The Second Bhutan Exploration – Day 2

Kungalapten, Samcholing, Kolpu, and Nabji

△ March 26, 2024, is the second day of the Bhutan exploration. We visited Kungalapten, Samcholing, Kolpu, and Nabji in succession at Trongsa Dzongkhag

Bhutan’s administrative divisions are primarily categorized into four levels. First, there are 20 ‘Dzongkhags,’ which correspond to large regions similar to provinces in Korea. Each Dzongkhag is further divided into several ‘Gewogs.’ Within each Gewog, there are smaller units called ‘Chiwogs’ and the smallest unit, ‘Village.’ Thus, Bhutan’s administrative structure is classified into four tiers: Dzongkhag, Gewog, Chiwog, and Village.

At 6:40 AM, Venerable Pomnyun and the JTS exploration team departed from their accommodations to begin their exploration. They first had breakfast at a nearby restaurant.

△ JTS exploration team having breakfast

△ Bhutanese government officials laughing while listening to the driver’s remarks

The driver mentioned that he woke up at 6:30 AM, just before departure, because he was so tired.

“I thought I was just doing tourism driving. If I had known the schedule would be like this, I wouldn’t have come.”

Hearing the driver’s remarks, Rinchen from the Bhutanese Cabinet Secretariat laughed and said, ‘This will be a good experience for you too, driver.’

Venerable Pomnyun also smiled and spoke.

△ Tashi and the JTS exploration team laughing while listening to the driver’s remarks.

“I’ll give you a tour of Bhutan, showing you what kind of country it is. These will be places you’ve never been to before!” (laughter)

After finishing our meal, we first visited the KuengaRabten Chiwog, where the irrigation canal supplying agricultural water had been destroyed by a landslide. When we arrived at the access road to the water source, we were welcomed by the Gewog head of Kolpu, who is equivalent to a mayor in our country.

△ JTS exploration team discussing while looking at a map.

After examining the map together and discussing the issues, we headed up towards the location where the waterway had been destroyed. The JTS exploration team and government officials began climbing the steep mountain path. The trail was very steep and not frequently traveled, with thorny bushes and grass growing densely like a jungle. The path was also extremely slippery.

△ The JTS exploration team and government officials continued their ascent along the mountain path

△ The JTS exploration team and government officials continued their ascent along the mountain path 2

After walking for 50 minutes, we reached a water channel flowing through the mountainside. It had been blocked by a landslide a year ago, preventing water from flowing through it any longer.

△ The view of a waterway destroyed by a landslide.

△ JTS inspection team surveying the waterway.

The JTS inspection team generated various ideas on whether it would be better to build a retaining wall at the collapsed area or to erect pillars to support a pipe or concrete canal. They decided to discuss the technical issues later and descended the mountain.

△ The back of a JTS inspection team member after sliding down.

The way down was even more slippery. Unlike when he went up, Venerable Pomnyun quickly descended the slippery path. The activists found it difficult to go down on their feet, so some even sat down and slid down.

After finishing the hike, they moved to the next location at 9:30. They returned to the Samcholing Green Tea House, which they had visited during their inspection in February.

△ The JTS inspection team visiting the Green Tea House

One person could produce only 10 boxes of tea bags a day due to issues with production efficiency, and there was a quality problem with the tea bags tearing easily. They discussed how to improve these two issues.”

△ The JTS inspection team discussing improvement measures

△ Venerable Pomnyun sharing his thoughts

“First, Venerable Pomnyun shared his impressions of the green tea he brought back to Korea during his last visit.”

“I took it to Korea and showed it to several people, and they all said the taste was good. Do we need more machines for packaging?”

“We need a machine that automatically packages the tea.”

“Is it necessary to have automated machines when the production volume of green tea is still low?”

“The need is increasing as the production volume continues to rise.”

“Hand production is too slow, and automated machines are too expensive. It would be good to find a suitable machine that falls in between because the production volume is still low. Later, when the production volume increases significantly, we can consider introducing automated machines.”

△ The person in charge of the Green Tea House in conversation

“Do you adjust the amount that goes into the tea bags manually, or is it done automatically?”

“It’s done manually.”

“Among the machines we looked at, there are machines that automatically fill the tea bags.”

“Yes, I found some machines like that too. I agree with your thoughts, Venerable Pomnyun.”

We also need to replace the tea bag paper with something a bit sturdier. When the packaging gets torn, it often tears the tea bag inside as well. So, one solution is to make the paper material stronger and to mark dotted lines at the tearing points of the packaging. If we only tear along the dotted line, we won’t disturb the tea bag inside.”

