The Many Uses of Animal Dung in the Tyva Republic, conference talk

Description

This paper approaches ecology and economy of Inner Asian mobile pastoralism through the use of animal dung by herding communities in the Tyva republic. Pastoralists utilize livestock dung for various needs incorporating it into the localized economic model. A focus on social life of dung allows to see an impact of dung-related tasks on herdsmen’s life: daily and seasonal organization of works, knowledge acquisition and transition. The herders’ choice of various energy sources is determined by remoteness of the region, the accessibility of resources, and prices for coal and electricity. The field research for this study has been carried out with a herding community in South Tyva whose seasonal pastures are located in the steppe zone. These herders use different types of animal dung as a fuel to cook and warm up the dwellings. In addition, they use animal dung as an insulation material and medicine. Employing her experience growing up in a family of herders in the same community, the author’s research contributes to cultural knowledge transmission in relation to sustainable ways of living in multispecies communities.

Period	30 Oct 2019
Event title	International XI Siberian Studies Conference “ENERGY OF THE ARCTIC AND SIBERIA: RESOURCES, TECHNOLOGIES, INFRASTRUCTURE”
Event type	Conference
Location	St Peterburg, Russian Federation
Degree of Recognition	International