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THE PEOPLE
OF THE EURASIA STEPPE
This region is inhabited by many different tribes.
All of them living in a dying grassland in danger
of becoming a desert. Many trees are cut for
firewood, there is no electricity and wood is
required for cooking. This activity is a problem
which could lead to the desertification of the
steppe.
All of the people in this
area are historically farmers who grow maize,
yams, and peanuts as staple crops. They also raise
some livestock, including chickens and goats which
play an important role in daily sustenance. Women,
who are believed to make the soil more fruitful,
are responsible for the tasks of planting and
harvesting the crops. Men are responsible for
clearing the fields for planting and practice
some nominal hunting. Specific economic enterprises
are dictated by the specific microenvironments
of individual ethnic groups.
The peoples of the Grasslands are mostly nomadic
herders. They follow their herds of cattle from
one place to another while they look for grazing
fields. They use hay and straw to make their homes
easier to move from place to place. The markets
are full of crops from the nearby farmlands, which
women usually carry across great distances because
few roads are available.
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