Vanishing tongues

Languages of some remote communities are in immediate danger of extinction Lama Shacha Tenzin, Angay Choden and Dadum have one thing in common besides being elderly members of their communities. They share a concern for the tongues they speak. Lama Shacha Tenzin, 80, is from a remote village call Daksa in Gongdue, Mongar. Choden, 78, …

Olep tribe on the cusp of change

Three decades after the tribe of hunters settled down in Rukha, the Olep community is not far from catching up with the rest of the country. On the foothills of southern Wangduephodrang, is a small village of Rukha in Adha gewog encircled by a mixed conifer forest, undergoing rapid change as the country itself braces …

Bhutan – The Olep community of Rukha

Bhutan’s government and royal family provide a role model in taking a long-term, holistic view on all decision making relating to its people and land and, with 70% of the country required by law to remain under forest cover, it is the only carbon negative country in the world. But Bhutan’s culture is vulnerable and …

Comprehensive Community Development for Poverty Alleviation [for Oleps]

Finalist 2015|Bhutan This project focused on the Olep ethnic group who live on the western fringes of an important national park in the west central part of Bhutan. Originally a nomadic hunter gatherer community, the Olep were encouraged by the government to settle in Rukha in the early 1970s, so that they could benefit from …

Rukha Community Centre in Wangdue to serve as Olep’s museum

Photo credit: BBS Her Majesty the Gyalyum Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Founder and President of the Tarayana Foundation inaugurated the Rukha Community Centre in Wangdue Phodrang on October 19.The centre is a part of the Cultural Sanctuary Project implemented by the Olep community of Rukha in collaboration with Tarayana and the Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation based …

Guesthouse for the Olep community to be completed soon

Photo credit: BBS Locals in Rukha chiwog under Wangdue Phodrang have to host visiting officials at their homes since the community is one of the most remote places without a proper guesthouse. However, with the ongoing construction of a two-storied guesthouse, the problem will soon be solved.Tarayana foundation provided the construction materials while the community …

The dying language of the Oleps

Only two people remain who speaks the language The Ole language which belongs to the Olep people is on the verge of extinction with only two Oleps who can speak the language. Currently there are only two old ladies, Choday and Mindu Gyem both in their 70’s who can fluently speak the Ole language at …

A glimpse into the Monpa community

The Monpas have been pushed to the hinter-land of the remote Black Mountain forests today but they were here before the founders of modern Bhutan built dzongs in the valleys of Paro, Bumthang and Thimphu, says a study on the Monpa community, conducted by two Sherubtse College graduates under the research grant of the UNFPA.  …

The Oleps of Rookha and Monpas of Jangbi

Except for the difference in their dialects and attire, Oleps of Athang Rookha in Wangdue Phodrang and Monpas of Jangbi in Trongsa are seen to have more commonalities. Their food habits and ways of lives are found almost similar according to some of the locals from the region who attended the first-ever Monpa festival at …

Curse of development [Monpa]

Sounds of rhythmic drumbeats accompanied by piercing female voices resonate from a single-storey house in Tangchey, Trongsa. All around, there are fruiting mandarin, guava and tall sugarcane forests. Tangchey sits on a high flat. It is the village of the Monpas, one of the earliest inhabitants in the country. The outstanding voice is of Pamo …