Think the Earth

Back to Table of Contents More Tibet-like than Tibet

The Ladakh region is located in the upper northern region of India, forming a part of the Jammu and Kashmir state of this vast country. Ladakh's elevation ranges from 3,000m to 7,500m, and its surface area measures 59,000m2 (so, as large as the Shikoku and Kyushu Islands of Japan put together). This high altitude desert surrounded by the Himalayas is home to 240,000 people, which only amounts to 0.02% of the entire Indian population.

Located at the western edge of the Tibetan highlands, it has shared the Tibetan culture since long ago, and it is often referred to as the "Indian Tibet." In every village you will find a Tibetan temple (known as gompas) and the streets are lined with pagodas and mani stones.

In comparison to Tibet, the autonomous region within the People's Republic of China, which has been heavily influenced by Chinese culture, because Ladakh has been a part of India, and because this region virtually becomes a remote island during the winter with the snow cutting off all road access, it has been sheltered from other cultural influences. That is why, ironically, some people say that Ladakh has managed to "preserve more Tibetan qualities than Tibet itself."

Leh, the center of Ladakh

Gompas (Tibetan temples) can be sighted all around this region.

People here speak Ladakhi. It sounds much like the dialect spoken in Western Tibet. Majority of the people who live in the region are of Tibetan descent also known as the Ladakhi, and being Japanese myself, I think there is a close resemblance between Japanese and the Ladakhi people.

Majority of the people in Ladakh are Tibetan Buddhists, but there are also people who believe in Islam and Hinduism. It has a variegated ethnic composition with Ladakhis as well as people from Cashmere and India.

Back to Table of Contents Amidst globalization

Ladakh, like Tibet and other regions in the Himalayas, remained unaffected by Western culture and modernization for a very long time. Situated more than 3,000m above sea level and with a long winter season, the land is extremely arid and the environment very harsh. Nevertheless, it has been home to a sustainable, rich culture from long ago and people lived lives of contentment.

But this region has undergone drastic changes. In the 1960s, tension along the borders of India, China, and Pakistan heightened, and the region became a frontier for border dispute and a military garrison for many many Indian solders. Moreover, in 1974 it opened its doors to foreign tourists, thereby also giving way to Western culture.

The rural lifestyle Ladakh had sustained was forced to undergo change amidst globalization and onset of a monetary economy. Some even say that for a while the sense of values the local people had believed in fell apart, and they lost pride and confidence in their ethnicity. But in recent years, a local NGO has been working hard to make sustainable development, which respects tradition, culture and the environment, a reality.

In this report, I focused on SECMOL, an NGO, which has continued to undertake unique educational activities for over 20 years and has had a tremendous effect on the local community.

Back to Table of Contents How SECMOL came about

SECMOL was established 20 years ago in 1988. Five local university students voluntarily got together to change the educational system in Ladakh and India.

In Ladakh, students have to take an academic aptitude test when they finish their 10th year of studies. It is a very strict test, whereby if you fail more than 2 curriculums, you can't go on to the next level of studies. Students who failed to pass the test can't remain at the school; they must take a year off and retake the test or they won't be able to continue with their studies. But back then only 3% of the students passed this test.

Although majority of the people in Ladakh use Ladakhi as their first language, because textbooks also used in India's capital, Delhi, were used, the textbooks from 1st to 8th grade were written in Urdu, and from 9th grade onwards they were in English. And also the case examples mentioned in these books seemed as though they were about an unimaginable far off country, so it was hard for the students in Ladakh to associate with them. Furthermore, the education in schools seemed to be a contradiction to the local culture. The first 10 years of compulsory education taught students how wonderful modernization or Western cultures were, and how backwards and inferior the rustic and sustainable traditional Ladakhi way of life was. So the students went to school every day only to have their heritage rejected.

SECMOL was established with aspirations to improve this education system, which trampled on the local Ladakhi culture, to make it one that will allow students to take pride in their own culture. Since then, SECMOL has launched various education improvement programs that respect the local culture.

A photograph taken during the campaign to improve villagers' awareness for education Photographs provided by: SECMOL

Textbooks written in Ladakhi. Photographs provided by: SECMOL

SECMOL helped launch training programs for teachers and a training curriculum designed to help train leaders who would help teach and train teachers. They visited many villages and conducted numerous campaigns to help raise the villagers' awareness for education, and built schools in remote villages. SECMOL also revised the textbooks for 1st to 5th year students, so that these students could now study in Ladakhi, their own language. And in collaboration with the government, SECMOL created educational curricula for the entire region. SECMOL's activities have had great effect with the pass rate of the academic aptitude test surpassing 40% at one time. Having said that, this year's test was rather difficult, so only 28% of the students who took the exam passed.

