News

Karuna’s support for isolated communities in the Indian Himalayas

Date: 24 February 2010

Broadcasting an educational programme to remote Ladakhi villages

Karuna has been awarded a grant from The Charles Hayward Foundation to help give vocational education to ethnic Tibetan children living on the high altitude plains of the Indian Himalayas. The Foundation, which places emphasis on funding projects that are developmental or innovative, awarded Karuna a grant of £13,000 in February 2010.

The grant will help fund vocational courses in crafts, food production and eco-tourism, allowing these tribal communities to develop livelihoods in their traditional homeland, rather than migrating to the cities where, as unskilled labourers, they are exposed to exploitation.

The projects cover 5 high altitude districts of the Himalayas within 4 Indian states - Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. 78% of the local population are living within agricultural communities covering 617 remote villages.

To give an idea of the extreme remoteness, 72% of the population within Lahaul & Spiti, for example, live in locations which are completely unconnected by roads and are a 2 to10 days walk away from the closest towns.

There is poor attendance at the state run schools and access to higher education is extremely limited. For example, there are only 11 secondary schools in the 14,000 sq. km. region of Lahaul & Spiti. The schools are poorly run and the curriculum is not geographically or culturally relevant. Teachers of the state schools are mostly outsiders, who are not well-versed with the local language, tradition and culture.

Poor education, coupled with the extreme conditions of the high altitude terrain has meant that large parts of the population have become marginalised with farmers carrying out only subsistence agriculture. Their weak financial status, coupled with inaccessible welfare services leaves them in a continuing poverty trap.

Our project partner, Pragya was established in 1995 to respond to the needs of Himalayan people living in remote and isolated areas above 8000 feet. The extreme isolation, low education/skills of the people, sparse population, and difficulties of working in such a harsh terrain mean that very few development agencies are supporting these remote communities.

Through vocational training, the project aims to equip the local population with the knowledge, skills and facilities necessary to generate sustainable incomes over future generations.

This work builds on Karuna's existing programme of activities in the Indian Himalayas. Just over three years ago Karuna received major grants from the UK Government Department for International Development and Big Lottery Fund, supplementing the contribution of individual supporters, to fund an education and development program that covers a large area of the Indian Himalayas.

The project will directly benefit 13,219 children, predominantly teenagers, and indirectly benefit 148,080 people across 617 villages in 7 high altitude districts.