Annapurna - Challenging Lives is a beautiful real-life photo tapestry of the rarely seen challenging daily lives of the farming and herding communities in the Annapurna Hills. It is the product of a year of detailed research, cultivated relationships with local experts, and a 6 week photo expedition there.

Nepal is nestled between the high alpine Tibetan Plateau and the flood plains of the Ganges River. Nepal’s renowned gorgeous geography is highly sculpted by fast glacial rivers carving deep gorges, as they rush down from the Himal Region in the north (above 2,700m), which straddles the Himalayas (8,000m), southwards through interlocking spurs in the Hilly Region (1,000 - 2,700m), to the lowlands of the Terai Region in the south (below 1,000m). This results in an intense diversity in physical and human geography, flora and fauna, local languages and cultures, and farming, herding and other economic activities.

These people and their communities in the Annapurna Hills are the heart and soul of the region. Their deep respect for nature is forged by the steep rocky terrain, frequent landslides, rockslides, avalanches, and earthquakes, and compounded by heavy summer monsoons and cold winters. They are Buddhists and Hindus, who peacefully coexist and happily celebrate each other’s religious festivals.

The farmers and herders are the life force of the region. Oxen climb steep slopes to plough the numerous tiny terrace plots for grain and vegetables. Shepherds graze their goats, buffaloes, and mules on the higher alpine grasslands. The farmers cut long grass to feed the lactating buffaloes for the highly nourishing milk. They farm in a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and ecologically regenerative manner.

Annapurna - Challenging Lives goes beyond and behind the visual feast of the stunning scenery readily seen there. It depicts the rarely seen symbiosis, synergy, and sharing of the farming and herding communities, who live, work, study and pray.