Sustainable Asia

During my travels in India I revisited Auroville, an Indian eco-village where I worked a few years ago. Auroville was established over 40 years ago to provide a place where people of all nations, religions and beliefs could live together in harmony with each other and the environment. Whilst it still has a long way to go to completion – there are currently only 2,221 residents out of an envisaged 50,000 - it has certainly explored and learnt a lot in its lifetime. Auroville’s development has raised many questions of how a city and its economic, physical and social structures can support sustainable, harmonious living. This is why UNESCO, a supporter since the start, recently called it ‘an unparalleled human experiment in turning these ideals [of sustainable living] into reality’. As with any experiment some aspects work better than others. This blog briefly outlines a few of Auroville’s achievements along with areas where there is potential for improvement.

It should be stated at the outset that Auroville is not your average eco village. It was established by ‘The Mother’, a follower of the Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo, in an attempt to further his vision for an enlightened society. There is no developer, there are no homes or land for sale, and most definitely no profit. As such it has limited access to both the latest expertise in sustainable design and the funds required to deliver professionally engineered solutions. Instead it draws heavily upon the commitment and enthusiasm of it residents to explore and experiment with different ways of living. Fortunately the Aurovillians are not your average community. These are people attracted from around the globe by Auroville’s inclusive, utopian vision. There are currently 43 nationalities represented in Auroville – with many Indians (42%), French (15 %), Germans (11%) and Italians (6%) living and working alongside the odd Japanese, Algerian, Tibetan, Latvian, Kazak, Egyptian, Ecuadorian and Thai.
This diversity and inclusivity is certainly one of the strengths of Auroville. People are open and willing to share skills, knowledge and experiences. There are many opportunities for people to join in a range of workshops and classes from yoga, meditation, watsu, massage, exploratory dance to permaculture, Tamil language lessons and Sanskrit chanting. There is also an impressive library a free cinema and regular lectures, concerts and exhibitions. These facilities and events help bring together many different sections of the community on a regular basis. Alongside this Auroville works hard to support development of the nearby villagers. Projects include training and empowerment for local women along with education, childcare and healthcare facilities.

Auroville's 40th birthday celebrations, tsunami relief works, sports ground and 'litter free' fashion show

The environmental dimension is another part of this experiment that works well. Whilst there are some problems in urgent need of attention – particularly those caused by the increasing levels of motor traffic - it would be churlish to overlook what has been achieved. Especially when you consider that the technical expertise is largely homegrown, evolving with the project.

When Auroville was founded the land was severely eroded. The forests which originally covered the site had almost disappeared due to a succession of clearance programmes intended to keeping tigers and fires away from developing urban areas and providing timber for homes, boats and export. With South India’s harsh summers and monsoons to contend with the topsoil was quickly washed away. By the late 1960s Auroville’s plateau was burnt and barren, with barely a tree in sight. The early settlers needed both water and shade and food, so quickly learnt about tree planting, water conservation and organic farming methods. Over a few years the land started to spring back to life, with incredible results. The afforestation programme pursued since the 1970s has been so successful that you feel like you are walking through an ancient jungle. Trees abound everywhere, filled with life of all shapes, sizes and sounds. If you look at the photos of Auroville’s initial settlements it is almost impossible to imagine that this is the same place a mere four decades on.

Early images of Auroville....and Auroville today

Limited funding and a drive to live within environmental limits led Auroville to become a test bed for many sustainable technologies. For over thirty years residents have been using solar energy to power their homes. A few years ago it was estimated that Auroville had 15% of India’s photovoltaic capacity, with over 150 homes relying solely on solar power. Given their early manufacture and the harsh climate many of these are coming to the end of their lives however and there are ongoing discussions on how the funds for new panels can be raised. Auroville also harnesses the sun’s power to cook food at the communal kitchen using a 15 metre solar bowl concentrator – one of the world’s largest. Alongside this residents have experimented with many other types of renewable energy, including wind and even people power. At Sadhana Forest residents simply hop on the exercise bikes and pedal away to recharge batteries when there is no sun.
Other environmental success stories include the Centre for Scientific Research and Auroville Earth Institute. These develop renewable energy systems, appropriate building technologies and waste water recycling and sanitation. It then transfers this knowledge to wider audience through training programmes. The use of compressed earth bricks has been very effective at Auroville. Representatives from Auroville used such blocks to build a cyclone and earthquake proof house at a UN habitat conference.

Sustainable technologies at Auroville - solar capture, earth brick reservoir and waste water treatment

