various provided were media, visual/oral communications, acting, puppet-making, space design and storytelling), and the villagers then designed their own prototypes. Focus on participation in environmental decision-making and environmental management decision-making and environmental Focus on participation in environmental Activities design Prototype Training on site Training Selection of NRM issues TABLE 3 TABLE 336 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4

TABLE 4 Diversity within One Area: AMP Sites in Bandarban District, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

Dalupara Kyamolong Faruk Para Uji Para

Population: HHs/individuals 275/1650 163/964 94/461 114/NA

Ethnic groups, Bengali (Muslim); Mainly Marma Boum (Christian) Marma,Tanchanya religions Chakma, Kheyong, (Buddhist); some (Buddhist); Bengali Marma (Buddhist) Kheyong (Buddhist) (Hindu) and Bengali (Muslim)

Main Shifting cultivation, Farming (rice, Wage labour Shifting cultivation livelihoods wage labour, foothill vegetables),shifting (agriculture, cultivation cultivation construction)

Other sources Poultry, livestock, Weaving (hand- Pigs, chickens, Wage labour, of income small shopkeeping loomed blankets some handicrafts including fetching and bedsheets) bamboo and fuelwood

Educational 2 public primary 1 public primary 1 public primary – institutions schools, 1 private school, 2 non-formal school, 1 non- high school, 4 schools formal school non-formal schools

Source: AMP project reports from BITA.

For India, the choice fell on The Missing Link, Society for Environment and Com- munication (TML).14 The work of TML has focused on northeast India, an area rich in biodiversity and a unique blend of peoples, cultures and traditions. Unlike the Kathmandu Valley sites, the selected villages in India’s Nagaland are located in an isolated region hitherto ignored by the central authorities, where the villagers are predominantly Christian. The project also wanted to see what inﬂuence local culture and religion could have on NRM-related issues and the communication required. Here the remote district of Chitral in northwestern Pakistan presented itself as a suitable area for pilot work. The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme15 is a donor-funded integrated rural development project with over two decades of experience in northern Pakistan. Working through the District Coordination Council of NGOs in Chitral, it implemented the AMP in a socially isolated area where villagers had never allowed outside development organizations to intervene because they were perceived as a potential threat to the people’s deeply-held Islamic values. By contrast to the villages of Chitral, in some Tamang ethnic communities in the hills near Godavari in the Kathmandu Valley the situation was characterized by an absence of active religious/social institutions. When the ICIMOD team wanted to carry out an additional check on the replicability and appropriateness of its approach, it turned instead to the schools to channel alternative media work, with the help of the NGO Educate the Children.16 HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 337

Variety in geographical/climatic factors was also a relevant consideration. The farmers of Chitral must earn a living under difﬁcult conditions at high elevations, cut off from the outside world for much of the year – in sharp contrast to the villagers of Bandarban in the lower-lying Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

AMP: Activities and Assessment

Bangladesh, Chittagong Hill Tracts A needs assessment study was conducted to identify the major information needs regarding NRM; assess existing organizational extension media arrangements, the nature and level of availability of such information; and explore ways of acquiring and spreading information for better NRM in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Puppetry was ranked ﬁrst by the villagers as being best suited for communicating in this area where several different languages are spoken. Throughout the project, workshops were held with local participants, BITA and AMP staff on product development and dissemination process, media and skill development and materials development (puppetry manipulation and scriptwriting). Seven puppet shows were presented, addressing two important local issues – shifting cultivation and herbal medicine (see Box 1) – through two types of puppet media (street puppet and stick/hand puppet). High government ofﬁcials, representatives from various government departments, public representatives, representatives of local administration, NGO activists, journalists and media persons, teachers, religious leaders and members of the local community attended. After the presentations, audience views and opinions were collected through group discussion and interaction between performers and members of the audience. Interviews and interactions were held at the community level, three or four days after the puppet shows.

BOX 1 Puppet drama: Workshop experience from Bandarban, Bangaladesh

A three-day Prototype Development Workshop arranged by BITA gathered 17 participants – village headmen, farmers and local cultural performers. They concluded the workshop by preparing a puppet drama on the self-chosen topic of medicinal plants. Here is an outline of the rationale, and the storyline.

