Nepal's, earthquake resistant, Magar culture.

Manaslu (8156m), the worlds eighth highest mountain, floats above the clouds in Nepal.

Manaslu shrouded in gossamer clouds.

High above the Marshyangdi river valley, in Nepal's Tanahau district, I can look north to the Lamjung Himal and further to the eighth highest mountain in the world, Manaslu (8156m). In the shadow of this great peak lie the two districts of Dhading and Gorkha. It was here on 25th April, 2015, that the earthquake started its destructive journey east across the Kathmandu valley and beyond. We are just a few miles west of that epicenter on our way to visit the Magar village of Ramkot, a two hour walk from our home-stay in Bandipur. The pathway climbs across the forested slopes, where the deep fertile red soil and monsoon rains have combined to provide plenty of growth for the local livestock to graze. The altitude and lack of irrigation make this a maize and millet farming district. Rice is a staple, but it will be bought with cash earned from livestock farming.

The lower rice growing area.

A small Magar settlement perched of the steep hill side, where maize stubble has been planted with the next grain crop, millet.

Jude chats to local Magar farmers

The Magar ethnic group have Tibetan origins.

Most families have a small number of goats that are grazed in the woodland along with oxen (ghoru) that are essential for ploughing the inaccessible narrow terraces. Maize has been harvested. The following crop of millet has been transplanted and is well established. This slow growing crop will be harvested in the spring 2016. The small round grain being used for porridge, rotis and the local drink rhaksi.

A local farmer drives her oxen to higher grazing.

Goats freely graze the plentiful herbage.

This herders tee shirt says it all!

Goats not only graze, under the watchful eye of the herder but their diet is also supplemented with cut grass and leaves gathered each day.

A farmer cuts branches for her goats below.

And that's another tree coppiced!

An older man tends to his grazing cattle.

The little herds are housed in wooden corrals, where we are surprised to find another domestic animal making use of the goat left-overs ........the black pig. Nothing is wasted in these isolated settlements where everything has to be back packed in and out. The small corrals are designed so that bedding, after being processed by the pig, builds up under the animals to be used as vital organic soil food to grow the hungry maize crop.

The multi purpose goat enclosure.

Complete with bakhra (goats).

And sungur (pigs).

The traditional dwellings of Ramkot.

Its been a good maize harvest.

This woman is milling rice for chapati flour, and eventually all the maize will get the same treatment.

We pass girls returning home from gathering wood, which like elsewhere in Nepal, is the main source of fuel. Their backs are cushioned against the load with soft grass and leaves that will no doubt be thrown into the goat pen. Unsurprisingly, the faggots of timber are bound together with ropes made from grass which is confirmed as we pass a man busy collecting the long leaves, to be twisted into bindings.

Like delicate little goats these surefooted girls return home with fuel.

Other groups come from higher gathering grounds

Sheltering from the harsh sun this man gathers grass destined for rope making.

Whilst keeping a watchful eye over his herd.

Evidence of wood as an important fuel. Smoke rises out of this dwelling.

Gurungs, Newars and Tamangs are just some of the other ethnic groups in the area and like these the Magar people are very welcoming. Despite being so close to potentially destructive tectonic forces these settlements seem to have escaped the worst. The solidly build houses with stone and thatch roofs have stood up well, together with their ancient culture.

As the main earthquake forces moved east they spared these beautifully constructed dwellings.

Traditional soil based stains are used for decoration.

The rice straw thatched roofs remind us of our own Somerset cross passage house.

But all is not as it seems. These families are an important recruiting source for the armed forces. Many of the young men eventually finding their way to the British Army and UK shores. No doubt the remittances they send back home are supporting this way of life, but once again we can see for ourselves that the hard graft of farming, and surviving, on the mountain slopes is done by women, children and older men.

A livestock farmer returning home with forage for goats. She is wearing the traditional chanbandi cholo (blouse), potuka around her waist to strengthen the back, and a lungi (skirt).

The traditional hook used for gathering forage and hacking branches.

The hands tell the whole story of a life of toil.

This is how the hook is carried in a small wooden holster.

 We stop and speak to a young girl carrying a huge bundle of wood. She has the look of someone who knows what hard work is all about. When we inquire about her schooling I am expecting the worst, but instead am pleasantly surprised. She is working today because she was doing exams yesterday. Her favourite subjects turn out to be commerce and English!!!