Local Community Shows Support for Energy Farming at the Tibetan Settlements

Due to the heavy rains of the monsoon season, the 20-acre Energy Farming demonstration site at the Tibetan Rabgayling Settlement was completely overgrown with grass. This threatened to choke the young Pongamia seedlings which were planted earlier this year. The grass was so tall that it was difficult to see where the pongamia seedlings were. Using a machine to cut the grass would risk cutting down some of the trees in the process, so many hands would be needed to cut back the grass without harming the trees.

The local Tibetan HI staff quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to fight the grass off alone, so they sought the support of the local Tibetan community and organized a ‘Public Contribution Day’. The community responded to the call for action gladly, and offered their support to protect their community tree plantation.

Dozens of community members volunteered to cut back the grass.

After a World AIDS Day event, and a prayer session at the Community Hall, dozens of local Tibetan joined the HI staff to clear the grass by hand. Tea and refreshments were served. The event was so successful, that several more Public Contribution Days were organized with over 150 people volunteering in total.

A huge pot of tea was prepared for all of the volunteers.

Any project that has strong community backing is bound to be successful. The HI Energy Farming team is incredibly grateful for all of the support.