Our work at Phugtal
From 2015, our work began to fous on Phugtal Monastery, Zanskar - an area also known as the ‘Hidden Kingdom’, located in the far northwest corner of India. Zanskar is ringed by the high peaks of the western Himalaya that prohibit road access for more than six months of the year. The land is entirely above 3200m, making it one of the world’s highest permanent societies.
Phugtal monastery plays an important role in educating young people in the remote and poorer eastern region of Zanskar. The monastery makes education accessible for local children, providing a local alternative to sending children away for school - something that has contributed to the permanent exodus of young people experienced in recent decades. Since 2015, Kinship has organised a series of summer arts and crafts workshops for the school children at Phugtal. We are also working with monastery members and the Swiss education charity HOPE to create a new, flagship school at Phugtal, following the loss of a new school building during devastating floods in 2014. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has caused delays to the construction, we anticipate that work will resume in 2022.
Phugtal monastery (top right), Zanskar River valley from Phugtal (above) and improvised class room (right) - photos by Iqbal Hamiduddin
