Dear community,
In 2008-2009 I discussed with adivasis in Chhattisgarh and Orissa
(India) about shifting cultuivation and elephants coming from northeast
(where their livelihoods were currently destroyed) - and these people
explained how elephant's eat wild plantain which regenerates easily on
hillsides under traditional shifting cultivation - and unless the
villages have enough food for elephants - the elephants eat the
cultivated gardens/agroforestry systems and possibly even devastate home
dwellings. Traditional shifting cultivation has some similarity in
patterns with chop and drop systems - and in case of elephant eating
plantain it's maybe more like "munch and drop". Some people have
domesticated elephants for transport, and they're very huge - and I
wouldn't want to face a raging elephant. I strongly suggest to
investigate this issue with indigenous people, who have a lot of
practical wisdom with elephants - rather than to try to invent systems
without practical relationship with elephants. Elephants are pretty
extensive pathways in forests.
Best wishes,
Ossi Kakko (in Finland)
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