All language subtitles for Living with Nomads 1of3 Nepal

I've always been
fascinated by nomads.

Constantly on the move...

This is the most beautiful
journey.

'..surviving in some of the world's
most remote wildernesses.'

Where's the removal van
when you need it?

And living cheek by jowl
with nature,

it's always seemed
a wildly romantic existence.

It's the most magical place.

But it's no easy life.

It's the sort of cold that makes you
feel physically sick.

And in today's modern world...

..they're under increasing pressure.

I'm going to live with three
groups of nomads.

In Mongolia...

THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE LANGUAGE

..Siberia...

It's an incredibly
exhilarating feeling.

..and with Nepal's last nomads,
the Raute.

Namaste.

These hunter-gatherers once lived
deep in the forest.

But today, there are less than 150
Raute people living as nomads,

and the pressure for them
to settle is mounting...

I just want all these people to go
away and leave them alone.

..as they're facing increasing
threats from the outside world.

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

For over 900 years,

the dark, steeply wooded hills
of central Nepal

have been home
to the famously secretive Raute.

They are a group of people

who traditionally have lived

very remotely
from settled people in Nepal.

These are people that really
live life on the move.

But in recent years,

they've been leaving the forest
and settling within Nepali society.

All except one small group.
CAR HORN BEEPS

Very little has been
written about them.

We don't think that anyone has ever
filmed them for television before

and getting access to them

has been a very long
and careful negotiating process.

It's a two-day journey into the
heart of southwestern Nepal,

to a small district called Dailekh,

where I'm hoping to travel with
the country's last nomadic group.

The Raute move every few
weeks around this,

their traditional territory,
which is roughly the size of Wales.

'17 Raute communities once roamed
northern India and Nepal.

'But today only one remains.

'A small group of about 140 people.'

KATE STRAINS

I've been told
that their current camp

is somewhere down in this valley.

From what I can gather,
they're a quite private people,

so I don't know, really,
what sort of reception to expect.

The Raute live by three
guiding principles,

no settlement, no education
and no agriculture.

I'm keen to know how
they can hold on to these beliefs,

as they come into closer contact
with more mainstream society.

As I head further into the valley,
I come across a small school.

Apparently,
they've recently had contact

with the nearby Raute camp.

Almost all of Nepal's Raute people

have abandoned nomadism
and now lead settled lives.

There must be pressure on this
last group to settle too.

Wow.

So, that's where they are.

That little camp of
cloth-covered shelters.

And this is it. This is the entire
Raute population of Nepal.

Right here.

You can also see how close
they are to...

..the houses up on the side here,

they're camped right on the
edge of people's rice paddies.

There's always suspicion between
settled and non-settled people.

I mean, you know, you only have
to look at our own country

and the way that people
view travellers.

Given that there are
so few of them left

and that there seems to
be this shift towards

living much closer
to settled people,

does this spell the end of the
last nomadic tribe of Nepal?

TAPPING SOUND

Namaste.

This way?

Thank you.

Namaste.

A RAUTE COUGHS

Am I allowed to shake your hand?
No. OK.

We've pre-arranged our filming,

and we're compensating
the Raute for their time.

But there's an uneasiness
in the camp

and no-one's very
keen to engage with me.

Namaste.

A CHILD CRIES

What do you want me to do
with it? Oh, you want me to buy it?

I want to know first,
who taught you to carve?

I don't want to buy it yet.

Maybe another day.

Ah, tobacco.

It seems at the moment

that I am being seen a little
bit like a human ATM

and everything is about money.

Everything, you know, that's a nice
bowl. Yes, you can buy it.

I'll be welcoming to you
if you pay me.

Which is, I suppose not
that surprising, really,

given that there's been so little...

contact with foreigners.

It's going to take
time to win their trust,

but as is often the case,

it's the children who seem
the most intrigued.

KATE LAUGHS

Ready...

KATE GURGLES

KATE LAUGHS

'The Raute are moving
away from the deep forest,

'where they had no need for money.'

But now, as they enter
the cash economy,

they're some of the poorest people

in one of the poorest nations
on earth.

The crew and I are camping a short
walk from the Raute's settlement.

Today's been a really tough day.

