Hunnarshala Foundation
  • Community Empowerment
    • Rural Communities >
      • Demonstration House after Bam Earthquake, Iran
      • Indira Awas Yojana
      • Interim Shelter Initiative in Jammu and Kashmir
      • Kutch Earthquake Rehabilitation
      • Kosi Flood Rehabilitation
      • Muzaffarnagar Post-Riot Rehabilitation
      • Owner Driven Reconstruction Collaborative, Nepal
      • Shaam-e-Sarhad Village Resort
      • Tsunami Rehabilitation in Aceh, Indonesia
    • Urban Communities >
      • Urban Slum Redevelopment
    • Institutional >
      • Alma Mater
      • GIC Baram
      • Moving School
      • Office and Research Centre for BPUMS
    • AinA Series of Workshops >
      • Documentation
      • Lime Workshop July 2019
      • Lime Workshop Nov-Dec 2019
      • AinA Workshops- Mailing List
  • Sankalan - Artisan Empowerment
    • Artisan Enterprises
    • Technology Interventions >
      • Recycling Sewage
      • Hunnarshala Campus
      • Restoration of Mud Forts
      • Khamir Craft Facility
    • Training Programs
    • Covid -19 Response Products
  • Karigarshala

POST EARTHQUAKE TIBETAN NUNNERY REHABILITATION PROJECT IN BAKHANG, NEPAL

Picture
Ariel View of the Context in Lakhpat
The reconstruction of a village, supported by American Jewish World Society (AJWS) in Bhakhang, inhabited by about 170 Tibetan nuns started in November 2015 in response to the catastrophic earthquake that wrecked Nepal in April 2015. The earthquake that measured 7.8 on the richter scale caused widespread destruction and resulted in more than 10000 deaths. The village, Bhakhang, situated on the Nepal-Tibet border was completely destroyed and almost all the houses fell, forcing about 200 nuns to live in an interim shelter in very difficult conditions. Since the village had no vehicular access, the nuns were having trouble in receiving the aid. There was an urgent need to rehabilitate the nuns. 
The nuns  were not only rebuilding their houses but their lives as well. The tragedy had not only wrecked cracks in the walls but also in their morale. Due to this, there were inhibitions from the nuns to build back in mud but the team worked hard to restore their confidence, using the technique developed by Prof. KS Jagadish, which uses locally available stones and mud mortar with galvanised wire mesh at every 2 feet in the masonry. The technology is developed in the context of remote areas where material s like steel and cement cannot be transported easily.

​The stones from the destroyed houses have been recycled into the new houses. A participatory process was followed to incorporate all the concerns and issues of the nuns who were to inhabit the houses, who also contributed labour towards the construction of their houses.
​
When the construction started, the Nepal government still had not come up with the rural reconstruction policy. Bhakhang being one of the first places to start the reconstruction work, has impacted the rural rehabilitation policy in Nepal where the same technology was planned to be implemented in other rural areas as well. 

Picture
Debilitated Historic Structures in Lakhpat
Picture
sketches showing tools, materials, technologies and process by Tapas Upadhyay
​Project Location
Bakhang, Nepal
Name of the Supporting / Funding Agency​
​American Jewish World Society (AJWS) 
Team
​Mahavir Acharya, Tapas Upadhyay, Tanvi Choudhari, Kishore Chawda, ​Marina Boaretto
about us
contact us
news
publications
partner organisations