Local responses to too much and too little water in the greater Himalayan region
Housing and settlements
Mobile settlements – The Mishings of Matmora have
traditionally been riverbank dwellers, making them better
adapted in dealing with floods. They have always been
flexible, moving to new places to cope with the river’s
changing course. The original villages have moved to
new locations more than six times since establishment
of the first embankment on the Brahmaputra in 1954.
The villages moved as a community, retaining the village
name and transplanting village institutions like the village
Two types of chang-ghar (house on stilts of the Mishing community)
in Matmora: left, the original design of bamboo and wood; centre,
wealthier households invest in concrete to make higher stilts.
Majgaon
A chronically flood-prone area, Majgaon remains
inundated for half the year. It has lost most of its
vegetation and fruit trees from prolonged waterlogging,
which has degraded the soil. The deposits of silt and
debris brought by the 2007 floods have made areas in
Majgaon a wasteland and seriously affected agriculture.
The deposits filled many wetlands, affecting fish
production and fishing as a livelihood in these areas.
Then again, continued silt deposition for decades has
gradually converted some low-lying marshlands into
Traditional Assamese houses are built on an elevated platform (left) with a
separate granary built on stilts (right).
plains, which are new farmland for the villagers.
Rice agriculture is still the primary source of livelihood,
school and the murang ghar (community hall) to the new
with people cultivating ahu (summer) and bao (deep
setting each time.
water) paddies. However, about half the village
population have found livelihoods outside the village as
However since 1998, when the river waters engulfed
daily wage earners. Another 23% of households have
four-fifths of the villages, this adaptation strategy is no
taken up fishing and 14% liquor making. Other sources
longer working. Households have started moving on
of income are livestock rearing, especially ducks and
their own, independently of the village, breaking down
pigs. The community used to raise chickens until this
age-old village institutions. Many ended up in nearby
became increasingly difficult in a flooded environment.
villages or on sections of the embankment that remained
During the monsoon, fish have become abundant in
intact after the floods.
rivers, wetlands, and rice fields, making fishing an
important seasonal livelihood source.
Chang-ghar housing – The Mishing live in traditional
stilt houses called chang-ghar made of thatch. They build
the houses on wood and bamboo stilts at an average
Responses to Water Stress and
height of 2-2.5 m (6-8 ft) above ground – in line with
Hazards
the highest flood level experienced in the area in recent
times. The design of a chang-ghar provides ideal
The communities have responded to floods and
protection from floodwaters and allows for a variety of
associated hazards in diverse ways based mainly on
activities, such as livestock rearing and food storage.
their local knowledge and the skills acquired living in
The more recent use of concrete materials for stilts or
riparian environments. These responses have been aided
staircase has made the dwellings stronger against flood
to some extent by external interventions.
currents, but has reduced the dwellings’ flexibility and
made repair more costly.
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