Auroville’s built environment is also something very unique. The experimentation with different ways of living can be seen clearly in the diverse range of building structures and forms. Walking round the site you continually stop and marvel at the different structures that have sprung up in the jungle. On display are simple tree-houses and basic structures built from vernacular materials, such as casurina, keet, palm leaf and thatch. Just along the road you’ll find Gaudiesque fairy tale cottages peeking out from bougainvillea, white Mediterranean villas which arc and curve gracefully into the surrounding plants, and steel framed glass structures whose reflections help them merge into the canopy. The line is often blurred between buildings and sculpture. At the centre of all this sits the Matramandir, a gigantic golden sphere, which houses several meditation chambers.
Auroville’s buildings support a wide variety of different living forms. These build on India’s rich tradition of ashram living. Auroville explores how the positive communal aspects of ashram life can be incorporated into a city where people live as individuals or families, often in their own units within small communities. So far over 100 different communities have evolved within Auroville. These range from a couple of families living together to communities of 50+ residents which share common dining and recreational facilities. Each community has its own values – some work to restore a particular area of forest, a few have developed organic farms or dairies and others focus on physical activities (yoga, tai chi, horse riding etc).
There is no standard of communal, sustainable living: no standard community layouts; building types; or governance structures. Each community has been set up according to its resident’s needs and values. No two communities are the same. Everyone is free to create their own utopia.
Even in utopias however problems can arise. Over the years many communities have faced real problems – and most have survived them. Although the political, economic and environmental climate may differ from the UK many of the problems faced would be common to anyone working with communities in the west. As such it provides a valuable study of community governance, and what can be achieved by focusing people around shared goals.

Examples of Auroville's Architecture

Given this bottom up development of Auroville’s communities I found it peculiar on my first visit that Aurovillians had few opportunities to influence decision making in the future development of the city. This anomaly stems from Auroville’s unique roots. The vision for the city came from Auroville’s founder, ‘The Mother’. She literally dreamt up a city for 50,000 residents spread out in a cosmic whirl. This was developed by architect Roger Anger into the galaxy masterplan, which was subsequently approved by the Indian Government. Given these impenetrable barriers – a spiritual vision and the bureaucracy of the Indian government – there has been limited opportunity for residents to influence the planning process.
If Auroville is to be the cutting edge experiment that it aspires to be then it is vital that there is room for flexibility and input from those living there about what works, what doesn’t, and what their needs are. This is especially the case because the slow development means over the decades there have been many changes in people’s livestyles, the technologies and understanding of how to build a sustainable city and, perhaps most importantly, Auroville’s natural environment. From what I saw there is a substantive divide between those who want to see The Mother’s vision of a city of 50,000 developed and those who want to understand Auroville’s environmental limits and work up from these. It may be that these are two different routes to the same outcome, but it is important that a clear process is developed to take this debate forward.
It is the management team’s unenviable task to guide Auroville’s development forward. On my recent visit I was pleased to see that the new team and are looking to develop datasets, structures and forums which enable and promote informed community discussion of what a sustainable future for Auroville could look like. Community consultation is often a long process, with many ups and downs and Auroville is unlikely to prove an exception, not only because of limited funding and expertise. Their major challenge is likely to be managing expectations and interests. After all, the problem with building a utopia is that everyone’s idea of utopia is slightly different.
There is much more that could be said about Auroville. Everyone there certainly has their own opinions about what works well and what doesn’t. What is incredible is that 40 years on most Aurovillians still have the goodwill and enthusiasm to keep talking and keep experimenting to discover better ways of living. It’s certainly a place to make you think about how the world should be – and why it’s not like that…
If you are interested in visiting Auroville to explore for yourself how people can live in harmony with the environment and each other, then note that I will be organizing a study trip to Auroville in January 2012. This will explore many of the areas highlighted above, such as low cost sustainable technologies, sustainable urban design, communal living and Auroville’s unique architecture. For further details please contact me at helen_eveleigh@hotmail.co.uk.

Auroville's galaxy masterplan

January saw me visiting Anandwan, Baba Amte's Forest of Joy. I'd been tipped off about this project by a Belgian girl in Siberia. She told me that in India's heartland I would find a community of marginalized people who had been thrown out of their families and society like rubbish simply because they had leprosy, were blind or disabled living in a beautiful, self-sustaining village. These people generated income from a range of sustainable ventures, which made maximum use of their resources and waste, including the production of desirable goods from plastic bags. As with the rest of the world plastic bags are a growing menace in India. Despite plastic bag bans in most states these can be seen adding to India's jumble of colours across the Himalayas, desert, jungles and beaches. They choke not only the holy cows but also the drains, causing extensive flooding in monsoons.

Anandwan is about much more than plastic bags. It is actually one of those rare projects which truly threads together the economic, environmental and social strands of sustainable living. Established by Baba Amte in 1949 the aim of Anandwan is to provide a society where the marginalised are offered a chance to become a valued member of society. The initial focus for Anandwan was to treat the leprosy afflicted, not only by treating their physical ailments but then offering them a place to work and live. In a society where those afflicted by leprosy were cast out of their own own communities, with little options other than begging Baba understood that the mental scars could be potentially more harmful than the physical ones. He explained that 'Anandwan is not just a hospital for lepers. Here the sick are cured not only from the disease of the body, but also from the equally grave affliction of the soul that accompanies this terrible sickness; the feeling of utter loneliness, which is the outcome of social rejection and leads in turn to despair’. He maintained that ‘a person can live without fingers but he cannot live without self respect’. By offering them a place to live and work Baba sought to rebuild this dignity, self worth and self respect.

The story of what led Baba to this decision and what kept him motivated is a deep and truly touching one, with all the ingredients of a Hollywood epic. With support of his family I've written a much longer article which details this which they would like to see published. If you want to read this send me a message. For here I'll simply say that Baba was no ordinary man. He relinquished a life of luxury to live with and work for the untouchable caste and later the leprosy afflicted. At a time when there was no cure for leprosy this was a brave decision. Baba's humanitarian and environmental work won him many awards including the right livelihood award, UN awards for human rights and environment. In addition Gandhi named him 'Abhay Sadhak (conqueror of fear) and his friend the Dalai Lama called him 'compassion in action'.

