Committed and Highly Motivated – The Women of the Senge La Region
Visiting the Participants, Accompanied by the Teacher
Lingshed Lingshed is the largest village in the Senge La region, with a population of 490. The scattered settlement is divided into seven hamlets.
The village was included in the adult education project last year. Around 80 women take part in the winter classes. In each hamlet, one teacher is funded by the EAL association. The participants themselves are responsible for organizing the teachers. The nuns from Lingshed Monastery agreed spontaneously when asked.
For two months in winter, classes in the Ladakhi language Bhoti were held on Saturdays and Sundays. And the results are remarkable: last winter, 90% of the participants learned to read fluently.
In personal conversations, the village women shared that they always carry a small prayer booklet with them. They read whenever they find the time — especially while herding sheep, which offers a welcome change of pace.
Reading Aloud from the Small Pocket Book
Skiumpata, Yulchung, Nyaraks, Dipling In these villages, the women shared during gatherings that they would like to continue participating in the winter classes. They expressed great joy in learning. A 30-year-old woman said that she would have loved to attend school as a child. She deeply appreciates having the opportunity now, as back then, schooling was only available to a few children.
Winter Classes in Choglamsar The initiator and head of training, Sonam Dorje, developed a curriculum and a budget for all necessary resources in collaboration with local representatives from the Senge La region. Already in the winter of 2018/2019, more than 100 students participated in the winter classes in Choglamsar. Over the course of two months, nine teachers provided instruction in science, philosophy, mathematics, and languages.
This privately organized program can only take place if all costs — including salaries, teaching materials, food, and basic furnishings — are covered by sponsorships. To ensure that the classes can continue in the coming years, the project relies on various sponsors who are willing to make a fixed annual contribution. The project is planned to run for five years.
The board of the EAL association is convinced of the value of the Winter Education Project. Until now, the winter classes for students were held in various villages. However, the remote locations often made it difficult to find qualified teachers, and infrastructure was usually lacking. Centralizing the program helps reduce costs and provides students with higher-quality learning opportunities.
In response to a request, EAL has committed to covering two teacher salaries for a period of five years.
Through this collection campaign, the association supports sports activities for students from the Senge La region in Choglamsar, located in the northern Indian Himalayas.
Well-preserved ice skates and hockey equipment ready to be sent to Ladakh
Approximately 80 kg of equipment was handed over last week to Sonam Dorje, the head of training. Sonam also received valuable tips “all about the ice” from Walter Widmaier. On behalf of the students, the board and the local project coordinators would like to express their heartfelt thanks.
HC Prättigau-Herrschaft meets Himalaya
The local hockey club spontaneously supported the collection campaign
During a training session with the youngest hockey students in Klosters, Sonam Dorje gained insight into the youth development work of HC Prättigau-Herrschaft. As a memento of his visit, he was presented with a player T‑shirt from the hockey club.
The association is collecting ice skates (sizes 37 to 41), helmets, gloves, as well as sticks and pads for students from the Senge La region in Ladakh.
During the coldest season of the year, schools in Ladakh have winter holidays. During this time, winter classes aim to offer students additional learning opportunities and help school leavers prepare for their final exams.
This year, around 100 students from the Senge La region will attend winter classes in Choglamsar. As an additional activity, the program coordinators would like to offer the students a winter sports experience.
At the initiative of Sonam Dorje, the head of training, a natural ice rink was built in front of the school. The persistently freezing temperatures are perfect for it.
Last summer, the association’s president, Trudi Vetsch, brought ice skates and helmets to Ladakh at the request of the local project leader. Ice skating sparked such great enthusiasm among the students that the association was asked once again to collect hockey equipment.
Support ice skating and hockey for youth. You’ll be providing students with a winter sports activity that brings not only fun and joy but also offers a valuable balance during their winter studies.
Equipment can be dropped off at the ice rink in Schiers from January 24 to February 3, 2019. Please make sure the items are clean and in good condition.
Thank you for your support — and a warm Juley from the heart.
As a trainer and specialist lecturer at the Coach-Trainer Academy Switzerland (CTAS), I regularly meet wonderful people and their inspiring stories through my courses. Last year, during the NLP specialist training, I had the pleasure of meeting Trudi Vetsch and learned about her educational project in Ladakh. CTAS decided to make a generous donation in support of this initiative.