Unplanned deforestation may not only affect fruit or timber trees but also medicinal shrubs and trees. Two villagers, Kabiraz and Baidha, ﬁnd themselves unable to make herbal medicines and express their grief when they cannot treat the local children. A community meeting is held where inﬂuential persons, Kabiraz, Baidha and parents are present. At this meeting it is decided to set aside separate cultivation areas for medicinal trees, under community responsibility and care. The community implements this plan, and after 10 years they can see that all the hills and gardens are covered with green plants of medicinal value. Their community strategy has been effective!

Source: BITA/ AMP report, March 2005. 338 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4

Assessment The local community welcomed the process as an effective form of expression that could take up issues relevant to their lives. Several other NGOs have since expressed an interest in working with alternative media and have sought BITA’s assistance. There were several lessons learnt from this case study. Mountain people need information to remove their disadvantages, and alternative visual presentation using indigenous cultural media is an effective form of communication. Presentations based on visual forms can be more focused than narrative form. This process can play a positive role in motivating individuals and communities because of its effectiveness of communication. Puppetry can be especially well suited in a multilingual setting.

Nagaland, India The Nagaland case study was implemented in three villages in the districts of Mokokchung and Tuensang, where TML had previous experience. Three inception workshops were held with partners and local communities, where roles and respon- sibilities were assigned by the communities themselves. This ensured a highly participatory nature from the outset, with clarity of roles, transparency and great enthusiasm. Through participatory development communication methodologies and other strategies, the partner organizations together with TML fieldworkers under- took a series of field-based surveys and needs assessments. Capacity-building workshops were organized in each district. The wide range of topics suggested by the villagers was eventually narrowed down to three: bee-keeping, collaborative marketing (see Box 2) and soil management. Further two-day workshops were held in each village, on development communication, theories of change, material development, storyboard and scriptwriting, body language and communication strategy. In all, more than 70 individuals were trained. Each village team came up with its own strategies and an implementation and management plan. Storyboards were developed, scripts written and then circu- lated for comments and suggestions. The final output involved the use of drama, with announcers (like the traditional village crier) and folk/traditional songs. All plays were performed in the typical street theatre style, without any stage and with a minimum of props. The drama team would go to a predetermined spot and start engaging the public through song and dance. The churches were also used to inform people of the event. All plays were performed by ordinary villagers, in the local dialect with local accents and local words, examples and situations. ‘Announcers’ engaged the audience in active dialogue with actors in order to give suggestions or other comments. The props used were all locally available materials. The plays were flexible, quickly adapting to comments and feedback from the audience. Since the issues dealt with were locally relevant, the audience could easily identify with everything that was happening. Feedback from community members was very encouraging; some women’s groups have already started initiating such events on their own. HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 339

BOX 2 A Street Play: Workshop Experience from Nagaland, India

Sixteen participants from three project villages attended the Prototype Development Workshop arranged for the project in Nagaland. The participants from Mopungchuket village chose Saturday evening to present their street play, as everyone would be home that evening. The church had already announced that all villagers should assemble for the presentation, which explained the massive turnout. Live popular music was played to give villagers time to gather and become attentive. Then followed the street play, with the following storyline:

Two women, returning from their fields, talk about selling their extra vegetables the next day. Woman A gives her goods to the wholesaler, whereas woman B wants to sell her goods herself, expecting to earn more. There follows a very humorous sequence of woman B and the wholesaler leaving for the town the next day. The play is well supplied with details of the problems that woman B experiences. Both reach the market. The wholesaler finishes selling his goods quickly, as he is trained to be a seller. Woman B, with no experience or expertise in sales, has many problems, and keeps asking the wholesaler to help her out. At the end of the day, she still has a lot of unsold produce, which she is forced to give away as the goods will be rotten the next day. She returns home, tired and depressed. When she happens to meet the wholesaler and woman A, the wholesaler explains how is it profitable to sell goods on a collaborative marketing basis, since villagers don’t have the marketing skills, and they also lose a day of labour if they go to the town and try to sell their goods themselves.

The villagers were highly entertained by the humour and details of the play. When we asked ‘who is convinced about selling your goods through collaborative marketing?’ at least 80 percent of the audience raised their hands.

Source: Nagaland/AMP report, February 2005.