At one point I tried to shake
a woman's hand

and she absolutely wouldn't have
anything to do with me.

No eye contact,
she physically turned away.

KATE CLEARS HER THROAT

And that's, that's...

quite hard to deal with.

But it would be lovely to
feel at some point

that there is a genuine connection
and interaction...

..that it isn't just paid for.

Today the Raute
have decided to move.

Namaste. Do you want me to help?

It's not clear why they're moving,

but with such simple dwellings
and very few possessions,

it's a quick process
packing up camp.

The Raute may not own much,

but it often takes two days
to carry their belongings

to the new camp site.

You tell me what to do.

OK.

OK, so, what would you
like me to do?

Excellent, it's all going very,
very well!

'It is so frustrating.

'I want to help and make friends,

'but to the Raute I still
represent only one thing.'

I feel very guilty...

not carrying anything
particularly when you see

these little kids

walking up with their human loads.

But at the moment,

they still don't
really know what to do with me

and I suppose I don't really know
how to break the barriers down.

OK?

You go ahead.

She looks very, very pregnant

and although this pole weighs
nothing,

I just feel...

You want to take it? Sure.

OK.

And then, a small breakthrough.

I thought that
if I waited long enough

at the side off the road
looking empty-handed

someone would eventually
give me something to carry.

It feels...
KATE PANTS

..like a tiny, tiny step...

..to being allowed in.

These hills are at 1,700m
above sea level,

so walking with heavy loads
in this heat and humidity

is incredibly tough.

It's all going quite well.

I've gained a pole and a goat.

KATE PANTS

It's hard work, we're doing
this in the hottest part of the day.

I'm trying very hard not to show any
sign of weakness whatsoever,

when you've got little things
like this probably carrying more
than their body weight.

While we rest, one of the most
respected elders, Mein Badhu,

tells me about their moves.

The Raute used to hunt monkeys
and forage for food in the forests.

But over the past decade,

with the cultivation of more
and more land,

they're becoming
increasingly reliant on trade.

After four hours of trekking,
we arrive at the new camp,

which looks remarkably
like someone's farm.

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

Let me just pop that down.

KATE STRAINS

Ah!

Phhh!

There are four Raute chiefs,
each elected by the community.

One of them, Ain Badhu, has asked
me to go with him to collect wood.

Each time they move, the Raute
rebuild their simple shelters,

taking what they need
from the surrounding forest.

So this is what the
villagers are afraid of.

All the Raute are now spreading out
and cutting trees down.

Now you might think, why don't
they bring everything with them?

But given that they carry
everything by hand

and having just
carried a few poles myself,

I can understand why they just
think, "Well,

"you know, it will all rot down
and we'll just leave it there."

But equally, you can see why
the villagers must think,

"What a waste of wood."

You need more?
We're going this way? Yes.

Here?

This one.

It's illegal for Nepalis
to fell trees.

They're only allowed to take
dead wood from the forest floor.

So, it's going to fall this way?
Mm. OK.

So, we go that side.

But the government has granted
the Raute

special permission to
take what they need.

It's easy to see how that
could lead to conflict.

So, is this a good new
site for everybody? New site...

Do you know who owns this land?

And he doesn't mind that you come
and set up your camp on his land?

Do you pay him
something to use the land?

Agriculture is vital to Nepal's
struggling economy.

But as more land is cultivated,

the Raute increasingly encroach onto
farmed land, provoking

tension between two very different
ways of living.

Amnita Bamshi and her family have
farmed this land

for the past ten years.

Did they ask your permission to
stay on your land?

I've been with the Raute for three
days now,

it's hard getting to know them,
but I am starting to understand

their sense of identity.

They are enormously proud of who
they are.

And there is something regal
about them in their filthy clothing

and their matted hair

and yet, you know, the women walk
through that camp like princesses.

They've got this incredible
bearing about them.

They look magnificent...

..and if anything is going to keep
them as Raute,

as these, you know, highly mobile,
highly proud

obstreperous, difficult, impossible
to understand people, it is going to

be just the essence of them,
of what it is that make them Raute.

The next day, the Raute
are gathering yet more wood

but this time to make handicrafts.

In the past, they bartered their
boxes and bowls for food,

but today they're mostly
sold for cash.

