Location Briddim village, Langtang National Park, Nepal
Type Emergency
Amount £25,000
Background
Briddim is an ethnic Tibetan village in the Langtang National Park in Nepal. Four hours walk from the nearest road, its remote location, traditional architecture and stunning scenery make it a draw for eco-tourists to the area. With little other livelihood options in the community, this tourism provides an essential form of income for many of the village families.
The powerful earthquakes of April and May, 2015 demolished or severely damaged all the houses in the village leaving entire population of 200 people living under tarpaulin shelters.
Project
After the earthquakes hit Nepal, we wanted to support a project which would offer skills training, long-term sustainability, earthquake resistant shelter and a means for people to re-build their own lives and get their businesses up and running again
A rebuilding project in Briddim by the Dolma Foundation allowed us to do just that.
The Dolma Foundation is working to teach the villagers sustainable, earthquake-resistant ways to rebuild their houses and businesses using materials carefully salvaged from the rubble.
The villagers in Briddim were shown how to carefully sift through the rubble of their demolished homes to find materials that could be used again to rebuild. They were then given a period of training on how to reconstruct their houses in a sustainable, earthquake resistant way. The whole village then got to work rebuilding their Community Centre, getting more ‘on-the-job’ training in preparation for rebuilding their own homes.
The Community Centre was completed in November 2015 and served as a welcome shelter for the community from the harsh winter. When the weather cleared up, the villagers set to work helping each other rebuild their homes and businesses.
The Dolma Fund has worked hard to make sure the houses are rebuilt in the traditional Tibetan style. Not only does this preserve the architectural heritage but it will also help to bring essential eco-tourism back to the area.
One year into the building and 11 houses have been completely rebuilt, 24 have been retro-fitted and 19 more are almost finished.