Plants Traditionally Used for Making Utility Products by Forest Dwelling Gaddi and Sippi Tribes in Bhaderwah Tehsil of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

Tribals are known as the torchbearers of ethnobotany. Traditional plant-derived utility products (PUPs) are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and easy to handle, and are extensively used by the forest-dwelling Gaddi and Sippi tribes of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir for their subsistence. The present study is an attempt to document the invaluable traditional knowledge on wild plants and PUPs possessed by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes before it perishes completely, as this knowledge is transmitted orally to the next generation. Semi-structured schedules were used for the collection of data regarding the method of making and usage of PUPs and the plant species used for making such products. The cultural importance index (CI) and factor informant consensus (F_ic) were calculated to find the predominant plant species and the consensus among informants for species used in making PUPs, respectively. A total of 52 plant species from 28 families and 46 genera are used in the study area for making 93 PUPs. Tools, with a 55.9% contribution, were the major PUP category. Cedrus deodara, used for making 36 PUPs and having a 4.9 CI value, was the most utilized and important tree species for the Gaddi and Sippi tribes. The values of F_ic ranged between 0.97 (miscellaneous PUPs) and 0.99 (containers/storage PUPs). The present study documented 43 plant species as new ethnobotanical records from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir for their use in traditional plant products. The Gaddi and Sippi tribes in the study area have extensive knowledge about forest-based PUPs and the associated plant species. This invaluable knowledge can be exploited for developing new resources for some value-added traditional plant products and agro-based cottage industries, which could play an important role in socio-economic upliftment and livelihood promotion of tribals.

1. Introduction

The dependence of human beings on nature to cater to their varied needs dates back to prehistoric times [1]. Ethnobotany is the study of how the indigenous communities inhabiting a particular region and having their own specific culture utilize locally growing plant species to satisfy some of their basic requirements, like food, fodder, medicine, utility products, clothing, and shelter [2]. Tribals, the torch bearers of ethnobotany, are the ecosystem communities who maintain an intimate connection between humans and the environment as they live in complete harmony with nature [3]. Although they use different types of plants primarily for meeting their own needs, the commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been encouraged as an ecologically sustainable means of promoting the economic well-being of the rural communities [4]. Besides these basic requirements, plant-derived traditional utility products (PUPs), such as agricultural tools, household articles, and construction products, also play a vital role in the sustenance of human beings, particularly the tribals [5]. Traditional knowledge also finds its use in solving the problem of climate change, disaster risk resilience, and preservation of rich cultural heritage [6]. However, most of the previous research work in the field of ethnobotany has been carried out around medicinal and dietary aspects of wild plants, and only a few studies are based on other ethnobotanical uses of plants, including PUPs [7].

Despite all the above advantages, the gradual invasion of modern culture into rural lifestyles has resulted in a loss of traditional cultural heritage [8,9]. The truth that the amassed knowledge on ethnobotany is not recorded, accompanied by a lack of concern among the young generations for this field of study, has resulted in the decline of traditional knowledge in the present time [4,10]. Since the traditional knowledge of plant usage is possessed by only a few community members and is transmitted orally, it will disappear with the death of such knowledgeable persons if not documented [7,11,12,13]. Hence, traditional knowledge needs conservation, and many workers have advocated for the legal protection of traditional knowledge [14].

After Africa, India has the second-largest tribal population in the world [15]. The total population of scheduled tribes in India is approximately 10.45 crore, which constitutes 8.6% of the country’s total population [16]. The Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas are inhabited by many nomadic tribes, including Gaddis, Sippis, Paharis, Gujjars, and Bakarwals, who wander from one place to another to facilitate the grazing of their livestock [17]. According to the Census of 2011, the total population of the Gaddi and Sippi tribes in Jammu and Kashmir was 46,489 and 5966, respectively. In district Doda, however, there are 5999 Gaddis and 810 Sippis [18]. Gaddi and Sippi tribes are forest-dwelling tribes, primarily rearing large flocks of goat and sheep, practicing subsistence agriculture, speaking Gadyali or Gaddi language, wearing unique traditional costumes, and having their own tribal rituals and lifestyle [8]. The Gaddis were described by Chakravarty as “shepherds of the snowy ranges” [19]. One or two male members (locally known as palh) of the Gaddi family undergo seasonal migration along with their flock to district Samba and Kathua in the foothills of the Himalayas during winter and to higher reaches of the Himalayas in district Doda, and Kishtwar and Udhampur during the summer to facilitate grazing of their livestock [20]. Gaddis and Sippis use a wide variety of PUPs in their day-to-day life due to the remoteness of their inhabitants from the nearby cities and towns [21] and their close association with the forests.

A very few comprehensive studies on PUPs have been carried out in the past worldwide [22,23] whereas most such studies are not based on all types of PUPs and involved only traditional agricultural implements [24,25,26,27,28,29,30], or storage structures [31,32,33,34], or construction wood [35], or cookware [36], or handicraft [37,38], or construction and tools [39], or construction wood, handicraft, and fiber [40], or construction, furniture, and agricultural implements [41], or agricultural tools, domestic articles, and handicrafts [23]. At the global level, Zambrana et al. [39], Suksri et al. [42], Ibrar et al. [43], Sop et al. [11], Li et al. [44], and Neelo et al. [45] have documented, inter alia, 25, 14, 12, 54, 4, and 38 plant species used traditionally for construction purposes based on ethnobotanical studies carried out in certain parts of Thailand, Pakistan, Burkino Faso, Tibet, Botswana, and Bolivia, respectively. Some of the most commonly used species, generally large canopy trees, reported in these studies include Cedrela fissilis, Ficus spp., Dalbergia oliveri, Juglans regia, Morus nigra, Olea ferruginea, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Pinus spp., Quercus spp., Abies spp., Acacia spp., Albizia spp., Ziziphus spp., Terminalia spp., Tamarandus indica, and Eucalyptus spp.

Although Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed numerous ethnobotanical explorations [17,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63], no research has been conducted on PUPs in the region. The present study is an extensive pioneering research work in UT of Jammu and Kashmir, aiming primarily to (i) enlist the plant species used for making PUPs, (ii) document the PUPs used by Gaddi and Sippi tribes, and (iii) find culturally important plants used for making PUPs. The important hypotheses tested were (i) male members have the higher knowledge of plants and PUPs than female, (ii) aged members knew a greater number of plants and PUPs than youngsters, and (iii) educated members have lesser knowledge of plants used for making PUPs than those who have not attended the school at all.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area

Bhaderwah is a small yet beautiful valley in Doda district of JKUT located between the outer and middle Himalayas [20] on the 75°39′49.5″ East Longitude and 33°17′33.2″ North Latitude. It is drained by a small rivulet, Neeru, and surrounded by Himalayan mountain peaks with evergreen coniferous forests. The Gaddi and Sippi inhabited village Dhamunda is located at a high elevation in the tehsil Bhaderwah and is one of the most suitable places for paragliding [64]. Bhaderwah is bounded by District Kathua to the south, District Udhampur to the west, District Chamba (H.P) to the southeast, and the District Headquarters Doda to the north. It has a wide range of elevations from 1613 masl to 4320 masl. Bhaderwah valley harbors rich phytodiversity because of the presence of different climatic zones, viz. subtropical, temperate, and alpine, along the altitudinal gradient [65]. It receives heavy snowfall during the winter, whereas the colorful blooming of flowering plants is common during the summer and spring seasons. The temperature lies between 26 °C and 29 °C during summer, and 2 °C and 15 °C during winter. Bhaderwah receives an average rainfall of 1206 mm [62,66].

The six Gaddi and Sippi inhabited villages of Bhaderwah viz., Dhamunda, Manthla (Upper), Dandi, Kansar, Bharie, and Butla, where the survey was conducted, are located at far-flung higher elevations on the slopes of the Himalayan Mountain ranges in the close vicinity of evergreen coniferous forests. Kansar village (2400 m amsl) is the highest inhabited place in Bhaderwah valley, which gets cut off from the surrounding villages and Bhaderwah town due to heavy snowfall during the winter.

2.2. Field Survey

There are a total of 12 villages inhabited by Gaddis and Sippis in Bhaderwah. The research survey was conducted from February 2023 to February 2025 in six randomly selected villages, viz. Dhamunda, Manthla (Upper), Dandi, Kansar, Bharie, and Butla (

Table 1. Population and location of the six villages of the study site (source: https://www.censusindia.co.in/villagestowns/bhaderwah-tehsil-doda-jammu-and-kashmir-65, accessed on 12 July 2024).