Since its inception Anandwan has functioned on the principle of maximising use of natural resources, of working with what you have, rather than what you do not. Unusually in India it is a secular community, where the only God is work. This approach, along with the dedication of the Amte family has enabled Anandwan to flourish from less than prosperous beginnings. At the outset their only assets were 50 acres of barren wasteland bequeathed by the government, a handful of leprosy afflicted people, two infants, four dogs, a lame cow and 14 rupees. They had no doctor, no water and no shelter from the jungle's wild animals. Their dogs were eaten one by one by the tigers whilst rats nibbled the desensitized limbs of the leprosy afflicted.

Today Anandwan houses over 2,000 residents, providing homes, schools, work and medical treatment for the marginalised that come their way. No-one is turned away at Anandwan. There are schools for the visually handicapped and hearing and speech impaired along with a vocational training centre for the physically challenged. Over the years it has been virtually self sufficient, producing food, clothing and homes for residents, equipment for the hospitals and schools (ranging from bandages, sheets and mattresses to beds, cupboards and adapted bicycles). They also design specially adapted medical products such as the nail less shoes made from used tyres which do not damage desensitized feet. Anandwan residents have not only met their own needs but over the years they have provided labour and funds for development of the wider community. These include: colleges for agriculture and science, art and commerce; schools for the visually handicapped and the hearing and speech impaired; a vocational training centre for the physically challenged; a primary school and a general hospital. All built by leprosy eaten hands.

In fact Anandwan prospered so much that Baba started to look beyond its boundaries at how he could support the marginalised in the wider community. He set up a number of satellite projects, notably Somnath and Lok Biradari Prakalp (LBP). Somnath is a largely agricultural project. With 1,250 acres it produces much of the food for MSS. Every summer it is also home to youth summer camps which seek to develop a positive work culture, national unity, environmental awareness and technical skills. LBP supports the development and welfare of the Madia-Gonds, one of India's primal tribes. Located deep in the jungle this provides much needed medical support and education alongside promoting environmental awareness. To date Anandwan has empowered over 2 million people.

This has been made possible through the focus on skills development and technical training. Financial donations have largely been used to provide buildings, equipment and technical training required to operate these. This has enabled a little to go a long, long way. The facilities have transformed Anandwan residents, those cast out of their societies as useless into a skilled workforce producing handicrafts, carpentry, leatherwork, tailoring, weaving and much more. It is here that the plastic bags make their appearance. Anandwan has a plastic reuse unit which transforms waste from neighbouring villages into products including mattresses, cushions, artworks and low cost, low energy bricks. As with many of the technologies these bricks, which mix shredded plastic with mud, cement and sand, were designed by Anandwan residents.

Since the 1990s Anandwan has been managed by Dr Vikas Amte, Baba's son. Despite training as a medical doctor his focus has been increasingly on the environmental strands of sustainable living, developing a range of low cost, high quality eco-friendly technologies and products. These include water conservation and harvesting, rehabilitation of wasteland, construction of low cost buildings, biogas production, utilising waste types in check dams, construction of a solar thermal dish and much more.These technologies help Anandwan lower their running costs and environmental footprint as well as generating income. Alongside this they provide vital support to local communities, especially the farmers. The surrounding area is notorious as a suicide belt as increasingly unpredictable rainfall ruins farmer's crops and livelihoods. Anandwan's knowledge of sustainable agriculture and water harvesting are therefore invaluable for these communities. As you probably come to expect by now the support provided by Anandwan goes much further than simply knowledge sharing. To encourage diversification into more resilient crops they establish joint ventures with the farmers, supplying seeds, labour, fertilizer and marketing support alongside technical expertise. The farmers retain 100% of profits from these enterprises.

Walking around Anandwan today it is difficult to imagine the earlier struggles of the community and its members. It feels anything but 'outcaste land for outcaste people'. The former rock quarries have been restored to meadows and farmland, the lakes dug to harvest rainwater are now home to a wild bird sanctuary. It is one of the cleanest villages you will see in India. It is no wonder that it is a popular picnic spot for families.

It is the people however who moved me most – and their smiles. Wherever you go in Anandwan smiles beam out at you. I can understand why Baba said 'smiles are more infectious than diseases at Anandwan'. Despite their physical scars many residents urged me to take their photo. When they saw the picture there was only pride and pleasure in their faces.

Despite the 'success' of Anandwan Dr Vikas is clear that in his ideal future there would be no need for such a society. He is acutely aware that most residents would rather live as an accepted part of their own family and society. As this is not an option they make new lives at Anandwan. Some even marry and have children in this society where everyone is accepted.

Anandwan still faces challenges. An aging population means it is no longer able to meet its own needs. With greater healthcare costs and fewer workers the economics have changed. Finances are drained further by the Government's irregular funding for the teachers at their schools. When money is late (sometimes by months or years) Anandwan plugs the gap to ensure education is not disrupted. Shockingly there is no government funding at all for the education or healthcare of the tribals.

