Mountain Peoples

Mountain peoples have learned to live in steep, isolated, and sometimes dangerous landscapes. They speak many different languages, and follow many different traditions.

Terraces in the Andes mountains (photo by Jake Kosek)

Growing food Mountain farmers have to work hard. Their fields are often small and steep, and the soil is thin. To keep the soil from washing away, many farmers build terraces, or step-like fields, that hug the mountainside. This is a huge job, but it allows people to farm year after year on sloping land.

Many mountain farmers keep animals that can graze the slopes where it is too steep to farm. Yaks, sheep, goats, and llamas can survive the cold weather and provide food and wool to farmers and manure for their crops.

Milking a yak on the Tibetan plateau (photo by The Mountain Institute)

Llamas on the trail in Peru (photo by The Mountain Institute)

Going places Zigzagging roads and railways bring people in and out of the mountains. Tunnels go through steep mountains, and cableways can transport people and goods up a steep slope. Where the roads end, trails are the only way to travel. Yaks and llamas are a great way to move goods along trails, but people have to walk!

Changing lives Despite the hardships of life in the mountains, most mountain people love their beautiful land. Many young people leave their homes to find better jobs, but the mountains are still in their hearts. Today, some young people are finding jobs nearby as mountain guides or shopkeepers, helping tourists enjoy their scenic mountain homes. Global markets, television and the Internet are changing the way that mountain peoples interact with the world. What challenges do you think families might face as they change their traditional way of life?

Life is changing rapidly for these Quechua children in Peru (photo by Elizabeth Byers)

Would you like to meet teenagers from Bhutan, or see a dance performance from New Zealand?

Try these links:

Lekima Dorji and Raj Kumar answer the question: "If you could send a message to students all over the world, what would you say?" Watch videos filmed by high school students from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan (Quicktime movies from Just Think Foundation, http://www.justthink.org/bhutan/).

Moari Action Songs, New Zealand
Watch as the Waiata A Ringa is performed by Te Wakahuia at the Aotearoa Traditional Maori Performing Arts Festival (mpeg video by Waiata Maori).

Find more great learning resources by searching our on-line guide. Or, click on the keyword to do an automatic search for mountain learning resources related to anthropology , archaeology , biography , community/family life , culture , economics , farming , gender , health , history , human rights , indigenous knowledge , language , poverty , sustainable development , or transportation.