Village	Population (Census 2011)		Elevation (m amsl)	Latitude	Longitude
	Total (No. of Persons)	Gaddi and Sippi (No. of Persons)
Dhamunda	376	353	2044	33°00′22.91″	75°72′61.35″
Manthla (Upper)	176	176	2140	33°00′23.76″	75°74′98.24″
Dandi	535	405	2000	32°98′61.69″	75°74′36.70″
Kansar	429	429	2400	32°96′83.66″	75°74′62.30″
Bharie	304	304	2200	32°95′13.77″	75°74′25.07″
Butla	916	391	1900	32°94′91.57″	75°73′68.41″

). Gaddis are found in all six villages under survey, whereas the Sippi population is found only in four villages, viz., Dhamunda, Kansar, Bharie, and Butla, where they live together with the Gaddi population.

A door-to-door survey was conducted to collect the required information about plant-based traditional products (PUPs) used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes in the study area. To obtain maximum information, the snowball sampling method was used. In the snowball sampling technique, some knowledgeable informants were initially selected and were asked to refer to other knowledgeable informants known to them, and thus the size of the sample increases manifold, just like the size of a rolling snowball. Thus, a large number of knowledgeable tribal people were identified, out of which a total of 236 informants were randomly selected and included in the sample.

The sample included informants from both genders, mostly elderly persons, farmers, and herders like shepherds (palh) who were intimately associated with forests and had an acquaintance with locally growing plants of ethnobotanical importance. The research study and its objectives were briefly explained to all the respondents before the collection of information, and prior informed consent (PIC) was obtained from each interviewee in written form. The ethnobotanical information was collected from the informants through semi-structured interviews and group discussions. The discussions were carried out in their mother tongue—the Gadyali or Gaddi language. Some information was also collected through direct observations of the daily chores of community members involving the use of PUPs.

After the collection of ethnobotanical data, some of the highly knowledgeable respondents were made to accompany the survey during forest visits for identification and collection of plant specimens used for making PUPs. Such plant species were identified by the respondents based on their vernacular names which were subsequently identified with botanical names with the help of a field guide by Polunin and Stainton [67] and by matching the voucher specimen with the preserved plant specimen in the Herbarium of Department of Botany, University of Jammu and online version of Janaki Amal Herbarium of IIIM, Jammu, https://iiim.res.in/herbarium/herbarium.htm (accessed on 12 July 2024). The plant identification was further confirmed with the help of taxonomic experts from the University of Jammu. Only accepted botanical names have been used in the present study, verified through online taxonomic databases, viz., Plants of the World Online and The World Flora Online https://powo.science.kew.org. All the collected plant specimens were pressed, dried, mounted on the herbarium sheets, and deposited in the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, University of Jammu, vide accession numbers mentioned in

Table 2. Plant species used for making PUPs.

Plant Species	Accession No.	Local Name	Family	Life-Form	Native or Exotic Species
Abies pindrow (Royle ex D.Don) Royle.	HBJU 16883	Rae	Pinaceae	T	N
Aesculus indica (Wall. ex Cambess.) Hook.	HBJU 16869	Goon	Sapindaceae	T	N
Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth and Hook. F.	HBJU 16899	Bhujli	Asteraceae	H	N
Anaphalis triplinervis (Sims) C.B. Clarke	HBJU 17030	Bhujli	Asteraceae	H	N
Berberis lycium Royle.	HBJU 16776	Kishmae	Berberidaceae	S	N
Betula utilis D.Don.	HBJU 16778	Bhuj	Betulaceae	T	N
Cannabis sativa L.	HBJU 16783	Bhang	Cannabaceae	H	E
Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex D.Don) G.Don.	HBJU 16884	Gaid	Pinaceae	T	N
Celtis australis L.	HBJU 16778	Khedak	Cannabaceae	T	E
Desmodium elegans DC.	HBJU 16796	Pree	Fabaceae	T	N
Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. ex Griseb.	HBJU 16791	Kins	Dioscoreacea	H	N
Dolomiaea macrocephala DC.ex Royle.	HBJU 16771	Jangli Dhoop	Asteraceae	H	N
Fraxinus excelsior L.	HBJU 16820	Shunu	Oleaceae	T	E
Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis.	HBJU 16878	Moti Aen	Urticaceae	H	N
Hordium vulgare L.	HBJU 17031	Jao	Poaceae	H	E
Impatiens glandulifera Royle.	HBJU 16775	Hallu	Balsaminaceae	H	E
Indigofera heterantha Wall. ex Brandis.	HBJU 16797	Kathu	Fabaceae	S	N
Isodon rugosus (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd.	HBJU 16807	Kothal	Lamiaceae	S	N
Jasminum officinale L.	HBJU 16821	Suin	Oleaceae	H	N
Juglans regia L.	HBJU 16902	Akhod	Juglandaceae	T	E
Juniperus communis L.	HBJU 16882	Bethal	Cupressaceae	S	E
Melia azedarach L.	HBJU 16903	Dreink	Meliaceae	T	E
Morus alba L.	HBJU 16819	Toot	Moraceae	T	E
Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC.	HBJU 16785	Pernahni	Caprifoliaceae	H	N
Olea ferruginea Wall. ex Aitch.	HBJU 16882	Kahu	Oleaceae	T	N
Oryza sativa L.	HBJU 16904	Dhaan	Poaceae	H	E
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana (Decne.) Rehder.	HBJU 16805	Killar	Hamamelidaceae	T	N
Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss.	HBJU 16885	Tos	Pinaceae	T	N
Pinus roxburghii Sarg.	HBJU 16886	Drab Chil	Pinaceae	T	N
Pinus wallichiana A.B.Jacks.	HBJU 16887	Chil	Pinaceae	T	N
Prinsepia utilis Royle.	HBJU 16854	Jeentai	Rosaceae	S	N
Prunus armeniaca L.	HBJU 16855	Cheir	Rosaceae	T	E
Prunus cornuta (Wall. ex Royle) Steud.	HBJU 16856	Jamo	Rosaceae	T	N
Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.	HBJU 16857	Aaroon	Rosaceae	T	E
Pteris biaurita L.	HBJU 16892	Kakei	Pteridaceae	H	N
Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don	HBJU 16858	Kaith	Rosaceae	T	N
Quercus floribunda Lindl. ex A.Camus.	HBJU 16801	Maru	Fagaceae	T	N
Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus.	HBJU 16802	Banj	Fagaceae	T	N
Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.	HBJU 16803	Kharshu	Fagaceae	T	N
Robinia pseudoacacia L.	HBJU 16799	Rubeen	Fabaceae	T	E
Rosa brunonii Lindl.	HBJU 16859	Kojein	Rosaceae	S	N
Sorbaria tomentosa (Lindl.) Rehder.	HBJU 16863	Kirdhae	Rosaceae	S	N
Spiraea canescens D. Don.	HBJU 16864	Pribri	Rosaceae	S	N
Taxus baccata L.	HBJU 16888	Dunnu	Taxaceae	T	E
Themeda anathera (Nees ex Steud.)Hack.	HBJU 16831	Aaloo	Poaceae	H	N
Toxicodendron succedaneum (L.) Kuntze.	HBJU 16750	Ulkhar	Anacardiaceae	T	E
Triticum aestivum L.	HBJU 16832	Kanak	Poaceae	H	E
Ulmus wallichiana Planch.	HBJU 16877	Marali	Ulmaceae	T	N
Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. ex DC.	HBJU 16749	Toondhai	Adoxaceae	S	N
Zanthoxylum armatum DC.	HBJU 16868	Timru	Rutaceae	T	N
Zea mays L.	HBJU 16833	Kukdi	Poaceae	H	E
Ziziphus oxyphylla Mill.	HBJU 16850	Ber	Rhamnaceae	T	N

Abbreviations used: H, herb; S, shrub; T, tree; N, native spp.; E, exotic spp.

. The photographs of PUPs and plants used for making such products were also taken during field visits.

2.3. Data Analysis

Data collected through questionnaires were analyzed using the cultural importance index (CI) and factor informant consensus (F_ic). CI was calculated to find the most important plant species culturally used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes, and F_ic expresses the degree of acceptability for the PUPs among the informants.

The cultural importance index (CI) was calculated as the total of use reports (UR) for a species in seven use categories (including three subcategories under the tools category), viz., agricultural tools, tools used for making woolen products, miscellaneous tools, containers or storage products, construction products, artifacts, and miscellaneous products divided by number (236) of informants (N) and mathematically expressed as follows:

$$\mathrm{CI}={\displaystyle \sum _{u=u_i}^{u_{NC}}{\displaystyle \sum _{i=i_1}^{i_N}U{R}_{ui}}}/N$$

where the seven use categories (u) are u_1–7 and informants (i) are −i_1–236. According to Tardio and Pardo-de-Santayana [68], CI accounts for the spread as well as the versatility of uses. The maximum value of CI is the total number of uses in different use categories, and it is improbable that informants will mention the uses of a species for all these use categories.

Factor informant consensus (F_ic), given by Trotter and Logan [69], was calculated using the following formula:

$${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{ic}}={\displaystyle \frac{{\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{ur}}{-\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{t}}}{{\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{ur}}-1}}$$

where n_ur refers to the number of use reports for a particular use category, and n_t refers to the number of taxa used for a particular use category by all the informants. F_ic values are low (near 0) if the selection of plants is random or if there is no sharing of information amongst informants, and approaches one (1) when the community has a well-defined selection criterion and/or if there is an exchange of information between informants [55].