These challenges prevent Anandwan from investing in development of technologies which would further aid sustainability, such as solar water heating or photovoltaic. It also prevents advancement of Dr Vikas' dream project, the Grand Social Circus. This is a mega project to realise Baba's vision for a new India. It would see a traveling circus of Anandwan workers traveling across India promoting sustainable and eco friendly development. In a country where new ideas and skills rarely reach those who need them this could be something special.

The Chinese occupation of Tibet has received widespread international attention over recent decades. The primary focus of coverage has been on human rights abuses and the systematic destruction of Tibetan culture. As I found out from a visit to the Central Tibetan Administration´s Environment and Development team the consequences of this occupation are likely to be far wider reaching.

Water is a growing problem across the globe. Increased and unpredictable flows along with chronic shortages are predicted to be amongst the most immediate, evident and devastating impacts of climate change. Tibet has a major role to play in this story as it is not only the most glaciated region on earth but around 50 per cent of the worlds population depend on its rivers and it helps to generate and regulate the Asian monsoons.

Prior to occupation Tibet was ecologically stable, with a mainly nomadic population treading lightly on the land. Over the past fifty years however intensive development and inappropriate land management policies coupled with climate change have taken their toll on this, the most environmentally sensitive region in Asia. Today the glaciers are melting, many forests have been destroyed, the grasslands are severely degraded, the wetlands are drying, the permafrost is melting and the rivers are being polluted and dammed. Tibet is losing its carbon sinks and fast becoming a net emitter rather than a sequester of carbon.

This blog draws on both my meeting with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the extensive research they have pulled together to raise international awareness on the issue and highlight the urgent need to involve Tibetans in developing solutions which can sustain the environment in the long term.

Over many centuries the Tibetans developed a lifestyle which enabled them to live in harmony with their harsh environment. This was based on their Buddhist beliefs that the environment should be respected and used to meet the needs of current and future generations. Tibetans have traditionally been uninterested in exploiting nature for greed as they do not view accumulation of money and material goods as the basis of well being. In modern language this equates to sustainability. The Tibetans recognised and respected the need to tread lightly, with a small population working in mobile communities to minimise their impact upon the land.

Since occupation however China has been pursuing policies to exploit Tibet´s natural resources. These include gold, iron, chromite, copper, uranium, water and timber. To enable the the Chinese government have constructed towns, cities, mines, highways and railways across Tibet. With offers of high wages they have encouraged mass immigration of ethnic Chinese to Tibet. Tibet´s population is now over 10 million (excluding military) compared to 2.3 million in 1959. Some of the boom cities are almost entirely occupied by these immigrants. 99% of Siling´s 1 million population are non-Tibetan.

According to the CTA no calculation has been made of how many people the plateau can sustain without degradation and overload. With immigrants´ increasingly consumptive lifestyles and intensive use of energy and water for heavy industry (especially mineral extraction) Tibet´s natural resources are already struggling. The region is unable to produce sufficient food for its population and water, soil, grasslands and forest resources are being rapidly depleted.

The most significant environmental service Tibet provides is its steady and regulated release of water to Asia. Around fifty percent of the world´s population live in the watersheds of the Yangtze, Mekong, Yellow, Indus, Irrawaddy, Brahmaputra, Salween, Sutlej, Arun and Karnali (a major tributary to Ganges). These flow from Tibet into China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Since discovering the sources of many of these rivers a few decades ago China has named Tibet its ´Number One Water Tower´. This is a critical role given the increasing demand for water and energy from both the Chinese population and industry. Rather than look seriously at water and energy demand management techniques China has been developing grandiose plans to dam and divert many of these rivers. China already has the most dams of any country (over 22,000 large dams), many of which were built without consulting downstream neighbours.

Water quality is also a growing problem. It is estimated that 88 per cent of China´s rivers are already polluted. Heavy industry, especially mining is a major contributor to this. Gold mining, which is common in Tibet can release cyanide, arsenic and mercury. Likewise waste rocks, especially those at copper mines, can cause acid drainage.

In addition global warming is already having a significant impact on water flows in Tibet and nearby. Tibet´s glaciers are estimated to be melting at a rate of 7% per year. This is predicted to cause greater river flows, floods (such as those which recently devastated Pakistan) and landslides in the short term. A 2005 UNEP report found that unsustainable land use in Tibet is increasing these problems by reducing capacity of watersheds to manage monsoon and snowmelt driven floods.

In the long term, now measured in a few decades, global warming will result in a loss of year round regulated flow. It is estimated that all of Tibet´s glaciers will have disappeared in the next 100 years. More worryingly those which feed Asia´s biggest rivers – the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Yellow, Indus and Brahmaputra could disappear by 2035.

These factors together help to explain why four of the world´s top ten most endangered rivers are in Tibet. With such a critical resource at stake for billions of people, governments across Asia and wider should be urgently working together to ensure that Tibet´s natural environment is managed with upmost care, using all skills, knowledge and resources available.

If Tibet´s fragile eco system is to be maintained and managed effectively the government need to learn from and avoid the mistakes they have made in management of Tibet´s grasslands. The grasslands cover around 60% of the Tibetan Plateau and are a major store of organic carbon. They are however incredibly difficult to sustain. Over thousands of years Tibetans developed a system to manage the land. Although this varied according to altitude, environmental conditions and rangeland type fundamental to the management was the existence of small, mobile communities. This enabled groups to move around as needed to enable pastures to replenish. They recognised the need to avoid overgrazing as the intense cold and gale force winds in Tibet can strip the soil from overgrazed land, reducing it to rock.

