Was the nomad festival as successful as it was envisaged by the organizers?
It was organized on the premise that the festival will attract tourists during the off season and at the local level it will supplement income for the participants through the sale of the livestock products.
Of course, for local communities it generated income through home-stays and catering services for tour companies and lodging and food services for national and foreign visitors.
But the question is: Has the festival really helped and benefited the nomads who came all the way from far away places?
Though there were crowds during the festival but the crowds were mostly composed of the people of Bumthang with some ministry of agriculture (MoA) officials and some handful of tourists. The nomads could not sell most of their products despite the crowds. Some complained that the products showcased by the nomads were very expensive while some said the items which were brought by them for sale were not of any use for the Bhutanese people. Other items like Layaps robes, hats and jewelries were out of reach for any normal people to buy because of the high price, as most items were targeted for the tourists.
Another factor that went against the festival may have been the venue of the festival itself.
A tourist from Japan who happened to be there in the festival by chance said: “The location of the festival was very far and the road condition was very bad. But the festival was good and interesting. If such event had been organized at places like Paro and Thimphu, the nomads could have gained lots of exposure and also could have sold off their products.”
A Layap robe cost nothing less than Nu. 4,000, and necklace around Nu 2,000. The sales were bad because there were few tourists and there were not many rich Bhutanese who wanted the goods. Most of them had to go back home without selling much of the goods that they brought with them.
Talking to BHUTAN TODAY, Pema from Laya, who had come here to sell off his livestock products, said: “Back home I used to sell double of what I sold here and the sale is not as good as what it was on the first day.
On the first day there were many tourists who came to my stall and bought items but on the second day, the customers have decreased and the sale was also not up to the mark.”
He further added: “I am hoping that at the end of the day I will able to sell more and earn enough to buy basic commodities when I go back home.”
Though one of the objectives of the festival was to provide an avenue to bring together all highland farmers (herders and nomads) of different backgrounds to share their culture, tradition and experiences, there seemed to be no interaction among them till the end of the last day.
A girl from Sakten said: “I am very shy and I always find difficult to talk to other people. I thought that I will be able to make some friends and learn their culture. But now it seems like I will return home without knowing anyone. Ever since I came to the festival I have not talked to any one expect my friends from my own village.”
At the festival ground, there were also other small stalls where the local people sold ara, food items, and garments. The stalls were packed with both visitors and government officials. At the end of the day these vendors made more money than the nomads.
The three-day nomadic festival ended with lots of fun with the officials, nomads and the local people participating in different events like weight lifting, khuru and pillow fight. But it is not clear whether the nomads have been given the right exposure or benefitted from the festival.
By Chencho Dema in BUMTHANG
