The group described in the article are the Brokpas that live in an isolated part of Kashmir. If you want a more indepth and impartial look at the group this article is good. http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/S-EM/EM-02-0-000-08-Web/EM-02-2-000-08-Abst-PDF/EM-02-2-077-08-099-Bhasin-V/EM-02-2-077-08-099-Bhasin-V-Tt.pdf
They look like an interesting culture preserved due to isolation.
At some places, houses are side by
side, at other places individual
houses are in the middle of the
fields. Every house has a small garden
in which onions, tomatoes, turnips,
large radishes, peas and some potatoes
are grown.
They also have houses in the higher valley pastures at Dah-Drouk where they graze their animals and cultivate their summer crops.
The mainstay of the economy of the
Brok-pa is agriculture, supplemented
by animal husbandry. They produce two
crops in a year and grow barley,
wheat, buckwheat, mustard, maize,
razma, masoor, urad, and karje. They
grow vegetables like carrot,
cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, onion,
potato, turnip and radishes. Brokpa
grow apricot, raisin, black and green
grapes, walnut, apples and cherries.
Brokpa rear mostly sheep, goats, Dzos (a cross between cows and yaks),
Bulls and horses. The Brokpas do not
rear cattle because of religious
taboo. Poultry farming is also taboo.
The soil of the area is alluvial,
ranging from sand to clay, and is
suitable for cultivation of wheat,
barley, grim, peas and Lucerne
(Alfa-Alfa) in irrigated areas.
The traditional Brokpa diet based on
locally grown foods such as barley and
hardy wheat prepared most often as
tsampa/sattu (roasted flour). It takes
in different ways. Other important
foods include potatoes, radishes,
turnips, and Gur- Gur Cha, a brewed
tea made of black tea, butter and
salt. Dairy and poultry sources are
out of menu because of religious
taboos. Brok-pa takes three meals a
day; Chin-nana (Breakfast); Beh
(Lunch) and Ganzang (Dinner). Brokpa
vary with respect to the amount of
meat (mainly mutton) that they eat.
Household’s economic position decides
the consumption of meat. It is only
during festivals and rituals all have
greater access to mutton.
The isolation of the people mean they have little access to modern healthcare relying mainly on traditional herbalism and shamanic spirit healing.
The culturo-ecological conditions in
the area are responsible for the
prevalence of gastroenteritis and
acute respiratory infections among
children and infectious diseases and
nutritional diseases among the adult
population. Smoke pollution in
traditional kitchens with poor
ventilation to avoid heat loss is
injurious to health. They suffer host
of diseases, including rheumatism,
intestinal worms, cataracts, goiter,
trachoma, pneumonia, dysentery and
skin diseases.
Seems like a pretty unprocessed healthy diet overall with a wide range of vegetables, fruits and walnuts. Not vegan or hunter-gatherers or a idealist primitive garden of eden, it's a hard life living in places likle that. I prefer more of the modern medicine myself. The writer of the article probably visited while livestock were still being grazed up on high pastures before winter started and so did not see any.
Edit: Strangely they don't seem to count the butter (actually ghee) in their tea as a taboo dairy product.