It's not enough to live on,
so in 2009, the Nepali Government

began to give each Raute a monthly
cash allowance of £6.

The Raute are clearly becoming
dependent on the cash economy.

Bir Badhur, another chief, is one of
the best carvers in the community.

Bir Badhur, can you tell me
what you're making?

Bir Badhur has six children,
his two eldest boys, Deepok

and Cupeel, are already becoming
accomplished carvers.

Do you teach Cupeel
and Deepok how to carve?

In Raute culture,
only the men carve,

but everyone gets
involved in trading,

and they seem happy enough for me to
help finish these bowls for market.

We're taking the bowls to the local
village of Ghodabas,

where a trader is waiting
to buy them.

Like that? Yeah? Good?

I head off with Bir Badhur's sons.

It's a two-hour walk to the village,

up yet more ridiculously
steep hills.

This is quite a walk to the
village shops.

I thought I was reasonably fit

and reasonably strong and I couldn't
beat a five-year-old.

It's funny, out of their camp
the atmosphere is very different.

People seem to be a bit more open
and friendly towards me,

generally a bit more chatty, a bit
more eye contact from the women,

a bit of smiling.

Maybe it's just the excitement
of being near a shop with tobacco

and fizzy drinks though.

The trader waiting for the Raute is
from another district, 200km away.

The bowls will be refined and
decorated for the European market,

where they'll
sell for up to £40 each.

How much will you pay
for the bowls?

Only 200 rupees, that's not very
much, should you pay more?

The cash from the sale of the bowls
is used to buy rice, flour,

vegetables and tobacco.

Did the sale go well today?
Did you get some good money?

Yeah? And what will you do
with the money now?

Kani, kani, rice.

As the Raute move closer to the
settled world,

they become more exposed to all
its trappings.

What do you think about things like
mobile phones or televisions?

And the same for phones as well?

Do you think your life would be
better if you lived in a village

like this one, settled?

This is so surprising to hear.

Wherever I go, it's always
the younger generation that wants

new technology, to modernise,
but here it seems these Raute boys

genuinely hold their
traditions dear.

I'm going with Deepok

and Cupeel to buy supplies
in the next village, Goranse.

This doesn't look
like a vegetable shop.

We've walked straight into a bar,
not, it turns out, to drink hard,

but for fried chickpeas which is
the boys' favourite.

So, it's like a little treat
before doing the vegetable shopping.

I feel a little
bit like a big sister,

taking her brothers out for the day.

It's great to feel like I'm finally
being accepted.

No, not often.

We don't have a monsoon
but when the winter comes,

we can have very bad weather
and if the weather is very bad,

then sometimes, yes,
the water comes through my roof.

Would you like to live in a house
like this one?

# Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O

# And on that farm he had a dog
E-I-E-I-O... #

And then you do the noise that the
dog makes...

# With a Woof! Woof! there
And a Woof! Woof! here... #

The mood in the camp has
definitely become more relaxed.

And if singing Old MacDonald helps,
I'm not proud(!)

# On that farm they had a Bakra
E-I-E-I-O

# With a meeeh here
And a meeeh there

# Here a meeeh, there a meeeh
Everywhere a meeeh... #

# Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O

# And on that farm he had a... #

What's the word for cockerel?

# Cock-a-doodle-doo... #

Brilliant!

Helping with the move,

selling bowls with the boys,
and now singing Old MacDonald,

really seems to have broken
the ice...

Maybe a little too much!

Quite sore!

Tulsi is Deepok and Cupeel's aunt.

She's been asking me about whether
I've got a baby or not.

She's a widow,

her husband died a few years ago
from what they think was malaria.

How many children do you have?

Three? And this is your youngest
one? Youngest daughter.

And then the other two, you have
sons or daughters?

In Raute families,

is it...good to have daughter or
son, or it doesn't matter?

Hello, you're almost as pretty as
your mum.

When her husband died, Tulsi lost
her main source of income,

as only the men are allowed to
carve bowls to sell.

She does receive the monthly
government allowance,

but it's not enough to
sustain her family.

But the Raute are a close-knit
community.

Tulsi's brother-in-law,
Bir Badhur and his sons Cupeel

and Deepok, help to support her.