This was a process that infused traditional communication media with main social development principles like community-level participation, but integrated people’s cultures, needs, problems, perceptions – in planning and developing communication strategies with regard to information required by them. Entertainment was woven into the way the information was developed and driven.

Assessment An elder from Mopungchuket village remarked, ‘Finally someone has come to listen to us even before they open their mouths!’ For most members of the community, this was the ﬁrst time they had been appreciated for what they are. Their active role in decision-making, planning and implementation was an empowering process that boosted the morale of all stakeholders as a community. Villagers now feel that they can help each other to learn through such techniques, which are cost-effective, easy to produce – and readily understood and appreciated by all. 340 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4

Kathmandu Valley, Nepal The Newari village of Thaiba is typical of the Kathmandu Valley villages that have been attracting new settlers in recent years – still rural, but urbanizing. The Thaiba community expressed interest in focusing on the following resource issues: agroforestry, kitchen gardening, livestock, cloth production and mushroom farming. In 10 years, 3000 of the 6700 trees in Thaiba had disappeared because of deforestation and lack of local awareness on biodiversity conservation issues, so agroforestry was chosen as especially suited for the AMP case study. As in the other three project countries, a series of meetings, needs assessment studies, training sessions and workshops were arranged. Locally prepared packages using puppetry and theatre presentations, local dances, musical performances, posters and artwork were presented, tested, reviewed and reworked. Plays/theatre presentations ranked highest as an alternative media form, followed by artwork and posters. A community festival was organized to generate awareness on agroforestry issues, through plays, local dances, poetry recitals, puppetry presentations, art exhibitions and displays, followed up through further visits and meetings. In the ‘My Tree’ subactivity, members of the community planted some 3000 saplings, with assistance from a forestry expert.

Assessment All survey respondents felt that such media were effective for information dissemination and wanted the project to continue. Although rural communities in Nepal have long traditions of using alternative tools, the experience from Thaiba has shown that they require help to integrate the tools and prepare them as packages. Local people became empowered to plan, develop, test, ﬁne-tune,and deliver alternative media packages using traditional music, dance and theatre. This stimulated pro- active interventions and direct action within the community, and brought about quantiﬁable outputs (tree-planting). Multimedia approaches were found to attract a wider variety of people. Contact was established with local schools, making project activities accessible to young people. Also in this case study it was agreed that including humorous elements in a play or puppetry show can entertain and educate an audience at the same time; further, that skill development activities help the members of local communities to gain a sense of learning and not just being entertained. The Spiny Babbler team also pointed out that community-level monitoring needs to be regular and of consistent quality, and that programme goals must be clearly explained. The project prototype from Thaiba is being enhanced and duplicated in other localities, notably the Taudaha wetlands south of Kathmandu.

Chitral, Pakistan In the remote Chitral district of northwestern Pakistan, the project was piloted in two villages situated 40 and 60 km north of Chitral town. First, a needs assessment exercise was conducted, to identify local community priorities as to the kind of HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 341 information needed and appropriate traditional media for information dissemination. The required information was then collected from various development organizations in Chitral and elsewhere in Pakistan. Alternative media products were developed, tested and used to disseminate information to the local communities. Among the preferred media sources indicated by members of the community were speeches by imams in the mosques; traditional sports events; poetry symposia; school dramas and tableaux; pamphlets, posters and speeches; and announcements at the two main Muslim festivals (Eids). Specific problems mentioned were drinking water, irrigation water, forests, agriculture, pastures, livestock and poultry, flood control and soil erosion and wildlife. As poetry has a special role as a medium of expression in Pakistan, the project organized a poetry symposium on the theme ‘If awareness is created among the unaware’, where local poets focused on issues like causes of forest degradation, clean drinking water, collectivism, agricultural diversification, fruit and vegetable preservation, apiculture and plantation. Other vehicles used were Seerat conferences (speeches by religious leaders in local mosques), polo tournaments and stage drama. In connection with these gatherings, a prominent village elder demonstrated a new, low-cost bio-sand filter technology, as drinking water had been identified as a priority issue.

Assessment The AMP provided an innovative approach relevant for development organizations seeking to initiate development activities among socially rigid and traditional communities like those of Chitral. Such an approach could be adopted by any development organization for effective and culturally sensitive communication with traditional communities.