Dipling, the most remote village in the Singe La area
All six villages in the La Senge area are part of the education project
The La Senge district includes six villages. Around 950 people live in this district. In August 2018, the two municipalities Lingshed and Dipling joined the project. In the coming year, a total of 146 women will be participating in the project.
And they all have a common wish: to be able to read and write Bhoti, the Ladakh language. Ladakhish is written in Tibetan. The Bhoti written language is similar to classical Tibetan and is thus considerably different from colloquial language.
The prayer books are written in Bhoti.
Yulchung
In the winter half-year 2018, the village women have been busy knitting socks and caps in the new handicrafts room. The various production steps are split up depending on age and abilities.
Socks knit using typical Ladakh patterns
On their own initiative, the women purchased tools in Leh such as, for example, manual teasels or manual spindles. They paid for them using the net profit gained from products they had sold.
The progress in the use of the English language is impressive! In the course of two months in winter an hour of English and the Ladakhi Bhoti language was taught daily. The women can now read and write simple sentences in English. They read the Ladakhi language fluently.
During the summer season 2018, only a few trekking groups passed through the village. The profits from the handicraft products have been very low this summer. The construction of the new road has caused the trekking groups to choose other routes in the La Senge region.
This problem was discussed in the meeting and a solution was sought. In order to adapt to the new situation, the village women are considering setting up a cooperative with neighbouring villages. They would then be able to sell their products in the village most frequently visited.
Nyaraks, Skiumpata and Gongma
In June 2017, these three villages were incorporated into the adult education project. 25 Women participate in schooling. The Ladakhi language is taught during the winter months. In the summer months, the subjects include English, mathematics and Bhoti.
Meeting in Skiumpata
During the meetings in the villages, the women proudly display their exercise books and show what they had learned in the past year.
They are interested in handicrafts and, in the next season, have decided to knit more socks and caps. The association provides the knitting needles needed.
Lingshed
The mountain village is a dispersed settlement and is located at an altitude of 3,950 meters.
It is the largest village in the La Singe area and has 490 inhabitants. The settlement is subdivided into seven areas. The village is a five-hour march from the road connection in Yulchung.
During the meeting in the village, discussions resulted in the decision that the women would like to be taught in the Bhoti language. The 95 women have indeed set themselves a great goal:
In 2021, the Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will be visiting Lingshed. Their greatest wish is by then to be fluent in both written and spoken Bhoti, in order to be able to take notes during instruction. I have passed a credit for employing a teacher for each area.
Dipling
Dipling lies in a fertile valley. As a result of the village’s seclusion, the 145 inhabitants live to a large extent from their own resources. As farmers, they guarantee their own living. The nearest village, Lingshed, can be reached on foot in ten hours.
What interested me was to find out what education and handicrafts meant for the women and which needs and wishes the inhabitants have. During the meetings, the women informed me that they would like to learn Bhoti. EAL finances a teacher.
For the own use, the women knit various garments using sheep wool. With the rough wool from Yaks, the men weave carpets and produce lassos. The herdsmen use these rope slings for catching the animals.
Last autumn, Sonam Dorje, Councillor and person responsible for education in the Senge La area, asked me for support for the winter teaching activities in Kalthse. In the coldest season, the schools in Ladakh have winter holidays. During this time, winter teaching offers students additional learning activities and prepares school leavers for the final examinations.
This privately organised offering can only be carried out when the entire costs such as wages, teaching materials, food, equipment and furniture are sponsored. Sonam Dorje, who initiated these efforts in cooperation with the EAL project manager, Lobzang Rinchen, defined a budget for all the necessary funding. The EAL association makes a contribution for the teaching materials.
In order to gain a more precise picture of how a boarding school system functions during the cold season, I decided to visit Ladakh in the winter.
Dolma, who studies at the nun’s school in Leh, taches students in Kalthse during the winter vacations. (third from the left)
Ladakh in winter — a special experience
During the winter season, „the High Pass Country ” can only be reached by plane. Even on the way from the airport into the town, it strikes one how calm it is on the streets. No honking cars, no clouds of dust whirled up by traffic and only a few tourists — instead, this quietness and icy-cold, clear mountain air. The view up to the 6,000 meter high, snow covered mountains is unique.
