WHAT

Do We Do?

We hold collaborative workshops with women and youth to develop climate smart policies and strategies

To review rights & practices of water user groups for sharing water and managing irrigation channels
To develop watershed management plans for villages and regional collaborations
To get funding for creating artificial glaciers, ice stupas, or modifying irrigation channels to enhance water supply

To bring together women from different valleys and microclimates across Zangskar to exchange heirloom seeds, root stocks, tree cuttings, & newer agrarian techniques
To strategize and share knowledges around the introduction of new crops such as apples, apricots, pulses, & other vegetables that can improve local food security
To help foster exchange of agrarian, pastoral, and other food production strategies and skills

To present climate smart policy recommendations that help Zangskari villagers prepare for increased aridity and future disruptions
To help villages develop disaster risk reduction plans and strategies to help mitigate effects of landslides, flooding, locus outbreaks, & other disasters.
To develop proposals for creating artificial glaciers, ice stupas, irrigation channels, and other methods of enhancing existing irrigation water availability in Zangskar.

Ice stupa in Phyang, Ladakh

Ice stupa in Hongshet, Zangskar

Williams College Anthropologist Receives National Geographic Society Grant to Support Climate Change Research and Advocacy