2.4. Statistical Analysis

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed using R Studio version 1.2.1335 (R Studio 2019) to test the hypotheses and find the significant difference in knowledge of PUPs vis-à-vis gender, age, and education level of informants.

Two-tailed correlation analysis (at significance level, α = 0.05) was also performed to find the relationship between age and education level of informants with respect to PUPs knowledge.

3. Results

3.1. Informants

A total of 236 informants (91 females and 145 males) were interviewed for the present study (

Table 3. Demographic and educational details of the informants.

	Number of Informants (Percentage Contribution)
	Female	Male
Total Informants	91 (38.6%)	145 (61.4%)
Age groups
25–34	9 (9.9%)	18 (12.4%)
35–44	9 (9.9%)	20 (13.8%)
45–54	12 (13.2%)	28 (19.3%)
55–64	29 (31.9%)	41 (28.3%)
65–74	21 (23.1%)	21 (14.5%)
75–84	10 (11.0%)	13 (9.0%))
>85	1 (1.1%)	4 (2.8%)
Education
Never attended a school	70 (76.9%)	88 (60.7%)
Educated for 1–5 classes	13 (14.3%)	24 (16.6%)
Educated for 6–10 classes	6 (6.6%)	21 (14.5%)
Educated for >10 classes	2 (2.2%)	12 (8.3%)

). The age of the informants varied from 25 to 92 years. The maximum number of male (41, 28.3%) and female informants (29, 31.9%) belonged to the 55–65 years age group. The majority of the female (70; 76.9%) and male (88; 60.7%) informants had never attended the school.

3.2. Vegetation Characteristics and Diversity of Plant-Derived Utility Products (PUPs)

A total of 52 plant species belonging to 46 genera and 28 families were used for making 93 PUPs (Table 2). Angiosperms, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes were represented by 45, six, and one species, respectively. The maximum number of plant species belonged to the family Rosaceae (eight species), followed by Pinaceae and Poaceae (five species each), and Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, and Oleaceae (three species each) (Figure 1). The rest of the families were represented by one species each.

As far as life forms are concerned, 28 species were trees, nine shrubs, and 15 herbs. A total of 35 species were used for making tools: 25 species for agricultural tools, 12 species for tools used for making woolen products, and 20 species for miscellaneous tools. The number of species used for making container/storage products, construction products, artifacts, and miscellaneous products was 7, 6, 15, and 23, respectively.

Out of the total 52 reported species, 35 (67%) spp. are native to India, whereas 17 (33%) are exotic or introduced species (Table 2). The native and exotic status of the reported spp. was confirmed by visiting online databases like Plants of the World Online (powo) and the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species—India (GRIIS). The reported native spp. include most of the culturally important plants like Cedrus deodara (4.9 CI), Quercus floribunda (2.89 CI), Pinus wallichiana (1.91 CI), and Aesculus indica (1.18 CI), etc. These spp. have not only cultural and ethnobotanical importance but are also ecologically significant and play a pivotal role in maintaining the ecological balance of their habitats and supporting native wildlife. Some of the exotic spp. like Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum, and Zea mays are used as staple food crops. Exotic species can sometimes become invasive, outcompeting native flora and altering ecosystems. Hence, their cultivation and spread need to be managed carefully to protect native biodiversity.

In the present study, 93 plant-derived utility products (PUPs) have been documented (

Table 4. Plant species and plant-based traditional products (PUPs) used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes.