Since the 1950s Tibet´s grasslands have been degrading. A third of Tibet´s rangeland was degraded in the 1990s, 17% to black soil. The World Bank estimated that total area of grassland degraded had increased by 95% in the decade to 1998, with a notable acceleration in the late 1990s. Although a range of causes have been cited, including climate change and mismanagement by nomads, the report concludes ´that it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the most fundamental underlying cause has been poor government development policies´ (World Bank, 2001, China: Air, Land and Water).

For decades central government policies in China have failed to understand or respect the Tibetan grasslands´eco system. From the 1950s a drive to boost China´s agricultural production saw grassland converted to cropland. This often failed, with ploughing destroying the topsoil. In the 1980s China moved from the commune to the household responsibility system. For many Tibetan nomads this meant permanent settlement in houses, with a small allocation of grassland for grazing. This concentration of herds in small areas led to further degradation of the grasslands. This was often compounded by the closure of wider areas to nomads in the name of forest and watershed protection. Instead of protecting the environment this however reduces the land available for grazing.

The policy of settlement can also have negative social and economic consequences for the nomads. Many are required to take on loans of a few thousand dollars for their new homes. This is a massive amount when you consider the average rural annual income in the Tibetan Autonomous region in 2001 was 173 dollars. In addition those moved away from their land are expected to find a new income source.

The policies being developed by the government to deal with the issue are largely short term fixes, such as pasture irrigation, fencing and creation of grassland reserves. The CTA call on the Chinese government to learn from sustainable practices elsewhere in the world which work with the local population to restore damaged land and become its guardian. They argue that in any country with a tradition of pastoral nomadism and rangeland degradation problem the first thing to do is for the nomads to replant the damaged areas. This approach not only halts the degradation but also provides an opportunity to build partnerships for long term solutions.

Encouragingly the CTA´s documents provide a couple of examples of Tibetan involvement in the development process, however it is clear that these are very much the exceptional cases. A major reason for this is that the Tibetans are seen to be lacking in the required skills, knowledge and experience. This is because their traditional skills and knowledge are not valued and their educational attainment remains low.

Tibet has experienced high levels of economic growth in over recent years, averaging around 10% per annum for the period 2003-2008. This growth however has done little to benefit the Tibetan population. The focus of this investment has been hard infrastructure projects which enable and encourage heavy industry and tourism. Successive 5 year plans have allocated substantial capital for major projects such as the 4.2 billion dollar Gormo to Lhasa railway, but little for education, vocational training or employment.

This lack of investment in the Tibetan population has resulted in significant inequality. 55% of the Tibetan population are illiterate compared with rates of less than 20% for other Chinese provinces. The average Tibetan has only 2.2 years schooling. This is way below the 9 year minimum set out in the UN´s Millennium Development Goals. It is also far less than the average for both rural and urban Chinese – 7.3 and 10.2 years respectively. This also cannot be blamed on the nomadic lifestyle as Mongolia, where almost a third of the population are nomads, has managed to achieve much higher literacy rates, if compared with Tibetan pastoral nomads.

Systematic discrimination has meant that after 50 years of rule China has produced only a handful of skilled Tibetans. As a result their views are largely excluded from decisions on how Tibet should be managed and developed. This means that their experience, knowledge of the area´s eco-systems and sustainable values are overlooked.

The benefits of involving local people in development are well recognised. They have the detailed understanding of what the issues are and their causes along with long term commitment to the area. This means they often seek solutions which respect environmental limits as well as addressing local social and economic issues. Tibetans are no different. The CTA's assertion that “The Tibetan preference will always be for small scale local projects that directly meet basic human needs, empowering and enabling local communities to own and maintain environmental improvement projects” could have come directly from a report I worked on earlier this year looking at sustainable development in the UK. Where Tibetans are unique however is the urgency of their situation and the lack of opportunities for them to influence the decision making process.

In an attempt to influence the type of development undertaken in Tibet the CTA have developed guidelines on international development and sustainable development in Tibet. These clearly set out a vision, principles and priorities based on traditional Tibetan values of sharing, harmony and co-operation as well as a focus on need over greed. Fundamental to these is the need to work with and empower Tibetans. It is hoped these will influence the plans of donors, lenders and investors seeking to work in Tibet. (electronic version available at; http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=223&rmenuid=11)

It is clear that Tibet is in trouble ecologically. The environmental services it has provided to Asia for centuries are under severe threat. If these are not managed effectively it could have catastrophic consequences for many millions of people. Sadly China´s history of environmental protection is poor. As evidenced in Tibet they dismiss traditional sustainable practices in pursuit of increasing production. Given the importance and fragility of Tibet´s eco system there is however little scope for mistakes. It is imperative that the Chinese government understands and respects Tibet´s environmental limits and prevents any development that breaches these. They must also involve and invest in the Tibetan people so their knowledge, skills and values can be utilised to help manage and maintain this critical land.

