It is not for nothing that the Apatanis are known to be good farmers. Gardening has been one of their expertise from time immemorial. Gardens are classified into two categories -
balu which are near the houses, usually at the backyard and are the typical kitchen gardens; and
yorlu, which are further away from the village. These gardens provided varieties of vegetable, notably beans, pumpkins, chillies,
gian haman, potatoes and so on. It also served as the nurseries for millet.
One of the prohibiting factors of any kind of gardening had always been fencing, because cattle or wild animals were always a threat to them. The Apatanis solved this problem by using plants like
sankhan melyan and
tai belan as fencing materials.
A stroll around any of the several hillocks in the Ziro valley is a pleasure and a walk on a path between two neatly bound natural fencing is sheer ecstasy.
