Milking 40 Yaks a day!
At Lingzhi, Thimphu, Bhutan
Kinley, 60, milking one of her favorite yaks against the backdrop of Mt. Jichudrakay (part of).
Milk is the lifeblood of highlanders, of course after cordyceps. And hand-milking is predominant even when flocks are large! She has more than 40 milking yaks out of 100 plus long-haired friends, and she never misses a day without doing that (I also asked if she recognizes them in the flock, and the response to that was she bursting out which probably meant "is that even a question?!"
She is a welcoming host. So too are her children. A family of four lives at Gewphu/Gyawophu, a village with only 3 households. It is located adjacent to the Soe-Lingzhi border after crossing Bakala (which is the upper pass, and Neleyla is the lower and the most used pass).
Half-a-life spending life with Yaks, Kinley has passed down the seasonal-migration tradition to her children, and she has an interesting story of her encounter with some forms of the local deity at Bakatsho (one of the largest lakes along the trail) which looks strangely out of place in the mountain pastures while grazing her yaks.
Sonam Rinchen, Bhutan, Thimphu