Plant Species Used	English Name of PUPs (Local Name)	Description and Uses
Quercus floribunda, Olea ferruginea, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana	Small hand hoe (Baela)	It is a small hoe-like tool with a wooden handle and a sharp iron base. It is used for shaping wood for making tools, doors, windows, etc.
Olea ferruginea, Quercus floribunda, Quercus semicarpifolia, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Sorberia tomentosa, Robinia pseudoaccacia, Morus alba	Hoe (Bongdi)	This tool consists of a broad piece of iron (7 × 4 inches approx.) fitted with a long (3 ft.) wooden handle. It is used for varied purposes like digging soil, making shallow trenches, sowing seeds, removing weeds, etc.
Olea ferruginea, Quercus floribunda, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana,	Large sickle (Chindri)	It consists of a long iron blade with a bent terminal end as a functional part attached to a wooden handle. It is used for cutting branches of fodder trees and shrubs for feeding cattle.
Cedrus deodara	Soil leveler (Daa)	Daa is a traditional agricultural implement, which is pulled by a pair of bulls and is used for loosening, leveling, and smoothing the soil surface by breaking soil clods after plowing. Its functional part consists of a thick rectangular wooden blade (3 ft × 1 ft approx.) connected to a long (7 ft approx.) wooden beam at the middle of its longer side. The operator rides on the blade of the Daa to put extra weight on it for effective leveling.
Olea ferruginea, Quercus floribunda, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana,	Sickle (Darati)	It consists of a crescent-shaped iron blade with a small wooden handle. It is used for reaping crops and cutting grass for feeding cattle.
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Quercus floribunda.	Mallet (Dhaleran)	It is a hammer-like tool that consists of a small wooden head attached to a wooden handle. It is used for breaking soil clods after plowing the agricultural fields.
Quercus floribunda, Prunus armeniaca, Fraxinus excelsior	Chopping block (Dikhra/Aeta)	It is a heavy-duty cross-section of a tree trunk, which is used as a hard surface for chopping meat as well as grass.
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Quercus floribunda.	Maize threshing stick (Dingar)	It is a long (approx. 5 ft), slightly curved, thick wooden stick, which is used for beating the dehusked and dried maize cobs to detach grains from them.
Quercus floribunda, Quercus semicarpifolia, Quercus leucotrichophora, Betula utilis	Plow/plow beam (Hal)	The plow is an agricultural implement that is used for turning and loosening the topsoil before sowing seeds. It is drawn by a pair of bulls. The components of a plow are the beam, handle, shoe, and share. All parts of the plow except the share are made up of wood. The plow beam is a long wooden pole, which is bent at one end where it is attached to the shoe, whereas its other end connects with the yoke.
Quercus floribunda, Quercus semicarpifolia, Taxus baccata	Plow handle (Haladi)	It is the handle of the plow used for steering and maneuvering the plow by the plowman.
Quercus floribunda, Quercus semicarpifolia	Plow shoe (Halotra)	It is the basal functional part of the plow. Its tapering and pointed end penetrates into the soil and cuts the furrow.
Aesculus indica, Prunus cornuta.	Yoke (Jungla)	It is a wooden bar with a pair of wooden staves on either side and is placed over the necks of a pair of bulls, which together pull the plow attached to the yoke.
Quercus floribunda	De-husking pin (Keeli)	Maize is one of the major crops grown by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes. The maize crop is harvested, and the outer sheath of the cob is removed by manual de-husking of cobs. A small pencil-shaped wooden pin, known as keeli, is used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes for manually stripping away the leaf sheath from the corn cob.
Olea ferruginea, Quercus floribunda, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana	Rake (Khangu)	It consists of a row of 7–9 iron teeth fixed in a small wooden strip as a working part, which is attached to a long wooden handle. It is used for gathering hay, needles of Cedrus and Pinus, and spreading cattle dung in agricultural fields.
Olea ferruginea, Quercus floribunda, Q. semicarpifolia, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Sorberia tomentosa	Axe (Kuradu)	It is a cutting tool that consists of a sharp-edged iron head as the working part attached to a long wooden handle. It is used for felling trees, cutting and splitting wood.
Olea ferruginea, Indigofera heterantha, Prunus persica	Farm stick (Lath)	It is a handheld stick that is made from delicate branches. It is used for controlling the movement of cattle, i.e., to make them move fast and in a desired direction while taking them out for grazing or during grazing by striking them. It is also used for making bulls to move fast during plowing by poking and striking them.
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana.	Paddy threshing sticks (Latha)	These are very long (about 8 feet), fresh and flexible wooden sticks, which are used for beating harvested and dried paddy crop to separate grains from the stalks.
Cedrus deodara, Betula utilis, Prunus cornuta	Churner (Maandh)	It consists of a wooden rod/pole fitted at its base with a thick wooden disk with deeply dissected margins. A rope is wrapped around the rod for 5–6 turns in such a way that both its ends are free. The churner is forcibly rotated clockwise and anticlockwise alternately by pulling the two free ends of the rope alternately with hands for churning the buttermilk.
Pinus roxburghii, P. wallichiana, Ulmus wallichiana, Toxicodendron succedaneum, Quercus floribunda.	Harrow (Mach)	It consists of an elongated (about 3 feet) and narrow wooden piece with a series of 8–10 holes in which hard wooden sticks are fixed and is connected to a long (about 6 feet) wooden pole. It is drawn by a pair of bulls in watered paddy fields to make top topsoil smoother and finer by breaking the clods before transplanting paddy saplings.
Quercus floribunda, Prunus armeniaca, Zanthoxylum armatum.	De-husking pestle (Molh)	It is a thick, large wooden pestle, about 3 feet long, which is slightly narrow in the middle and is used for pounding the barley and paddy grains in a big stone mortar for removing the husk.
Viburnum gradiflorum, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Pyrus pashia, Ulmus wallichiana, Rosa brononii.	Forked stick (Shangi)	It is a hard and strong Y-shaped forked stick. It is used for gathering cut-down bushes growing as weeds along with grass in grazing lands, which are either burnt or used for making a fence around the agricultural fields to protect crops from animals.
Quercus floribunda, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana	Hand held chopper (Toka)	It is a small handy tool with a small wooden handle and a sharp chopping iron blade. It is used for chopping hay for cattle.
B. Tools for making woolen products
Cedrus deodara	Frame for arranging warp fiber (Aernoti)	It is a rectangular wooden frame (about 4 × 3 feet) with a series of about 10–15 wooden pegs arranged on each of the two shorter sides of a rectangular frame. It is used for arranging warp fibers before weaving.
Cedrus deodara	Take up roll (Belnu)	It is a part of khaddi. It is a wooden roll around which fabric is wound and collected.
Aesculus indica, Juglans regia, Cedrus deodara, Fraxinus excelsior	Spinning wheel (Charkha)	Spinning involves twisting wool into yarn. The charkha is a wooden device that is used for spinning thread from wool. The operator turns the drive wheel with the help of a crank with one hand, whereas the other hand draws the fiber spun off the sharp tip of the spindle shaft.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana	Wheel for making yarn loops (Firki-aeti bali)	A cop (kukri) of thread formed by twisting two threads together with the help of a spinning top (unsan) is made into a thread loop (aeti) with the help of a wheel for making yarn loop (firki-aeti bali) and a frame for making double thread (jandri), which are made to work simultaneously. The iron needle of jandri bearing a cop (kukri) around it is inserted through the holes of jandri, and the thread from the cop is girdled around the wheel of firki-aeti bali by manually turning the firki wheel with the help of a crank, which results in the formation of a yarn loop. Yarn loops are then washed, colored, and used as warp threads.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana	Wheel for making thread balls (Firki-dagdu bali)	The washed and colored warp thread loops are made into thread balls (dagdu) by placing the thread loop around the wheel of firki (dagdu bali), and the thread from the loop is wound by hand into thread balls as the wheel of firki rotates.
Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior	Reed/ hand beater (Hatha)	It is a large comb like part of handloom with vertical slits through which the warp threads pass and is used to press the weft against the fell (part of fabric that is not rolled yet on take up roll) during weaving.
Pinus wallichiana, Cedrus deodara	Frame for making double thread (Jandri)	It is a small tool that consists of two horizontal wooden pieces, each having one hole at each end, which are interconnected at their midpoint by a vertical piece of wood and supported by a slanting stand. Two long iron needles, each bearing a cone-shaped cop (kukru) of thread around it, are inserted through the holes at each side of this tool. It is used for making a ball of double thread (dagdu) by joining two threads from two cops.
Prunus armeniaca, Pinus roxburghii, Pinus wallichiana, Aesculus indica, Ziziphus oxyphylla.	Comb for wool (Kaanghi)	It is a small, L-shaped wooden tool used for smoothing and straightening the wool by combing it. Its functional part, bearing a series of teeth, is fixed vertically at one end of a horizontal supporting wooden strip, which rests on the ground and which is pressed under the feet while combing the wool. The wool is placed on the teeth of the comb, which is then pulled apart into two bunches with both hands. These two bunches are combined together, and the same action is repeated several times until woolen fibers are aligned almost in the same direction. Combing also separates the short fibers from long fibers and removes any unwanted matter. The fibers, which are now cleaner, stronger, finer, and lustrous, are ready for spinning.
Quercus floribunda, Fraxinus excelsior	Treadles/foot pedals (Khadavan)	These are wooden pedals located at the base of the handloom, which are pressed with the feet by the weaver to control the formation of warp sheds. A shed is the space between the lower and upper warp threads through which weft is made to pass during weaving.
Cedrus deodara	Handloom/main frame (Khaddi)	It is a traditional weaving machine operated by hand and foot. It is used for weaving different types of woolen blankets (chitru, fadki, chadar) and fabric (taani). Taani is used for making woolen clothes like coat, kurta, and pyjama (suthan). The different parts of Khaddi are the mainframe, weaver seat, harnesses, shuttle, reed, foot pedals, and take-up roll.
Aesculus indica, Prunus armeniaca, Fraxinus excelsior	Weaving shuttle (Naal)	It is a hollow, small, cylindrical wooden tool having one end open, whereas the other end is closed and pointed. It carries weft yarn in its cavity and is thrown forcibly by the weaver from one side to the other through the warp shed while weaving on khaddi
Aesculus indica, Quercus floribunda, Cedrus deodara, Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior	Shaft/harness (Rachh)	It is a wooden frame of khaddi used for holding warp threads. The up and down movement of the shaft with the help of treadles facilitates the passage of weft across the warp to create the desired pattern.
Berberis lycium, Olea ferruginea	Weft loading stick (Tarnethi)	It is a thin and long wooden stick used for loading weft fiber into the cavity of the weaving shuttle(naal) before weaving.
Prunus armeniaca, Melia azedarach, Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus floribunda	Hand spindle or drop spindle (Unsan)	It is a small tool that consists of a straight wooden rod or shaft, which has an attached wooden disk or conical object at its base and a notch at its top to guide the thread during spinning. It is used in hand spinning to twist and spin two threads from a ball (dagdu) of untwisted double threads into a single strong thread wound around the base of the spindle shaft to form a small cone-shaped cop (kukri) or cone-shaped ball. Unsan is allowed to drop down and be suspended in the air while the thread is spun after rotation has been started by twisting its shaft forcibly by both hands. The twisted yarn is used as a warp fiber.
C. Other/miscellaneous tools
Cedrus deodara	Carrying rods (Balli)	It is a long and strong wooden pole, which is used for carrying water in large urn-shaped brass vessels called baltoi from a water source, particularly during marriages or other community functions. Water-filled baltoi is hung down in the middle of balli with the help of a rope, and the balli is carried on the shoulders by two persons, one at each end. It is also used for carrying palak (Palanquin).
Themeda anathera	Grass broom (Boukari)	It is a common broom in every household, which is made up of grass and is used for sweeping inside the house.
Cedrus deodara	Roof compressing bat (Dabotan)	It is a bat-shaped, heavy wooden tool with a small handle and thick, heavy body. It is used to compress the rooftop soil of kuchha houses during rainy seasons by repeated forceful beating, which makes the soil compact and prevents water leakage into the house.
Cedrus deodara, Quercus floribunda, Fraxinus excelsior	Washing bat (Dabotan)	It is a bat-shaped wooden device with a rectangular frame and a short handle. It is used for washing clothes by repeatedly beating wet clothes after applying soap.
Cedrus deodara, Prunus armeniaca, Pyrus pashia, Fraxinus excelsior	Noodle-making tool (Jandra/Bhedu)	It is a sheep-shaped wooden structure having a wide vertical cylindrical hole with an iron sieve at the base of the hole. It is used for making a noodle-like dish (satroley) out of boiled wheat flour balls. Flour balls are placed in the hole and pressed hard against the sieve with a wooden pestle by using a long, thick, and strong wooden pole or iron-digging bar as a lever to press the pestle.
Quercus floribunda, Berberis lycium, Parrotoipsis jacquemontiana, Aesculus indica, Spiraea canescens	Fiber twisting hook (Konkdi)	It is a small hooked stick, which is used for twisting plant fibers together for making rope.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Pinus roxburghii, Aesculus indica, juglans regia, Celtis australis	Snow shovel (Kuranu)	It is a shovel-like tool used for lifting and removing snow from the roof of kutcha houses, lawns, maize haycocks (kundu), etc. It consists of a broad rectangular wooden blade at its base, having a long pole-like handle.