After concluding the discussion, they looked at the machine used for packaging. The owner of the Green Tea House demonstrated the packaging process herself.

△ The owner of the Green Tea House showing the packaging process

△ Packaged tea bags

△ Packaged tea bags 2

“It requires too much labor. We will research better methods and provide support.”

After a 40-minute meeting, they moved to the Kolpo office at 10:10. During the three-hour drive, Venerable Pomnyun spoke to the staff and officials of the Bhutanese Cabinet.

△ The JTS inspection team on their way to the Kolpo office

“JTS should focus on projects that benefit as many people as possible. The agricultural waterway benefits all 200 households living in that village. Such projects are worth doing, even if they require funding. However, if we spend 20 million won to purchase a machine for green tea bag production, the benefits will only go to 17 households in the green tea cooperative. We shouldn’t provide benefits to just those people. I think it’s necessary to support projects that are slightly better than the current level.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

The Bhutanese officials also agreed with Venerable Pomnyun’s thoughts. Looking out the window, there were indeed many terraced fields on the mountains.

△ The landscape of terraced fields in Bhutan

△ Terraced fields scattered throughout the village

“Look at the fields on the mountain. Why do they go so high up to farm? It’s because there’s no land available. But since the water is down below, it makes farming really difficult.”

The road to the Kolpo office was a winding mountain path.

△ The mountain road leading to the Kolpo office

Amazed by how roads are built even on such cliffs, they arrived at the Kolpo office after about three hours.

△ Venerable Pomnyun greeting the staff of the Kolpo office

The staff of the Kolpo office warmly welcomed Venerable Pomnyun and the inspection team

△ A view of Kolpo

Kolpo is a place that was not visited during the inspection in February. As they passed by, the leader of Kolpo, Chokba, came out to greet Venerable Pomnyun and reported on the current status of the village. Venerable Pomnyun had promised to visit during his last trip, and he kept that promise this time. Chokba came out joyfully running when Venerable Pomnyun arrived. The villagers also came out to welcome the JTS inspection team.

△ Venerable Pomnyun in conversation with the villagers

“Did everyone here grow up in this village?”

“Yes.”

“Can you see well? Can you hear well? Are your teeth okay?”

The older individuals eagerly pointed to their eyes, ears, and teeth, expressing their discomfort.

△ Villagers expressing their discomfort

Venerable Pomnyun asked Chokba to show him the most disadvantaged house in the village. They went to the home of a grandmother with poor eyesight and her daughter who has a physical disability. A smoky smell from the fireplace filled the house.

△ The JTS inspection team exploring the most disadvantaged house

They looked together at what could be improved and then requested to see a house that is moderately well-off in the village. Upon entering the house, they found shelves and a gas stove.

△ Venerable Pomnyun examining a moderately well-off house

“It would be good to have shelves like this to make cooking more convenient.”

They compared the two houses and reviewed more specifically how improvements could be made. The village was filled with traditional houses built a long time ago, closely packed together.

△ A view of traditional Bhutanese houses

Venerable Pomnyun asked Chokba what difficulties they were facing.

△ The JTS inspection team in conversation with Chokba

“Are there people without homes?”

“Yes, there are two. They are living in makeshift shelters.”

“What is the biggest difficulty?”

“The water issue has been resolved now through government requests. However, fire is the biggest concern. As you can see, the houses made of wood are very close together. In case of a fire, there is a lack of facilities and water to extinguish it.”

“There have been two fires, and ultimately, some people lost their homes and moved to another village.”

△ The JTS inspection team sharing their impressions after exploring the village

“There are two households without homes and two poor households. It seems that there are no houses, except for the two poor ones, that have fires burning inside. However, since most of the houses are made of wood, a fire would be a significant issue. Since they primarily produce cardamom, there seems to be no need to worry about damage from wildlife. The issue of agricultural water can be resolved together, as the fields are located near the Nabji Chiwog.

And there is the issue of treating elderly people with poor eyesight, hearing, and dental health. Cataracts are easy to treat, but glaucoma and other diseases are difficult to manage. There are elderly individuals with missing teeth, but none are completely toothless. Some may need dentures; however, dentures are only used when all teeth are gone. A bit of hearing loss is unavoidable. Those who are completely deaf need hearing aids, but because hearing aids are expensive, only those with severe symptoms can afford them. Were there any other issues?”

“It seems that you have accurately identified the issues. However, if the village continues to grow, there will soon be a problem with a lack of drinking water.”

