Expansion of Energy Farming Program in South India

Due to overwhelming community support, 20,000 more pongamia seedlings are being cultivated in the Tibetan settlements of Rabgayling and Bylakuppe. The plants will be distributed next planting season to local farmers who’ve expressed interest in the Himalayan Institute’s Energy Farming program.

Pongamia seedlings ready for transport.

These small seedlings represent the start of a new sustainable industry for the Tibetans in India. Over the last decade, the Tibetan government-in-exile has provided training in organic farming to refugees, usually through community outreach programs. Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche describes the transition away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers as a campaign for “non-violent agricultural practices.” With remarkable gains in soil quality and crop yield already materializing, the Central Tibetan Administration is looking to the Himalayan Institute to help diversify into oilseed and medicinal crops.

Today, on the Bylakuppe demonstration plots, the Himalayan Institute showcases many of the same herbs grown on its campuses in the United States, Mexico, and Cameroon for use in Total Health herbal formulations. There are gardens of tulsi, turmeric, ashwagandha, and brahmi, as well as indigenous herbs like guduchi which thrive in the hot South Indian climate.

Guduchi, an important herb in Ayurveda, has found its place in modern medicine as a hepatoprotector: it is prescribed to reduce the liver damage caused by heavy-duty antibiotics.

The additional infrastructure developing to support the new crops will be the product of a truly Tibetan solution. All Energy Farming initiatives in the settlements are now being managed entirely by local staff. The Himalayan Institute continues to provide ongoing technical guidance and project oversight, as well as crucial data as it emerges from more mature Energy Farming projects in Cameroon and Mexico.

Wherever Energy Farming is implemented, the goals are the same: revitalization of marginalized rural communities through sustainable agriculture. As individual HI programs around the globe begin to take root and win local support, the power of a wider, spiritually-grounded philosophy becomes apparent, one that offers a holistic approach to the problem of poverty and honors the connection between the quality of the soil, the livelihood of the farmer, and the health of rural communities.

Tibetans fill bags with rich soil for the pongamia nursery.

HI Members Plant Pongamia in Bylakuppe Settlement

As part of a larger spiritual excursion to some of India’s holiest sites, Himalayan Institute members traveled to the Bylakuppe Tibetan refugee settlement in southern Karnataka. There, in the Institute’s pongamia nursery, they volunteered and strengthened the partnership between the HI and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Tibet’s government-in-exile.

The group toured the settlement’s Energy Farming demonstration plots where the CTA has teamed up with the Himalayan Institute to teach local farmers sustainable agriculture practices, emphasizing oilseed crops as a source of biofuel. In the time since the settlements were founded in the 1950s, soil quality has dropped precipitously, a result of minimal oversight and heavy use of chemical fertilizers. Now, the swift adoption of eco-friendly land management is the best chance for thousands of Tibetans to secure their livelihoods.

An irrigation specialist demonstrates some of the techniques behind water conservation and soil science.

On an arid field in Bylakuppe settlement, the HI members were introduced to Energy Farming’s flagship program in rural India, pongamia cultivation. They worked with the robed monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastary, transplanting adolescent trees from the nursery to plots that will provide the community with biofuel, fertilizer, and an organic pesticide when the trees reach maturity. Recalled one HI member, “To see and be part of living spirituality – It was the best part of the trip.”

HI members brave 110 degree temperatures to help plant pongamia seedlings. When these small trees reach maturity five years from now, they will do more than provide a steady source of biofuel; adult trees create shade and fix nitrogen in the soil, revitalizing scrubland into thriving fields from which farmers can maintain their livelihood.

With international collaboration on this scale, community officials are finally expressing hope about the problem that has proved most enduring–the exodus of rural youth. Despite the efforts of the CTA, there continue to be few career opportunities in the settlements, forcing young Tibetans to leave home in search of work in India’s major cities. They seldom return. Ultimately, the success of the Energy Farming program here will be judged by whether or not it restores dignity and sustainable livelihoods to the Tibetan refugees, allowing these close-knit communities to continue living and working together, as they have throughout thousands of years of rich spiritual history.

