Climate Change, Traditional Wisdom, Culture and Livelihoods in Talla Ramgarh, Nainital District, Uttarakhand

Talla Ramgarh, a valley in Nainital district, Uttarakhand, revered as Dev Bhoomi —the abode of the gods—has for generations sustained an agrarian culture bound to its mountains, springs and seasons through a rich reservoir of traditional ecological knowledge. This article, drawing on 5 years of community-based action research, led by the Madhuban Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, across eight villages of the valley, examines how climate change is unsettling this inherited rhythm—through erratic rainfall, receding snow, drying naulas (sacred springs), falling orchard yields, out-migration and the quiet dilution of cultural wisdom under the pressures of a cash economy. The study situates heritage—food traditions, vernacular architecture, folklore, festivals such as Harela and Phool Dei, and folk art forms like Aipan—as both a casualty of, and a possible pathway of resilience against, these disturbances. It documents two grounded interventions: Khushali, a livelihoods and climate-school programme that weaves hand skills, agro-products and experiential, land-linked pedagogy into schools and women’s collectives; and Mera Gaon aur Paani, a campaign to revive naulas and dharas in partnership with village institutions. Drawing on oral narratives, including a song of ecological lament, alongside field observations, the article argues that safeguarding intangible heritage and traditional wisdom is inseparable from strengthening community identity, ecological balance and sustainable livelihoods. It calls for local, integrated interventions that nurture intergenerational transmission of knowledge among women and youth, gently reconnecting the community of Talla Ramgarh to its unique geographical, cultural and spiritual inheritance.