DROKPA continued its commitment to alternative energy in Dolpo
this year. In collaboration with Action Dolpo, DROKPA partners
in Do Tarap Valley oversaw the construction of a greenhouse to
serve the students at Crystal Mountain School and the community
at large. The greenhouse also includes a few beds devoted to
the cultivation of medicinal plants - a project that is being
overseen by Lama Namgyal and the Dho Tarap Community Medicine
and Conservation Center - a project supported by World Wildlife
Fund - Nepal Program and the UNESCO People and Plants Initiative.
Last year DROKPA provided this Center with solar lights and dryers.
In addition, DROKPA extended its commitment to bringing greenhouses
to other Dolpo communities. Modeled on last year's successful implementation of a
community greenhouse in Tinkyu Village, Panzang Valley, DROKPA partners constructed
a second such greenhouse in Shimen Village, Panzang Valley.
As an extension of efforts begun in 2001 to fund solar
electricity for community monasteries in Dolpo, DROKPA awarded a small
grant this year to one such monastery in Mukut Village. This
community institution now has a 40watt solar system, which was
installed with community labor and technical support from Lotus Energy.
The Himalayan Amchi Association has continued its efforts toward gaining
government support and recognition. This year the HAA conducted ongoing
curriculum development trainings with the Council for Technical Education
and Vocational Training (CTEVT). The HAA and CTEVT created and implemented
a teacher's training course with amchi involved in the schools for Himalayan
Amchi Medicine in Nepal.
The HAA and CTEVT also wrote several formal curricula
for amchi training: that for the Kangjen pa / Community Amchi Assistant
program, and for the Durra pa / Certificate in Amchi Medicine program.
Amchi Gyatso Bista, the current chairman of the HAA, also attended a workshop and
gathering of traditional doctors in Solukhumbu District. This even focused on the
uses and conservation of medicinal plants, as well as the dissemination of amchi
knowledge throughout the region.
The HAA continued in its efforts to provide
health care services to residents of Kathmandu as well as seasonal
migrants from the northern regions of Nepal where Himalayan Amchi
medicine is also practiced. The HAA clinic and office shifted
locations this year, from Boudha to Swayambhunath.
2005 also marked the first year that the
HAA received any direct support from His Majesty's Government of
Nepal. The Amchi Association received a grant of Rs. 40,000
toward curriculum development and training. All members and
advisors to the HAA were pleased with this sign of progress
toward recognition and support in more general terms for Nepal's
amchi and the communities they serve.
DROKPA continued its support for these endeavors in 2005 with a grant of $1500.
For more information on the Himalayan Amchi Association in general,
please go to HAA's website
Lo Kunphen School and Mentsikhang, Lo Monthang, Mustang, Nepal
After its successful US fundraising campaign at the end of 2003, the
founders of Lo Kunphen decided to use these funds to start three new
branch clinics in Mustang district, Nepal. These clinics were opened
in May 2004, in the villages of Tsarang, Chosher, and Kimiling. The
clinics were inaugurated by the Raja of Mustang and have been running
successfully since they opened.
These clinics not only provide affordable,
sliding scale Amchi medicine and preventative health care to
local residents; they also function as a site of clinical
apprenticeship and training for Lo Kunphen School's oldest
and most advanced students. These novice amchi have also
started learning basic biomedical techniques and practices,
and will continue to get more paramedic training over the
course of the coming years.
After DROKPA's initial support for the
establishment of these clinics, including a first supply
of medicinal ingredients and some ready-made Tibetan
pharmaceuticals purchased in Kathmandu, we are further
committed to supporting salaries for senior preceptor
amchi at the three clinics. Revenue from the sale of
medicines is projected to be sufficient to purchase
annual medicinal supplies.
The Lo Kunphen School, supported by the
British charity Kids in Need of Education (KINOE), has now
completed its sixth year of operation. The students are now
divided into three classes, and continue their studies in
Tibetan and Nepali language, math and science, and Amchi
medicine. Lo Kunphen also operates a winter school based
in Pokhara, so that students can continue their studies
for most of the year.
Additional support from DROKPA and other
private foundations and individual donors has helped
Lo Kunphen through the construction of additional dormitory
space, the creation of a rotating scholarship fund for
boarding students, the purchase of books for the school's
library, new school uniforms, and additional infrastructural
improvements.