Isodon rugosus, Spiraea canescens	Broom (Loath)	It is a hard broom made from the stem of the shrub. It is used for sweeping lawns and the roofs of the houses.
Cedrus deodara, Fraxinus excelsior	Wooden ladder (Maanj)	It is a multipurpose portable wooden ladder. Its side rails are made up of long wooden poles, whereas its rungs are made up of small wooden crossbars.
Cedrus deodara, Oryza sativa	Snow clearing frame (Masheen)	It is a tool used for removing snow from the roofs of kutcha houses. It has a triangular base made by joining three small wooden poles connected to a long pole-like handle. The triangular base has a network of ropes made from the hay of Oryza sativa.
Abies pindrow, Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana	Spout (Naadu)	A naadu consists of a piece of curved bark of a tree or a small carved out wooden channel which is placed at the front of a water source (spring or a small stream) on a raised support at a certain height above ground level. The water is made to fall from the wooden channel and is used for drinking purposes.
Prunus armeniaca, Fraxinus excelsior	Sickle for cutting vegetables (Padetri)	Padetri is a traditional sickle with a stand used for cutting vegetables. Its front part consists of a slightly curved iron blade attached vertically to one end of a basal horizontal wooden support, which rests on the ground and which is pressed under the feet while cutting vegetables with both hands.
Pinus roxburghii	Tiny broom (Paroulu)	It is a tiny broom made from the needles of a chir-pine. It is used for sweeping the cooking area of the kitchen. It is swiftly moved to-and-fro repeatedly for blowing air into the burning coal in a small earthen pot, locally known as Daeru, in which incense (dhoop) is burnt during prayers (puja).
Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior	Wood shaving plane (Randa)	It is a wooden tool with a flat bottom and a sharp iron blade which is used for shaping and smoothing the wood surface for making wooden tools, doors, and windows, etc.
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Olea ferruginea, Quercus leucotrichophora,, Morus alba	Walking stick (Sooti)	The hard straight branches are used as walking sticks, which are generally used by old-aged and infirm persons as support while walking, especially in hilly areas.
D. Containers/storage products
Cedrus deodara	Trough (Charh)	It is a much longer and fixed outdoor trough made from a hollowed-out wooden log and is approximately 10 feet long, 1.25 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. It is placed near the continuous source of water from where the continuous supply of water is maintained into the charh, which keeps on overflowing all the time. It provides fresh drinking water to the cattle.
Cedrus deodara, Toxicodendron succedaneum, Aesculus indica, Pinus wallichiana.	Honey barrels (Ganarh)	It is a wooden barrel (about 2.5 ft long and 1.25 ft in diameter) made from an old tree trunk with a decaying core. It is used for beekeeping and honey extraction. The tree trunk is hollowed out by removing the decaying core, the two open ends of the barrel are closed with wooden sheets, and a small hole is made in the center of the barrel surface for the entry and exit of honeybees.
Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare	Flour storage bin (Koolhi)	It is a barrel-shaped fixed mud bin housed in the kitchen and used for storing corn flour. It is made from mud mixed with wheat and barley straw, locally known as kinyarhi, which prevents shrinkage cracks in it.
Cedrus deodara, Ulmus wallichiana, Aesculus indica	Cattle feeding trough (Kunala)	It is a long wooden trough made from a hollowed-out wooden log. It is about 3–4 feet long, 1.25 feet wide, and 8 inches deep. It is used for feeding animals.
Cedrus deodara	Tub (Kund)	It is an outdoor, fixed, large round tub with a sloping inner wall and narrow bottom made from a hollowed-out wooden block. It is used for washing clothes, especially woolen blankets, with feet by jumping alternately from one leg to another.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana.	Grain storage fixed compartment (Kuthar)	This is a large wooden compartment, which is fixed to the wall in the room and used for storing large quantities of grains. It may be single-chambered or may consist of two or three chambers for storing different types of grains. Each chamber has an opening on its roof for pouring grains and a small outlet at the base of its front part for taking out grains.
Cedrus deodara, Toxicodendron succedaneum, Aesculus indica	Dog feeding container (Kutroshu)	It is a small rectangular wooden container carved out of a small wooden block used for feeding and watering dogs.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana	Storage box (Sandook)	It is a wooden box for storing blankets, clothes, and other household articles. Sandook is generally gifted to the bride by their parents.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana.	Grain storage moveable compartment (Toon)	It is a Kuthar-like storage structure used for storing grains. It is generally smaller than a Kuthar, single-chambered, not fixed, and can be moved within the house.
E. Construction products
Berberis lycium, Quercus floribunda, Cedrus deodara.	Farm fencing (Baad)	Wooden poles, dry bushes, and thorny branches are used to form a protective obstruction, known as Baad, along the borders of agricultural fields to protect crops from wild and stray animals.
Cedrus deodar	Roof shafts (Faantu)	These are small wooden shafts (about 5 ft long), which are obtained by longitudinally slitting the wooden logs with the help of an ax. These are closely arranged in a series on the wooden beams of the roof, and a thick layer of Pinus needles(othan) is placed on it, followed by a soil layer, which is compacted with the help of Dabotan to prevent water leakage during the rainy season.
Cedrus deodara	Hay rack (Gaali)	It is an outdoor structure, which consists of a series of multiple vertical racks made up of very long wooden poles (about 15 feet long) and used for holding and storing dried grass bales off the ground for feeding to cattle.
Cedrus deodara, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana	Cattle compartment (Gaien)	It is a cattle compartment within the house, which consists of a series of 10–15 vertical wooden posts fixed on two horizontal wooden beams, one at each end. The vertical posts are about 4 feet in height, and the distance between two successive posts is about 1 foot. The cattle are tied to the vertical posts by means of a rope known as daan.
Cedrus deodara	Lamb shelter (Oda)	Oda is a small (approx. 7 × 4 ft.) temporary shelter made in the forest or agricultural fields near forests for protecting lambs from harsh weather conditions and wild animals. It consists of four walls of small height (3–4 feet) made up of stones with a roof covering made up of small, rough wooden planks with bark (Shaata) derived from the outermost layers of the trunk of large trees. Oda has a covered opening in the roof for the entry and exit of lambs.
Pinus wallichiana, Pteris biaurita	Roofing material (Othan)	The fallen dry needles of Pinus wallichiana and aerial parts of Pteris biaurita, collectively known as othan, are collected from the forest and are used as roofing material for making mud(kutcha) houses. A layer of othan is placed under the roof soil of a kutcha house that binds with soil particles and keeps the soil in position and thus helping in preventing trickling of rain water down the roof into the house during the rainy season.
Cedrus deodara	Field security shed (Tapri)	Tapri is a small and open security shed in the agricultural fields for human surveillance of wild animals to keep them away from crop fields.
Cedrus deodara	Log foot-bridge (Tarangdi)	It is a temporary footbridge made by placing two or three long wooden logs with a flattened upper surface close to one another across the stream. It is used by pedestrians and cattle to cross small water streams.
F. Artifacts
Oryza sativa, Zea mays	Circular straw rug (Chakotu)	It is a small circular (about 1.5–2 feet in diameter) grass rug made out of paddy straw (panoli) and outer sheath of maize cob (pochal) and is used for sitting of only a single person.
Berberis lycium, Spiraea canescens	Cattle mouth guard or muzzle (Jaabu)	It is a cup-shaped structure used to cover the snout of bulls while plowing the field to prevent them from eating nearby standing crop or grass. It is made by splitting and shredding the delicate twigs of the plants, and the shreds are then woven.
Gerardina diversifolia, Cannabis sativa, Oryza sativa	Rope (Jodi)	Jodi is a rope prepared from plant fiber, locally known as shegar. The stem bundles of Gerardiana diversifolia are submerged in a water source like ponds, pools, streams, etc., by placing them under the weight of a big stone for 4–5 days for retting, which softens the bark. After retting the bark of individual stems is peeled off manually, and the plant fibers (shegar) thus obtained are twisted together with the help of a hooked stick known as Konkdi to form rope (Jodi). Jodi is also prepared from paddy straw and stem fiber of Cannabis sativa without retting. Jodi is used for collecting fuel wood and fodder, tying cattle with wooden posts in cattle sheds, making woven beds (manja), and carrying belts for the conical basket (Keed).
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Berberis lycium.	Conical carry basket (Keed)	It is a conical basket with two sling straps, which is carried on the back of the person. It is made by weaving intact or longitudinally split shreds of branches of plants and used in day-to-day life for carrying Cedrus needles(ker), cattle dung, grasses, water pitchers, etc.
Pinus wallichiana, P. roxburghii, Picea smithiana, Cedrus deodara, Toxicodendron succedaneum, Fraxinus excelsior, Gerardina heterophylum	Woven bed (Manja)	It is a traditional wooden cot. It consists of a frame of strong wooden posts with an interwoven network of ropes (jodi) made from paddy straw and Gerardina heterophylum. It is used for sleeping as well as for sitting purposes.
Oryza sativa, Zea mays	Straw carpet (Pand)	It is a hand-knitted carpet made from paddy straw (panoli) and outer sheath of maize cob (pochal) and is used for sitting purposes in homes and for eating food during marriage and other social functions.
Oryza sativa	Straw slippers (Poola)	These are soft slippers made out of paddy straw that are used as footwear inside homes, particularly in kitchens.
Olea ferruginea, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Jasminum officinale.	Round pot stand (Tareda)	It is a multipurpose ring-like structure made by intertwining delicate and tender twigs of plants. It is used for keeping cooking pots in the kitchen, like cauldrons, earthen pots, steel pots, etc., tying cattle with wooden posts in the cattle house(gaien), and holding a maandh (churner) in position while churning buttermilk.
G. Miscellaneous products
Indigofera heterantha, Olea ferruginea, Prunus persica, Quercus floribunda, Desmodium elegans	Tooth brush (Beedi)	Small tender twigs are chewed at one end and used as a brush for cleaning teeth.
Principia utilis, Rosa brunonii.	Palanquin dome (Chhonka)	The fresh, long, and delicate twigs are used for making the dome of the palanquin (palak).
Indigofera heterantha, Jasminum officinale.	Tying cord (Chubdi)	These are soft twigs used for tying freshly cut grass into grass bales.
Juniperus communis, Dolomiaea macrocephala	Incense (Jangli dhoop)	Dry roots of Dolomiaea macrocephala and dry leaves of Juniperus communis are burnt over charcoal as dhoop.
Aesculus indica, Fraxinus excelsior	Saddle (Kaathi)	It is a wooden seat for the rider, which is fastened on horseback.
Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana	Cattle bedding (Ker)	The fallen dry needles of Cedrus deodar and Pinus wallichiana, locally known as ker, are gathered by women from the forest floors with the help of a Rake (Khangu)and carried to homes in a conical basket carried on the back (Keed). Ker is stored outside in the close vicinity of the house in the form of large conical heaps known as roodh and is spread on the floor of the cattle house(gaien) as bedding for the comfortable sitting of cattle.
Dioscorea deltoidea.	Rhizomes of Dioscorea deltoidea (Kins)	The rhizomes of Dioscorea deltoidea (kins) are rubbed on a grater to form small shreds, which are used as a soap substitute for washing clothes. Grated rhizomes are mixed with hot water in a large wooden tub (kund) in which the clothes are washed.
Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior	Palanquin (Palak)	It consists of a wooden box having a dome-shaped top covered by a maroon cloth, and is used for carrying brides. Its dome is made by bending and fixing 4–5 fresh, long, and delicate twigs (chhonka) on the box. It is carried by four persons on wooden poles (balli), which rest on their shoulders.
Principia utilis	Water gun (Pichkari)	The hollowed out branches of the plant are used for making pichkari, which is used by children for splashing colors on one another during the celebration of the Holi festival.
Pteris biaurita, Zea mays	Scrubber (Shota)	The outer sheath of the maize cob is used as a scrubber for washing utensils. The leaves of Pteris biaurita are used as a scrubber for cleaning pots used for storing milk, butter-milk, curd, and ghee because of their abrasive property due to their rough texture.
Aesculus indica	Fruit of A. indica (Goon)	Fruit of A. indica, locally known as goon, is used as a soap substitute for washing woolen clothes. The crushed fruit kernel is added to warm water and stirred with a rod until it lathers, and it is used for washing woolen clothes.
Cedrus deodara	Corpse-carrying structure (Shidh)	A small wooden ladder-like structure, which is used for carrying the body of a dead person to the cremation ground on the shoulders.
Nardostachys jatamansi	Insect repellent (Pernahni)	Dried roots of N. jatamansi (Pernahni) are placed in boxes containing woolen clothes and used as insect repellent to protect clothes from insects.
Anaphalis margaritacea, Anaphalis triplinervis	Leaves for lighting fires (Bhujli)	Dried leaves of Anaphalis margaritacea and A. triplinervis, commonly known as bhujli, are used for lighting a fire by Gaddi shepherds when they are in the forests for grazing their livestock. The bhujli are placed on a small hard white lint stone, known as shukrah, and a small iron piece known as runka is made to strike against this stone to generate a spark when the bhujli catch fire.
Impatiens glandulifera.	Hand dye (Hallu)	The crushed fresh leaves and tender branches of a young plant are rubbed between both hands for 5–10 min for skin decoration, and this leaves a red color on the hands.

