The Kaisitlah Conservation Area
The Kaisitlah Conservation Area (KCA) has been named after the Kaisitlah hills lying towards the southwest of this landscape. Steep and thickly forested with a network of small rivers, it is rich in wildlife. The KCA consists of an area of roughly 200 sq.km. extending from the south of the village Phura till the tip of the peninsula jutting into Myanmar in the south (see map). The KCA forms the southernmost tip of Mizoram and northeast India. The lack of motorable roads and the difficult terrain make it one of the most remote places in the region.
The village of Phura to the north of the KCA is accessible from the town of Kolchaw across 50 km of narrow and hilly mud roads. In the monsoons, this too is inaccessible.
The People
The KCA consists of eight villages connected by foot trails across steep cliffs and streambeds. Tokalo is the largest village consisting of 100 families. Ethnically, majority of the people are Mara with some Lai, Lushai and Matu also present. Some families have also come from neighboring villages in Myanmar and settled here.
Jhum or shifting cultivation is the principal occupation of the people. Jhum rice and seasonal vegetables are grown in the fields and are used for own consumption in the absence of any markets within the immediate vicinity. Orchards of oranges can be found, lying abandoned because of the difficulty of transporting perishable items out of the area. Hunting and fishing are an important part of the lifestyle of the villagers and sambar, barking deer and jungle fowl are the preferred animals.
Children at the village of Khaikhy lying on the Myanmar border
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