Backstage Impressions of Namgyaling Settlement, Marpha
Nepal
Backstage Impressions of Namgyaling Settlement, Marpha
Suspension bridge leading to Namgyaling Settlement, Marpha.
Camp manager Norbu Phuntsok shows the river bank of the Thak Kola river. During the rainy season, it used to undercut the path to the settlement. LWF helped to fortify it with rocks.
To make Tibetan butter tea, Tashi fills this long rod with tea leaves, milk, butter, and salt and stomps on it with a wooden stick. Tibetan culture is preserved mostly in the families.
Tashi’s small living room shows paintings and photos of the 14 Dalai Lamas. Like many refugees, she’s forbidden to enter Tibet but hopes to return one day.
Teacher Passang Jigme paints the map of Tibet on the playground wall in the settlement’s primary school. For higher education, the young people have to leave the settlement.
Woman praying at the gumpa, a Buddhist shrine. Many people in the settlement are elderly. They are mostly cared for by family members or the community.
Marpha looks like a traditional Tibetan village. Life in the highland of Nepal however offers little job opportunities to young people, who often choose to live in the city.
Another income-generating activity for Tibetans is selling traditional handicraft as souvenirs. Dolma, Tashi’s daughter, supports four people with the business of her small souvenir shop in Marpha.