In collaboration with the WWF Nepal Program
and Mera Publications, DROKPA
is supporting the publication of a new book, Himalayan Doctors
and Healing Herbs: The Amchi Tradition and the Medicinal Plants
of Mustang. This bi-lingual (Tibetan - English) text details 51
species of medicinal plants native to Mustang, as well as
information about Mustang's medical history, current amchi
practices, and a biography of the late Amchi Tashi Choesang,
the father and root teacher of Gyatso and Tenzin Bista, the
brothers who founded Lo Kunphen. This book will be available
by Winter 2005.
The book, Himalayan Doctors and Healing Herbs: The Amchi Tradition and Medicinal Plants of Mustang is forthcoming from Mera Publications, Kathmandu.
The Lo Kunphen School and Mentsikhang continues to be a source of inspiration and
success with which DROKPA is proud to be affiliated.
Lo Kunphen is in need of ongoing commitment and support,
since initial funding for basic operating costs through KINOE is scheduled to
end in 2006. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO THIS WORTHWHILE PROJECT.
Dolpo Amchi Association and Mugu Amchi Association
This year DROKPA continued its commitment to the Amchi Associations
of Dolpo (Panzang and Saldang branches) and Mugu, with ongoing small
grants (between $500-$750) to support the purchase and transport of
raw medicinal materials and ready-made medicines. This support has
made possible the treatment of local residents and the ongoing
utilization of local amchi clinics. For a complete rationale for
this project, please visit our 2004 Annual Report.
The amchi we have continued to support through
these small grants have documented their work using cameras and
film provided to them by DROKPA. Please see the visual tour below:
The Dolpo Artists' Cooperative continues to produce fine, handmade
products such as paintings, custom greeting cards, and hand-stitched
leather bags. If you are interested in purchasing any of these items,
please contact the Dolpo Artists' Cooperative email to: dolponorbu@hotmail.com
For a complete progress report and research finding preview, please click here
Damshung Nomad Poverty Alleviation Project
At the initiative of one of the senior monks at Lhasa's Jokhang
temple, and with the support of the Jokhang's manager, DROKPA has
provided a small grant of $1000 (renewable for 2-3 years) to help
a nomadic community in Damshung, Lhasa Prefecture, TAR, create a
rotating fund to help the poorest members of the community. In
summer 2004 this fund was used to purchase strong female sheep
for six of the village's most impoverished families. Although
the reasons for their socio-economic struggles varied, all of
the families were chosen by village leaders as in need of
assistance that the community, by itself, could not provide.
The funds granted by DROKPA provided these families with sheep
on the condition that village leaders will help support these
struggling families - assisting with herding responsibilities
and helping these families access veterinary services, as needed.
In meetings with village leaders, DROKPA representatives and our
partner at the Jokhang agreed that, provided these families tended
their new herds well and animals survived, they would be given another
installment of animals the following year. After the second full year,
these families would be expected to pass on at least one healthy
female offspring from their new flock to another household that
was struggling to survive economically. The hope is that this
initial infusions of capital, in the form of livestock, will
not only help improve the economic situations of local families,
but also that it will set a precedent for further rotational
community assistance, as well as collaboration between an elite
Lhasa-based institution and a rural Tibetan community.
The amchi we have continued to support through
these small grants have documented their work using cameras and
film provided to them by DROKPA. Please see the visual tour below:
DROKPA has continued to work with the Panzang School Committee
and the Kula Mountain School in Tinkyu Village (Tinje VDC). Last
year, DROKPA allocated funds for solar light systems for the
school, as well as the related Tinkyu community greenhouse.
DROKPA has also helped construct a website for the Kula Mountain
School.
Currently, DROKPA is working with members
of the School Committee and the Principal of Kula Mountain
School to plan a US fundraising and study tour in early 2006.
Unfortunately, this year the Kula Mountain
School lost its basic institutional support when the French
NGO, Couleurs Himalaya, closed its doors. Emergency funding
from Action Dolpo has allowed the school to continue operations
this year. PLEASE CONSIDER CONTRIBUTING TO THE KULA MOUNTAIN
SCHOOL.
Do Tarap Valley, Dolpo, Nepal
See information about our collaboration with Action Dolpo and
Crystal Mountain School under Alternative Energy, above.
Tsharka Valley, Dolpo, Nepal
As of 2005, The Tsharka school committee has completed
construction of their school building in the summer of 2005,
this includes 4 classrooms, an office, library, and bathroom
facilities. Work continues to support the committee with the
addition of more teachers, students, uniforms, and classroom
furniture and supplies. With the help of many individuals and
other non-profit sponsors the school continues to grow. This
winter the committee will work in Kathmandu to solidfy grants
and reports for the 2006 school year.
