Behind every landscape are lives being lived, knowledge being passed on, places changing and stories being told. We bring these stories together, in many forms and through many voices.
Agriculture has made considerable progress in Himalayan states. One of the major changes in the mountain farming system is from…
I spent my whole childhood in a small hamlet called Garang in Lahaul. In the summers my sister and I…
People of the high mountains have traditionally gathered plants and herbs from the wild, which would then be carefully stored…
“Lungpa Bhu Med La Bhu, Ta Med La Teu, Chu Med La Chu” Piti Da-Chang Monlam “May the ones deprived…
Parts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur that fall above an elevation of 2500m are home to traditionally agro-pastoral societies. People who…
After the snow melts on the high peaks around the villages of Spiti, the hard working people start their annual summer works – livestock are taken to the grasslands for grazing and people get busy preparing for agriculture season.
Reyun Tache is a festival celebrated two days before Losar in many parts of Lahaul. In my village-Urgos, the festival…
Spiti is a cold, dry desert with a vast expanse of land that has a limited scope of vegetation and…
– A Spitian Proverb –
Books, guides, posters, toolkits and other resources from across the Himalaya.
HimKatha began in 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, when isolation and limited connectivity made it difficult for people across Spiti’s villages to stay in touch. We wondered if a print publication could help keep local conversations alive and create space for stories from the region.
The first print edition appeared in November 2020. Since then, HimKatha has grown in scope, format and reach, bringing more voices into the conversation as the Himalayan region continues to change. These early editions mark the beginning of the archive.
HimKatha brings together stories, knowledge and perspectives from across the Himalaya. We believe these stories deserve to be shared with care, grounded in the places and communities they come from, and open to different ways of seeing and understanding the world. These values shape how we work with contributors, tell stories and make them accessible to everyone.
Stories should make room for people who know these places because they live there and carry their stories and knowledge.
The Himalaya is not a single landscape or culture. We tell stories with care for the places, histories, and communities.
Knowledge lives in research and archives, but also in memory, practice, observation, craft and everyday lived experience.
Himkatha is freely accessible because stories and knowledge should be shared widely, without barriers or a paywall today.