Cupeel, you said you were
worried about Tulsi?

Another way Cupeel helps his aunt,
is by foraging with her

for fern fronds.

Traditionally a woman's job,
it's core to the Raute's way of life

and provides a vital
part of their diet.

How much food do you get from the
forest? Do you go every day?

Is there anything else that you
get from the forest?

Tulsi and Cupeel are like
mountain goats...

I'm not...

Ow!

And to make matters worse,

there are the most stingy
stinging nettles ever.

Ow!

Ow! God, those stingers are
really strong.

SHE LAUGHS

Ow!

I think you are doing this
on purpose. Shit! Everything hurts!

Oh, my God, Tulsi!

Oh, shit, right up the bum!

These stinging nettles...

SHE LAUGHS

Owww! Tulsi, I don't like it!

THEY LAUGH

Are those ones are no good?

Oh. I thought they were
really juicy ones.

We snap off the ferns' woody stem,
leaving a softer shoot.

The fern fronds are boiled
in salted water with chillies

and then left to go cold.

Tulsi and her children will eat them
with plain boiled rice this evening.

This may look like
a very simple scene

but the contrast between this
and a few days ago

is quite extraordinary.

I can't believe

that I've been allowed into

a widow's tent

just to help cook.

It doesn't look like much

but, for me, this feels like
some sort of acceptance

and it's really special.

Thank you.

Thank you for today.

It was a really special day.

This morning, it's all change.

The Raute have decided
to move again.

The decision to move is taken
by the whole group,

but the chiefs have the final say.

An advance party has already
scouted out a new campsite.

Slowly, the whole community embarks
on the six-hour trek.

I'm helping Tulsi.

The Raute usually move when
their camp becomes unclean,

if the water supply
isn't good enough

or after a death in the group.

This time, they want to move to
a site with more space.

In five days' time, it's the biggest
festival of the Hindu calendar,

Dashain.

They want a campsite
that will sustain them

for the duration
of the 15-day celebration.

I suspect I've been given
the kids' load.

I'm carrying firewood.

Probably not that much, 15 kilos.

But this hill is a killer.

Even for the nimble-footed Raute.

Oh, I tell you what!

Where's the removal van
when you need it?

The one thing that is coming through
unequivocally

during the time that I spend
with these people

is that their nomadism

is right at their heart.

This is their life...

..and it's hard

but it's what makes them tick.

And I really get that.

After three hours, we arrive
at the halfway mark.

My small load's been hard enough

but Tulsi's is nearer 40 kilos,

about the weight of a
ten-year-old child.

OK.

Now try.

Got it?

OK.

Oh, my goodness, Tulsi!
How do you carry that?

I don't know how she does this. She
just walked up this massive hill.

It must weigh more than her.

Oh, my goodness!

How do you do it?

I'm going to have to admit defeat.

OK, I have even more respect
for you than I had before.

Your neck must be so strong.

They make it look so easy,

and you run up and down these hills!

I don't know how you do it!

I'll take the firewood!

Being with people like this makes me
feel just so inadequate.

They're so strong and resilient

and they kind of fit
with this landscape

and they don't think that what
they do is extraordinary,

this is just their life,

and, if I or you got
the impression at all

that they don't want to grow crops

because it's all a bit
of an effort and...

they like the sense of freedom.

Don't be fooled that they are
in any way idle or lazy.

What I've seen today can
only be achieved

by people who really, really
know what hard work is.

The Raute's new camp on these
man-made terraces

is surrounded by a busy road.

It feels a long way away from
their traditional settlements

deep in the forest.

Capeel is

making valiant attempts
to build Tulsi's shelter

and I'm trying to help
as much as I can,

but Tulsi is clearly
a hard taskmaster

and is demanding perfection.

Over the last decade, as other
Raute groups have settled,

they've become subsumed
into mainstream society,

but these last nomads attract
attention wherever they go.

Villager Jit Bahadur Malla is
employed by the district

to take care of this
small communal plot of land.

There have been a lot of people
coming to the camp.

What do you think of that?

And do you ever get scared?

VOICES RAISE

Cupeel and Deepok's
father, Bir Badhur,

is embroiled in an argument
with another local man.

Bir Badhur, come on, let's go.

