Monthly Archives: December, 0

RENEW Microfinance Institute has seen an increasing trend of saving culture in the last two years in the country. This was highlighted during the World Savings Day celebration in the capital today. Her Majesty the Queen Mother Sangay Choden Wangchuck graced the celebration. The event was organised by RENEW Microfinance Private Limited to raise awareness among the people on the importance of financial literacy and to encourage the habit of saving.

Bhutanese media is going through an unprecedented time. It has become harder for practising journalists to pursue impactful stories because of the many layers bureaucrats have devised to access information. By the time journalists get the information, it becomes either stale or irrelevant. This outdated and half-baked news is then passed to the news consumers whose right to information is denied.

To prepare young minds to create jobs for themselves and for others, the labour ministry has been initiating clubs in schools across the country. And recently, the ministry launched Rig Tsel Yarphel or skills development clubs at Shaba Higher Secondary School in Paro. By becoming members of the clubs, the students will learn skills in tailoring, weaving, painting and haircutting. The clubs are part of the ministry’s initiatives to address youth unemployment in the country which currently stands at close to 21 per cent.

Weeks after the first-ever Snowman Race ended, a group of four Swiss cyclists accomplished a similar feat after cycling along the 350-kilometre Snowman Trek from Paro to Bumthang in 19 days. The team who describes the adventure as a “crazy idea” did it as a voyage of a band of brothers testing their resilience to the limit in one of the toughest trekking routes in the world. They reached Bumthang on Wednesday.

With the orange export season all set to begin by the mid next month, the two sawmills in Gelephu are scrambling to supply the desired number of wooden crates to the orange exporters. Wooden crates are used for packing oranges. Exporters raised the concern during a stakeholder meeting recently.

Lack of good sanitation facilities at schools can affect the well-being of the students. The impact is higher particularly for female students as they may endure a lot of discomfort during the menstruating period and compromise good personal hygiene. Girls of Tangmachu Central School (CS) in Lhuentse are in similar condition. Their hostels are in poor condition and don’t have toilets and water facilities.

It is common for farmers to lose their year's hard work to rain at this time. However, this is slowly changing. In Zhemgang, farmers have learnt to cheat the weather to save their paddy. They say the timely weather forecast from the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) has helped them to plan their paddy harvest.

Why do some entrepreneurs in the country fail to succeed? Experts on startup businesses say lack of entrepreneurial insight and financial support are the main reasons. To support startups in the country, a two-day workshop was conducted this week in the capital. The workshop is a part of the support for entrepreneurs in the region of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.

Jamyang Jamtsho, the environmentalist who embarked on a month-long cycling campaign for climate change has ended his tour in the capital. He reached Changangkha Middle Secondary School on Sunday. The climate activist visited schools and colleges in 14 districts to pass his climate change message.

Stroke has become one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Stroke Organization, around 6.5 million people die every year from stroke. Cases in the country are also on the rise, but awareness of the disease is low in the country and services are also limited. This will now change thanks to the newly opened Wellness Center in Thimphu that was launched today coinciding with World Stroke Day.