Introduction
The life of a Pahadi farmer, especially a woman engaged in millet cultivation, is defined by continuous labour — from household responsibilities, to farming tasks, to post-harvest processing. In the hills of Uttarakhand, farming is not just an occupation. It is a routine that shapes the entire day — often beginning before sunrise and ending well after sunset. When we speak about agriculture here, it is important to be specific about who is doing the work. In most villages, and in places like Sarkot and Parwari, it is primarily the women who carry the responsibility of farming.
Men are often engaged in trade, seasonal work, or have migrated out for employment. Hence, what remains is a system where women manage both household responsibilities and agricultural labour simultaneously. Millet cultivation and its processing — particularly of crops like Madua (finger millet) and Jhangora (barnyard millet) — is a very labour intensive activity and forms a central part of their lives. Understanding the life and work of a pahadi woman is best done by observing how a typical day within their life unfolds.
The Day Begins Before Sunrise
The day usually starts early — often before the first light. The foremost task is not farming, but water collection. In many hill villages, water is sourced from springs located at some distance from the house. This means walking quite a distance with empty containers and returning back (usually uphill) carrying the weight of those water-filled containers. The terrain itself adds to the effort. Once water is brought back, cooking begins – sustenance for the entire family. Breakfast is prepared not just for immediate consumption but often in a way that supports the rest of the day’s work.
My project villages, however, have established government pipelines and tap water systems by which every household is connected. This is primarily because my project villages are situated just below the Vidhan Sabha; other villages do not tend to get this lucky. Other than the ease of procuring water, all other routines remain the same for the villagers of Parwari and Sarkot.
The Forest is Part of the Routine
Before heading to the fields, many women make a trip to the forest. This is not occasional — it is part of their daily life. Firewood for cooking and fodder for livestock are collected from nearby forest areas. This involves walking through uneven terrain, cutting or gathering materials, bundling them, and carrying them back — usually on their back, supported by a head strap. This task alone can take several hours. This ‘forest produce collection’ adds another layer to the routine, not to mention these loads/bundles of wood and fodder can weigh up to and over 50 kilos.
It is important to note that when women are unable to attend community meetings or trainings, it is often because of these routines. I experienced this phenomenon during my early months of convening meetings. Thus ‘Domestic work’ in these contexts includes physically demanding activities that consume significant time and energy.
Work in the Fields
After completing early household tasks, the focus shifts to farming. Millet cultivation in the hills is largely manual. The terrain does not allow for mechanised farming in most cases. Fields are often small, terraced, and spread across slopes. Activities vary depending on the season:
- Sowing involves preparing the soil and manually broadcasting seeds. Now, they have adopted the ‘line sowing method’ – through our project trainings/interventions – which is a far more effective agricultural practice.
- Weeding and fertilising is done by hand and requires bending for long periods.
- Harvesting involves cutting crops and carrying bundles back.
Each of these tasks requires sustained physical effort. Unlike large-scale farming systems, there is very little scope for labour substitution here. The work has to be done manually, and it has to be done consistently.
Processing: The Most Labour-Intensive Stage
Cultivation itself is demanding but processing millets is often the most labour-intensive aspect when it comes to millet farming. Once harvested, millets do not directly become consumable. They go through multiple stages: Threshing, De-husking, Grading and Pulverizing (in the case of Madua)
Traditionally, threshing is done through the cow-hooves method, where cattle are made to walk over harvested crops. De-husking and pounding are done using the okkal — a wooden tool that requires repetitive manual effort. Post this stage, comes sun-drying – where the grains are spread out to dry – and finally the produce is stored or pulverized to be used as flour. We (INHERE, my assigned NGO) had provided them with high quality canvas sheets for the sun-drying stage. This will ensure that there are no debris, stones or dust amongst the grains and that they thereby retain the standard market quality, which is ideal for pulverizing.
To put the labour intensiveness into perspective:
- Processing 50 kg of madua can take around 15 hours.
- Processing 50 kg of jhangora can take up to 31 hours.
These are not continuous hours done in a single sitting, but they are spread across already packed days. Processing often happens under the sun, sitting for long durations, repeating the same motion. Those okkals start getting really heavy after around half an hour of repeated de-husking/pounding.
What makes this routine particularly demanding is the fact that farming is only one part of the workload. Alongside agricultural tasks, women are responsible for cooking multiple meals for the entire household, cleaning and maintaining the household, taking care of children and elderly family members, managing livestock and several other chores. There is no clear separation between “work” and “home.” Both exist simultaneously and often overlap. A typical day is therefore not divided into neat segments. It is a continuous cycle of tasks, moving from one responsibility to another with minimal rest time.
Time constraints also affect mobility. Simple activities such as visiting a nearby town, accessing a bank, or attending a training session require careful planning. Travel itself can take several hours due to terrain, and returning before dark is often necessary due to poor visibility and safety concerns. This limits access to external opportunities which further stuns personal development and growth.
Our Intervention: Establishing Processing Units
It is within this context that the establishment of millet processing unit sheds in Parwari and Sarkot becomes significant. The processing units are equipped with pulverizers, de-huskers and spiral graders along with additional support material such as weighing scales, storage tubs, ladders and tables to facilitate smooth operations.
The objective was straightforward — reduce the labour intensity of millet processing, make the overall process and output more efficient and standardized, generate scope for value-addition – thereby increasing disposable income, and finally, freeing up some time from their hectic schedules.
Reduction in Labour and Time
With the introduction of these machines, the time required for processing has reduced significantly. As of now, Madua processing only takes around 7 hours and Jhangora around 5 hours. Jhangora is generally consumed as rice and hence it skips the pulverizing stage. Madua is pulverized into atta to make Madua rotti – an indispensable part of the Pahadi diet. Thus around 50% time saved for Madua processing and nearly 84% saved for Jhangora. These pockets of time created can be used elsewhere — whether for rest, household work, or participation in community activities rather than labouring under the scorching sun all day long.
Other than time, the reduction in repetitive manual labour is equally important. Tasks that require prolonged effort can now be completed with machine assistance; which means there is an immense reduction in physical toil – backs straighten sooner, wrists/hands are at ease and most importantly long term health implications from consistent physical exertion is greatly reduced.
Conclusion
It is important to note that what we have done is not a complete transformation of rural life. Women continue to manage multiple responsibilities. Farming in the hills remains labour-intensive. Access and terrain challenges still exist. The introduction of processing units in Parwari and Sarkot represents a practical intervention within this system. It addresses one of the most demanding aspects of millet cultivation – labour intensity and time.
The hills continue to demand effort. But with the right interventions, that effort can at least be made more manageable. The truth is that, in a harsh setting like the mountains, with an already demanding routine – where every hour carries labour, weight and effort – even a few hours saved can make a meaningful difference.
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