Pakistan’s Baltistan region: Where dried leaves keep homes warm during the harsh winter
BY NISAR ALI
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: As the first chill of winter creeps into the air, golden leaves carpet the narrow lanes of a Baltistan village. While tourists pause to photograph the fiery hues of autumn, locals sweep the fallen leaves into neat piles, gathering what will soon become one of their most valuable winter resources.
In Baltistan, surrounded by some of Pakistan’s highest peaks and glaciers, where winter temperatures routinely drop far below freezing and fuel wood remains scarce and expensive, fallen leaves are more than seasonal debris; they are a lifeline. For generations, families have collected, dried, and stored autumn leaves as a low-cost, sustainable fuel source for heating and cooking.
“Autumn leaves are a nature’s gift for us. We don’t have enough wood and gas to burn in the harsh winter. That’s why we use the autumn’s debris as fuel to beat the cold,” Hajji Ali Huluwa, 72-year-old resident of Khaplu valley, told Pamir Times in an interview.
The collection of dried leaves is centuries old practice in the region, while the process is being monitored by village level welfare committee, which is comprised of notables and elders.
“For the last 30 years, I have been part of the committee for all affairs of the village,” Ali added.
“For the practice, women’s participation from every household is mandatory, who sweep the leaves and gather at a place. Every year, after mid-November, the practice takes place. And if a representative from any household remains absent, they will be deprived of dried leaves,” he explained.
“It took five to six days for the collection process of leaves. And we use the mosque’s loudspeaker to summon the women for practice every morning,” he added.
But while locals see fallen leaves as fuel, visitors see them as poetry scattered across the landscape.
The autumn season of Gilgit-Baltistan is very attractive for photographers like me. The colours here are unbelievable; red, amber, gold. It looks like a painting on canvas,” Syed Mehdi Bukhari, a photographer, traveller and writer, told Pamir Times over a phone call.
“I visited the region for the first time 17 years ago. And then I have been regularly visiting this region, especially in autumn,” he said.
“We see the season as an attraction. But for the locals, it is a major source of fuel during the harsh winter. People, especially women, collect the fallen dead leaves and use them as fuel,” he added.
“I didn’t know people also use these same leaves to heat their homes. It makes the place even more interesting.”
After being distributed in the village, the leaves are burned outside until they stop releasing smoke. The glowing coals are then transferred into a metal pot and carried into the kitchen, where they are set under a square table and wrapped with a blanket or quilt to trap the warmth.
For many families of rural areas in Pakistan’s north, the reliance on fallen leaves has grown stronger as traditional firewood becomes more expensive and harder to find.
“We all members of family sit around the table covered by blanket or quilt,” Nargis Bano, a 41-year-old housewife, told Pamir Times.
“To participate in the practice is my responsibility as I represent my home,” she said, recalling, “And I have been participating in it since my marriage 22 years ago.”
“The dried leaves are very important for us….. And without the leaves, the life becomes very miserable because there is no alternative source of heating,” she further went on to say.
“As the beautiful leaves of autumn is a source of attraction for tourists and visitors, the fallen leaves is a ray of hope for locals to spend the chilly days during harsh winter,” Dr Zakir Hussain, a climate change expert and a professor at University of Baltistan, told Pamir Times.
“The collection of leaves process is a social activity in different valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan. The waste of trees is very useful in the region,” he added, saying, “Some people also use it as fertiliser. And through such activities, we can say, the people of this region is very close to nature.”