If you want more information see CTA's website http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=85&rmenuid=11

For more information on Tibet see http://www.tibetsociety.com/

Nepal has emerged from a decade of armed conflict with a mass of complex social and economic problems. For starters 82% of Nepalis live on less than $2 per day, the main source of wealth in the country is remittances from Nepalis living abroad, over half the country is illiterate, there are daily power cuts (of up to 18 hours in winter) and the rising price of cooking oil is leading to increasing deforestation. With politicians unable after two years to form a stable government many of these issues are being addressed by NGOs. During my travels in Nepal I got the chance to explore close up how a few of these organisations were operating. As the birthplace of the Buddha I was also intrigued to see if any of his teachings on interconnection (which underpins much sustainable development theory) had influenced their operations.

Buddha's teachings on interconnections explain that nothing exists alone. Everything is dependent on something external. One of the best explanations of interconnection - and one that fits closely with sustainability - comes from the Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He writes 'We know that we use our lungs for breathing in and out. But when we look more deeply we can see that the mountains and forests are also our lungs. Without them we couldn't breathe in or out either. We have hearts that function well and we know that we could not survive unless our hearts were there, pumping. But looking more deeply, we can see that the sun is out second heart. If that sun were to cease to operate, we would die right away, just the same as if the heart in our own body were to stop operating. We see that our body is the body of the cosmos and that the cosmos is our own body.' In this way we rely on external bodies for everything in our lives. Even for a simple cup of coffee we need someone to plant beans, someone to nurture and harvest them, someone to buy them, someone to transport them, someone to sell them and a form of income which enables us to purchase them. Without this chain we have no coffee. By identifying the links between things there is potential to reconfigure them so that they deliver more sustainable outcomes - as has been achieved through fair trade products such as coffee.

Located in the Kathmandu valley village of Sankhu, Hamro Gaun orphanage and eco-village has given significant consideration to interconnectivity. The primary aim of this Dutch NGO, Stichting Veldwerk, is to improve the life chances and circumstances of street children, orphans and handicapped young persons in Asia. In Nepal the NGO quickly realised that education alone was insufficient to secure long term improvements in childrens' welfare. Most of the children who were unable to afford schooling came from homes with far bigger problems. Many are 'untouchables' and others are the children of widows. Traditionally in Nepal widows are blamed for the early deaths of their husbands and thrown out for their in-laws' homes, usually leaving them destitute. As well as providing a home, education and food for the children the NGO therefore works to support these marginalised women develop skills and start their own businesses.

The eco-village takes this analysis of how its assets and operations can be best configured to support its operations one step further. It looks carefully at how the natural resources on site can be best utilised to deliver economic, environmental and social benefits. There are many ways in which this has been achieved but potentially the most vital is the generation of electricity from a small stream and a micro hydro power generator. Sankhu is at the end of the grid so power cuts of 18 hours a day are common in winter. This means there is a real threat of fire from use of candles - the project has already had two close calls. The micro hydro system generates sufficient energy to provide low energy lighting across the site as well as powering a couple of laptops. This not only improves safety but also extends the potential study hours and saves the project money on electricity bills. Unfortunately the flow is not always sufficient for power generation as for a few months each year the water is diverted upstream for irrigation of potato crops. A reliable energy supply is so vital to the childrens' safety that the NGO are hoping to purchase a solar PV system as back up. The project already uses solar power to reduce its running costs through use of a solar concentrating dishes to heat food and a solar water heating system. Few resources are wasted in the village. Both sewage and greywater are collected and cleaned naturally using tanks and cane filters. These resources are then reused as potable water, biogas, compost and irrigation. Paper and other material waste are transformed into briquettes (long burning fuel blocks) for use in the project and local sale. Used tyres, glass bottles and earth excavated on site have been used to sculpt the sports stadium.

The project also looks at how its resources can be used to generate income both for the village and as replicable businesses for the marginalised women. In addition to the sale of briquettes, biogas and compost the on-site orgnanic farm provides a space for mushroom cultivation. This is used to train women in the techniques which will enable them to start their own businesses at home. The project is keen to develop businesses which can supply products for which there is local demand - either in the project itself or neighbouring villages. This not only helps to strengthen self sufficiency but reduces reliance on markets over which they have little control, such as tourism.

Finally the project also considers how its functioning can bring wider benefits to the local community. This is an area that is likely to develop more as the project matures. Already the village releases harvested rainwater into the local water table. It is hoping to become a best practice exemplar to demonstrate to other schools and NGOs what can be achieved for minimal cost. The project's founder Rene is also keen to find ways in which plastic could be usefully reused locally to address littering problems. Ideally he would like to find a way for plastic to be used as a fuel source to provide another low cost, sustainable fuel and potential income stream. If anyone has any suggestions please contact Rene (details below). It is also good to see that the sustainability features do not go unnoticed by the children. Hopefully it will enhance their understanding of how i of the potential to reuse waste and natural resources to create virtuous circles.

It is not just international NGOs that are working hard to join up the links to improve life in Nepal. The People Empowerment Project Nepal (PEP Nepal) has grown from several Nepali's understanding that increasing investment in education alone is insufficient to support the growth, stability and empowerment of local communities. A lack of local work opportunities for the newly qualified lead many to migrate to the cities or abroad. Migration of skilled workers from rural Nepal is a big issue leading to increased child labour, political instability, aging communities and a weakening agricultural economy. This project therefore looks to develop links between education and training opportunities and local work experience placements. These placements provide participants with the initial work experience that is so vital in developing skills and a career. The project also provides participants and local communities with training in a range of personal development skills.

