HIALWAY October 2018 - Mar 2019 Vol.2
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
30 Years of SECMOL HIALWAY October 2018 - Mar 2019 Vol.2 Highlights •30 years of SECMOL •Retreat to Ulleytokpo •Jain Irrigation Visit Governor of J&K graced the event as the Chief guest. •HCL Grant •A Greener Phyang •University site •HIAL at Kyrgyzstan •Icestupa Competition •Icestupa Photos in different villages •Icestupa Stamp cover release •HILLs Fellowship MOU with Kashmir University and J&K Bank. •People who joined this year •Join the Cause •Workshop in Munich & Switzerland •University Master-plan •Felicitation by Maharashtra government •Nobel prize event at Stockholm •Ice Stupa Team in Sikkim •Get to know the Team Sonam Wangchuk addressing the crowd. HIAL Signs MOUs in the Presence of J&K Governor Governor Satya Pal Malik praised Sonam Wangchuk’s con- tinued efforts in demonstrating how civil societies can collaborate with governments and village communities to improve public services like education for a lasting impact. Gitanjali JB, the Founding CEO of Himalayan Institute of Al- ternatives, Ladakh, signed two significant memoranda of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Governor Satya Pal Malik. HIAL’s MoUs with Kashmir University and J&K Bank will support our efforts in empowering Ladakhi youth. To mark the occasion, Gitanjali JB said “More that 50 % of India’s population is below the age of 25, imagine how tal- ented and skilled our country would be if these youth are given the right education; an education that trains and en- ables them to design indigenous, creative and innovative solutions.” HIAL’s MoU with J&K Bank will support potential innovators and entrepreneurs in Ladakh and nurture technology based ideas into independent self-sustaining businesses, while its MoU with Kashmir University is to collaborate on different areas of skill development as well as infrastructure use. 1 Retreat at Ulleytokpo Fifteen Leh based organizations attended the 5th NGO forum meet at Ulleytokpo in October, 2019. Hosted by SECMOL, this two day retreat provided the participants with the opportuni- ty to understand each others work through a series of pres- entations and discussions. During the retreat, all organizations signed a resolution to make their offices accessible for differently abled people. The organizations also appealed to all other public offices to fol- low suit. According to Sonam Wangchuk, the NGO forum provides an excellent opportunity to foster collaboration between organi- NGO forum meet in Ulleytokpo. zations towards advocacy for pressing environmental and de- velopmental issues. Jain Irrigation HCL Grant A team from Jain Irrigation visited HIAL to identify areas of productivity improvement for native crops. They visited the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) to in- crease their knowledge of indigenous plants and travelled across Ladakh to collect plant samples and talk to farmers. A Greener Phyang In order to develop Ladakh in to a benchmark for sustainable economic living, HIAL is constantly seeking to be on the cusp of innovation and environmental progress. To further this goal, we recently met with a team from Afforest - an organiza- tion that specializes in Miyawaki technique that grows forests at 10x the normal rate. We were focused on identifying native plants that grow without a lot of water, and on how we can utilize these to create a green cover for our desert campus. We will also be working together to create a forest cover in the Team from HCL visiting the upper valley in Phyang. upper valley, where the trees and shrubs can help arrest the water flow in case of heavy rains, thus preventing flash floods. A team from HCL visited the upper valley in Phyang where the Ice Stupas are being made this winter. HIAL came as runners up in the HCl grant competition and was awarded 25 lakhs. The grant will be used to expand the Ice Stupa project to cov- er more area in the upper valley, allowing for larger portions of it to have a forest cover. The green cover will provide a natural barrier against floods and hold the excess rainwater in case of cloud bursts, thus resulting in a restoration of the valley micro-climate. Afforest team at University site. University site The construction for the staff quarters has been built and the staff has already started moving in. The staff quarters had been built using the model of passive solar housing. Aerial view of the university site -staff quarters. 