Innovative Indigenous Technologies for Sustainable Mountain Farming Systems in North-East India

North-east India is biologically and culturally diverse. In this region, shifting cultivation, known locally as jhum, is the dominant agricultural practice in which a diverse suite of plant crop species are grown. Additionally, in many locations, unique traditional cultivation practices based on Indigenous technologies have evolved. In this chapter, we describe some of these practices, namely: alder-based shifting cultivation, bun cultivation, zabo and Apatani fishery-cum-rice cultivation, agroforestry, and homegardens. We show how these Indigenous farming systems are ingeniously designed and sustainable as they are based around forest, soil and water conservation and the judicious recycling and reuse of resources. We explore the role of these practices in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals under future climate change.