I was born in Tibet, and my family’s occupations were both farming and nomadic herding. As a result, most of my childhood memories are based on these conditions.
In the spring, some of my family members go to the nomadic place with yaks, sheep, and goats. Nomads never stay in one place for a long time; they change locations every week or month, depending on how much good grass is available for the animals. Nomadic life relies heavily on the animals. We get many things from the animals’ resources to survive our lives. Life with animals is very interesting, especially when I had the chance to ride on a yak – that was my happiest experience during nomadic life.
Farmers’ life is different from nomad life. Farmers depend on their farm and work hard for their families’ occupations. However, most farmers receive little benefit from their farm resources. During this time, I was very young and couldn’t participate in the fieldwork. I don’t have childhood memories about farming. But I remember how my family worked on the farm. In the spring, they start the farm work and sow seeds. At the end of summer, they collect the harvest.
Apart from these, I don’t have many experiences or memories about my childhood lifestyle.