LADAKH
The people of Ladakh (7) (Little Tibet) in northern Kashmir live over 13,000ft above sea level. On average they get only three inches of rain a year and are frozen for eight months, yet they not only survive, they thrive! Bringing water from the glaciers via long channels to their villages, they grow excellent cereals, vegetables, fruit and flowers. Their yaks, sheep, cattle and goats are grazed up to 17,000ft on the alpine pastures. Until recently little or no money was involved in their economy; the extended family with village and inter-village cooperation produced all their needs. But, some 15 years ago the Indian government opened a road into Ladakh and promoted the tourist trade. Since then the picture has been changing rapidly.
The capital, Leh, has become a dormitory town with modern shops, hotels and tenement housing which are utterly unlike the beautiful village buildings. Wealthy tourists make the Ladakhis feel inferior, promoting the urge to leave the land and come to Leh to earn wages. Grain and other staple food are now imported by road from India and many of the locals cannot afford to buy them. The traditional clothing of the people is thought to be inferior to jeans and Nike shoes. The village subsistence farms are now undermanned as the traditional extended family is split up when the men leave for employment in Leh and other towns.
Over 26 years ago Helena Norberg-Hodge, a Swedish linguist, came to Ladakh, learned the dialect and devoted her life to preserving the traditional culture and intuitive wisdom of this harsh, but beautiful land. Like Mukat and Jyoti Singh at Amarpurkashi, she has concentrated on preserving the human relationships and cooperation of the extended family, village and inter-village culture.
Her Ladakh Ecological Development Group has been promoting appropriate technology within the means of the village communities. The Women's Alliance with over 3000 members is dedicated to preserving and strengthening the local culture, agriculture and manual skills. School books, plays and cultural works are being published in the Ladakhi language. The Farm Project gives people from around the world the opportunity to live and work for a month or more with a Ladakhi family.
Although western technology and the cash economy are still growing, there is no doubt that Helena's work is gaining respect throughout Ladakh and in Indian government circles. A visit to Ladakh is still a glimpse of a lifestyle much needed, yet all but lost in the modern world.
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