2 HIAL at Kyrgyzstan HIAL at World Mountain Forum 2018. Brainstorming session with architects specialised in container architecture. Sonam Wangchuk, along with veterinarian Dr. Tsering Phunt- shog and educationalist Mr. Sonam Dorjai, had the privilege of representing Phyang Valley at this year’s World Mountain Forum (WMF) in Kyrgyzstan. They used this opportunity to discuss the issues faced by mountain communities with representatives from the moun- tain countries of the world. They also visited the University of Central Asia (UCA), a special mountain university system established for the youth of Central Asian Republics of Kyr- gyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Ice Stupa Competition The Ice Stupa project was started in one small village of Lada- kh in 2013-14. Five years down the line, these Ice cones have been built not just in many other villages of Ladakh, but also in other cold regions of countries like Switzerland and Paki- SW hold icestupa workshop with the villagers at SECMOL. stan. In the coming years, we envision these artificial glaciers to provide respite to many other cold regions as climate ad- aptation strategies. This winter ( 2018-19) the Icestupa was build in the following villages in Ladakh: Shara, Chiktan, Gya, Vershudo, Takmachik, Satse dho, Gangles, Zingral, Lamsto, Karith and Zanskar. (Pictures on pg 4) Ice Stupa team of Shara Phuktse bagged the Ice Stupa Award 2018 and got the first prize of 500,000 rupees. They had fro- zen 7 million litres of water in an ice stupa that stood more than 34m (112 feet) tall. Five other villages shared 2nd and 3rd and other positions worth 700,000 rupees. Ice Stupa competition award ceremony on World Water Day. Ice Stupa team teaching villagers different constructing techniques of Ice Stupa. 3 Shara. Chiktan. Gya. Saste dho. Takmachik. Vershudo. Karith. Zanskar. Gangles Zingral. Swizerland. Baltistan Ice stupa stamp release HILLs Fellowship The Ice Stupa was selected as a theme for a special stamp “We care about your ideas. We care about your stories. We cover by the Indian Postal Service. The stamp was released care about the world you come from. Let us build a com- in front the Ice stupa made by the Ice Stupa team (HIAL) this munity of social entrepreneurs who create solutions for the year in Ganglas village. Himalayan region.” HILLs Fellowship a postgraduate fellowship program by HIAL is starting on 22nd April, 2019. People who joined this year Manish Adlakha (GM- Business Operations), Faiza Khan (Head Architect), Apala Chaturvedi (Communications, TF), Sanskruti Landage (Design intern), Nitika Banhani (Junior Architect), Stanzin Serzang (Site Architect), Rohit Ranjan (Research Engineer), Tsering Wangdus (Procurement Assi- tant), Stanzin Namgail, Punchok Skalzang, Kunzang Tsephel (Building Assistants). Stamp cover release ceremony at Gangles village. 4 Join the Cause Organisations and donors join and collaborate with HIAL because they are making a difference in a cause they care about. Afforestt root2fruit Axis bank Citrix Future Institute Gemalto Info Edge Jain irrigation Water-Energy-Food Nexus workshop, Munich. John Deere Makemytrip Naukri.com Petronet PricewaterhouseCoopers Waaree We are humbled by your recent expression of support for our work. Thank you. Gitanjali with tourism students in Switzerland. Workshop in Munich & Swizerland Gitanjali JB presented a paper at Technical University of Mu- nich’s Water-Energy-Food Nexus workshop where she spoke about indigenous solutions to local problems. She asserted that solutions for our current problems cannot come from Munich or New York but from our own traditional wisdom, life styles and philosophies that we lived by 200 years ago. We were naturally sustainable and hence have survived all kinds of calamities and continue to be the longest living civilisation. She also spoke about Responsible Tourism and the vision of HIAL to the Tourism students of Academia Engadina at Samed- an, Switzerland. University Master-plan Swati Sharma and Steven Thomas from Future Institute visited HIAL to advise on the master-plan for our upcoming campus in Phyang Village. They discussed the terrain, swale and edges Future institute at University site. with the architecture team. 5 Gitanjali JB at the award function. SW speaking at Nobel week dialogue. Felicitation by the Maharashtra Govt.. Nobel Prize Event In Stockholm Gitanjali JB was felicitated by the HRD Minister, Govt. of In- Sonam Wangchuk was invited by the Noble Foundation of dia, Prakash Javdekar, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, De- Sweden for the years (2018) Nobel week dialogue on “Water vendra Fadnavis and Education Minister, Government of Ma- matters”. Many water experts and Noble laureates spoke on harashtra, Vinod Tawde for leading the Curriculum Design & the occasion. The ice stupa, a Ladakhi innovation was loved Development of Maharashtra International Education Board by all. They saw the promise of the range of its applications (MIEB), Government of Maharashtra. MIEB was officially from water to farmers, to greening of vast deserts, to refreez- launched in 13 Zilla schools. ing dangerous glacial lakes. Ice stupa team in Sikkim The Ice Stupa team has been working with the Sikkim gov- ernment to reduce the water level of the South Lonak Lake, which is prone to Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). The team is using a siphoning technique that requires the installa- tion of pipes, but no external power source. Located at an altitude of 5200 m, the trek to the South Lonak Lake was challenging and took several days. Upon arriving, the team was thrilled to find the previously installed pipelines working effectively.