Bhurti Village, Nepal, 1969

Bhurti lies at altitudes of between 2,000 and 4,000 feet below the ridge which carries the main north-south trail of the area. Houses are scattered among the terraced fields, some of which are irrigated (khet) and used for growing rice while others are unirrigated (bari) and produce maize and wheat. Large sections of the mountainsides are now barren, although only a generation or so before they were heavily forested. At the time of our fieldwork, Bhurti had no roads, only trails, no electricity, and relied on the nearby Bazaar for shop-bought goods (mainly cloth) and for health care. A neighbouring village, inhabited mainly by Gurung people, had a primary school.