In the last 2 years, there have been issues between the Ladakhi government and other NGOs. Unfortunately, SECMOL was also dragged into this conflict, so for now, it is keeping a distance with the government. But in place of the programs it used to undertake in collaboration with the government, SECMOL has been conducting summer youth camps on the Phey campus. On this campus it owns and operates, SECMOL has also begun to provide a 1-year program to provide students who were unable to pass the academic aptitude test a place to study.

Back to Table of Contents Alternative education ~ another way to learn ~

After driving approximately 20km northwest from Leh, the center of Ladakh, a signpost for "SECMOL" suddenly appeared in the middle of a tree-less desert. I took a left off the asphalt road, and drove 3km down a dirt road when I hit the Indus River. Then unexpectedly, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a desert, the Phey campus lined with green poplar trees appeared in front of me.

The road to SECMOL passes through a tree-less desert.

The Phey campus located behind a line of poplar trees.

The main building where you will find the administrative office, library, and a hall.

Back to Table of Contents Himalaya's free school

As soon as I arrived at the campus, a few students approached me. These fearless students asked me "Where did you come from?" or "What is your name?" in English. It seems they often receive visitors from overseas. There are 25 students here during the day, and most of them are 16 to 17-year olds who have finished their 10th year in school.

Students voluntarily come to SECMOL. They are from various regions, from Leh, the central region, or remote villages far away. They found out about this program at SECMOL's summer youth camps and from friends and family. They say that many of the students didn't past the academic aptitude test to go on to the 11th year.

Unlike ordinary schools, the Phey campus offers students who failed the academic aptitude test a place to study, so it took on the role of what we call free schools. Some students even voluntarily took a year off from their regular schools just so they could come to this school.
The student live and study together on the campus for 1 year, and hope to pass the test, so that they can start their 11th year of studies a year later.

There are students who remain on the campus even after they pass the test and commute by bus to their schools from the Phey campus. There are 15 such students and 7 staff who live together on campus.

（Left）Students are full of curiosity. （Right）On a sunny day, students eat morning meals outdoors.

Back to Table of Contents A unique curriculum

Everyone wakes up at 6:00 in the morning. There are 4 courses, English, social studies, mathematics, and science. And between classes, they do their chores, or have group discussions, do their laundry, and partake in different activities that change day to day such as dance classes. The daily curriculum offered goes on until 22:00. SECMOL also made it a point to teach students about the Ladakhi culture and the history, which aren't taught much in schools.

What is common to all classes is that students are in general only taught the basics. Although the objective is to pass the 11th year aptitude test, classes aren't offered just for the sake of passing the test.

One of the reasons for this is that the level of difficulty of the test doesn't realistically reflect the students' abilities, but the classes aim to teach the students the basics and to also help them develop the ability to think on their own.

So, studying for the test is left up to the individual.
Most of the students pass their test a year later, but they say that they were able to pass the test because they learned about taking initiative, about responsibility, and about the joy of learning here on Phey campus.

Photograph taken during a class. The instructor of the day is an Indian university school student who came as a volunteer from the Darjeeling region. (Left) An English class takes place while watching a video. (Right)

A morning group discussion. You can see how much fun they're having while learning.

Back to Table of Contents Having a sense of responsibility is key

Rebecca Norman, who has been involved with SECMOL since 1992. She is an English teacher as well as a volunteer coordinator.

"We don't want students to study so they can memorize the answers. We want to give them a real education," says Rebecca, who has been involved with SECMOL for over 10 years. "Education should be more practical or more pragmatic. We believe that having responsibility is very important, so we offer a course on 'Responsibility.'"

I thought that this class on responsibility has had a great influence on students as it teaches them to take initiative to study. Here on Phey campus teachers may give students advice, but the decision-making is ultimately left up to the students' initiative and responsibility.

"Responsibility" is a keyword for education at SECMOL, and so everyday 30 minutes are set aside to develop one's sense of responsibility. Every 2 months, students are allocated with some of the 30 plus simple to specialized chores from cleaning toilets and shower rooms, watering plants, maintenance of solar panels, looking after the library, milking cows, taking attendance in class to finance. These chores may be done in teams or individually, but you must take responsibility for your assigned chores.

