1

HIALWAYOctober 2018 - Mar 2019 Vol.2

Highlights•30 years of SECMOL•Retreat to Uleytokpo•Jain Irrigation Visit•HCL Grant•A Greener Phyang•University Site•HIAL at Kyrgyzstan•Ice Stupa Competition•Ice Stupa Photos in Different Villages•Ice Stupa Stamp Cover Release•HILLs Fellowship•New Members of Our Team at HIAL•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

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 Alternatives, Ladakh, signed two significant memoranda of understanding (MoUs) 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 than 50% of India’s population is below the age of 25, imagine how talented and skilled our country would be if these youth are given the right education; an education that trains and enables 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.

MOU with Kashmir University and J&K Bank.

Sonam Wangchuk addressing the Crowd.

Governor of J&K graced the Event as the Chief Guest.

30 Years of SECMOL

2

Fifteen Leh based organizations attended the “5th NGO forum Meet” at Uleytokpo in October, 2019. Hosted by SECMOL, this two day retreat provided the participants with the opportunity to understand each others’ work through a series of presentations 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-zations towards advocacy for pressing environmental and de-velopmental issues.

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.

Retreat at Uleytokpo

Jain Irrigation

NGO Forum Meet in Uleytokpo.

Aerial View of the University Site- Staff Quarters.

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 organization 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 upper valley, where the trees and shrubs can help arrest the water flow in case of heavy rains, thus preventing flash floods.

A Greener Phyang

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 cover more area in the upper valley of Ganglas, 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’s micro-climate.

HCL Grant

Team from HCL visiting the Upper Valley in Phyang.

Afforest Team at the University Site.

The construction for some buildings for the staff quarters has been completed and the staff has already started moving in. The staff quarters had been built using the model of Passive Solar Housing (PSH).

University Site

3

The Ice Stupa project was started in one small village of Phyang in Ladakh 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 Pakistan. In the coming years, we envision these artificial glaciers to provide respite to many other cold regions as climate adaptation strategies.This winter ( 2018-19), the Ice Stupa was built in the following villages in Ladakh: Shara, Chiktan, Gya, Vershudo, Takmachik, Satse dho, Ganglas, 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 frozen 7 million litres of water in an Ice Stupa that stood more than 34 m (112 feet) tall. Five other villages shared the 2nd and 3rd positions and other prizes worth 700,000 rupees.

Sonam Wangchuk, along with veterinarian Dr. Tsering Phuntshog and educationalist Mr. Sonam Dorjai, had the privilege of representing HIAL and 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

HIAL at Kyrgyzstan

HIAL at World Mountain Forum, 2018.Brainstorming Session with Architects Specialising in Container Architecture.

Sonam Wangchuk held an Ice Stupa Workshop with the Villagers at SECMOL.

Ice Stupa Competition Award Ceremony on World Water Day.Ice Stupa Team teaching Villagers Different Construction Techniques of Ice Stupa.

4

Shara. Gya.

Takmachik.

Swizerland.Zingral.

Chiktan.

Vershudo.Saste dho.

GanglesZanskar.

Baltistan

Karith.

The Ice Stupa was selected as a theme for a special stamp cover by the Indian Postal Service. The stamp was released in front of the Ice Stupa made by the Ice Stupa team (from HIAL) this year in Ganglas village.

Ice Stupa Stamp Release HILLs Fellowship

New Members of Our Team at HIAL

“We care about your ideas. We care about your stories. We care about the world you come from. Let us build a community of social entrepreneurs who create solutions for the mountainous regions.”

HILLs Fellowship, a postgraduate fellowship program by HIAL, is starting on 22nd April, 2019.

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 Assitant), Stanzin Namgail, Punchok Skalzang, Kunzang Tsephel (Building Assistants).

Stamp Cover Release Ceremony at Ganglas Village.

5

Organisations and donors join and collaborate with HIAL because they are contributing to a cause they care about.

AfforesttAxis bankCitrixFuture InstituteGemaltoInfo EdgeJain irrigationJohn DeereMakemytripNaukri.comPetronetPricewaterhouseCoopersroot2fruitWaaree

We are humbled by your expression of support for our work. Thank you.

Gitanjali JB presented a paper at the Technical University of Munich’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 Samedan, Switzerland.

Join the Cause

“Water-Energy-Food Nexus” Workshop, Munich.

Gitanjali JB with Tourism Students in Switzerland.

Future Institute at University Site.

Workshop in Munich & Swizerland

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 with the architecture team.

University Master-plan

6

Michelle Pavri Brought up in Dubai, Michelle Pavri studied fashion design and went on to visit numerous countries as an industry expert. She quickly realized that her work in the fashion industry went against her values of minimalism, prompting her to join HIAL. She manages Sonam Wangchuk’s talks nationally and internationally, along with his schedules and HIAL emails.

Felicitation by the Maharashtra Govt. Nobel Prize Event In Stockholm

Ice Stupa Team in Sikkim

Sonam Wangchuk was invited by the Noble Foundation of Sweden for the years (2018) Nobel week dialogue on “Water Matters”. Many water experts and Noble laureates spoke on the occasion. The Ice Stupa, a Ladakhi innovation was loved by all. They saw the promise of the range of its applications from water to farmers, to greening of vast deserts, to refreezing dangerous glacial lakes.

Gitanjali JB was felicitated by the HRD Minister, Govt. of In-dia, Prakash Javdekar, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, De-vendra Fadnavis and Education Minister, Government of Ma-harashtra, Vinod Tawde for leading the Curriculum Design & Development of Maharashtra International Education Board (MIEB), Government of Maharashtra. MIEB was officially launched in 13 Zilla schools.

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. They also installed 3 additional pipelines. Each pipeline siphons water out at 50 liters per second. Impressed by their hard work and diligence, the Chief Minister of Sikkim presented a certificate of commendation to the Ice Stupa team. CM of Sikkim presented a Certificate of Commendation to the Ice Stupa Team.

Sonam Wangchuk speaking at the Nobel Week Dialogue.Gitanjali JB at the Award Function.

Get to know the Team

Editor: Gitanjali JBAsst. Editor: Apala ChaturvediDesign & Layout: Athulya PillaiPhotographer: Sonam Dorjey