“Should we replace the pipes? Or do we need to find a new water source?”

“The existing water source is gradually drying up, so we need to move to a new source. The new water source we found is 4 km away from the village.”

Since securing water for firefighting is not an immediate concern, they decided to gradually find solutions when actually implementing the project. They concluded the meeting.

After spending two hours exploring Kolpo, they headed to Nabji. Napji was visible on the mountain across the way.

△ A view of Nabji

“Wow, look at those fields. That’s Nabji. There aren’t many places in Bhutan with such extensive fields.”

They visited this Chiwog during the last inspection, but due to a grand welcoming ceremony for a high monk who had come after 400 years, they were ultimately unable to explore the village.

△ The JTS inspection team exploring Nabji

Venerable Pomnyun carefully explored the village with the guidance of Chokba. There was a wire fence surrounding the area around the temple, about 7 km in length.

△ The JTS inspection team exploring the fence

“This village seemed to be in the best condition among all the villages they had visited so far. During their exploration of the village, they noticed three places where people were working with wood, building houses or making furniture.”

△ Villagers working with wood

△ The JTS inspection team exploring a house under construction

However, since the agricultural water and sewage were flowing together in the village, it seemed that this could pose a problem in the future Venerable Pomnyun said as he looked at the sewage system.

△ The JTS inspection team examining the sewage system

“In the past, it was fine to let sewage and agricultural water flow together, but as living standards have improved and people started using soap, shampoo, and detergents, the sewage has become contaminated, which is harmful to crops and pollutes the river. Therefore, it is necessary to implement individual household sewage treatment systems.”

There was also a problem with the agricultural waterway. The canal was not lined with c, and the fields at the bottom were not receiving any water, leaving the land unused.

△ The JTS inspection team exploring the agricultural waterway

“Would it be possible for the village residents to build the canal themselves if we provide the concrete?”

“Yes.”

The village residents expressed their willingness to carry out the construction themselves.

Finally, they visited the house of the person who lived in the most difficult conditions in this village.

△ The exterior of the house in the most difficult condition

△ The interior of the house in the most difficult condition

“I’ve seen enough. Now let’s go to our accommodations and hold a meeting.”

Upon arriving at the accommodations, they unloaded their luggage and gathered in one room to hold their meeting.

△ The JTS inspection team and Bhutanese officials gathered for a meeting at their accommodations

First, the team discussed the results of today’s site visit and the plans moving forward. Venerable Pomnyun established a general direction on how to proceed with various issues raised during the site visits to Kungalapten and the Samcholing Green Tea House, as well as Kolpu and Nabji. Additionally, he talked about the key points to focus on during our visit to Nimsong tomorrow.

Chokba asked if he needed to gather the residents tomorrow.

“Since we heard the residents’ requests during the last visit, I think this time we should discuss how to work with the officials of Gewog and Chiwog. It seems unnecessary to gather the residents.”

Venerable Pomnyun emphasized the importance of resident participation once again.

△ Venerable Pomnyun emphasizing the importance of resident participation

“It is important how much the officials in Chiwog can engage the residents’ participation. If the officials can persuade the residents in Chiwog, that would be fortunate; if that is difficult, then I need to go and persuade the residents myself. Since the irrigation system directly benefits the residents, they must actively participate in the installation of the irrigation system.

If it is decided to comprehensively develop Nimsong Chiwog, the JTS staff must conduct a survey of all 70 households. A thorough investigation of the residents’ health, living conditions, agriculture, and more must be conducted, so the Bhutanese government should also provide officials to assist with this.”

After hearing Venerable Pomnyun’s explanation, the leader of Golf Gewog spoke confidently.

△ Bhutanese officials having a conversation with Venerable Ponmyun

“The village residents all said they would provide their labor.”

As the meeting concluded, Venerable Pomnyun asked the Bhutanese officials for their impressions.

“Thank you for your hard work today. What are your thoughts after today’s site visit?”

The official who accompanied them for the first time responded shyly,

“This is my first time visiting such a neighborhood.”

Venerable Pomnyun gave some words of advice to the Bhutanese officials.

“In the future, if you want to be a good public servant, you must pay close attention to details as you work, just as you did today. You should always observe how the residents live and what difficulties they face. This site visit will be a valuable learning experience.”

“I am also learning a lot,” one of the officials replied.

△ Bhutanese officials conversing with the JTS site visit team

The team concluded the meeting after sharing the schedule for tomorrow’s site visit.

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