). These PUPs are used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes of the study area in their day-to-day life for different purposes. These products are prepared from 52 locally growing plant species (Table 2), mostly wild plants. The largest number of PUPs was made from Cedrus deodara and Quercus floribunda, which were used for making 36 and 23 PUPs, respectively (Figure 2). These were followed by Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana (16 PUPs), Fraxinus excelsior (15 PUPs), Pinus wallichiana (14 PUPs), and Aesculus indica (12 PUPs). For the convenience of study, these plant products were arbitrarily classified into five major categories, viz., tools, containers/storage products, construction products, artifacts, and miscellaneous products.

3.3. Tools

A tool is a product designed to facilitate a particular type of manual work. The number of tools (52) reported is 55.9% of the total PUPs. These tools are used for carrying out different activities in day-to-day life. Tools can be further classified into three sub-categories viz. agricultural tools (Figure 3a), tools for making woolen products (Figure 3b), and other/miscellaneous tools (Figure 3c), and their numbers are reported as 22 (23.7% of total PUPs), 14 (15.1%), and 16 (17.2%), respectively (Figure 4). All parts of traditional handlooms are made up of wood and are derived from different plant species. Miscellaneous tools include all other tools which could not be included in the above two sub-categories, e.g., shrub broom (loath)—a broom used for sweeping houses and lawns, sickle for cutting vegetables (padetri), washing bat (dabotan)—a wooden bat used for washing clothes, churner (maandh)—a wooden churner used for churning buttermilk, snow shovel (kuranu), and snow clearing frame (masheen)—a wooden tool with the triangular working frame used for clearing snow from roofs etc.

3.4. Containers/Storage Products

These products are used for holding or storing different objects (Figure 5). Nine products (9.7%) were reported from this category. These containers/storage products are a grain storage fixed compartment (kuthar) and moveable compartment (toon); flour storage bin (koolhi); honey barrel (ganarh); dog feeding container (kutroshu); cattle watering long trough (charh); cattle feeding trough (kunala); large, fixed tub for washing woolen clothes (kund); and storage box for storing household articles (sandook).

3.5. Construction Products

These products are used in construction work (Figure 6). Eight (8.6%) of these products were reported in the present study. For example, products used for the construction of shelters such as houses, field security shed (tapri), cattle compartment (gaien), lamb shelter (oda), roof shafts (faantu), and roofing material (othan). Besides shelters, some other structures are also constructed by using construction products, e.g., a hay rack (gaali), a log foot-bridge (tarangdi), and farm fencing (baad).

3.6. Artifacts

The handmade products of cultural interest (Figure 7) included eight products (8.6%). For example, paddy straw carpet (pand) and paddy straw rug (chakotu), paddy straw slippers (poola), fiber rope (jodi), and traditional cot (manja).

3.7. Miscellaneous Products

This category comprises all other products that could not be included in any of the above-mentioned categories. As many as 16 (17.2%) of such products have been documented in the present study.

3.8. Current Status of PUPs

Twenty PUPs that were popular among these communities during the recent past have been reported by the informants to be rare PUPs and are on the verge of disappearance due to the availability of modern tools/items. These include frame for arranging warp fiber (aernoti), take up roll (belnu), washing bat (dabotan), reed/hand beater (hatha), noodle making tool (jandra/Bhedu), frame for making double thread (jandri), weaving shuttle (naal), treadles/foot pedal (khadavan), handloom (khadi), snow shovel (kuranu), snow clearing frame (masheen), wood channel water spring (naadu), weft loading stick (tarnethi), flour storage bin (koolhi), grain storage fixed compartment (kuthar), grain storage moveable compartment (toon), rope (jodi), cattle feeding trough (kunala), straw slippers (poola), and hand spindle (unsan).

Four PUPs, viz., scrubber (shota), fruit of Aesculus indica, used as detergent (goon), rhizome of Dioscorea deltoidea used as detergent (kins), and dog feeding container (kutroshu), were reported to have disappeared completely from the life of these tribes during the recent past and are no longer in use.

3.9. Cultural Importance Index (CI)

The maximum value of the cultural importance index (CI) was recorded for Cedrus deodara (4.92). The top three major contributors were miscellaneous tools (CI_OT, 1.11), container/storage products (CI_CS, 1.05), and tools used for making woolen products (CI_WP, 1.03) (

Table 5. The cultural importance index of species used for making PUPs.