Bir Badhur, Bir Badhur,

Mama, let's go.

Come on, now.

You go to your wife,
and I'll take him.

You should listen to
your wife, maybe,

and perhaps you should just...
Yes, yes. ..get off this hill,

and go somewhere else,

where everyone else can just get
some peace. Can you do that?

I am sorry. That's OK.

'It's been, um...

'a very tense afternoon.'

I can't say I'm surprised, really.

This...site that they've moved to
is so public, and there are a lot

of people who are threatening
them in one way or another.

There was one man in particular,
who works in the forestry

around here, is incredibly upset
that they've cut down the trees,

and I have to say,
I can totally see his point,

but I am really torn.

So I feel incredibly protective.

It's really odd, but I just think,

I just want all these people to
go away and leave them alone.

Um, so...

CHILDREN SPEAK

It's really silly, but...

I was looking at...

At Cupeel's face when his father,
Bir Badhur, and this other man

were just yelling at each other...

..and he just looked...

He looked distraught.

Really distraught.

And as much as...

As much as the Raute
say that they will always

live this life and they're
proud of who they are,

you wonder whether eventually

they'll either be forced,
somehow, to conform...

or they'll be forced back into the
forest and away from villages again.

When people come
and they shout at you

and they want you to go away,
does that happen a lot?

Today's the start of the
Hindu festival, Dashain.

The Raute's own belief system
is a mixture of Hinduism

and Animism, the ancient belief
that all things in nature -

animals, plants and the elements -
possess a spiritual essence.

To help them celebrate Dashain,
the Nepalese Government gives

every Raute family a special
payment of £65, with which they buy

a goat for slaughter and enough
food for the 15 days of celebration.

The Chief District Officer,
Sagarmani Parajuli,

has arrived to make the payment.

Would the Government like,
in the long term, to see the Raute

become a settled people?

Do you think they would
be willing to settle?

I think it would be a shame.
LAUGHTER

'It's pretty clear that by
handing out this cash,

'the Nepalese Government is trying
to entice these last nomadic

'Raute into becoming settled.

'I think it would be enormously
sad if the Raute were just to be

'absorbed into conformist
Nepali society.

'The world has become so
homogenised and when you meet

'and spend time with
people like this,'

you realise that there is a great
deal of value in diversity.

'But my worry is that with
such a small group them,

'just 143, still living like nomads,
what chance do they really have?'

It may in the end be a combination

of all those social and
political pressures,

and that they've become
used to having a bit of cash

in their pockets that may undermine
this extraordinary way of life,

but the identity of being a Raute
is extraordinarily strong.

There is a real pride
in their heritage,

and I don't think they're
going to let that go lightly.

As dusk descends, the tension
of yesterday is forgotten,

and the Raute begin their
Dashain celebrations.

DRUMMING

CHEERING
I am cursing these people.

For the last two weeks, they've
had me singing Old MacDonald

till I'm blue in the face, and I
have tried so hard to get them to

sing or dance for me,
and they're like,

"Nope, we don't do it,
we don't do it."

There is just something
wonderful about this

atmosphere with the light failing

and this wonderful smell of very
fragrant smoke in the air.

It just has this very
simple joy about it,

and I think that is very much
a facet of Raute life.

They have their challenges
and put up with a lot

of prejudice and negativity.

Hey, Ain Badhur, how are you?

It's great.

They just have this fantastic...

..generosity of spirit!

SHE LAUGHS
Particularly when they've had

a bit of Chang, which I think might
be flowing quite hard tonight.

THEY LAUGH

DRUMMING AND CHEERING

This is my last night with the Raute

and tomorrow, I'm going to be
heading back to Kathmandu

and then home.

And for some reason that
I can't really explain,

they don't seem to be the sort
of people that you say goodbye to.

So I'm just going to leave them
to it, to celebrate Dashain,

and then to pack up their
things and move on.

Next time, I'm in Siberia.

It's the sort of cold that
makes you feel physically sick.

Travelling with a family
of reindeer herders

in one of the most
extreme places on Earth.

What a place to be.

Life in this freezing wilderness
has always been tough...

..but now they're facing the
global threats of climate change

and heavy industry.

The Yamal Peninsula is
one big gas reserve.