Print — bhutan-livestock-yak-herding — BhutanWiki

In the high-altitude valleys and alpine meadows of northern and eastern Bhutan, the yak (Bos grunniens) has been the foundation of human survival for centuries. At elevations above 3,000 metres, where the growing season is too short and temperatures too extreme for most crops, the yak provides virtually everything a household needs: milk for butter and cheese, hair and wool for textiles and tents, dung for fuel, hide for leather goods, and muscle power for transport across terrain where no vehicle can travel. The relationship between Bhutanese highland communities and their yaks is not merely economic — it is cultural, spiritual, and ecological, woven into songs, festivals, religious practices, and the very identity of communities such as the Layaps of Gasa and the Brokpas of eastern Bhutan.^[1]

Bhutan's yak population is estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000 animals, distributed across the northern highland belt that stretches from Haa in the west to Trashiyangtse in the east. The primary yak-herding communities are concentrated in a handful of geographically isolated areas: Laya and Lingshi in Gasa dzongkhag; the high valleys of Bumthang and Wangdue Phodrang; and the Merak and Sakteng valleys of Trashigang dzongkhag. These communities practice transhumance — the seasonal movement of herds between lower winter pastures and higher summer grazing grounds — following patterns that have been refined over generations to maximise the use of limited alpine vegetation.^[2]

Yak Products and the Highland Economy

Yak butter is the single most important product of the highland pastoral economy. Produced by churning yak milk in traditional wooden churns or, increasingly, mechanised separators, yak butter is consumed domestically, used in the preparation of butter tea (suja) — the ubiquitous Bhutanese beverage — and traded with lowland communities for rice, salt, chilies, and other essential goods that cannot be produced at high altitude. Yak butter also has significant ritual importance: butter lamps are a central element of Buddhist practice, and the demand from monasteries and temples across the country provides a stable market for highland producers.^[1]

Yak cheese is another commercially important product. Traditional hard cheese (chugo) is made by drying strips of coagulated milk curd in the sun and wind, producing a product with an extremely long shelf life that can be stored for months without refrigeration — a critical advantage in communities without electricity or cold storage. In recent years, the government and international development partners have supported the introduction of improved cheese-making techniques and small-scale dairy processing equipment in highland communities, enabling the production of Swiss-style and Gouda-type cheeses that command premium prices in Thimphu and Phuentsholing markets. The Bumthang Swiss Cheese factory, originally established with Swiss development assistance in the 1980s, remains a notable example of successful highland dairy value addition.^[3]

Yak wool and hair are used to produce a variety of textiles and utilitarian goods. The coarse outer hair is woven into tent fabric, rope, and bags, while the finer undercoat (khullu) is spun into yarn for blankets, scarves, and clothing. The Brokpa communities of Merak and Sakteng are particularly known for their distinctive yak-hair hats and clothing, which form part of their unique cultural identity — distinct from the gho and kira worn by most other Bhutanese. Yak meat, while less central to the economy than dairy products, is consumed locally and dried into jerky for preservation. The sale of yaks as breeding stock to other highland communities also generates income.^[2]

Highland Communities: Laya and Merak-Sakteng

The Layaps of Laya village, situated at approximately 3,800 metres in Gasa dzongkhag, are perhaps Bhutan's most iconic yak-herding community. Numbering around 800 to 1,000 people, the Layaps maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving their yak herds between seasonal pastures while maintaining a permanent settlement in Laya village. They are distinguished by their unique dress — particularly the distinctive conical bamboo hat worn by Layap women — and speak a dialect that differs significantly from standard Dzongkha. The Layaps are also prominent collectors of cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), the caterpillar fungus that commands extraordinarily high prices in traditional Chinese medicine markets. The cordyceps harvest, which takes place in May and June at elevations above 4,000 metres, has become a major source of cash income for Layap families, in some years rivalling or exceeding the income from yak products.^[4]

The Brokpas of Merak and Sakteng in eastern Bhutan represent another culturally distinct yak-herding community. The Brokpas, numbering several thousand, speak a language (Brokkat) unrelated to Dzongkha and maintain cultural practices — including distinctive clothing, social customs, and religious traditions blending Buddhism with pre-Buddhist animistic beliefs — that set them apart from surrounding communities. Their pastoral territory lies within the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, the only protected area in the world established partly to preserve the habitat of the migoi (yeti) of Bhutanese folklore. The Brokpas' yak herding, combined with sheep keeping and potato cultivation, has historically made them one of the more economically self-sufficient communities in eastern Bhutan.^[5]

Climate Change Impact on Pastures

Climate change poses a serious and growing threat to yak herding in Bhutan. Research by the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology and international partners has documented a clear warming trend in Bhutan's highland areas, with average temperatures rising by approximately 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade at elevations above 3,500 metres — a rate significantly faster than global averages. This warming has multiple cascading effects on the pastoral ecosystem: snowlines are retreating, reducing the meltwater that sustains alpine meadows during the growing season; new plant species, including shrubs and invasive weeds, are colonising previously open pastures, reducing the availability of palatable grasses; and the distribution and availability of water sources is changing, forcing herders to alter traditional migration routes.^[6]

Herders themselves report observable changes in their environment. Pastures that once remained snow-covered well into spring are now bare earlier in the year. Some traditional water sources have dried up or become unreliable. The timing of seasonal migration has shifted, and some pastures that were productive within living memory have degraded to the point of being unusable. The warming is also expanding the habitat of livestock diseases and parasites that were previously restricted to lower elevations, creating new veterinary challenges for herders with limited access to animal health services.^[6]

Declining Herding Population

Perhaps the most existential threat to Bhutan's yak-herding tradition is the steady outmigration of young people from highland communities. The same forces driving rural-urban migration across the country — education, employment aspirations, access to healthcare and modern amenities — apply with particular intensity to isolated highland communities where life is physically demanding, services are minimal, and opportunities are perceived as limited. Young people who attend school in lower-altitude towns often do not return to the herding life, and the average age of active herders is rising steadily.^[4]

The Department of Livestock under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests has implemented various programmes to support highland herders, including improved veterinary services, breeding programmes to enhance yak productivity, subsidised transport for dairy products, and the introduction of solar-powered milk processing equipment. The Yak Festival, held in Haa, celebrates and promotes highland pastoral culture. The government has also explored the potential of highland tourism — trekking routes such as the Laya-Gasa trek and the Merak-Sakteng trek bring visitors into contact with yak-herding communities, providing supplementary income through homestays and guide services.^[2]

Cultural Significance and Future

Beyond its economic functions, yak herding carries deep cultural significance in Bhutan. The highland pastoral way of life is celebrated in festivals, songs, and oral traditions. Yaks feature in Buddhist symbolism and in the folk beliefs of highland communities. The distinctive cultures of the Layaps, Brokpas, and other herding groups contribute to the remarkable cultural diversity of a country with fewer than 800,000 people. The decline of yak herding would represent not merely an economic loss but a diminishment of Bhutan's cultural heritage.

The future of yak herding in Bhutan depends on the ability of government policy, community initiative, and market forces to make the pastoral life viable and attractive for younger generations. Value addition, branding of highland products, integration of tourism, improved services and connectivity in highland areas, and adaptation strategies for climate change will all play roles. Whether Bhutan can maintain this ancient pastoral tradition while pursuing modernisation and economic development will be an important test of the Gross National Happiness philosophy's commitment to cultural preservation alongside material progress.^[7]

Livestock and Yak Herding in Bhutan

Yak Products and the Highland Economy

Highland Communities: Laya and Merak-Sakteng

Climate Change Impact on Pastures

Declining Herding Population

Cultural Significance and Future

References