The sun shines so intensely during the day that the thermometer in sunny corners that are protected from the wind can sometimes climb up to zero degrees. After sunset, or on a cloudy day, it gets very cold. Only a few people in the Ladakh area own an additional source of heating apart from their cooking stove. The kitchen is the focus of life in winter.
Most festivities such as weddings or cloister festivals are held in the cold season. Social events are of great importance to the Ladakh people. Now, in the winter, they have time for a chat, to visit relatives or to participate in festivities.
Kalthse –the boarding school for teenagers from the Senge La area is located here
Kalthse is on the main road between the district capital Leh and Kargil. In this small town, the road to the Senge La area branches off. The government boarding school is here. From March to the end November, some 300 students from the surrounding villages attend school here.
During the long school vacations between December and February, voluntary winter schooling occurs in these premises. 30 students, seven boys and 23 girls aged between 14 and 18 years, receive tuition in English, Hindi, Bhoti (Tibetan language), computer science, natural sciences and mathematics.
It is impressive with which eagerness and joy the teachers do their work. The rooms are only heated by the sunbeams falling through the window front. The pupils sit on the floor – only a thin mat serves as protection against the cold floor. In spite of these not very simple circumstances, they demonstrate a great willingness to learn.
Fotoshooting on the schoolyard in Kalthse
Cultural excursion to the monastery festival in Likir
The colourful annual monastery celebrations are a special event for all Ladakhis. Accompanied by bass drums and horns, the dancers perform their ritual mask dances. The unique atmosphere spreads out over the whole monastic courtyard.
At the time of our stay in Kalthse, a monastery festival was held in the nearby village of Likir. Sonam Dorje allowed the pupils to go on an excursion. They received a school-free day so that they could go to the festival. In winter, the buses only run infrequently. This led me to spontaneously pay the costs for the bus out of the association’s kitty as cultural events are not budgeted as part of winter tuition.
Together, we first visited the more than 900 years old monastery site. From way down below in the valley, one already can see the Gompa on the hill. The snow-white nests of dwellings belonging to the monks with the temple complex on the hilltop offer a picturesque sight. Today, around 100 monks live there. The novices receive a good schooling at the monastery’s own school.
Afterwards, we were then able to freely visit the festival. The weather played along. And so, the students enjoyed the spectacular monastery festival with much enthusiasm.
Colourful mask dances in the Likir monastery
On the way back to Kalthse, we visited the hydropower station in Alchi. During the tour of the power station, the students found out lots worth knowing about the basics of hydropower production.
The enthusiasm and the positive feedback from both the teachers and the students have led us to budget such educational study trips in the future.
News from Yulchung village
During my stay in Kalthse, I received news by satellite telephone from Yulchung from the Head of the Village Jangdol.
Handicrafts room and school annex: room temperature above zero
The newly-built handicrafts room and the school building can now be used the whole year through, thanks to the additional thermal insulation as well as the double glazing that was sponsored by the EAL association. The premises are warm enough to be used even if, in winter, the sky is clouded: room temperature is comfortable, as Jangdol gladly informed us.
Handicrafts
The quiet time of the year can now be used for arts and crafts work and for maintaining social relationships, as the representative of the women’s cooperative told us. They had knitted many caps, gloves and socks. On their own initiative, the village women set up a stand on the Chadar Trek winter trekking route which is two hours away. The knitted products were sold to passing trekker groups.
Winter teaching
From mid-December until the end of February, winter teaching for adults and children takes place. Twelve adults and seventeen primary school children aged between five and thirteen years participate. Teaching is done in the newly built premises.
Learning content comprises general education subjects, the training of ecological awareness and passing on the rich traditional heritage. EAL finances the teacher for the adults and a teacher for the elementary school classes as well as financing teaching materials.
The handicrafts room also serves as a schoolroom for the adults
Handicrafts
Successful sales during the 2016 summer season motivated the village women to create new felt products and to knit a selection of socks and caps in the following winter. On account of the low temperatures, this year’s handicrafts workshop organised by me took place in the old school building and lasted seven days.
The women still need help when cutting out the leather for the hut slippers. They are unaccustomed to using scissors and a ruler. This is one of few jobs in which they still need instruction from me.