Analysis and Discussion of Project Findings

Traditional Media, Modern Messages Indigenous (folk, alternative) media represent a communication system deeply rooted in local cultures, established long before the arrival of modern technology and mass media. Age-old wisdom, moral teachings, religious and communal traditions have been passed on from generation to generation, not as dry ‘learning’ but cleverly packaged and delivered by what it has now become fashionable to call the entertainment–education method. It is scarcely surprising that such traditional media should prove well suited for conveying modern-day messages. From the street drama of Bangladesh, to the puppet theatre of India, the poetry competitions of Pakistan or the dohori geet songs of Nepal, important information on health, resource management and conservation, gender and other major societal issues is being spread to people in even the most remote areas. The villagers may be unable to read or write; frequently there is neither electricity, radio or television, nor other technologically dependent means 342 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 of mass communication. But wherever people come together, messages can be spread as they always have – through traditional media. Moreover, one ﬁnds there a highly concentrated audience willing to learn as well as be entertained. By contrast, mass media like radio and television are often used merely as secondary accessories to socializing or passing the time.

Meaningful Communication: Cultural Sensitivity and Participatory Approaches For those seeking to reach these scattered rural audiences, it is very much a question of cultural awareness and sensitivity, a two-way process involving both sides. The issues that are most important to the people of isolated mountain communities may not necessarily top the priority lists of prestigious donor agencies. Moreover, development experts trained in the use of print media and computer technology may not feel comfortable without their panoply of papers and gadgets – surely puppets and songs are beneath their dignity? Communication constitutes an indispensable element of participatory approaches. Bottom-up approaches involving participation and empowerment provide access to resources and local control of development process, thereby also giving people a voice in their own development. Participation as a process through which the local stakeholders inﬂuence and share control over development initiatives requires that they are aware of their power, that they have to take ownership (Huesca, 2002). Participation understood in this way presupposes collaborative decision-making throughout the entire project cycle, including planning and evaluation. Communication is the underlying network, an invisible layer of information and feedback. Development support communication can be seen as a horizontal knowledge-sharing process among all participants, organized endogenously on the grassroots or local level by utilizing modest media. All indigenous forms of communication, as well as more advanced technologies, can work to create a climate of understanding and a creative working situation.

Guideline Questions, and Some Answers Early in the AMP, a series of questions were formulated in order to steer the implementation and research process. With the pilot project completed, these preliminary conclusions can now be offered:

Are Traditional/Alternative Media Successful in the Information Dissemination Process In Rural Communities? There are ample examples of good practices from various developing regions of the world, the HKH in particular, to show that this is indeed the case. Crucial is the full involvement of local organizations in all endeavours. As modern mass media are almost non-existent in peripheral regions, the use of locally available forms of communication is a prerequisite for all development activities. Visual presentations HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 343 are especially well suited in a multilingual setting because they can involve the audience emotionally and in a direct way.

What Can be Considered as ‘Impact’ in this Project? As the AMP was conceived as a pilot project, the long-term impact is impossible to measure. There has clearly been a great amount of social mobilization in all four regions. In every village in the study, the project attracted considerable attention. By creating an alert audience, the groundwork for further participatory development activities has been laid and avenues prepared for village development. And, as noted in the case of Chitral, the involvement of religious institutions proved very positive for communicating issues to the local villagers.

Can ‘Serious’ Messages Reach the Audience At All? People want to get their problems solved. By instrumentalizing traditional media, important issues can be introduced and disseminated to a community. In this particular project, the production of media formats was not a goal in itself, but formed part of a speciﬁc communication strategy intended to promote development. We saw how traditional media like puppet presentations are accepted as both entertainment and education by the local people, who say that these have helped them to realize how natural resources can be protected through collective efforts.

Is the Entertainment Format Obligatory? Perhaps not obligatory, but it does make it easier to engage the audience. Multi- media approaches that combine music, drama and artwork attract a wider variety of people and can foster community participation at the highest level. Including humorous elements in a play or puppetry show entertains and educates the audience at the same time. Skill-development activities such as training sessions, talk programmes or sharing sessions help members of local communities to gain a sense of learning and not only being entertained.

