Reasons for not using the plough in many societies

Filmed in the rich, flat land of the Kathmandu valley in Nepal, Alan Macfarlane explains some of the reasons why the farmers all use large hoes or hand ploughs rather than animal-drawn ploughs. A mixture of religous taboo, the absence of animals and fodder for animals, and the rich clay soil inhibits normal ploughing, despite the fact that people plough in the surrounding hills using a 'scratch' plough.

movie file size: 4 MB