To support the project one of its founders, Manohar, has looked to create positive links between this and his other ventures. Once it opens its doors next spring his family's yoga centre with be a key contributor to the project. A share of Purna Yoga Centre's profits will go directly to PEP Nepal. In addition it will run training courses for village children on healthy living. Likewise his own venture (Nepal Yoga Treks) sources its meditation blankets from one of the factories providing work experience placements. These blankets are then sold to participants at the end of the yoga trek with all profits going to PEP Nepal.

Yoga trekkers using sustainably sourced blankets

Unless Nepal wants to remain at the mercy of charities there is a need to establish long term mechanisms to provide basic social services for those who are unable to pay. I was therefore interested to find some Europeans who were looking to invest money they had raised to establish a social enterprise. They in negotiations to purchase a guesthouse in Bandipur and use profits to support schools in the nearby hill villages. They are hoping that this model, of using aid to purchase an asset rather than funding running costs will become more widespread in Nepal. By removing dependency upon both ongoing charitable donations and government support these services have the potential to become truly sustainable in the long term. If they look wider and deeper at their operations, sourcing and links with the local communities they also have the potential to spread the positive sustainable impacts further still.

Having seen these projects, which were inspiring in the scope of their analysis of the problems and the consideration of how assets could be used to support their work, I was a little disappointed when I quite literally stumbled across Habitat for Humanity's Everest Build. This project interested me a lot because I've been following the organisation from afar for a few years. They do some excellent work creating homes in developing countries and disaster zones with the aim of alleviating poverty and the myriad of problems that stem from this. The houses they build are designed to be appropriate and cost effective for the locations. They also look wider around issues of access to finance within the communities and are developing a number of resource centres to train local communities in skills such as project management, planning and design and finance. I was therefore surprised to see that what I would consider to be key interconnections had been missed on their Everest Build.

The Everest Build was an ambitious project even for such a well developed organisation. It bought in over 460 volunteers from around the globe to build 40 bamboo homes in a 9 day period. Volunteers worked with community members and trained builders to make this a reality. Whilst this will undoubtedly make a massive difference to the households receiving low cost homes I was disappointed that it had not gone further to maximise benefits for the local community. With such a huge number of volunteers there should have been potential to generate a significant amount of additional income for the community and neighbouring villages. With a conservative estimate of 10GBP per person per day for accommodation, food and other purchases this could have bought around 45,000GBP to the local economy - a potentially transformational amount. What actually happened however is that the volunteers stayed 10km away in 4 and 5 star hotels in the tourist resort of Pokhara. This must have meant that a significant proportion of the volunteers' fees (around 1,000GBP per person) leaked out into already wealthy hoteliers pockets. Surely this money would have been better spent split between the local community and Habitat for Humanity's wider work. It must also have reduced the opportunities for volunteers to experience real Nepali culture. Whilst i would not underestimate the logistical nightmare of placing so many people in local communities I do think voluntourism projects which take large sums for participation should look deeply at how they can use their assets best to truly support the communities they work with.

Given the lack of Government action on Nepal's economic, environmental and social issues it is good to see a range of bodies stepping in to address these - maybe this is what will have to happen in the UK if the public spending cuts continue. It was also encouraging to see most of these were looking widely to develop interconnected solutions that offer a good chance of being sustainable and robust in the long term. Despite Nepal's cultural legacy it doesn't appear to be Buddha's wisdom driving this approach, however, but something far more practical. In a country where there are many uncertainties people need to develop a good understanding of how the things they are dependent on function. It also helps if they can work out ways to provide them more effectively. It is a shame that the same can't be said of the government. With real problems around electricity supply and rubbish disposal it would be good to see them joining these up with waste to energy plants for a start.

More information...
For Hamro Gaun see www.stichting-veldwerk.org/projecten02_e/hamro_ghaum_our_village.html
For PEP Nepal see (website under construction)
For Nepal Yoga Trek see www.nepalyogatrek.com
For Habitat for Humanity see www.habitat.org

Traveling through the Mongolian countryside there are many sights which make you stop and wonder in amazement. From the frail wooden temples perched on Terelj's mountain ledges to the vast endless expanses of unpopulated,uncultivated wilderness that are the Gobi and the steppes, Mongolia is truly breathtaking. Having spent much time recently trying to understand how people in the UK can be encouraged and enabled to make their homes more sustainable the sight that drew my attention however was the extensive use of solar PV by the nomadic herders. I wanted to understand how this had come about and what are the factors both hindering and supporting more extensive utilization of solar power by these people.

Approximately one third of the people in Mongolia still live as nomadic herders. These families make their living from their livestock. To provide animals with the best opportunities for grazing and shelter in a country which has great variation in climate the herders move their homes with the seasons. With over 4.5 million animals (17% of Mongolia's animal population) dying in last winter's harsh snows it is clear that having the right shelter and location can make a big difference in whether this way of life is able to continue or not. To enable this nomadic existence the herders live in gers (known elsewhere as yurts). These are round tent like structures made from a folding frame of wooden batons and covered in felt and canvas. These gers can be easily packed down and transported by ox or horse.

