If everything goes as planned, villagers in Tsirang can expect improved living standard. A project is underway in the district whereby villagers come up with innovative ideas to make lives in rural areas self-reliant, stable and attractive. Titled ‘Mawong Yuetsen’ with the slogan, “Our gewog has a future”, the project is instilling ideas in people. While some have beautified sacred places, some plans to turn their ancestral house into homestays, all in hopes to make rural life more appealing and desirable.
Sangay Lhamo from Tsholingkhar village along with her family members is turning her ancestral home into a homestay.
She also plans to prepare a hot stone bath facility using the natural spring water located above her house.
Sangay says she hardly sees any tourists visiting the Southern part of the country. So, she wants to change the narrative in her own little ways by becoming a part of project Mawong Yuetsen. Sangay wants to use her homestay and the hot stone bath facility as a source of attraction for both domestic and international visitors while ensuring she and her family live comfortable lives in the village.
She has also started displaying a few ancestral possessions in the homestay.
“Mawong Yuetsen sparked this idea in me though the training was only for a short duration. After attending the meeting, I was confident that this could attract tourists and locals because of the hot stone bath and it will also generate income,” said Sangay.
Mawong Yuetsen is a competitive campaign organised by the Project for Rural Development or PRuDent for a duration of six months. After the training, interested individuals have come together, formed groups, and started working on their projects. The campaign is igniting hope among people in Tsirang to be creative and make the best of the resources they have.
The campaign has two specific themes: “Beautification” and “Preservation and Promotion.” It is being piloted in Tsirang and Dagana.
At Kilkhorthang, a few meters from Tsholingkhar, Aga Nidi and his group comprising 19 members have chosen Dophu Ney, a sacred cave as their site. People of the locality worship the cave and perform rituals occasionally, mostly on the 15th day on every month of the Bhutanese calendar. They have constructed a small kitchen, toilet, and a water tap near the cave.
Aga Nidi and his group members have already started to see the initiative as a platform to create sites for pilgrimage which can attract domestic and international tourists.
“When we initiate and work for such a purpose, Bhutanese can go on pilgrimage inside the country. People don’t have to go outside the country on a pilgrimage if we are able to protect the sacred sites that we have in the country,” said Aga Nidi.
“With the project’s support, people thought they could do something for the benefit of the community So, once they started with the renovation of certain areas, more people will visit that area and ultimately that will benefit the community in terms of monetary plus the popularity of that area itself,” said the Project Manager Tshering Wangmo.
Mawong Yuetsen campaign started in September and will continue until February next year. The top three groups from the two districts will get prize money up to Nu 120,000. The winning groups also have the choice of receiving training services and machinery worth the prize money.
Rural Development Project started in 2019 supported by German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation that enables people in developing countries and emerging economies to access financial services. The campaign was first developed in 1961 when Germany was a very poor nation and had issues of urban migration from the countryside.
“The basic idea of Mwaong Yuetsen is the same like in Germany. We don’t want people to say oh I have an idea, please give me money, and then I will make it happen. We want to turn it around,” said the Project Director Dr Uwe Drager.
After the completion of the campaign in Tsirang and Dagana, the organisers plan to replicate the idea throughout the country and make it a huge competition. The themes will also become diverse ranging from sustainability to waste management. The project is also aimed at reducing rural-urban migration.
Devika Pradhan/Pema Tshewang
Edited by Phub Gyem