The next generation of Tibetan spirituality.

2009 Major Activities and Timeline

2009 was an exciting and very busy year for the Himalayan Institute Humanitarian Initiatives. Here is a timeline of major events:

HI Cameroon, HI & Tibetan Partnership, HI India, HI Mexico

January	In depth planning trip to Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement in South India to begin Energy Farming program.
February	HI Cameroon launches new Total Health branch center in Mbveh. Read more.
	HI India campus in Allahabad hosts 100 guests from around the world as part of the Kamakhya spiritual excursion.
March	Energy Farming program launches at Rabgayling Tibetan settlement. A model Pongamia nursery with 8000 seedlings and a 20-acre demonstration farm are established. Read more.
April	HI Cameroon launches new Total Health branch center in Jakiri. Read more.
May	Total Health Mobile Unit launches, reaching hundreds of villages in surrounding region. Read more.
	New Vision reading glasses program launches, bringing affordable reading glasses to the people of Kumbo, Cameroon. Read more.
	HI delegation has private audience with HH Dalai Lama at NYC Town Hall in celebration of 50th anniversary of Tibetan Exile.
	HI team visits Puebla, Mexico to begin preparations for brining the Institute’s humanitarian projects to Mexico.
June	HI Cameroon launches two community well projects the Northwest region of Cameroon. Read more.
	Center for Carpentry & Construction launches first training program in woodworking and furniture making. Read more.
	HI Buffalo 30th anniversary celebration.
	Pandit Rajmani Tigunait goes on a weeklong lecture tour in Japan.
July	HI India secures a new, 14-acre campus near the sacred shrine of Khajuraho in Central India, which will be developed into an educational retreat center.
	Spirituality in Action Conference is hosted in Honesdale, PA with delegates from around the world.
August	HI India annually sponsers village schools and provides scholarships.
September	HI Cameroon’s annual scholarship program awards scholarships to 42 students. Read more.
October	Construction begins on Kumbo Public Library. The library is slated to open by the end of 2009. Read more.
	HI Cameroon Sacred Link Jewelry Program goes mobile and launches its first mobile jewelry training course to over 30 women in Bamenda Cameroon.
	Pandit Rajmani Tigunait goes on a weeklong lecture tour and humanitarian scouting trip in Brazil.
November	HI team returns onsite to expand Energy Farming project to 3 neighboring Tibetan settlements in South India.
December	HI Mexico branch center officially established; HI team in Mexico to begin Energy Farming programs.

Without the support of donors like you, these projects would not be possible. Thank you!

Khen Rinpoche Visits Honesdale

This past month the Himalayan Institute was honored to host Khen Rinpoche Tsetan, abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in southern India. The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama who is the 2nd highest ranking lama after the Dalai Lama. Following up on Tibetan Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to the Himalayan Institute last year, Khen Rinpoche wanted to see how his monastery could join the Institute’s Energy Farming program currently underway in Tibetan refugee settlements.

Khen Rinpoche and Ishan Tigunait, Director of Strategic Development, at the Institute’s campus in Honesdale, PA.

During his visit, Khen Rinpoche toured the Institute’s vegetable garden and Energy Farming demonstration plot where medicinal and biofuel crops are being cultivated. The techniques used in these gardens are the same techniques that the HI promotes in all of their Energy Farming projects in Cameroon and at the Tibetan Settlements.

In the evening, Khen Rinpoche gave a public Dharma talk on "A Peaceful Mind and How to Overcome Negative Emotions."

The Institute is working in collaboration with the Tibetan government-in-exile, and launched its Energy Farming program in Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement in early 2009. In the eleven months since the program started, over 10,000 trees are growing at the Settlement’s demonstration site that will eventually produce biofuels.

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.