Plant Species	CIAT	CIWP	CIOT	CICS	CICo	CIAr	CIMP	CI
Abies pindrow (Royle ex D.Don) Royle.	0.08							0.08
Aesculus indica (Wall. ex Cambess.) Hook.	0.25	0.28	0.17	0.25			0.23	1.18
Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth and Hook. F.							0.04	0.04
Anaphalis triplinervis (Sims) C.B. Clarke							0.05	0.05
Berberis lycium Royle.		0.19	0.14		0.10	0.24		0.67
Betula utilis D.Don.	0.21							0.21
Cannabis sativa L.						0.10		0.10
Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex D.Don) G.Don.	0.33	1.03	1.11	1.05	0.98	0.18	0.24	4.92
Celtis australis L.			0.07					0.07
Desmodium elegans DC.							0.06	0.06
Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. ex Griseb.							0.07	0.07
Dolomiaea macrocephala DC. ex Royle.							0.14	0.14
Fraxinus excelsior L.	0.06	0.30	0.19			0.04	0.12	0.71
Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis						0.19		0.19
Hordium vulgare L.				0.18				0.18
Impatiens glandulifera Royle.							0.28	0.28
Indigofera heterantha Wall ex. Brandis.	0.08						0.05	0.13
Isodon rugosus (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd.			0.17					0.17
Jasminum officinale L.						0.14	0.14	0.28
Juglans regia L.		0.96	0.44				0.34	1.74
Juniperus communis L.							0.15	0.15
Melia azedarach L.		0.06						0.06
Morus alba L.	0.18		0.14					0.32
Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC.							0.21	0.21
Olea ferruginea Wall. ex Aitch.	0.31	0.08	0.06			0.10	0.08	0.64
Oryza sativa L.			0.28			0.48		0.77
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana (Decne.) Reh.	0.48		0.07		0.03	0.16		0.74
Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss.			0.26			0.38		0.64
Pinus roxburghii Sarg.	0.16	0.20	0.21			0.16		0.74
Pinus wallichiana A.B.Jacks.	0.19	0.41	0.33	0.47	0.12	0.39		1.91
Prinsepia utilis Royle.							0.08	0.08
Prunus armeniaca L.	0.24	0.31	0.12					0.66
Prunus cornuta (Wall. ex Royle) Steud.	0.20						0.15	0.36
Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.					0.03		0.05	0.08
Pteris biautita L.	0.08		0.06					0.14
Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don	2.00	0.30	0.31		0.12		0.12	2.86
Quercus floribunda Lindl. ex A.Camus.	0.52		0.42					0.94
Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus.	0.80							0.80
Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.	0.11							0.11
Robinia pseudoacacia L.	0.08						0.07	0.16
Rosa brunonii Lindl.	0.07							0.07
Sorbaria tomentosa (Lindl.) Rehder.			0.06			0.03		0.09
Spiraea canescens D.Don.	0.15							0.15
Taxus baccata L.	0.04							0.04
Themeda anathera (Nees ex Steud.) Hack.			0.03					0.03
Toxicodendron succedaneum (L.) Kuntze.	0.06			0.06		0.04		0.15
Triticum aestivum L.				0.18				0.18
Ulmus wallichiana Planch.	0.09			0.03				0.12
Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. ex DC.	0.11							0.11
Zanthoxylum armatum DC.	0.19							0.19
Zea mays L.						0.28	0.16	0.44
Ziziphus oxyphylla Mill.		0.13						0.13

CI = cultural importance, CI_AT = cultural importance for the agricultural tools category, CI_WP = cultural importance for woolen products category, CI_OT = cultural importance for other tools, CI_CS = cultural importance for containers/storage products category, CI_Co = cultural importance for construction category, CI_Ar = cultural importance for artifacts category, and CI_MP = cultural importance for miscellaneous products.

). Quercus floribunda, with 2.89 CI, was the next most important plant in the Gaddi and Sippi culture, mainly used for making agricultural tools (CI_AT, 2.0). Other important species with more than 1.0 CI were Juglans regia (CI, 1.74), Pinus wallichiana (CI, 1.91), and Aesculus indica (CI, 1.18).

3.10. Factor Informant Consensus (F_ic)

All the PUPs were classified into five categories (

Table 6. Factor informant consensus (F_ic) of various PUP categories.

PUP Categories	nur	nt	Fic
Tools	3704	57	0.985
Containers/storage	524	7	0.989
Construction	327	6	0.985
Artifacts	685	15	0.980
Miscellaneous products	671	21	0.970

). The values of factor informant consensus (F_ic) for these categories ranged between 0.970 (miscellaneous products) and 0.985 (tools). The highest citation (3704) and number of species (57) were utilized for the tools category. The major share of contribution was from agricultural tools (1639 citations; 26 species), followed by miscellaneous tools (1061 citations; 19 species) and tools for woolen products (1004 citations; 12 species). Other important categories were artifacts (685 citations; 15 species) and miscellaneous products (671 citations; 21 species).

3.11. Knowledge of PUPs with Respect to Gender, Age, and Educational Level

The number of PUPs known to males (29.4) was significantly (F-value, 91.7; p-value < 0.001) higher than the female (18.1) informants (

Table 7. A comparison of the number of plants known to informants with respect to gender, age, and education.

	Number of PUPs		ANOVA
	Female	Male	F-Value	p-Value
Total informants	18.1	29.4	91.7	<0.001
Age-group
25–34	8.9	18.0	22.4	<0.001
35–44	8.6	26.7	49.0	<0.001
45–54	14.5	25.6	31.5	<0.001
55–64	18.9	29.0	41.7	<0.001
65–74	20.4	34.4	63.0	<0.001
75–84	30.8	44.5	37.4	<0.001
>85	35	39.5	0.4	0.565 ns
Education level
Never attended a school	20.7	34.1	121.9	<0.001
Educated for 1–5 classes	10.2	24.3	70.6	<0.001
Educated for 6–10 classes	9.8	21.6	31.3	<0.001
Educated for >10 classes	6.5	18.8	6.9	0.022

Values given in the table are means. ANOVA is Analysis of Variance, and ns is non-significant ANOVA.

). The informants in the 75- to 84-year age group reported the highest number of PUPs for both female (30.8) and male (44.5) informants. Informants who had never attended a school had the maximum information regarding PUPs, with female and male informants having, on average, the data of 20.7 and 34.1 PUPs, respectively. Correlation analysis (r_0.05,(2),236 = 0.60; p < 0.001) shows that with the increase in the age of informants, the knowledge of PUPs increased significantly (Figure 8a). Education of the informants was significantly (p < 0.001) and inversely correlated (r_0.05,(2),236 = −0.37) to the number of PUPs reported by the informants, i.e., as the education level of the informants increased, the information regarding PUPs decreased (Figure 8b).

4. Discussion

Bhadarwah is located in the Western Himalayan region with an altitudinal variation of 1613 to 4320 m amsl. The area supports rich phytodiversity along its altitudinal gradient. The region is dominated by Pinus roxburghii, Quercus floribunda, and Pyrus pashia up to 2000 m amsl, Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Quercus leucotrichophora, Quercus semecarpifolia, and Aesculus indica up to 3000 m amsl, and Abies pindrow, Picea smithiana, Taxus baccata, and Betula utilis up to 3500 m amsl. Gaddi and Sippi tribes use all these and other associated plant species for making PUPs. A combination of rich phytodiversity and the remotest location of Gaddi and Sippi settlements in the Bhaderwah Himalayan region has resulted in valuable ethnobotanical heritage in this region.

4.1. Vegetation Characteristics and PUPs Diversity

A total of 52 plant species are used for making 93 PUPs in the present study. The number of species used is higher than those of many similar studies carried out in India [22,25,27], whereas Kang et al. [40] has reported the use of 84 species from Heihe Valley, China, and Salernao et al. [23] have mentioned the usage of 60 species from Basilicata, Italy.

High diversity in traditional usage of plants and PUPs by Gaddis and Sippis shows that: (i) they are intimately associated with the forests, visit diverse habitats, and have greater knowledge of vegetation of the region, (ii) the traditional knowledge is well dispersed from one generation to another, (iii) they still use and rely on PUPs for their sustenance, and (iv) the study area harbors rich phytodiversity. Many PUPs are used as cheaper substitutes to market products by poor rural communities like the Gaddi and Sippi tribes, who cannot afford to market products. Hence, PUPs can be referred to not only as eco-friendly products but also as friendly to poor people, as they help them in coping with poverty.

Wild plants form an integral part of the culture and traditions of the Himalayan tribal communities [70]. The usage of a large number of tools by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes in agricultural practices (22) and for making woolen products (14) provides a deep insight into their pastoral occupation of practicing subsistence agriculture and rearing goats and sheep, respectively. Thus, the conservation of PUPs will also lead to the conservation of the culture of these Himalayan tribal communities.

A large number of timber-yielding plant species have been safely utilized for hundreds of years for making food container items, and such plant species have not shown any detrimental effect on human health [36]. Rural communities are highly skilled in making traditional grain storage structures [32], and wood is one of the basic materials utilized for making such structures [31]. Plant-based grain storage structures used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes include fixed containers (kuthar) and moveable compartments (toon). Such storage structures are used by farmers for storing grains as they are cheaper, eco-friendly, protect grains from insects, and provide high shelf life to stored grains [34].

4.2. Culturally Important Plant Species and PUPs

The informants were highly knowledgeable about the wood properties of different species and their suitability for making different PUPs. As per the cultural importance index (CI), the most important species for the Gaddi and Sippi tribes are Cedrus deodara, Quercus floribunda, Pinus wallichiana, Juglans regia, and Aesculus indica.