What is interesting is that different chores are allocated every 2 months. And you have to make a presentation about each chore in front of everyone on campus. For example, the group in charge of milking the cows will have to measure the amount of milk each day, and then present the results or propose new ideas for getting a higher milk yield. This opportunity to present the findings gives new meaning to doing the chores. Chores become more than just tasks. It becomes important to set targets and this helps heighten their sense of responsibility. Students take initiative individually as well as collectively, in thinking of new and better ideas.
It seemed that the sense of "responsibility" and the ability to "take initiative" the students learn on campus have a great influence on their studies as well.

Students in charge of livestock. They seemed to be enjoying milking the cow.

Back to Table of Contents Getting to know the world

Many foreigners come visit SECMOL every year. It may be as part of an NGO study tour or they may be young volunteers. They are from various nationalities and different age groups, with various objectives. SECMOL very much values communication with people from outside the country.

Another important aspect of education on Phey campus is nurturing a global multifaceted perspective.
In many remote areas in Ladakh, infrastructure such as electricity and water are still unavailable. Many of the students are from such areas. In an age where Internet and telecommunications have undergone great advancement, people in such villages still only receive snippets of information, which oftentimes paint an incomplete picture.

It is important to understand that the view of the world and sense of values differ from person to person, and it is also important to develop the ability to look at one's culture subjectively. Information the students learn from speaking to foreigners is more real than the secondary information they get from the TV and radio.Each and every one of the students enjoy speaking to and exchanging ideas with people from other countries and cultures as it helps them broadening their horizons.

A visitor from Canada who has planned to stay for 2 weeks. He is writing a report about alternative education around the world.

Back to Table of Contents Every day is a learning

His name is Dadul.

I asked some students about life on Phey campus.

"Before I came here, school was all about memorizing facts. Here, you can learn about all sorts of things. I really like that," said Thinley.

Tashi answered, "What I love about this school is that they give us responsibility. I also enjoy talking to all the visitors. Life here is so different from my village and my world just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

"At my previous school, when I didn't understand something my teacher became angry. But it's different here. This is my second year here, but I learn something new every day" says Dadul. He passed his exam, but has decided to remain on campus and to commute to his high school in Leh.

Everyone on campus seemed to really savor the joy of learning. They were very spirited, and it was hard to believe that such positive thinking students had failed the exam. Education for the sake of passing tests or for memorizing facts - this reminded me of the education I received in Japan. I realized anew that education is not about making students memorize things. It is about offering opportunities that would help encourage their curiosity and help broaden their horizons.

Back to Table of Contents Himalayas alternative energy

The Phey campus conducts eco tours and summer youth camps. And other unique versatile activities are offered, but what was especially noteworthy was the school's approach to environmental conservation.

When they built the campus, they used local building materials as much as possible, made use of local know-how, and attempted to become very energy independent. This was 15 years ago.

Ladakh is located in high altitude in the very arid desert region with little water and long winters. What changed this somewhat negative environment into a positive one is the sun. The extremely dry environment provides sunny skies 300 days a year, and so there's ample energy from the sun. Thus, Himalayas' alternative energy, sunlight, is being used in various places around the campus.

There are 4 solar panels near the Indus River.

Back to Table of Contents No heaters necessary even in the winter

At a glance, the Phey campus looks like it is in the middle of an empty desert. But the location was carefully selected. It is quite close to Leh, the center of Ladakh, and there is a spring nearby that provides drinking water. And the Indus River, which provides water for irrigation, is also close by. The school was also built on the southern hillside, which receives ample sunlight.

Temperatures in the summer rise above 30 degrees Celsius, but in the winter, it gets as low as minus 20 degrees. However, the building is cool in the summer and in the winter the room temperature never falls below 12 degrees. So air conditioning and heaters aren't at all necessary.

The school building faces directly south and has large windows. The sun rises high in the summer and low in the winter, making it difficult for the sunrays to enter the building in the summer, yet, in the winter it receives plenty of sunlight, so it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And because there are large windows, you don't need to turn any lights on during the day. Moreover, the walls are 30cm thick, stuffed with insulation made of scrap wood and other materials. These walls serve as heat reservoirs that absorb heat during the day and then slowly release it at night.

The hall where the entire wall is full of windows.

