Farmer Innovation and Self-help Group
Although in the 1980s the soviet government supported the establishment of private gardens in specified areas, the lack of irrigation water and suitable land often restricted this process.That was the case of the Khagatai village, situated on the narrow valley floor of the Varzob River below steep loess slopes. This marginal area is used for grazing and shows severe signs of water erosion.
In the early 1980s, widespread unemployment evidently had the effect of stimulating people to use their own initiative. In the 1982 one innovative farmer started to fence-off an area of half a hectare to establish a private fruit garden on the degraded grazing land.Some say that fencing of plots for private fruit and hay production is a traditional practice- abandoned after the 1950s- but taken up again recently to re-establish rights to individual plots. The practice is widespread in the higher valley of Varzob, where the farmer noted it and decided to set up his own plot. When it came to practical implementation despite the land user having five sons, the labour intensive terracing was only completed thanks to voluntary works of relatives and friends, a tradition locally termed hashar.
For more details refer to page number 193 of the referral link
Reference
Where the Land is Greener