Is There any Visible Effect of Sensitizing the Audience as far as Biodiversity Conservation or Self-Sustaining Activities are Concerned? What Reception Patterns Can be Observed? Project goals can be reached more easily if there is social mobilization already before a project is initiated. This is especially important in the case of communities with no prior experience of participatory development. Communication that is targeted directly at the needs of villagers, that can motivate them to active involvement in media activities, can play a decisive role. In Chitral, for example, polo matches were recognized as a popular traditional way of gathering large audiences, as were Seerat religious conferences; and the need for clean drinking water had been identiﬁed by the villagers as a priority issue. And so, polo tournaments and Seerat conferences 344 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION GAZETTE VOL. 71 NO. 4 were arranged, bringing together people from a wide area. Once gathered, they were more than ready to receive the message – transmitted by a highly respected member of the community – about a low-cost technology that could provide them with potable water.

What is the Process of Building Awareness of the Use of Alternative Media in Diverse Environments, and What are the Key Elements of the Process? In our case studies, learning processes were introduced through often-humorous forms of drama, puppetry, song and poetry. Addressing a problem is only a ﬁrst step towards solving it. But the AMP has shown that modest media have considerable suggestive power: they are very popular, they can reach their audiences and thus have a great potential for serving social goals.

Concluding Remarks Over the centuries the mountains of the Himalaya-Hindu Kush have served as a source of spiritual inspiration. Men and women feel a deep sense of reverence towards Nature and all creation. In these ancient landscapes, a basic understanding of the natural order as something sacred underlies the laws of the human world (Luger and Höivik, 2004). Concepts like ‘biodiversity conservation’ or ‘forest protection’ are alien, western approaches – not least because of their underlying assumption that humankind and the natural environment are separate entities. The Himalayan natural world was never considered as an object placed at the disposal of human beings: ‘The world is a part of the totality; thus every action has consequences that affect the whole’ (Diemberger, 2002: 108). And herein lies a vital lesson for development efforts: concepts like biodiversity conservation and natural resource management need to be rethought, and com- municated in a culturally appropriate way, if they are to become understandable and acceptable to the people living in mountain remote communities. As technology-dependent media like newspapers and television are frequently non-existent in remote areas, modest, low-tech media like storytelling, puppetry, song, poetry and local radio can be viable alternatives for communicating new ideas. Particularly among non-literate groups in remote settings, indigenous media have a special place, as they require little technology and can create considerable emotional involvement among the audience. As these communities are high-context cultures in which collectivism is valued, media forms that can be employed by and involve members of the community are especially relevant. After three years of collaborative project work involving hundreds of actors, we can deﬁnitely conclude that alternative or indigenous media can be important in promoting environmental protection work – as a cross-cutting theme for the activities of development organizations, rather than a goal in itself. Through various forms of traditional media high in visual content and with a local appeal, information on natural resource management issues has been successfully conveyed to isolated rural communities where literacy levels are low and modern mass media lacking. Such HÖIVIK AND LUGER: FOLK MEDIA FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 345 media have proven themselves ﬂexible and low-cost, and capable of capturing the attention of local audiences. The experiences of the AMP should encourage further research and utilization of modest and indigenous media. Also in the age of hybrid technology and global media networks, they have their place as essential cornerstones on which a participatory development process can be built.

Notes 1. For further information on ICIMOD, see www.icimod.org. The project was funded through the Ford Foundation, India. 2. See www.unesco.org/most/bpindi.htm and www.nufﬁc.nl/ik-pages/ikww/index.html 3. See www.jhuccp.org/index.shtml 4. See www.sarvodaya.org 5. For further details, see www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/glossq-r.html; also www.pdg.org.pk/ Culture.htm 6. See also economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/607777.cms 7. Jatra: literally ‘going’ or ‘journey’; here, a form of folk drama combining acting, songs, music, dance, characterized by stylized delivery and exaggerated gestures and orations. It dates back at least to the 16th century AD. 8. See www.puppetryindia.org 9. Text available at: www.fsifee.u-gakugei.ac.jp/apreen/reports/2nd/2INDIA.html 10. See, e.g., www.grovemusic.com 11. On the Gaine, see Weisethaunet (1998, 2000a, 2000b); also Newar (2004). 12. See www.cil-bangladesh.com/bita.htm 13. See www.spinybabbler.org 14. See www.tmlindia.org 15. See www.akdn.org/agency/akf.html 16. See www.etc-nepal.org

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