About Us
Making the himalayas a Better Place For All of Us
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Our Story
The Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation is a community-based organization devoted to promoting and conserving the indigenous, natural, and historic heritage of the Himalayas by working directly with the different mountain communities and strengthening and supporting community-based institutions. The foundation places great stress on trainings and workshops that ensure more practical and beneficial outcomes, both in terms of learning and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the region. The promotion and preservation activities include cultural and natural heritage, art and crafts skills, folk traditions, community-based management of cultural and natural resources, and language and literature. Another important aim is to encourage scientific research and documentation of the impact of climate change on these mountain cultures. This knowledge, we believe, will propel the development of sustainable solutions to mitigate its degradation. The HCHF programmes are carried out in Ladakh and other regions of the Himalayas.
Aims
Promoting and conserving the indigenous, natural, and historic heritage of the Himalayas by working directly with the different mountain communities and strengthening and supporting community-based institutions. The foundation places great stress on trainings and workshops that ensure more practical and beneficial outcomes, both in terms of learning and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Silk Rout Initiative
Preservation of Ethnic & Cultural Heritage
Training & Workshops education program
conservation and restoration of monuments
Rock Art Unit (RAU)
Research & Preservation of Rock Art in Ladakh
Amchi Project
Protection, development and education of Tibetan medicine plants
Objectives
Preserving Culture
Preserving the unique culture and heritage of Ladakh and other regions of the Himalayas
Community support
Strengthening & supporting community-based institutions
Scientific research
Promoting Scientific Research & Documentation
Heritage education
Reviving endangered & dying knowledge & skill
Folk tradition
Advancing the legacy of folk traditions, local language & literature
Cultural resources
Promoting community-based management of cultural & natural resources
Cultural Heritage
Disseminating information on various facets of cultural and natural heritage
Safeguarding artifacts
Safeguarding cultural artifacts & antiques
About The Founder
Abiding by the promise made to the most Ven. Late Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, after completion of my doctorate degree I decided to come back home leaving every lucrative job opportunity to serve my own people and society. Today, I feel extremely fortunate to be appointed as tutor to the 20th Bakula Rinpoche until he left for his higher studies in Karnataka, who, in his previous life sent me to Sri Lanka for higher studies.
Born in the village of Khardong Rongjuk, in Nubra valley, until the age of 11 years, I was fully engaged in the family farming business, to watch the sheep and goats. Up to that time I had never been to school. My elder brother, however, recognized that I was gifted and arranged for my enrolment at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS) in Leh, the capital of Ladakh where I studied Buddhist Philosophy, Tibetan, Hindi, English and other modern subjects. To my good luck, soon I received a scholarship through Ven, the 19th Bakula Rinpoche to study Buddhism in Sri Lanka based on my excellent results at the CIBS. In 1991, I travelled to Sri Lanka where I studied Buddhist Social Philosophy at the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka and received my B.A. (Hons) degree from the same university in 1996.
This distinction gave me immediate access to the University of Delhi to pursue M.A. degree. In the meantime, I received Diploma in Tibetan Language and Literature, English and Journalism and also qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) which qualified me for teaching in any University in India. I received research fellowship from University Grant Commission (UGC) for pursuing doctorate studies on Sakya Tradition and in 2006, I was awarded with doctorate degree from the Department of Buddhist Studies, University of Delhi.
To make the best use of my knowledge, I began my work as a researcher/programme co-ordinator for Namgyal Institute for Research on Ladakhi Art and Culture and worked on two major projects. One, Inventory of Cultural Resources in Ladakh funded by Ford Foundation and second, Revival of Monastic Art Crafts funded by UNESCO. In the meantime, I attended seminars and workshops in several countries and even received invitations to give lectures in foreign universities.
It was my concern and love for cultural heritage of Himalayas that in 2009, I founded the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation-HCHF with the aim of promoting and preserving Himalayan indigenous cultural heritage. I am happy and honoured to work for International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) as Ladakh Liaison Officer from 2009 to 2011, Secretary from 2011to 2015 and President from 2015 to 2023.
Today, I’m a contented human being with whatever I’m doing, may be on small scale for my society. My belief in life is to perform every task with perfection and dedication. Going with this belief of mine, my endeavour would be to give my best in preserving and promoting the culture and heritage of Ladakh in particular and Himalayas in general using HCHF as the commencing platform.