They employed the heat insulating techniques used in the temples in Ladakh.

This heating method is a traditional technique used in many temples in Ladakh. Rather than mimicking western technology, people of SECMOL built their school employing local wisdom, but they realized that local methods were quite similar to techniques used in other parts of the world. Hardly any cement is used in the building; they used soil from the region. And building materials were also procured locally.

Back to Table of Contents Use of solar energy

There are 4 solar panels near the river, which generate enough electricity to power the electric appliances, lighting, computers, and office equipment. There are 16 batteries, so even if they experience 3 days of cloudy skies, they still have enough reserve power.

The water from the Indus River used to water the plants and the farm on campus is pumped up using solar energy. When they built the campus, there weren't any trees around, but now they have more than 1,000 trees on campus with occasional visits from birds.

There is so much greenery on campus it's hard to believe that 15 years ago there weren't any trees here.

Sunlight is used for other purposes. There are 2 humongous solar crackers for the kitchen. Sunlight is also used to heat the water for the shower. In the winter, they place plastic sheets outside the wall to create a greenroom for growing vegetables.

Solar crackers measure more than 2m tall.

Although it's a simple mechanism, it provides heat equal to mid-high power on a gas stove. Materials provided by: SECMOL.

A simple water heater made from cheap local materials.

You hardly need to pay for any utilities, so the running costs of the facilities are really low. Not only do they use sunlight, but they also have composting toilets, greenrooms for growing vegetables, and a barn for livestock, waste-processing methods, and the list goes on and on. In the future they hope to become completely self-sufficient in terms of vegetables, create biogas from waste, and also generate hydroelectric power on the Indus.

Back to Table of Contents Living on campus is environmental education

If these activities were being undertaken in Scandinavia, it wouldn't be so surprising. But I think that it is extraordinary that this is being done in the desert, deep in the Himalayas.

The solar panels are the only bit of sophisticated technology used. Other technologies and ideas all use materials that were procured locally at low costs. I think that Japan has a lot to learn from this example, because SECMOL not only simulated technology from developed nations, but they also used resources that best fit the properties of the region to make it quite sustainable.

I believe that this campus will serve as a sustainable example for the future of the Himalayas where resources are hard to come by.
For students, life on campus itself is environmental education.
When it's cloudy, the water is cold, and when sunny, it's warm. If you put up a plastic sheet, you can even grow vegetables in the winter. And human feces become compost. Every single one of these things, which seems obvious and commonplace, is part of environmental education.

The students are responsible for the maintenance of the entire facility, from specialized tasks such as looking after the solar panels and solar crackers to simpler tasks such as separating trash and watering crops and plants.

Composting toilets. The toilets are on the second floor, and the compost can be removed from the first floor.

Her responsibility is separating the trash. She has to separate it into 10 categories.

The students learn about environmental education practiced here, and take the ideas back home to their villages. I hope that in this way ideas for a sustainable future will be communicated to other parts of Ladakh.

Back to Table of Contents The future of the Indian Himalayas

Before coming to SECMOL, I had a rather negative impression about the effect globalization and the onset of the wave of tourism has had on Ladakh. But having met people from NGOs like SECMOL that are active in Ladakh, I began to think that the future of the Himalayas was perhaps quite bright.

There is much that the students gain from studying at SECMOL. The students can assert their identities by learning how wonderful their heritage, the history, and culture of Ladakh is. They get to learn about the environment and develop an eye for sustainability. Also, they get to come into contact with foreign cultures and experience the heterogeneity of the world, and they also acquire the ability to look at things from an even broader perspective. Finally, they learn about the joy of learning, and about responsibility and taking initiative.

The students return to their homes in different parts of Ladakh with countless, valuable experiences from the year they spent on campus. I believe that these students have the strength and power to bring about change. The graduates from SECMOL bring change to the region, and in turn this brings change to the world. Such a day may not be so far off in the future. Already, there are graduates from SECMOL in every NGO in Ladakh.

"If you have the money, you can go to a high level private school in Ladakh. But we hope to give all children, whether they live in towns or villages far away, or whether they come from money or not, equal opportunity to learn and to give them a chance for a real education." said Rebecca when I asked her about SECMOL's future.

I realized once again that in order to create a better world, although it may seem like a round about way, what is important is education.

Julay Ladakh, an NGO in Japan arranges study tours to homes and SECMOL in Ladakh.
To learn more about their program, please go totheir website.