Field letter of internship at Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative by Chisato Maeda, Wageningen University
- Vol.2 – 22 May 2011
Go Organic @Bhutan
On 9th April 2011, I arrived at Bhutan after the
three weeks stay in India. Passing through the
border gate from Assam to Samdrup Jongkhar,
suddenly different wind blew. The air is clean, and
the ever-green forests eased my eyes. No dust,
no noise of cars and construction. All I could hear
were the voice of birds and winds. I settled down
the cozy town of Dewathang, one hour journey
from the border by car.
INTRODUCTION TO SAMDRUP
JONGKHAR DISTRICT, BHUTAN
Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhag (district) is an
eastern gateway to Bhutan, bordering to Assam,
India. There are 11 Gewogs (block) under the
district, and each Gewog consists of 5-10
Chiwogs (village). It lies in the sub-tropical belt,
with average temperature 35 and annual
rainfall 5,300mm. 71% of the district is covered
with forest, with elevations ranging from 600m
-1,200m.
11 Gewogs in Samdrup Jongkhar
Vol.2
Dependency on imported food from
India
In spite of the
image that Bhutan
is a closed country,
large parts of
commodity and
food consumption
are dependent on
India. 35.3% of
households in
Samdrup Jongkhar Vegetable shop in Dewathang market
(SJ) can produce enough grains for their own
consumption. 51% of rice, which is a staple food
in Bhutan, 50% of pulses, and 75% of edible oil
are imported mainly from India. It is hard to find
local vegetables in the market of Dewathang.
Why is this? Most of farmers answered that
because their lands are too small and wild
animals such as wild boars or elephants destroy
their farms, they cannot produce enough food.
Local vegetables are available in the market only
when they can produce more than they consume.
Soil erosion exacerbates this situation. Farmers
are aware of importance of top soil, saying “most
of the fertile soil is flown into India. We gift our
happiness to them”.
Bhutanese government set a goal to achieve food
self-sufficiency by 2015. To achieve this goal, rice
production should be doubled. A journalist of
Bhutan Observer warns organic and food
self-sufficiency cannot be compatible, stating as
“the country might end up failing on both fronts”. It
is required to increase yield without using
chemical fertilizers to achieve two goals.
Agriculture and Livestock in Samdrup
Jongkhar
Agriculture is an important living source. 79% of
populations live in rural area dependent on
agriculture as their livelihood. 18 % of the land is
used for agriculture in SJ. Maze is a major crop,
accounting for 37% of crop area, followed by rice
with 28% (Fig1). Fruits such as areca nuts and
citrus are the main cash crops in the district. They
produce maze for domestic use. 50% of maze is
fed for their livestock and 50% are used for
making Khalang (mixed with rice), Tenma
(smashed dry food), Ara, Banchan (local alcohol).
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Field letter of internship at Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative by Chisato Maeda, Wageningen University
- Vol.2 – 22 May 2011

DEWATHANG MILK GROUP

7% rice
8% Dewathang milk group is one of the oldest farmers’
4% maze
3% 28% millet
cooperative in Bhutan, formed in 1993 with the aid
of Denmark. It collects around 400 litres of milk
bean every day from 125 members. The price of fresh
13% potato milk is Nu. 30, higher than packaged milk (Nu.18)
spice imported from India, though people prefer to buy
local one, and the demand is increasing. According
37% others
to a consumer, fresh local milk is more suitable for
cheese and Suja (butter tea) than processed one.
Fig1. Percentage of cultivated area in SJ Dzongkag
Milk Road
A livestock officer in Dewathang pointed out that One day, I joined a 3 hours journey of collecting
local breeds are usually substituted by jersey cross milk throughout the villages by milk van. The van
breed. One jersey can produce five times more milk started at 6 am, visited 5 villages. Farmers usually
than local cow. While jersey produces more milk, start milking 30 min before the collecting time to
jersey cannot jump from cliffs, and susceptible for assure its freshness and wait for the van at the
diseases. collecting points. I recorded the amount of collected
“Jersey needs more attention and good quality milk, breed of cattle and geographical information
of feed. So, I converted half of maize land into by using GPS. 60km journey ended at 9 am, and
grassland, and have to watch on cows all the geared towards the direct shop in SJ city. There
time. No time for caring about maize. Maize was a long queue in front of the milk booth, and
production is not enough now”, said a farmer in people rushed into the van even before reaching the
Dewathang. store. Milk production is not enough for increasing
consumer demand for fresh milk.
4.0% Jatsha
13.3% 0.8% Yangku
0.4% Doeb
Deothra
19.3%
59.5% Nublan
Jaba
2.7% Jersy cross
Fig2. Percentage of cattle breed in Dewathang Gewog

