Books/brochures

Sheep husbandry and ethnoveterinary knowledge of Raika sheep pastoralists in Rajasthan, India

This thesis describes the sheep husbandry and healthcare system of the Raikas in south-central Rajasthan. Aspects such as sheep breed diversity, fodder availability, disease prevalence and gender labor division are discussed. Special attention has been paid to traditional and conventional interventions and actors in sheep healthcare. Ethnoveterinary knowledge and practices are described as well as weak and strong points of both conventional and traditional institutions and actors.

Indigenous institutions for managing livestock genetic diversity in Rajasthan (India)

Nagauri cattle, Tharparkar cattle and the dromedary are examples of threatened species in Rajasthan, India. The Raika (a traditional camel-raising group) and other livestock keepers have extensive indigenous knowledge and practices that they have used to create and maintain these and other breeds. These practices are mostly invisible to outsiders. Government attempts to upgrade teh livestock have focused on crossbreeding and have been unsuccessful. It is precisely the reluctance of the Raika and other breeders to give up the old waysthat has conserved what is left of Rajasthan’s indigenous animal genetic resources.