India, Jan. 16 -- Chopdiyal, Uttarakhand. At first glance, this small hill village nestled in the Himalayas in Chamba tehsil of Tehri district reveals itself to be a settlement of hardworking farmers. Almost every house, perched along the slope below the road, is surrounded by small patches of farmland. Tree branches along the fields are stacked with fodder collected from nearby forests and left to dry, enough to sustain livestock through the winter. Apple, walnut and apricot trees, now stripped of their leaves, absorb the December cold, essential for better fruiting in the next season. In some fields, kiwi vines sway overhead, adopted as a progressive method to protect crops from wild animals. Wild boar and monkey troops that damage pota...