Namaste
and Tashi Deleg! Welcome to our Annual 2002 report! We look forward
to listening to your feedback.
Alternative Energy
Dolpo, Nepal
DROKPA
board member Leona Mason trekked from Mustang District to the
Tsharka and Panzang Valleys in Dolpa District to monitor and evaluate
DROKPA's Community Temples Alternative Energy Program. Ten out
of twenty community temples/households were visited and interviews
were conducted with household members who are using the solar
lights and solar cookers that were installed by local DROKPA staff
in 2001. The light/stove users were asked questions about how
often and when they used them, whether or not they had any technical
problems, how much time they are saving collecting fuel and what
they use this time for, and lastly questions about quality of
life with the lights and stoves.
All
of the interviewees said that they were pleased with the addition
of solar energy to their households. The households use the solar
cookers most extensively during winter, when they can cook all
of their food - from rice and potatoes to tea - on their rooftop
cookers. In the summer monsoon months, the sun is not as consistent
and therefore they use the cookers less frequently. The cookers
are all in good condition except for one or two that had loose
panels, which we fixed; one cooker had slightly damaged panels.
With
the addition of solar cookers the households interviewed stated
that they had significantly less work collecting fuel and with
this extra time people were able to attend to their religious
practices, medical practices, weaving, and house maintenance (these
are some examples.) Some interviewees also mentioned an improvement
in health due to the addition of solar cookers and the reduced
need for the hearth use inside. Some interviewees spoke of their
eyesight improving, and with this, an ability to work more easily.
The
solar lights installed in 20 households/community temples during
2001 have been in constant use since then. There were no reported
problems and everyone that was interviewed talked about how the
lights never seem to dim or go out, even if they are used for
an entire day. No matter what season, the panels provide enough
energy for the lights to stay on all day if necessary. With the
addition of solar lights in their homes and monasteries, similar
to the benefit of the cookers, interviewees mentioned an improvement
in productivity inside the households/monasteries. This includes
the ability to see clearly and therefore read more easily, practice
medicine, prepare for and perform religious practices - for example,
building ritual effigies (torma) and reading texts (pecha).
Many
of the households with solar energy, as well as those without
solar energy, are keenly interested in continuing the project
and we were repeatedly asked when DROKPA would be able to expand
the project to help other households.
Local Monitoring
More
funding so that the households that now know the benefits of having
a light and cooker can also apply for stipends to add solar energy
to their households. The lights that are currently available from
China through the Tibetan border trade are not of the same quality
as the lights from Lotus Energy in Kathmandu. Many of the lights
from China that we saw in homes in Dolpo were broken. This was
not the case with any of the Lotus Energy products. Stipends for
households to help them with the cost of the Lotus Energy lights
would be helpful.
The
lock/wheel that turns the cookers from the downward position to
the upward cooking position is quite stiff on some of the cookers.
The panels close to this system are sometimes ripped or damaged
due to the difficulties of moving this lock/wheel up and down.
It is still possible to maneuver this part and prepare meals with
the cooker, but it would be good to find a lubricant.
More
training for that are finding it more difficult to integrate solar
energy on a regular basis by the households that use the solar
energy extensively. These training sessions among users would
allow for discussion of the best methods for tightening solar
panels when they are loose, or how to keep the lock/wheel system
that turns the cookers running smoothly.
Chunuomba
gompa in Polde is run by Lama Kunga, where he lives with his 75-year
old mother Tashi Tsangmo. She mentioned how pleased she was with
the lights. For 75 years she has worked to gather fuel for fires,
and for 75 years she has cooked over these yak dung fires. Her
eyesight has suffered and she thought for sure that she was going
blind. Now her sight has improved and she feels that she has a
chance for a long life. Since it is only Lama Kunga and herself,
she does not have people ("little helpers") to help her with fuel
collection. This makes her life very difficult if it were not
for the installation of these solar lights and cookers. Now she
does not have to worry about asking other families to help her
with her housework and she does not have to worry about collecting
the fuel herself. She is able to do most of her cooking on the
roof. On days when there are many guests, she is able to make
the tea on the roof and cook food downstairs.
Lama
Drukge of Barlung gompa, Polde village, has split his lights between
the gompa shrine room and the kitchen. This way he can do all
of his work inside the temple and his family can also easily prepare
meals. The lights never seem to go out and the lights are very
good for read pecha (religious texts). "It is a strong light,"
said Lama Drukge. "These lights are also great to get ready for
tsok (rituals) and all the preparation that is required."
