Reclaiming endangered livelihoods: untold stories of indigenous women and backyard poultry

Abstract

Indigenous women of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India are unique in that they have over generations protected and bred the world-famous Aseel poultry and other local varieties. Birds managed under backyard systems contribute crucially to women's livelihood, and are of critical cultural importance in the lives of indigenous communities. A combination of factors has resulted in the fast decline of Aseel poultry populations in their traditional locations in the early 1990s. In the past decade, women have responded through multiple collective actions: to re-establish ecological and diverse cropping, which have provided vital by-products for feed for the poultry; apply modern and indigenous health care and management practices to prevent and control diseases; and innovate with traditional systems of asset building. All of these have helped to restore and sustain the breed, maintain livelihoods, and re-establish biological and cultural diversity.