Kuchi

Kochis or Kuchis (from the Persian word: کوچ koch; meaning "migration") are Afghan nomads similar to Arabian Bedouins, primarily from the Ghilji tribal confederacy. Some of the most notable Ghilji Kochi tribes include the Kharoti, Andar and Ahmadzai. Sometimes Durrani tribes can be found among the Kochi, and occasionally there may also be some Baloch people among them that live a pastoral nomadic lifestyle. In the Pashto language, the terms are Kochai (singular) and Kochian (plural). In the Persian language, "Kochi" and "Kochiha" are the singular and plural forms (respectively).

The National Multi-sectoral Assessment of Kochi in 2004, estimated that there are about 2.4 million Kochis in Afghanistan, with around 1.5 million (60%) remaining fully nomadic, and over 100,000 have been displaced due to natural disasters such as flood and drought in the past few years.

"The nomads and semi-nomads, generally called Kuchi in Afghanistan, mostly keep sheep and goats. The produce of the animals (meat, dairy products, hair and wool) is exchanged or sold in order to purchase grain, vegetables, fruit and other products of settled life. In this way an extensive network of exchange has developed along the main routes annually followed by the nomads. The merchant Powindah (Ghilji) [or Ghilzai] Pashtuns used to move annually from the Afghanistan mountains to the valley of the Indus. These long-distance migrations were stopped in the early 1960s when the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan were closed, but many Kuchis are still allowed to cross as border officials recognize the Kuchi migrations which occur seasonally and allow them to pass even in times of political turmoil. In recent decades, migrations inside Afghanistan continue, although trucks are now often being used to transport livestock and family from one place to another."

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