Himalayan herbal wealth vanishes, shattering mountain livelihoods

Junkiri Bohara, 62, once lived a comfortable life with her extended family in Bajhang, Nepal, thanks to the abundant medicinal herbs they collected from the highlands. Their annual earnings from yarsagumba and other valuable plants reached up to Rs1.2 million, enough to sustain them year-round. However, her husband's fatal illness depleted their savings and left them with significant debt.

Now, with the herb resources dwindling, her sons have left for India in search of work, and Junkiri, frail and ill, spends her days crushing stones into gravel by the Bahuligad river. She earns barely enough to cover rent and daily expenses, a stark contrast to her past. "I have no choice. I have to work to survive," she said, her voice strained. "At this age, I never imagined I would have to earn my living by breaking stones."

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In months when I am healthy, I can prepare enough gravel to fill two tractor trailers. If I fall ill, even filling one becomes difficult. I have no choice. I have to work to survive. At this age, I never imagined I would have to earn my living by breaking stones.

Junkiri's story is not unique. Many women and children in Chainpur, the district headquarters, are engaged in the same back-breaking labor. Until about a decade ago, Surma Rural Municipality, their home, was one of Bajhang's most prosperous areas due to its rich medicinal herb wealth. Families invested in land and housing in cities and sent their children to pursue higher education. The decline in herb availability has shattered these prospects, forcing a generation into precarious survival.

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If herbs were still available like before, my sons could have repaid the loans. Now there is hardly anything to collect. They had no option but to leave for India in search of work. I am here alone.