Rashiwade village in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra has a significant population of nomadic shepherds. The village is located fairly close to the forested areas of the Western ghats and shepherds take their animals grazing in the forest and grazing areas close by for about 8 months of the year. They migrate eastwards during the monsoon months which last from June to September. This group of shepherds and the village were identified as being suitable for work package 4 of the study.
A PRA (participatory rural appraisal) exercise was conducted with the Dhangar community of migratory pastoralists in Dec 2021. The objective of this exercise was to get an insight into the problems faced by the community particularly with respect to animal health. An attempt was made to understand livestock diseases prevalent in the area especially of sheep , causes of disease as understood by the community and approaches used to prevent and cure remedies from the perspective of the shepherds . This was also the first time any agency -Government or NGO had had an engagement of this nature with this community . Over 65 shepherds attended the programme. PRA Exercises conducted were: Problem ranking and Seasonal calendar for diseases
Additionally videos made by Anthra on livestock diseases and traditional medicine were screened and discussions took place around them.
The PRA exercises revealed the : The major problem was livestock disease. They feel that the kinds of disease and their manifestations have change over the years. The shepherds added that treating animals has become very expensive as medicines used for livestock care are expensive. They also said that despite vaccinating animals they fall sick. The most frequently occurring diseases of livestock seen were fever, foot rot, and bloat
With respect to livestock diseases across seasons, Fever and bloat occurred throughout the year. Diarrhoea, foot rot and haldirog (icteric / jaundice like conditions ) were more frequently witnessed during the monsoon season . Other diseases include joint ill and abortions seemed to happen during the monsoon . Shepherds attributed abortions occurred due to change in water sources. Ticks, were noticed on the animals after the monsoon but were not considered a big problem. The participants enjoyed watching the videos on fever, bloat and diarrhoea and the simple easy to prepare herbal remedies. They mentioned that traditional medicines have fallen into disuse both for humans and animals. Now a days, they consult doctors and vets and purchase modern medicines from medical stores. This is quite expensive. They were eager to try some of the home remedies seen in the videos. They also requested regular trainings on livestock health.