Oct. 14th, 2012

We camped out at 2,920 meters on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery high in the mountains. I met with the lead Rinpoche and explained to him our quest. He firmly supported our venture and also stated that he knew tigers were present in the jungle surrounding the monastery. The monastery housed several monastic Buddhist practitioners, but has seen better days. Not as many families are sending their sons to the monastery to engage in a life of meditation and contemplation as in the past. Although Buddhism continues to be practice in the homes of the village people, the Rinpoche does not believe the monastery will stay open indefinitely.

Buddhist Monastery 

Buddhist Monastery  at 2,800 Meters

After breakfast, we talked with some of the residents and again heard tales of recent tiger activity. Including a family of tigers. We again broke off into two teams and headed into the jungle. On my route, close to the monastery, we came across an abandoned homestead. The hillside in which this family had decided to call home, turned out to be not suitable for growing crops sustainable to provide for the families long tern needs. I was told that once the children had grown up, the family relocated to another area. I found myself strangely attracted to this site. Its proximity to the jungle where tigers are said to roam, would make a great base of operation, once we were able to confirm the presence of tigers. Providing beyond a reasonable doubt that tigers inhabit this jungle would actually be the easiest part of any long term project. Mapping out their numbers, territory, prey base,habits, and overall health, not to mention an education program for local residence, would prove to be the long term challenge. This homestead could do much for making that task a bit easier, allowing teams to move in and out of the study area with a bit more ease and comfort. Therefore, if our quest is successful, we'd be interested in obtaining this site.

The second team learn of a tiger sighting northeast of or location and not within our original target area. They decided to investigate to see if it would be suitable to set up a camera trap. We, unfortunately, only have five cameras and must, therefore, choose are locations wisely. Recent paw prints (pug marks) scratch posts, and feces samples would all play a part in aiding in the decision making process.

After lunch, we traveled down to the local school house grounds to meet with the head School Master. The land was donated by a villager, in order to build this school to provide the youngest with some basic form of education. If they are lucky, the average village child will receive 10 years of education before leaving for Kathmandu, or taking up a life of farming. In most cases, the education received in these villages is far inferior to that children receive in Kathmandu. Thus, a kid arriving in the city soon learns they are ill equip to take on the most basic job, Many are talked into taking employment overseas is countries such as Kuwait, or India, where the exploitation rate is high.

Village School

When I saw the school, I thought of Little House on the Prairie, but worse. The school walls provided little protection from the elements ad heat is non existent. The floors where either compact soil or unevenly placed slate rock. Many of the records were recorded by hand and not protected in cabinets, or even boxes. The last monsoon rains were so strong, that the official records became wet and now show clear signs of mildew. I looked at all of this and could not help but to think how fortunate I was to have been born in a country, and a time, where I could receive a quality education, under optimal conditions. But here's the trick, these kids, having never been exposed to another way of living, may be thinking the same thoughts. How lucky they are to be able to receive ten years of education. Sure, they may still have to walk hours each day through the mountains to arrive at school, and still work the fields and tend to the livestock, but they have a school in the village.

Meeting with Head Master

The School Master was very pleased that we had taken an interest in improving the education level, and learning conditions of the village children. He told of his pressing needs. “During the winter months, it is very cold and the younger children find it difficult to focus.” Heat. He needed some form of heat, other than an open fire inside the classroom. I provided suggestions on little ways they could improve the insulation factor of the class room, using local materials. We also talked about installing a wood burning stove, as a short term fix to the heating situation. Wind turbines and solar collectors would become our long term project goals, however. I also committed to donating two laptop computers to the school, along with basic computer training. One computer would be used to back up school records and the other to assist in English and conservation training.

Education is the key to a healthy life.

Inside classroom

School sign