Organic farming
Dewathang Milk Group’s van collecting milk from farmers
Bhutanese government set a goal to shift 100% of
organic farming by 2025. Many farmers are based
on a subsistence scale with less than 1 ha, and is
considered “by default organic”. The average usage
of chemical fertilizers is 9kg/ha, which is
considerably low compared to other countries.
Chemical fertilizers became available in Bhutan in
1960s, when the government agencies directly
supplied to farmers as a part of government
strategy to improve productivity. Druk Seed
Corporation (DSC) is authorized agent to import
fertilizers. There is no domestic production of
artificial fertilizers and pesticides, though, improved
transportation enable to access easily to chemicals
throughout the country. The usage of chemical Map of Dewathang Gewog and the path of milk ban digitized by
fertilizers was more than doubled in 2007 from Arc GIS
2000.

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Field letter of internship at Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative by Chisato Maeda, Wageningen University
- Vol.2 – 22 May 2011
General assembly of Dewathang milk group is held
once a month. Around 80 members attended on 3 rd
May. If a farmer comes late, he/she has to pay
Nu.10 for penalty charge. A leading organic farmer,
Tsering Gyelpo, who joined the organic farming
training in India, presented what he learnt in India. “I
am making composting now, and will apply it
tomorrow. I would like to show you all”, said Tsering
with passion.
General meeting of Dewathang milk group
Shachop is a Tibeto-Burmal language (Himalayan
language) spoken by over 400,000 people in
eastern Bhutan. There is no written letter. Local
kids are my teachers. This is basic conversation.
Let’s practice together!
 Hello = Kuzuzampo la
 What is your name? = Nan ga ming han gila?
 Where are you going = Oga delay/dincha?
 How many boy/girl friends do you have? =
Nan ga arogaro haptur cha?
 No money, no car, no girl friend! = Tiru mala,
Gari mala, Arogaro mala!
 I like you = Jang nan ga lek la
 Really? = Gila mo?
 Can you marry me? = Nan ga nyen takpe mo?
WHAT IS YOUR HAPPINESS?
One day, when I was looking for a school teacher in
a royal university in Dewathang, he was attending
the English speech contest as a judge. At the time I
entered the hall, the contest was almost over. While
waiting for the result of judgment, a narrator asked
some volunteers to make speech. Two boys made
speech, but the result was still not yet ready. The
narrator recruited girl’s volunteer. Suddenly, the
teacher told me to make a speech. I happened to
make speech, titled “The cultural difference
between Japan and Bhutan in related to GNH”.
Food
The first difference I noticed between Japan and
Bhutan was the size of belly. Bhutanese eat a lot.
Especially, they eat rice a lot, but fewer vegetables.
It is common that we also eat rice three times a day,
though, Japanese cuisine is opposite. We eat
vegetables a lot and less rice. When I look for a
lunch box to buy, there are only big size boxes.
When I asked to have a smaller size, a shop owner
said with smile that this is for one person, which was
for at least 3 persons to me. That is why Bhutanese
belly become so big! Size of belly is an indicator of
GNH. The bigger belly, the happier the person is. I
should eat more to increase my GNH.
Time consciousness
Bhutanese consider the time for relax without doing
anything as a happy day. At the time I arrived at
Bhutan, I had to wait for permission to visit villages
for three weeks. I was frustrated that I could not do
my research work. One of my Bhutanese friend said,
“What are you worrying about? I know Japanese
are busy people, but this is good opportunity for you
to take your time. We can watch movies together, if
you do not have work to do”. I call this type of
person, “GNH gay”. I consider the time of just
relaxing as spoiling time. It is difficult for me to
change my mind, but I learned a secret of enjoying
life.
Social bond
Bhutanese like “social gathering”. When I asked the
source of happiness, many people answered family
and social relationship. Farmers work together for
weeding, land preparation, harvesting in turn within
a community. This is called exchange labour. After
the work, they eat together and drink Ara, Banchan
(local wine) together. They looked very happy. After
my visit to village, I am often encountered to see
many people were drinking together with my
Bhutanese roommate. In Japan, we do not have so
much time to spend with friends or with family. I
would like to bring this good culture back to Japan.
Lastly, I would not mind if some of you can visit me
with Ara, Banchan. Thank you!
To be continued…
After the speech contest, I became a bit famous
foreigner in Dewathang. Unknown people offer me Ara,
Banchan, luckily :P
Contact: Chisato Maeda
MSc Organic Agriculture Wageningen University
m_chisato726@hotmail.com/ chisato.maeda@wur.nl