For centuries herders have lived a very basic life in these gers. With no electricity they have relied upon light from the fire or candles in the evenings and long, dark winters. Communication too has been difficult, especially in the snowy winters, with shops, community facilities and health care often many miles by horseback. For these herders even a small supply of electricity can transform their lifestyle. It can enable them to light the gers, charge mobile phones and power televisions and other small scale electronic devices. Having witnessed two elderly male herders glued to Paris Hilton's My new BFF and another ger dweller (this time a retired accountant and part time shaman) developing a soap addiction I understand there may be debate over the cultural impact of nomads tuning into western culture. There is no doubt however that the ability to access electricity can deliver real social and economic benefits to these people in terms of improving health, educational and employment opportunities.

This is why the Mongolian government introduced the 100,000 Solar Gers programme a decade ago. The aim of this programme is to supply 100,000 rural gers with solar power by 2010 and all herders' gers by 2020. The programme has been developed with support from Chinese and Japanese government. Together with a contribution from the Mongolian government these resources are used to subsidise the distribution of small 50Wp solar panels to nomadic families. Whilst the Mongolian government have a target to generate 20-25% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 this is not the driving force behind the solar gers programme. The key aim is to encourage development of household production and reduce rural migration to towns and cities. As with many developing countries this is a real issue causing substantive social and economic problems both in the dwindling and aging rural populations left behind and urban areas with increasingly overburdened infrastructure.

It is difficult from web based research to ascertain exactly how successful the programme is in its first benchmark year. The latest figures I found (not dated) report that 60,000 gers had been supplied with solar PV. Another report (again not dated) cited stumbling blocks around access to finance and maintenance issues. As with the UK these are both factors which will be of real significance in the success of the technology. With regard to finance it is unclear what level of subsidy is provided. Small solar PV panels retail in the state department store for around 250GBP (and a little cheaper in Ulan Bataar's Black Market). This is a significant upfront cost for herders with limited disposable income. 22% of the population in Mongolia live on less than $1.25 per day. Although Mongolia has a well established feed in tariff it is again unclear whether this provides financial benefit for energy generated by the herders.

On maintenance the picture looks less gloomy. Mongolia benefits from an extensive and universal education system and can therefore call on a well educated workforce. Alongside the ger programme the government is also promoting wider expansion of solar technologies. Proposals include ways to introduce larger PV systems to replace generators in rural villages and construction of a large solar PV or concentrating solar power plant in the Gobi. These policies are already encouraging some businesses and NGOs to invest in training locals to develop a skilled workforce to maintain systems.

Despite these barriers my experience on the ground was that solar PV is already a widespread and accepted form of power for the herders. All five families I stayed with on my travels had a solar panel on their ger. From my understanding it seems there are a number of factors which are helping to enable and encourage this widespread take up of solar power.

One of the most important factors is the lack of existing infrastructure networks. Mongolia's million nomads are spread thinly across an immense area. With a land mass approximately the size of Western Europe and a total population of around 3 million, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world. When you consider that a third of the population lives in the capital this leaves a lot of land and very few people. Combine this with the transience of the nomads and some of the lowest income levels in Asia and it is easy to understand why a third of the population lack access to grid electricity. There is simply very little infrastructure for them to connect to. This lack of existing infrastructure could be a key driver in creating demand for more sustainable and mobile technologies. As with mobile phones in Africa new technologies have a far better chance of spreading quickly when they are more accessible than existing options.

The other vital factor is the availability and reliability of the resource. In this respect Mongolia is fortunate. Despite wild variations in temperature across the seasons Mongolia averages 300 days of sunshine a year. Around 70% of the country has good solar resource (2,900 to 3,000 sunshine hours per year). A further 18% has moderate resource (2,600 to 2,900 sunshine hours per year). These high levels of sunshine explain why Mongolia is known as 'the land of eternal blue sky'. With little overlooking the gers except the Steppe Eagles it is also for herders to harvest this resource. Solar PV panels are typically placed either on the angled Ger roof or on a nearby pole to maximise their effectiveness.

One final factor which could play an important role in achieving widespread take up of this technology is the extent to which it fits existing societal beliefs and values. Again Mongolia is fortunate. Nomadic families have a strong respect for and connection with the natural environment. It provides them with food, clothes, fuel and income. For those nomads who continue to follow the traditional Shamanistic religions from this area this connection to the sky goes much deeper. Living in harmony with the world is the key principle of the Tengriism form of Shamanism which originated in Mongolia. Worshipers of the sky god Tegrii believe that existence will be sustained by the eternal blue sky. Mongolia's ongoing reverence of the sky can be seen in symbols across the country from the national flag to the blue scarves which adorn gers and the country's holy sites.

It would therefore appear that there is good reason to be optimistic on the potential for all herders to access solar energy in the not too distant future. The barriers cited are not insurmountable. They can be overcome through more widespread access to micro credit, greater levels of subsidy and investment in training for maintenance. What is clear is that there is demand for the technology and that it can provide
a reliable and incredibly useful power source. Hopefully the 100,000 solar gers programme will enable herders to achieve social and economic advances whilst continuing to live in harmony with nature. That would really be something.

For details on staying with nomads in Mongolia see http://www.gertoger.org/
To support the growth of micro-finance in countries such as Mongolia see http://www.kiva.org/