Pastoralists
Afar People
📍 Afar Triangle (Danakil Depression), Ethiopia / Djibouti / Eritrea
Overview & Cultural Background The Afar are a Cushitic pastoralist group inhabiting the hyper-arid Horn of Africa, spanning northeastern …
Andean Llama & Vicuña Herders
📍 High Andes Altiplano, Peru / Bolivia / Argentina / Chile
Overview & Cultural Background Andean pastoralists are Indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities inhabiting the high-altitude Altiplano …
Apennine Shepherds
📍 Central Apennine Mountains & Abruzzo, Italy
Overview & Cultural Background Apennine shepherds practice vertical transhumance across the rugged karst plateaus and limestone peaks of …
Canadian Prairie Ranchers
📍 Great Plains & Foothills, Alberta / Saskatchewan / Manitoba, Canada
Overview & Cultural Background Canadian Prairie ranchers manage extensive livestock grazing operations across the northern Great Plains, …
Changpa Nomads of Ladakh
📍 Changthang Plateau, Ladakh, India / Tibet
Overview & Cultural Background The Changpa are a high-altitude nomadic pastoralist community inhabiting the desolate Changthang plateau …
Dhangar & Kurba Shepherds
📍 Deccan Plateau, Maharashtra / Karnataka / Telangana / Tamil Nadu, India
Overview & Cultural Background The Dhangar and Kurba are prominent pastoral communities of the semi-arid Deccan Plateau in Peninsular …
Dukha (Tsaatan) Reindeer Herders
📍 Sayan Mountains & Taiga Forest, Khövsgöl Province, Northern Mongolia
Overview & Cultural Background The Dukha (known in Mongolia as Tsaatan, meaning ’those with reindeer’) are one of the …
Global Dryland Pastoralists
📍 Arid & Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), Global (Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, Middle East)
Overview & Cultural Background Global dryland pastoralists inhabit the planet’s most arid, variable, and non-arable environments, …
Global Mobile Pastoralists
📍 Global Rangelands, Savannas, Deserts & Steppes
Overview & Cultural Background Global mobile pastoralists encompass diverse Indigenous and local communities who move livestock …
Hungarian Puszta Herders
📍 Great Hungarian Plain (Hortobágy National Park / Puszta), Hungary
Overview & Cultural Background The herders of the Hungarian Puszta maintain a multi-century pastoral tradition on the vast alkaline …
Irish Cattle Drovers
📍 Burren & Rural Highlands, County Clare / West of Ireland
Overview & Cultural Background Irish cattle drovers and pastoral farmers in the Burren region of County Clare practice a unique form of …
Karamojong People
📍 Karamoja Sub-region, Northeastern Uganda
Overview & Cultural Background The Karamojong are an agro-pastoral Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting the semi-arid plateau of northeastern …
Maasai People
📍 Maasai Mara & Great Rift Valley, Southern Kenya / Northern Tanzania
Overview & Cultural Background The Maasai are an iconic Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting the savanna landscapes of southern Kenya and …
Macedonian Mountain Shepherds
📍 Šar Mountains & Bistra Massif, North Macedonia
Overview & Cultural Background Macedonian mountain shepherds practice vertical transhumance in the alpine grasslands of the Šar …
Mongol Herders
📍 Mongolian Steppe, Gobi Desert & Altai Mountains, Mongolia
Overview & Cultural Background Mongolians are one of the largest remaining nomadic pastoral cultures on Earth, maintaining livestock …
Nama People
📍 Richtersveld & Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa / Southern Namibia
Overview & Cultural Background The Nama are a Khoekhoe pastoralist group inhabiting the hyper-arid rangelands of Namaqualand and the …
Nenets People
📍 Yamal Peninsula & Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Arctic Russia
Overview & Cultural Background The Nenets are Indigenous Samoyedic reindeer herders inhabiting the extreme Arctic tundras of the Yamal …
Nevada Rangeland Ranchers
📍 Great Basin & Humboldt River Basin, Nevada, USA
Overview & Cultural Background Nevada rangeland ranchers operate across the cold desert basins and sagebrush steppes of the Great Basin …
Raika People
📍 Thar Desert & Aravalli Range, Rajasthan, India
Overview & Cultural Background The Raika (also known as Rabari) are a specialized pastoral caste of Rajasthan in western India. …
Slovenian Alpine Goat Herders
📍 Julian Alps & Karst Region, Slovenia
Overview & Cultural Background Slovenian alpine goat herders practice seasonal transhumance across the limestone peaks and glacial …
Spanish Transhumance Herders
📍 Cañadas Reales & Sistema Central, Extremadura / Castile / Andalusia, Spain
Overview & Cultural Background Spanish transhumance (la trashumancia) is one of Europe’s oldest and most organized pastoral …
Sub-Saharan Rainfed Pastoralists & Farmers
📍 Sahelian Belt & Sudanian Savanna, West & East Africa
Overview & Cultural Background Sub-Saharan rainfed agropastoralists operate integrated crop-livestock production systems across the …
Tuareg (Kel Eway)
📍 Aïr Mountains & Sahara Desert (Bilma / Agadez), Niger
Overview & Cultural Background The Tuareg are a Berber pastoralist ethnic group inhabiting the Saharan interior across Niger, Mali, …