Excelsior Correspondent
LEH, Oct 19: Sonam Wangchuk, Advisor, Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) was today officially declared as one of the finalists for the prestigious Rolex Award for Enterprise 2016 for his ambitious Ice Stupa Artificial Glacier Project in Ladakh.
Earlier this year, the 30 finalists were flown to Geneva to present their projects to 12 Jury members, eminent scientists, explorers and social entrepreneurs from 10 countries. The finalists were selected by a team of researchers from 2,322 applications from people of 144 nationalities.
Phyang Monastery and SECMOL Alternative School’s ambitious Ice Stupa Artificial Glacier is being built in Phyang village in Ladakh, as part of a collaborative effort to conserve water and battle climate change. Towards this cause, $125,000 was raised in December 2014 through a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo from donors and supporters worldwide.
Sonam Wangchuk has decided that if he does finally bag the award he will contribute the award money, etc of about Rs 1 crore as seed money towards the establishment of an alternative university in Ladakh where youth from different Himalayan and other countries will engage in R&D (research and development) to find solutions to the challenges faced by mountain people, especially in education, culture and environment (climate change).
The final winners of the award will be announced and receive their awards on November 15 at a ceremony in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, a landmark known worldwide as home to the Oscars.
Wangchuk, a mechanical engineer by training, has also designed a low cost water heater and has pioneered organic farming and low cost greenhouses, making campus practically an oasis in that high-altitude desert. His students and he have developed things like mud pipes, literally dirt-cheap and a variety of solar-powered devices.
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