Methodology

           The main goal or purpose in going to Bylakuppe India is to study agriculture and farming of the Tibetan exiles. My questions that I would like to explore are: How have the Tibetans in Bylakuppe learned to farm on India's soil? What kind of problems they have confronted (ex: pesticides and fungus)? My methodology for researching these qestions are as follows:

Plan for entry and building rapport

            Previous to arrival I am planning on contacting the Organic Research and Training Center within the Himalayan Institute and make contacts. I am hoping that they can help me with a non-profit job or refer me to other people within the community. I would like to be able to work on the farms so that I can learn how it functions and it will also help become acquainted with people I can interview.

Description of Informants

            I am planning on contacting individuals within the Organic Research and Training Center and interviewing those who are involved with its functions and teaching. I would like to interview Tibetan refugees who work on the Tibetan Farm Project, those who run the farm, and those who purchase products from organic farms.

Plan for sampling and recruitment

            I will include Tibetan refugee farmers, trainers, and merchants who work and sell organic farm products. I plan on recruiting people by building rapport in the community and being interested in what they teach me. By working on farms I hope to become acquainted with individuals who can recommend me to other individuals.

Description of Method

            As I am out in the field I plan to work on the farms and in the market. I want to observe and learn how farmers maintain the organic environment while resisting pesticides, how they prune and care for plants to prepare for a greater harvest, and how irrigation works on the farms. By learning this information I hope to build contacts and interview various individuals about how they have learned to do what they do. I also want to interview individuals that have lived in Tibet and come to India to learn how the farming industry compares and contrasts. I would like to know the struggles, how they progressed, and how they continue to advance. Through informal interviewing I hope to become acquainted with the farms and through semi-formal interviewing I would like to learn how the Tibetan refugees have come to learn to farm on India’s soil.

            A few possible interview questions include:

·         When did you begin farming?

·         What is a typical day like on the farm?

·         What parts of farming are difficult?

·         Has the farming industry changed since you began?

·         How were you taught to farm?

·         Was learning a difficult process?

·         How does the monsoon affect the harvest?

·         What seasons do you plant certain crops?

·         How do you maintain the health of the soil?

·         What do you believe your connection to the earth?

·         How important is it for you to involve your children in farming?