Sichuan, PRC (Kham)
DROKPA has renewed its grant to Ms. Chokyi Drolma of Tagong
toward the cost of her training in midwifery and maternal and
child health at the Yaan Medical School in Dartsendo, Sichuan.
Her course of study will take four years, and is funded with the
aim of making full use of a medical clinic that will be built in
Dorakarmo by Jampa e. V, a German NGO.
Choeki Dolma's Personal Summary
1st August, 2005
"I am Chokei Dolma majoring in Traditional
Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine of Vocational and Technical
Institute in Ya'an. As a needy student, I got your help
economically in September 2003 so that I could accomplish
2-year theory course in this school. Here I'd like to express
my gratitude for your support and cultivation. I will return
you with my excellent achievement. I never disappoint you.
Since I entered this school, I've always been strict with
myself. I keep aggressive, obey school's rules, respect
teachers, hold classmates together and accept teachers'
instruction humbly. I study very hard in class, so teachers
and classmates praise me highly. I research hard and complete
all tasks from teachers independently. Therefore I acquire
good marks in every final examination. Also I've
accumulated lots of theories in order to make more progress
and to promote my abilities in all aspects. I believe all
efforts will offer a solid foundation for my future road
on medicine.
On 20 July, 2005 I was arranged by my school to be a medic
in Ya'an Second People Hospital. In the course, I put
theories into use and combined theories and practice together
and master the basic clinical experience. It is more important
for me to learn how to cure those clinical mixed diseases. I
feel glad that I could make patients free from pain with my
efforts. I would like to send them happy laughter and those
people who are waiting for me in my hometown."
This year DROKPA also granted support for
another educational project based in Kham. We have given a
grant of $1500 (renewable for 3 years) to support English
language and teacher training programs at the Xikang Welfare
School in Kangding County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
In November 2004 DROKPA board member Sienna
Craig and Dolpo artist Tenzin Norbu celebrated the publication
of their children's book, Clear Sky, Red Earth: A Himalayan
Story (Kathmandu: Mera Publications).
This book is a tale of life in Dolpo, a
region on the border with Tibet, but located within the nation
of Nepal. The book tells the story of Namsel, a young girl who
lived in Dolpo several centuries ago, and who grows up to be a
great painter. Tenzin Norbu, the artist whose paintings
illustrate this book, hails from a long lineage of Dolpo
painters. One of the renowned artists in his family was a woman
like Namsel. As such, Clear Sky, Red Earth is a story born from
the real-life experience of Tenzin Norbu, the oral and written
history of Dolpo and the kingdom of Lo (Mustang), both
culturally Tibetan regions of northern Nepal, and from the
imaginations of author and illustrator, friends who share a
love for this region's history and culture, as well as for
storytelling. Clear Sky, Red Earth is intended for readers
ages 7-12, but can also be enjoyed by big kids!
Tenzin Norbu's work is featured in museums
and private collections in Europe and the United States, as well
as several international publications including Caravans of the
Himalaya, National Geographic magazine, and the feature film
"Himalaya," which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999.
Tenzin Norbu is the illustrator of three previous children's
books, including Himalaya: Rise of a Chief and Himalaya: Secret
of the Snow Leopard. Norbu divides his time between Dolpo and
Kathmandu, where he lives with his mother, wife, and four
children.
Clear Sky, Red Earth is available in the US
through Snow Lion Publications and
through Sienna Craig. The book is
available in Kathmandu through Lotus Gallery and fine bookstores,
as well as through Tenzin Norbu. A
portion of proceeds from the sale of Clear Sky, Red Earth is
going to support educational programs in Mustang and Dolpo Nepal.
In March 2005, simplemente maria press and
book artist Mary Heebner announced
the publication of A Sacred Geography: Sonnets of the Himalaya
and Tibet, a collaboration between Heebner and her daughter,
Sienna Craig. This limited edition artist's book - the ninth
produced by Heebner - combines the arts of poetry, papermaking,
printmaking, and book making in a work that alludes to
traditional Tibetan texts. The twelve sonnets are printed
letterpress on loose leaved sheets of individually pulp-painted
handmade paper with decorative debossing and placed in a
handmade clamshell box. A paper-over-board letterpress chapbook
with an introduction, the poems, and explanatory text, as well
as the colophon and a hand drawn map, are recessed in the bottom
of the box.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of A
Sacred Geography is being directed to support DROKPA projects.
This artist's book includes a print, "Drifts and Plates", from Heebner's
Geomancy series of paintings,
as well as a letterpress chapbook which includes
introductory and explanatory text, as well as a reader's copy of the poems.
