The Yolmo: in hundreds of cultures around the world, people struggle to survive and build happy lives. Each individual has a contribution to make to our beautiful, diverse human family. Here's one culture.(Meet Peoples Of The World)

Who are they? The Yolmo are a Tibetan herding people who migrated over the Himalaya Mountains into tiny, neighboring Nepal in the mid-19th Century. Several groups made the grueling trek. The lamas--Buddhist priests--who came with them each founded a temple-village atop the steep ridges overlooking what became known as the Yolmo Valley. As the lamas' died, their eldest sons inherited the temple-villages. Younger sons founded new villages, creating a total of 20 villages today.

How do you get to the Yolmo valley? You walk. It's about 25 miles northeast of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. From town, it's a 30-minute taxi ride to the northern end of the Kathmandu Valley, 4,000 feet above sea level. From there, it's a two-day up-and-down trek: You climb to an elevation of 6,000 feet, then walk along relatively level ground for awhile. You then climb up to 7,000 feet, down to 5,000 feet and uphill again, eventually reaching the little village Kutumsang, where you spend the night. The next morning, you continue up to 12,000 feet, then descend to the large village of Melemchi at 8,500 feet.

Where are the other villages? On the other side of the valley. From Melemchi, you descend to the valley floor, at 6,000 feet. Then you cross the icy, blue Melemchi River, and climb up to the other villages.

Are the Yolmo Sherpas? No, though they did call themselves Sherpas for a long time. The Sherpas live about 50 miles east of the valley in Nepal's Solu Khumbu region, near Mt. Everest. They've become famous for helping people reach the top of the world's highest mountain. The Sherpas migrated from Tibet, too, but they came earlier and they speak a different Tibetan dialect. Also, Sherpa lamas aren't allowed to marry. They live in large monasteries.

What do the Yolmo do? Traditionally, families lived in godes (GO-days), or movable shelters, with their zomos, sheep and goats, summering in high pastures and wintering in low ones. The men managed the zomo breeding, cut firewood and made supply runs to the villages. They or their wives--or both--also made regular trips to the villages to tend fields of wheat, barley, potatoes, turnips and corn. The women milked the zomos, made zomo butter, cooked and cleaned up zomo poop. Kids played and helped with the animals.

OK, what's a ZOMO? A zomo is a cross between a cow and a yak that produces more milk and butter than either of those animals. Zomos are perfectly suited to the valley because they thrive at elevations of 7,000 to 14,000 feet. Cows prefer lower altitudes, and will get sick above 8,000 feet. Yaks prefer higher altitudes. They can come down to 12,000 feet, but will get sick below that.

What's zomo butter like? Delicious. It's considered far superior to cow butter. The Yolmo make zomo ...