Working together with the women from the village requires a lot of perseverance. It was unaccustomed and exhausting for me to have to work on my knees. Maintaining an overview over sheep-wool and leather, felted and knitted products, tea cups and teapots was a challenge. The humour, enthusiasm and eagerness of the women quickly let me forget such chaotic conditions, however.
Last year the women used the school building as a place of work. Now, with the reopening of the school, the building is now occupied by the primary school. On account of this, the women have made an application to the state for a new handicrafts building.
Reopening the village school
Thanks to the initiative of the villagers in 2014, the primary school was reopened again this spring. Up to then, the children visited the elementary boarding school in Lingshed. Nine children of four to nine years of age can now attend their own school again in the village.
During my stay in Leh, I contacted the “Ladakh Ecological Development Group” LEDeg. The LEDeg engineer responsible, Thinley Dorje, showed Lobzang Rinchen, the local on-site project leader, and me the demonstration object and the supplied us with valuable information. The LEDeg building in Leh is one of the most tradition-rich buildings and features solar architecture.
Go-ahead for an insulated school building and a handicrafts room
Fully loaded with information and the certainty of having competent, on-site project partners on board and after consultation with the association’s executive board, I secured the financing of the thermal insulation.
The state has employed a ten-head Nepalese building team that has been working in Ladakh for many years now. Engineer Thinley Dorje is responsible for contact with the Nepalese building foreman.
For the insulation of the roof, the villagers collected straw in the nearby mountains. The traditional straw roof is not 100% waterproof and is therefore covered over with corrugated iron sheets.
Adult education — three new villages
The EAL project has generated interest in the neighbouring villages. The association has supported the neighbouring villages Skiumpata, Gomga and Nyaraks since June 2017. These villages are only accessible from Yulchung on foot in three hours.
Student Lobzang Palzom teaches the women from Skiumpata (2nd. from the right).
On site, during meetings with the women, I clarified their needs and consequently attained financial approval for a teacher and the teaching materials necessary.
In the three villages, a total of 19 women attend schooling. Interest varies from village to village. In Nyaraks the women would like to learn English, as, in the winter, trekking groups pass by on the frozen river (Chadar-Trek). In Skiumpata and Gomga the women would, above all, like to learn to read and write the ladakh “Bothi” language.
The “Education for Adults in Ladakh, Himalaya” project is on course!
Extension of the school building and a new handicrafts building
For the village school in Yulchung, permission for the addition of two classrooms has been granted by the government in Leh. Furthermore, the application for the new handicrafts building has also been approved.
School building
The school building is to be constructed according to traditional design. This means that the windows have single glazing and the building’s facade has to be made out of single-layer masonry. As a result, room temperatures in a hard winter can go down to ‑30° C and, even for people used to the cold climate, can only be used under difficult conditions. The state only covers the costs for this traditional design. Structural insulation measures such as double glazing, double-layer masonry with appropriate insulation material and a corrugated iron roof for reliable impermeability are missing.
Handicrafts building
Ever since the women have become acquainted with felting, a room in which they can also work in winter at outside temperatures below zero is one of their greatest wishes.
Moreover, the common workspace is of great importance for the women since they can discuss together routine topics such as work in the fields, family matters and domestic animals without being disturbed.
For the construction of the new handicrafts house, the identical government conditions apply as for the school building.
In Leh, Trudi Vetsch met Sonam Dorje (Government Agent for the development of infrastructure, education and health in the area of Senge LA). He presented the projects planned to her. Thereupon she proposed using the association’s donations to cover the extra costs for double-glazed windows, double-layer masonry and covering the traditional roof with corrugated iron sheeting to make it waterproof.
The additional costs for the handicrafts building were paid for from the association’s account.
For these additional costs for the school building extension, double-layer masonry, insulation materials and the double glazing of the windows, the association is now calling for further donations.
The association “Education for Adults in Ladakh — Himalaya” was set up in January 2017. The association meets all requirements for exemption from taxes according to the provisions of Article 78 paragraph 1 lit. f StG. and Article 56 lit. g DBG. The association, with its seat in Schiers, will therefore be taken up in the Cantonal list concerning tax deductibility of voluntary donations.
Promise of co-operation
The consultant of “Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh” responsible, Sonam Dorje, has, on request of the association, guaranteed future co-operation. The letter is available in the Documents section.
