Raghunath Baiga

I am Baiga from central India. Our agricultural system is called Bewar.

Bewar involves clearing small patches of forest, cultivating them briefly, and then leaving the land to regenerate. Over time, the forest returns and soil fertility is restored naturally. The key is scale. The cleared patch is small, and the return period is long enough for full recovery.

Seeds are chosen for the specific soil and moisture conditions in each patch. The crop mix can include grains, pulses, and minor millets so the soil is not drained by a single plant. After harvest, the plot is left, and the cycle moves elsewhere.

This system only works when practiced with restraint. Population, land, and time must stay in balance. If any one of those shifts too far, the forest does not recover and the soil loses its strength.

Many critiques of shifting cultivation ignore these rules. Bewar was designed as a sustainable forest-agriculture system long before sustainability became policy language. It is a system of movement, but also a system of limits that prevents permanent damage.