June 2: The age old tradition of exchanging goods with goods is prevalent in some of the remote villages.

Over in Trashigang at an altitude of 3400 meters above the sea level is the Merak valley. Here the majority of the people continue to live as they have for centuries in small isolated farms and hamlets.

People here migrate from place to place with their livestock and live in tents woven from yak hair. Since dairy products are the only source of income, people of merak barter it with other goods. They exchange their dairy products with wheat, maize and barley in the neighbouring towns at Phongmey and Bidung.

A two day walk through steep narrow trails and gorges will take you to the spectacular valley of Merak. Enclosed within snow capped mountains and peaks, the beautiful valley of Merak often remains unexplored by the outside world. Today Merak lies at an altitude of 3400-3500 meters above the sea level.

With a population of close to 2,000, the villagers depend on livestock and dairy products for their livelihood. The harsh weather does not allow the people of Merak to practice agriculture. They barter yak meat and dairy products like cheese and butter with salt, wheat and rice. When they have money, they use it to purchase goods. But most of the time they barter goods for goods.

Kezang Lhundrup and his sister Sangay Euden were on their way to Bidung to barter cheese and butter with wheat when we caught up with them. Both in their 30’s, Kezang Lhundrup and his sister were traveling with nine horses. After two days walk, they reached their destination in Bidung.

Kezang Lhundrup and his sister will halt at their host’s house for the night. They rarely come out of their isolated village and it is an exciting journey but it is not without problems.

Kesang Lhundrup says transportation is one of the major problems faced by them while coming to the market at Phongmey and Bidung geog. He says the problem gets worse during monsoon when the road gets cut off.

Like Kezang Lhundrup and his sister, the people of Merak still continue to live on with the age old tradition of barter system. During summer, Meraks come to the market once with their dairy products and take back home wheat. In winter they come four to five times and take back maize and paddy in large quantities.

In winter, the harsh cold weather forces the villagers to migrate temporarily to the lower regions. They leave behind few housekeepers to take care of the house and belongings. But as summer approach, the Meraks return to their homes with their livestock.

Merak shares its boundary with Sakteng, Phongmey, Shongphu and Kangpara geog of Tashigang and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The area is located in the valley of Nyera.