Life With Nomads (Kate Humble Documentary Series)

 

The first in a series of three documentaries (all featured here) where British journalist Kate Humble lives with different nomadic groups still practicing their traditional life. In this first episode Kate lives with the Mongolian nomads from the secluded Hugh land steppe, where she will learn about the challenges faced by these ancient nomadic tribes.

Kate Humble and a camera crew enter the rugged and nomadic life of the Nepalese Raute people, roaming the altitudes of Nepal's mountains. They are not immediately welcomed into the tribe but as Kate proves helpful in moving the camp and as a contributing part of the workforce, she is able to get closer to the tribe - and by that closer to an understanding of the Raute people's way of life, including the challenges and possible new lessons for Kate to learn.

In Afghanistan, Kate Humble meets traditional shepherds in the remote Wakhan Corridor.

A nomad (late 16th century: from French nomade, via Latin from Greek nomas, nomad- ‘roaming in search of pasture’, from the base of nemein ‘to pasture’) is a member of a community without fixed habitation which regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), and tinkers or trader nomads. In the twentieth century, population of nomadic pastoral tribes slowly decreased, reaching to an estimated 30–40 million nomads in the world as of 1995.

Nomadic hunting and gathering—following seasonally available wild plants and game—is by far the oldest human subsistence method. Pastoralists raise herds, driving or accompanying in patterns that normally avoid depleting pastures beyond their ability to recover.

Nomadism is also a lifestyle adapted to infertile regions such as steppe, tundra, or ice and sand, where mobility is the most efficient strategy for exploiting scarce resources. For example, many groups living in the tundra are reindeer herders and are semi-extra nomadic, following forage for their animals.

Sometimes also described as "nomadic" are the various itinerant populations who move among densely populated areas to offer specialized services (crafts or trades) to their residents—external consultants, for example. These groups are known as "peripatetic nomads".