Pleasant anticipation
Preparations for the next trip are going full speed ahead and Trudi Vetsch is greatly looking forward to the four-week trip in June. A report will follow after her return.
Volunteer work in July
A student from the Chur area will be carrying out volunteer work in the village of Yulchung this year. Her mission is a voluntary social commitment. This will above all concern the relief of the strain on the families and on the village school.
The enormous motivation and the purposefulness of the women of Yulchung village have been the success factors for the successful sale of felt flowers and cushions in the summer season of 2016. In June 2016, I spent three intense weeks in Ladakh. The focus of my trip was placed on their handicrafts and networking.
Felting and knitting
Wet felting cannot be done at temperatures below zero. In the winter time, the women have knitted woollen socks on their own initiative. The socks, which are decorated with traditional patterns, can be used to make ingenious hut slippers. In the springtime, the motivated and creative villagers created individual felt flowers and cushions.
Networking
The manager on site, Lobzang Rinchen organised a meeting with the chairperson of the village council, Sonam Dorje, in Leh. Sonam is an important government official in the area and is responsible for the development of infrastructure, health services and education. He supports the project with valuable tips. Sonam called for a parish assembly in Yulchung which was then organised by the village people.
During a meeting with the ”Women’s alliance of Ladakh” (WAL), important organizational information was exchanged. The development of the infrastructure in the Singe La area with its new road allows the surrounding villages to become members of the WAL Women’s Alliance too.
Schooling 2015/2016
Twelve women between 24 and 65 years of age and sixteen children participated last winter in our schooling efforts. The children enhanced that which they had learned in the summer. For the adults, emphasis is placed on learning the Tibetan script and the Roman alphabet.
Learning goals for the coming winter
As a result of the development of the area, more and more plastic wastes find their way into the village. For this problem there is still no solution available. The plastic is often burned in stoves. This fact has led to the teacher Stanzin Mingyur’s wish to be able to give the topic of environmental protection more attention next winter. The learning aims are aimed to awaken interest and responsibility in the environmental area and provide competence for shaping the future.
Arrival in the village
After the village women greeted me with a ceremonial and cordial reception, a meeting was held. The women showed me all the things they had made out of felt. With great pride they reported on successful learning efforts at the school and recited the alphabet and numbers in English. The women had implemented their own ideas and found possibilities for carrying out further work which they want to do in winter.
During our conversations, I noted that twelve of the women would like to increase their know-how in the area of felting. In order that their work in the fields was not neglected, they divided themselves into two groups. For five days they were busy felting from eleven o’clock in the morning until four o’clock in the afternoon.
Very motivated and with a lot of perseverance, the village women have felted and the turned the felt into beautiful flowers and cushions.
Village council assembly
On the last day before my departure, a village council assembly was held in Yulchung. The responsible village president and representative of the Singe La area, Sonam Dorje, the local project manager Lobzang Rinchen, the Women’s Cooperative and the men of the village who were present took part in the council assembly.
Basic needs were addressed during the council assembly as were questions on how donations could be used. The basic question was how to clarify what is important for the women and the village and what should be done next.
The women expressed three wishes: A room in which they can create their products in summer and winter without being disturbed, a little more basic equipment and a teacher for summer teaching.
Perspectives
An unused house with two rooms can be made available immediately. The space at the back of the building, however, has been filled up by continuous land erosion. When snow falls, water accumulates in the walls and mold has grown in the rooms. It was decided to free the back wall from rubble next year and install drainage.
As far as furnishings are concerned, the women would like a table, thick cushions for seating and a kitchen set, consisting of a cooking stove and dishes.
The women — cooperative from the village make a contribution to the adult education project by using their craftsmanship. In August 2015, I visited the village and taught the women of the local cooperative how to make flowers and cushions using felt. I did this because I am convinced that in order to encourage sustainable development, you have to educate adults and also provide support for their economy on a small scale.
The flowers and cushions are made from local sheep’s wool. The women wash and card the wool in their own villages. Flowers bear a special meaning for Ladakhi people. You can see them everywhere in their gardens. They love the dash of colours in the midst of the arid, mountainous landscape. For trekkers, felt flowers and cushions are authentic souvenirs from the village.
