The Second Bhutan Exploration – Day 1

On March 25, 2024, Venerable Pomnyun, the chairman of JTS, and activists embarked on the second exploration of Bhutan. This day was spent traveling all day to reach Trongsa, a remote mountain village in the central region of Bhutan.

Upon arrival at Paro Airport, a Foreign Ministry official, Namgay Peldon, was there to greet them and assisted with immigration procedures. 

Outside, the JTS team was warmly welcomed by Dr. Tashi, Secretary General of the Bhutanese Nuns’ Foundation, along with JTS activists Shin Ye-seul and Lee Mi-eun, who had arrived earlier from India.

While they were loading their luggage, two officials from the Korean Rural Development Administration approached Venerable Pomnyun to greet him.

“We are also working on installing fences around farms in Bhutan. The Rural Development Administration has developed many techniques for deterring wildlife, so we could assist with your work.”

“I’d love to meet you in Korea sometime to seek your advice.”

“Of course, anytime you wish.”

After a warm exchange, they agreed to meet again in Korea.

At 11:30, they departed from Paro Airport by car and headed toward Trongsa.

It is spring in Bhutan now, with willow trees, peach blossoms, and plum flowers blooming everywhere. Venerable Pomnyun, who had been missing spring, was delighted by the spring scenery unfolding outside the window.”

“I was disappointed that I wouldn’t have the chance to experience spring in Korea, but I’m able to feel it here.”

Passing through Thimphu, the vehicle continued to climb the endlessly winding mountain roads. 

“We’ve already climbed higher than Paektu Mountain. Thimphu is higher than Hallasan.”

“As the altitude increased, we started to feel pressure in our ears and we felt a little dizzy. The mountain road was filled with endless clouds, making it impossible to see ahead.”

The JTS team hurriedly made their way to their destination, Trongsa. As the altitude decreased, the team began to see many yaks.

They arrived in Trongsa at 7:25 PM after driving through a dark mountain road without a single light. Rinchen, an official from the Cabinet Secretariat, had driven from Paro Airport after picking up multiple-entry visas for the exploration team and their luggage. From this point, the Trongsa Planning Officer guided them to their accommodation at the College of Language and Culture Studies.

They arrived at their accommodations at 8:10 PM. First, they discussed the exploration schedule in the university conference room with Rinchen, two staff members from the Cabinet Secretariat, and the newly appointed Trongsa Planning Officer.

“‘You’ll have to work really hard if you work with me. Are you okay with that?’

‘You’ll get used to it.’ (laughs)”

After taking some time to introduce the newly joined staff members, Venerable Pomnyun shared updates on the current projects that JTS is preparing.

During this visit, we plan to take a more detailed look at improving living conditions. As for how to enhance production facilities, I intend to bring Korean experts to the next exploration to discuss this together. I had hoped to bring specialists in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, and livestock this time, but due to scheduling conflicts, we will bring them along next time.

What JTS intends to focus on during this Bhutan exploration

The first priority we need to address is improving living conditions. The second task is to enhance production facilities to enable sustainable living. Since I haven’t yet assessed the production facilities, I’ll plan to do that during my next visit. Tomorrow, we will focus on visiting the villages of Kungalapten, Kolpu, Nabji, and Nimsong to look closely at issues related to agricultural water supply and how to improve living environments.

Then, Venerable Pomnyun asked the Trongsa Planning Officer several questions about the villages they would be visiting the next day.

‘In Napji, there are many terraced fields. Are there any issues with the supply of agricultural water?’

‘There is a shortage of agricultural water that can supply the entire village. We are currently looking for sources to obtain more water.’

“What is the biggest issue in Kolpu?”

“They are also facing difficulties with the supply of agricultural water.”

“‘The major issue in Nimsong is the lack of drinking water, but is there no issue with drinking water in Kolpu?’

‘Kolpu does not have a drinking water problem.’

‘In Kungalapten, agricultural water is a concern. Would improving the irrigation channels benefit the residents?’

‘Yes, it would.'”

“‘Then why haven’t improvements been made before now?’

‘We haven’t been able to due to a lack of budget.’

‘Is it better to build the irrigation channels with cement pipes or regular pipes?’

‘Regular pipes are better. We need about 2 kilometers, and the terrain is quite steep.'”

“During this exploration, the most important task is to select one house in the village and create a sample of how it can be remodeled. Therefore, the JTS staff from Korea will attempt to remodel one house directly. If the villagers agree, we plan to eventually remodel the entire village. This will serve as a sample for improving an entire community in the future. Next, we aim to identify agricultural, forestry, horticultural, and livestock projects that can generate income and create samples for those as well.”

“And for those without homes, we need to build houses; however, a significant challenge will be whether to build only to the size of the smallest house in the village or to construct something larger.”

“It would be good to base the housing construction on the lower 10 percent of households.”

“Let’s go to the site tomorrow and discuss it together.”

After assessing the general situation, they decided to hold detailed discussions on-site the following day and wrapped up the meeting. The Bhutanese government officials bid farewell to the JTS exploration team and departed. This concluded today’s long journey.

This text was written and edited based on an article provided by the Monk’s Day Team