Ecological Calendars | Gallery Display Panels

Zagher is the local name for flax seeds in this hand. The seeds are extracted by shelling the round fruit, which contains the glossy seeds. In the lowlands, Linum usitatissimum seeds are used to extract oil and then to cook food such as Pilav. However, in the highlands such as the Village of Savnob in the Pamir Mountains, the seeds themselves are used to make food such called zagher shurbo. In some instances, the oil is extracted for medicinal purposes. Either way, the use of this plant affirms the handed-down wisdom that food is medicine.

Photo: Tobias Kraudzun, Roshorv, 2016.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Small donkey grazing at 3100 meters above sea level in front of Lapnazar Mountain in the village of Roshorv (Bartang Valley, Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan). People in Roshorv live mainly as subsistence-based farmers and herders. Due to semi-arid climatic conditions, villagers must move their animals such as cattle, yaks, sheep, and goats, to pastures in summer, which often takes several days from the village. However, younger animals and some farm animals, such as oxen, horses, and donkeys, remain in the village to help with transportation, agricultural tasks, or to be available for special occasions, such as a wedding or the arrival of guests.

Photo: Isabell Haag, Roshorv, 2018.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Children of herders in Sary-Mogul in the Alai Valley of Kyrgyzstan are holding yshkyn or rhubarb stalks. They are curious about the research team and eager to participate and learn. Daler Kaziev, a research team member, grew up in Tajikistan, and began his research career by working with scientists to contribute knowledge, help undertake research, and learn from visiting scientists. He now has a Master of Science from Cornell University and is going to undertake his PhD studies in Germany.

Photo: Tobias Kraudzun, Sary Mogul, Kyrgyzstan, 2017.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Safedak or white wheat is endemic to the Western Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. This local variety is growing at higher elevations due to climate change in the region. This poses a challenge because there is less arable land available at higher elevations. In September and October, farmers harvest and process their crops. It is common that farmers gather hay, wheat, barley, and other grasses at the end of the growing season to prepare for the winter. This image from the Village of Savnob in the Bartang Valley reflects the pivotal transition from fall to winter. The brown and gold hues are indicative of the changing season.

Photo: Tobias Kraudzun, Roshorv, 2016.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Saradbek, Community Elder, and Karim-Aly Kassam, Cornell Professor, discuss the challenges of food security and climate change in the Village of Roshorv (Bartang Valley, Tajikistan) while sitting at the hearth of Saradbekʼs traditional Pamiri home where the project team was staying.

Indigenous and rural communities that have contributed least to the anthropogenic climate crisis are facing its harshest consequences. There is an urgent need to build anticipatory capacity — that is, the ability to envision just, equitable, and sustainable futures and develop a plan of action to deal with uncertainties — for food and livelihood security in these communities.

Photo: Tobias Kraudzun, Roshorv, 2017.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Thawing pond in early March near the Oneida Lake Watershed, New York. This image captures a challenging yet beautiful period of seasonal transition. Trees radiating heat from absorbed sunlight melt away the thin ice covering the pond. As the trees begin to wake, they carry water and energy for new growth. However, warm winter periods can prompt this process to begin too early. If faced with freezing conditions, the water in the trees will burst causing damage to their cells. The transition from winter to spring presents difficult choices for all living things.

Photo: Leo Louis, Central New York, 2019.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Ramps erupting through the snow-covered ground in mid-April. Delicious relatives of the onion, ramps are among the first plants to wake. They display their verdant green leaves even when snow fall is still regularly occurring. These intrepid envoys of Spring take advantage of the sun shining through an open canopy. Like many things, it can be easy to take ramps for granted. They can appear so abundant, often carpeting the forest understory. However, ramps are slow in their ability to replenish themselves. It takes five to seven years for an individual plant to be able to start producing seeds. Harvesting too much from a single patch, and not allowing patches time to recover from season to season will result in them quickly disappearing.

Photo: Leo Louis, Central New York, 2020.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change

Professor Kassam learning from village elders about the impacts of climate change on their livelihood and food systems. Specifically, they talk about timing of agricultural activities and increasing number of extreme weather events which is affecting their livelihood and food systems. He then described the ecological calendar project based on what he had learned from the villagers of Savnob. The original idea for ecological calendars (namely, the Calendar of the Human Body) was first discussed in the village of Savnob in 2006, when he began his research in the region.

Photo: Tobias Kraudzun, Savnob, Tajikistan, 2017.

Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face of Climate Change