Her Majesty Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Founding President of the Tarayana Foundation, is in Zhemgang on a monitoring visit.
Yesterday, on the first day of the visit, Her Majesty visited Bjoka Gewog and met with the community members of Bjoka Trong, Kamiti, Chapdempa, Namegrang Barpong, and Dali Chiwogs.
Her Majesty granted Tokha and Soelra to the people.
Zhemgang is one of the first few districts where Tarayana began its interventions since its inception in 2003. Over the years, the Tarayana Foundation has implemented several transformative initiatives in Bjoka Gewog to enhance living standards, strengthen livelihoods, and promote sustainable community development.
The interventions include establishing a 17KW micro-hydro power plant in Dali in 2015, which provided clean energy to 30 households, until the village was electrified, improved housing conditions for 180 families, built toilets across the five chiwogs, all with funding support from various development partners and philanthropists.
Tshering Wangchuk, Bjoka Gup, Zhemgang said, “Bjoka is the most remote among the eight gewogs in Zhemgang. Knowing this, Her Majesty has helped provide electricity in Dali chiwog in 2015 and 2016 which was immensely beneficial. In continuation, Her Majesty has granted housing kidu for 180 households and uplifted the lives of people in Dali, Chabdempa, Barpong, Trong, Kamati chiwogs. We are utterly grateful to the Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the President of the Tarayana Foundation for the support.”
The Foundation also initiated projects to develop bamboo-based enterprises, train artisans, improve facilities, and support self-help groups, all aimed at strengthening bamboo production and marketing with support from the SAARC Development Fund (SDF).
Pema Wangdi, the chairperson of Bjoka Bamboo Craft Cooperative, said, “In the past, bamboo crafts were limited to making a few household items. Under Tarayana Foundation’s support, we have expanded it to making modern household items including trays, tissue box, shopping baskets among other products. Through the foundation, marketing these products have also become convenient giving us economic opportunities. The foundation is also providing us with training to make new bamboo products. So far, three batches received the training in India. This has enabled the locals here to showcase their skills and make a diverse range of products.”
In addition, the Foundation also carried out nutrition and health advocacy to build community resilience and promote healthy diets during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, Tarayana Micro Finance has rendered its service in the gewog, enabling access to credit for small-scale businesses. At the same time, the 2024 Building Resilient Commercial Smallholder Agriculture project focused on smart agriculture, nutrition education, and the empowerment of women and youth in partnership with the World Food Programme and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Through these sustained efforts, the Tarayana Foundation continues to foster resilience, self-reliance, and inclusive growth in the most remote communities. Her Majesty will visit more gewogs and schools during the four-day visit.
