The Putney Group experience in ladakh

Experiences of the Puteny Group

Ju-le!!

Greetings family and friends! We have returned to SECMOL’s campus after our big adventure in the Sham region of Ladakh.

The day before heading out for the trek, we visited the Snow Leopard Conservancy in Leh. The SLC works with high-altitude villages who cohabitate with large predators such as snow leopards (shen) and Tibetan wolves (shangku). The students learned the importance of these species to the balance of the ecosystem and how the SLC is working with villages to predator-proof livestock enclosures and implement educational, conservation and eco-tourism programs.

Then, off to Leh Palace. This palace was built hundreds of years ago and is a prototype for the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It is a maze of corridors and stairwells and hidden rooms. There are also some beautiful murals on some of the walls. We opted out of a game of hide-and-seek, although it would have been a challenge.

Next, we went up to the Shanti Stupa. The stupa was donated by a Japanese Buddhist organization and is located high on a hill overlooking Leh. Nice spot for the end of the evening.

Before heading out for the trek, each student received a dZi-stone necklace for protection. dZi-stones are a traditional Tibetan amulet that are supposed to be tears from the sky dragon that have fallen to Earth and become stone. They have markings that look like eyes. These eyes watch out for the wearer and protect them. We had these necklaces custom-made at the Tibetan market in Leh, and then surprised the students with them on the eve of the trek.

Day 1: We head out to the Sham region, west of Leh. Ang village: our first home-stay. Lots of funny stories in the morning, mostly consisting of miscommunication. This will become a recurrent theme.

Day 2: First big hiking day! We had to climb over two passes, putting prayer flags on each. Ki Ki So So Lhar Gyello! It was a rough day, but all of us pushed on to Hemis Shukpachan. (Which is a good thing, since we don’t know how to perform a sky burial. Yet. Actually, perhaps that should not be in the blog.)

Day 3: We set out from Hemis Shukpachan after breakfast for Uley Phoo, the highest village along our route. After ascending a third pass, we reached Uley Phoo (13,000 + feet) at the end of a long uphill climb. The village, comprised of 7 houses, greeted us at the school and had prepared a delicious meal to revive our tired bodies. We spent a few hours hanging out with the villagers, dancing, throwing the Frisbee, and drinking more sweet tea (cha ngarmo) and the infamous salty butter tea (cha khante) before retiring to our home-stays for the night. Some girls had the pleasure of using the solar-heated showers, while Drew and a couple boys rustled up enough energy for an evening hike.

Day 4: In the morning we woke up to rain and overcast skies. We headed back down the mountain along a new route which took us through narrow canyons which provided welcome shade once the sky cleared. First stop was Rizgong Monastery, which is hidden behind canyon walls like the folds of a monk’s robes. Then we visited the Chulichan Nunnery, which was started by the founder of Rizgong for his wife. It is one of a few nunneries in Ladakh. After that, we hiked down to our tent-camp “eco-resort”, which had glorious solar showers for all. To the students’ dismay, there were sit-down flushing toilets, of which they lamented the wasted water and yearned for the chance to once again squat on traditional Ladakhi dry-composting toilets. The night ended with a bizarre dinner buffet smorgasboard of Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, and Moosewood Cookbook food. We had great conversations, discovered each others’ dreams, and somehow ended up in a euchre tournament.

Homestay in Takmachik:

Our guide, translator and ambassador, Thinlas Chorol, is a graduate of SECMOL and Ladakh’s only female trekking guide. She is a pioneer and extremely knowledgeable. She arranged for our extended home-stay in her village, Takmachik. This was the first time that Takmachik had overnight visitors.

We worked in the fields, picking apricots and hauling barley. Many of us slept on rooftops, just like the Ladakhi do in the summertime. We visited a local school where we taught English and exchanged songs. One afternoon we went to a spring-fed pool, which led to the inevitable water fight. Another afternoon we hiked up a narrow, twisting canyon to the summer pastures. And there was a fine day when a student* dropped his roll of toilet paper down the hole of a Ladakhi compost toilet. Since it was his only roll, and because the village shop did not carry such things, he decided to retrieve it. Now, Ladakhi toilets have two stories (actually, they have plenty more than that. Oh, I digress.) Anyway, the top floor is for use, and the bottom floor is the collection point for the fertilizer. Enlisting the help of a friend, the student ventured through the door to the lower level. Imagine their surprise when they came face-to-face with a goat. And not just one – but a small herd! Peering into the darkness, they spot their treasure. Just like Indiana Jones, they dashed inside, scooped the precious TP, and escaped out the door. Think about that the next time you sit down on the porcelain throne and find the TP holder empty.

* = name withheld to protect the guilty

With much sadness, we left our home-stays after four nights. However, everyone was excited to be back with the gang at SECMOL. It kinda feels like home. We stopped at Alchi Gompa on the way – it is one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh, as well as one of the few containing Kashmiri-influenced, as opposed to Tibetan Buddhist, art. Pretty cool.

Francesca and Drew, aka Chezga (ginger) and Shangku (wolf)

FRANCESCA NICOSIA

DREW SCHENCK:Drew worked for SECMOL, the NGO that is the focus of the Global Action India program, in Ladakh during its founding years. With SECMOL he helped to build a school and taught English.