Karma
Tashi of Tsharka said that with his household lights his family
is able to work all day long. They can read pe-cha during ceremonies,
they can build torma, they can be more productive. The lights
never seem to go out. With the solar cooker, they do not have
to gather as much fuel and can spend more time at other tasks
as well.
Amchi
Dhoundup of Khartok gompa in Tsharka said that on good days he
spends the entire day on the roof and no fuel at all is necessary.
These days are far more common toward the winter and during the
summer the days are fewer. On summer days you can spend the afternoon
on the roof, cooking, and doing other work - for example, reading,
preparing medicine, house maintenance, spinning wool.
The Himalayan Amchi Association (HAA) annual meetings and training
course went very well this year, and DROKPA support for this event
and the subsequent training was greatly appreciated. About 65
amchi were present, from a variety of Nepali districts, and there
was some interesting Nepali press surrounding the event. Discussions
were lively, particularly around the issue of government recognition
for amchi in Nepal, medicinal plant cultivation and conservation
efforts in Nepal, India, and China, and the future of educational
opportunities for amchi throughout the Himalaya. HAA held elections
for officers this year, and Amchi Gyatso Bista was elected chairman.
Gyatso is also the co-founder of the Lo Kunphen School. Two guest
amchi also participated in the conference – a woman amchi
named Karma Choedron from Ladakh, who is ery well respected, and
Tenzin Tapkey, a male amchi from Nagchu, Tibet, who works with
Trace Foundation in the TAR. In addition to Tenzin’s participation
in the HAA conference, he has done some teaching at the HAA training
course. The course itself is being attended by 34 novice amchi
from 4 districts. Although it has mostly focused on theoretical
material from the phyima rgyud, or the Explanatory Tantra, the
course has also included some supervised clinical experience and
field trips to Tibetan medical factories and clinics in the Kathmandu
Valley. The course will end on January 28, 2003.
For more information on the Himalayan Amchi Association
in general, please go to HAA's website.
Lo Kunphen School and Mentsikhang,
Mustang, Nepal
Lo Kunphen Medical Clinic and School in Mustang is getting stronger
as an institution and is doing well. The elder class of 11 students
(ages 17-20) are doing very well with their studies of Tibetan
medicine, andare participating in this year's HAA phyima rgyud
course. They have consistently scored the top positions on HAA
refresher course exams, and are a great group of young minds.
Once the course is over, they will return to Pokhara and join
the younger class for the remainder of their winter session. They
will head back to Mustang in March. The younger students are learning
some Sowa Rigpa but are mostly focusing on the basics still -
Tibetan, Nepali, English, Math. Amchis Gyatso and Tenzin Bista
are continuing to work hard to see that the students they are
training will have a solid educational foundation, clinical experience,
and opportunities to for further education.
Dolpo Amchi Association (Panzang Valley
Branch), Dolpo, Nepal
DROKPA gave a grant of $500 to Amchi Lama Drukge
of the Panzang Valley, Dolpo, to purchase raw materials to make
into medicines that he will use to treat villagers in this remote
valley. Lama Drukge has spent decades practicing Tibetan medicine
and is widely respected in Dolpo and among nomads in western Tibet.
Lama Drukge has also taught at the Himalayan Amchi Association's
annual refresher training courses for amchi students.
Tenzin Norbu, the founder of the Dolpo Artists'
Cooperative had an extremely successful exhibition of his painting
at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France. His works were seen
by 40,000 visitors and he received many commissions for his works,
which will help employ his apprentices, as well as keep the Dolpo
tradition of painting vibrant.
Board member Leona Mason began raising funds
to help the Tsharka Valley, Dolpo, establish and build a new primary
school. The local community formed a school committee and began
the search for teachers willing to live and work in Dolpo. Leona
Mason spearheaded a fundraiser in San Francisco and is continuing
to broaden the support network for this long-term endeavor.
Panzang Valley, Dolpo, Nepal
DROKPA
is helping to support a new primary school by a French NGO - Couleurs
Himalaya - in Panzang Valley. This school was opened in the summer
of 2002 with 32 students. This first year, the school was held
in a tent, and began courses in Nepali, Math, Tibetan, and English.
Couleurs Himalaya and the communities in Panzang are renovating
the old government schoolhouse for use beginning in 2003. DROKPA
plans to provide solar lights to the new school, as well as organizational,
logistical, and scholarship support for this exciting initiative.
