Communal institutions for the management of rangeland resources and dairy production in Taleghan Valley, Northern Iran
Creators: name: Bastani, Susan
name: M. Ghorbani
name: A. A. Mehrabi
name: H. Azarnivand
name: M. Jafari
name: K. Seeland
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 140201 Agricultural Economics
subject: FOS: Economics and business
subject: FOS: Economics and business
subject: Anthropology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 140299 Applied Economics not elsewhere classified
subject: Archaeology
subject: 149901 Comparative Economic Systems
subject: 130101 Continuing and Community Education
subject: FOS: Educational sciences
subject: FOS: Educational sciences
subject: 140301 Cross-Sectional Analysis
subject: 130102 Early Childhood Education (excl. Maori)
subject: 149902 Ecological Economics
subject: 140302 Econometric and Statistical Methods
subject: 140399 Econometrics not elsewhere classified
subject: 140202 Economic Development and Growth
subject: 140203 Economic History
subject: 140303 Economic Models and Forecasting
subject: 140199 Economic Theory not elsewhere classified
subject: Economics
subject: 149999 Economics not elsewhere classified
subject: 140204 Economics of Education
subject: Education
subject: 130199 Education systems not elsewhere classified
subject: 140205 Environment and Resource Economics
subject: 140206 Experimental Economics
subject: 140207 Financial Economics
subject: Geography
subject: 140208 Health Economics
subject: 149903 Heterodox Economics
subject: 130103 Higher Education
subject: 140101 History of Economic Thought
subject: 140209 Industry Economics and Industrial Organisation
subject: 140210 International Economics and International Finance
subject: 140211 Labour Economics
subject: 140102 Macroeconomic Theory
subject: 140212 Macroeconomics (incl. Monetary and Fiscal Theory)
subject: 140103 Mathematical Economics
subject: 140104 Microeconomic Theory
subject: 140304 Panel Data Analysis
subject: 140213 Public Economics- Public Choice
subject: 140214 Public Economics- Publically Provided Goods
subject: 140215 Public Economics- Taxation and Revenue
subject: 130106 Secondary Education
subject: 130105 Primary Education (excl. Maori)
subject: Sociology
subject: 130108 Technical, Further and Workplace Education
subject: 140305 Time-Series Analysis
subject: 140216 Tourism Economics
subject: 140217 Transport Economics
subject: 140218 Urban and Regional Economics
subject: 140219 Welfare Economics

description: Mutual help among pastoralists plays a key role in herding in rural Iran where pastoralists share a rich knowledge of dairy production. Nariyan village, located in the Taleghan region in Northern Iran, was chosen for this study on local traditions of the dairy production chain because it is still largely based on reciprocal sharing of labour and milk and local traditions of social cohesion. The results reveal that an elaborate network of communal institutions, based on seasonal cooperation, exists among pastoralists that regulate the use and management of milk and milk products. Different social roles, such as those of owners of herds of different sizes, herd manager and shepherds, are organised in a traditional co-operative institution, called Shirvâreh, a summer seasonal cooperative that strengthens social ties among the pastoralists and guarantees an efficient dairy production chain for subsistence and marketing. Precise data on milk-sharing reciprocity, such as are provided in this paper, seem to be rare for this geographical region if there are any at all, and this fills a gap in empirical rangeland science as it adds to the theory of traditional knowledge being a means to harmonise societal inequalities.