Cedrus deodara is culturally the most important species used for making PUPs. More than one-third of the total PUPs were made from Cedrus deodara. The stem and branches of Cedrus deodara are long and straight; its wood has a smooth surface and is highly durable and insect-resistant due to the presence of aromatic oils, which possess insecticidal properties. In addition to this, Cedrus deodara wood is stronger than that of Abies pindrow, Pinus wallichiana [71], and other Indian conifers [72]. Hence, Cedrus deodara wood is highly preferred by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes for making long or large containers/storage products (charh, kunala, ganarh, kund, etc.) and construction products (gaali, tarangdi, baad, etc.).

It was pointed out by the respondents that the wood of Quercus floribunda, Quercus semecarpifolia, and Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana is very hard, strong, and durable and was therefore used for making agricultural tools like plow, plow shoe, small hand hoe, hoe, large sickle, mallet, etc. This is because these tools require the application of high mechanical force during operation and need to be strong enough to withstand the applied force without sustaining any damage.

The wood of Juglans regia is preferred by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes for making PUPs due to its strength and durability. Vassilion and Voulgaridis [73] have also reported the strength, durability, and good quality of Juglans regia wood. The wood of this species is used by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes for making tools used for weaving woolen products (spinning wheel, reed, and shaft), a snow shovel, a wood shaving plane, and a palanquin. Bhangali tribe of Western Himalayan region of Chhota Bhangal also use wood of Juglans regia, primarily for making tools used in weaving [22], whereas in Greece it has multipurpose use where it is used for making esthetic/decorative items, furniture, music instruments, carving, sports items, gun stocks and in construction work [73].

According to the Gaddi and Sippi tribes, the wood of Pinus wallichiana is moderately strong but highly durable and free from insect attack due to the high content of aromatic oils in it. This species is one of the most preferred timber-yielding species used for construction and furniture making in the entire Himalayan region [74]. The wood of Aesculus indica was used for the preparation of 12 PUPs by the Gaddi and Sippi tribes, and it is also known for its strength and unbreakability [22].

Koolhi, a flour storage bin, is made from mud mixed with wheat and barley straw, locally known as kinyahri, which prevents shrinkage cracks in it. This is in line with the findings of Ashour and Wu [75], who reported that crack formation in mud plaster decreases with an increase in fiber content and increases with an increase in soil content.

4.3. Consensus for the Usage of PUPs

The values of factor informant consensus (F_ic) were very high and had a narrow range of 0.968 to 0.991. Bhatia et al. (2018) have also reported very high values of F_ic for the usage of wild edible plants in Udhampur, J&K [55]. High values of F_ic may be ascribed to frequent sharing of knowledge regarding PUPs and a greater degree of consensus among the informants regarding species used for making a particular PUP [55,56,57]. Nearly two-thirds (66.1%) of the citations pertain to the tools category, which substantiates the fact that the Gaddi and Sippi tribes have a pastoral occupation of practicing agriculture, rearing goats and sheep, and weaving woolen products, which involves the use of a large number of tools.

4.4. Knowledge of PUPs

Male informants possessed significantly higher knowledge about the PUPs than the females, thus supporting our first hypothesis. These results are in accordance with Sharma et al. (2019), who have also recorded significantly higher numbers of PUPs known to males than females in the western Himalayas [22]. Ethnobotanical research in the region [22,56,63] and other parts of the world [76,77,78,79] has also indicated that men play a greater role in traditional knowledge, especially of plants used in making tools and crafts, and construction works [80,81]. However, the majority of earlier studies [55,61] have demonstrated that women tend to have a more traditional understanding, as they typically lack employment in rural areas and devote their time to household and subsistence tasks. In contrast, a few other studies [82,83] found no significant difference between genders. The higher knowledge of PUPs is possessed by males because they are more often active in resource extraction and PUP production than women [22] and because of their nomadic behavior [63]. During the summer, the men of the tribes under investigation travel to temperate regions, while during the winter, they travel to tropical areas, penetrating far into the forest, passing through a variety of habitats, and encountering many challenges, all of which add to their understanding of plants, their properties and utility.

The elder members knew a greater number of plants used for making PUPs than the younger ones, thus supporting our second hypothesis. Similar findings are also recorded in the Himalayas [22,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,63], other parts of India [6,62], and the world [43,44,45,74,82]. A significant positive correlation was also found between the age of the informants and the knowledge possessed by them about PUPs, i.e., the knowledge of PUPs increased with the age of the informants. Hence, traditional knowledge is confined mostly to the older people, as the younger generations of these tribes are least interested in using PUPs. Recent research also suggests that conventional wisdom is in decline [22,55,63], probably due to changing lifestyle [84], urbanization and modernization [55], and market forces [85].

In relation to the third hypothesis, this study found that educated members had less knowledge of plants used for making PUPs. These results are further corroborated by correlation analysis, which shows a significant decline in informant knowledge of PUPs as the education level rises. Similar trends have been reported in other studies [8,9]. Most of the educated and employed youth of the Gaddi and Sippi tribes migrated from villages and settled permanently in nearby towns and cities. It also resulted in the invasion of modern culture into the tribal lifestyle of these communities, which is one of the most important reasons for the decline in the use of PUPs by these communities, especially the younger generations. Recently, five out of six villages under survey, viz., Dhamunda, Manthla (Upper), Kansar, Dandi, and Butla have been connected by motorable roads, whereas roads to the remaining one village under survey, viz., Bharie, are under construction. Atreya et al. [86] reported that increasing road linkages are one of the factors responsible for the decline in traditional practices in rural areas.

4.5. Current Status of PUPs in Bhaderwah

As reported by the informants, their forefathers knew a greater number of PUPs. They also stated that a sharp decline in the occupation of shepherding has been observed in the study area over the last two and a half decades, resulting in a decrease in the production of wool and woolen products. Hence, the making and use of plant-derived traditional tools used in traditional handloom weaving and the associated traditional skills have also diminished in the recent past. Such tools can be categorized under the category of rare PUPs and are on the verge of extinction.

Some of the PUPs that were most commonly used among the Gaddi and Sippi tribes have recently been substituted by alternate market products (Figure 9). This is due to increased accessibility of local markets to these tribes as a result of the establishment of road connectivity to some of their inhabited areas and increased financial capabilities of the community members to purchase market products. For example, rhizomes of Dioscorea deltoidea (kins) and fruit of Aesculus indica (goon), which were used for washing clothes due to their ability to generate foam, have been substituted by soap and detergents. Cob sheath of maize and leaves of Pteris biaurita (shota) used as scrubbers for washing utensils have been substituted by nylon and steel scrubbers available in the markets, and dog feeding containers (Kutroshu) have been substituted by plastic and metal containers. It was observed that the availability of alternatives in the market has resulted in a decline in the use of plants for making traditional products [22]. The same findings have also been reported in some other studies [87,88].

4.6. Novelty and Future Prospects

The present work is one of the pioneering works and the first of its kind from UT of J&K, and also in terms of the tribes selected for ethnobotanical investigations. However, Singh et al., 2021 [65], carried out a trivial study on PUPs in UT of J&K and have reported the use of 10 plant species for making tools used for making woolen products from Doda district (UT of J&K), out of which nine species, namely Aesculus indica, Berberis lyceum, Cedrus deodara, Juglans regia, Fraxinus excelsior, Pinus wallichiana, P. roxburghii, Prunus armeniaca, and Quercus floribunda, have also been reported in the present study. Hence, except the aforementioned nine species, all other 43 plant species out of the total 52 species (Table 2) documented in the present study are the new reports from UT of J&K to the best of our knowledge as far as their utilization for making traditional PUPs is concerned. Tribals have ample knowledge about the utility of various plant species, which are still unknown to modern society. Such plants and the associated knowledge about their utility can be exploited for developing new resources for some value-added plant products and agro-based cottage industries such as basketry, carpet industry, wooden containers, broom making industries, etc., which may pave the way for obtaining patents for some of the PUPs. Since PUPs play an important role in socio-economic upliftment and eco-friendly livelihood promotion of tribals, multiplication and conservation of the plants with high CI values like Cedrus deodara (4.9 CI), Quercus floribunda (2.89 CI), Pinus wallichiana (1.91 CI), etc., is strongly recommended.

5. Conclusions

Gaddi and Sippi tribes of the study area are highly skilled in making and using a wide variety of plant-derived utility products (PUPs). Some of the important factors that can be attributed to the use of PUPs by these tribes are remoteness of their inhabitants, lack of market access, pastoral and semi-nomadic lifestyle, location of their inhabitation in and around forests, lack of road connectivity, and poverty. However, a decline has been observed in the use of PUPs by the tribes under investigation in the recent past. Hence, it is recommended that efforts should be made to conserve the indigenous skills, culture, and traditions of these tribes without compromising their socio-economic development. This invaluable knowledge about PUPs, confined to the tribal groups, should be commercially exploited for the extension of their use to mainstream society. District Industries Centre, Doda, and SC, ST, OBC Corporation, Doda should encourage the setting up of cottage industries for making value-added PUPs by providing subsidized financial assistance and technical and marketing support to these tribals.