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:: GURUNG VILLAGES
INFORMATIONS :: |
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TANGTING (KASKI) -
a Gurung village |
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Nepal is a small (<145,000 sq km) but beautiful
kingdom that lies sandwiched between China and India,
land-locked, with an estimated population of 26 million.
Nepal is known to the world both as the birthplace of
Lord Buddha and the land of Mount Everest. Economically,
Nepal has been ranked as the 12th poorest country in
the world with a per capita income of around $240. It
has been ranked 143rd, as per the Human Development
Index (HDI), out of 175 countries in the world. Geographically,
Nepal can be divided into three different parts: the
mountainous north, the hilly central and the Terai (plane
area) to the South.
Tang Ting lies just below the Annapurna IV and Lamjung
Himal bases. This village is over three thousand feet
above sea level and is approximately 200 km west of
the capital city Kathmandu. It is one day’s walk
(to the north-east) from Pokhara – the second
biggest city of Nepal. Tang Ting is a very beautiful
village with abundant natural scenery – surrounded
by mountains, hills, thick forests, streams and water-falls.
There is a virgin lake called ‘Dudh Pokhari’
right on the base of Lamjung Himal and the Annapurna
range can be seen very close from the village. |
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Population
Tang Ting is a village with over 250 households, with
a population of approximately 2000. The main habitants
of this village are the Guring’s (one of the four
marshal tribes that has, for two hundred years, traditionally
joined the British Army). Other castes, such as: Kami,
Damai and Sarki are also part of the community here.
The main occupation of the people in Tang Ting is farming.
They grow barley, maize, wheat, rice, potatoes etc.
They also keep animals: cow, buffaloes, sheep and goats.
Many people from this village migrated to Pokhara and
other parts of the country, as well as the world over
in search of better economic opportunities. |
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Socio-Economic Development
The village seems to have been forgotten by the Nepalese
government as far as developmental projects are concerned.
The majority of the village infra-structures were developed
by the help of various foreign or non-governmental organisations
(NGOs). For example, the village hydro-electric project
was funded by one of these organisation, the school
building was built by a UK based charity (Pahar Trust),
the water supply was funded by DFID (UK government project).
The Gurkha Welfare Scheme also donated a small fund
to purchase furniture for the school. Villagers serving
in the British Army built the basketball pitch and the
playground. They also collected money to help the school
and many other small programmes in the village. The
government-funded Health Post in the village is in a
dire state. People cannot afford to buy even basic medicines
and the government cannot afford to distribute medicines
for free. All the infra-structures that were built several
years ago are now defunct or in a sorry state. Neither
the government nor NGOs are interested in repairing
existing damage let alone starting new projects. The
people who remain in the village are poor, aged and
economically ‘disabled’. The ‘able’
and the ‘haves’ left the village in search
of better lives elsewhere. |
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Human poverty is more than a shortfall or lack of income.
It is the denial of economic, political, social and
physical opportunities to lead a long, healthy, creative
life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom,
dignity, self-esteem and the respect of others. Poverty
is a major cause of food insecurity. Its reduction is
essential to improve the access of nutritionally adequate
and safe food for all. Poverty in Tang Ting is increasing
day by day. Someone has to do something to alleviate
the poverty before it is too late.
Taking the currently political instability into account,
the people from Tang Ting living in the UK have recently
established a trust named “Tang Ting Trust”.
The aim/objectives of this Trust are to help the native
village and its people in the Health, Education and
Social development sectors.
There are plenty of areas we could help e.g. by providing
scholarships to students, funding the health post to
help villagers receive medicine free of charge, funding
reconstruction of infra-structures and so forth. We
could organise various charity events to raise money
for the Tang Ting Trust. |
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Welcome to Tangting Education!
Tangting Himalaya Milan Secondary School is set in
the foothills of the Annapurna Valley, near the second
largest city of Pokhara in the Kingdom of Nepal. It
is an educational primary and secondary school lying
1700 metres above sea level situated in the Madi Khola
Valley, with views over the Himalayan Annapurna ranges.
The famous ridge Mt. Annapurna and Lamjung Himal can
be seen directly from Tangting.
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| Principle,
Prakesh Gurung The Himalaya Milan Secondary School in
Tangting was established in 1956 at a primary level,
and then upgraded to lower secondary level in 1976 before
finally attaining full secondary level status in 1999.
There are currently 400 students, between the ages of
four and sixteen enrolled at the Tangting Himalaya Milan
Secondary School.
The village of Tangting has received an enormous amount
of help from the people and government of the Isle of
Man, particularly St Thomas’ Primary School, for
supporting building development and the payment of teachers’
salaries. |
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The Himalaya Milan Secondary School in Tangting was
established in 1956 at a primary level, and then upgraded
to lower secondary level in 1976 before finally attaining
full secondary level status in 1999.
Before the school was established, students from Tangting
had to study in Pokhara and neighbouring villages, but
the costs of travel and accommodation prevented many
students from completing their secondary school education.
The school building was built by the Pahar Trust Nepal
UK (NGO) and the people and government of the Isle of
Man. John Riley, headteacher of St. Thomas’ Primary
School in Douglas, Isle of Man makes regular visits
to the school and is actively involved in fundraising
for projects, including the teachers’ salaries,
school infrastructure, educational material and clothes
for children.
School pupils There are 300 students, aged between
4 and 16 at the Himalaya Milan Secondary School. The
government provides the salaries for 7 of the 11 teachers;
the remainder is provided by the villagers and support
from the Isle of Man and the Pahar Trust Nepal UK (NGO).
The school has 12 classrooms and 4 rooms for hostels
for students who are unable to return home each evening
due to distance. |
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Classrooms
Since the Himalaya Milan Secondary School has expanded
to include secondary education, four batches of students
have all successfully sat their School Leaving Certificate.
Subjects studied at primary level include Nepali, English,
Mathematics, Social Study, art, music, and dance. The
curriculum is expanded at secondary level to include
Science, Population and Environment, additional Mathematics
and Education.The school has a yard for activities and
a basketball court has also recently been developed
for friendly inter-village matches. |
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| Tangting
village has a population of 2,000 people living in 336
households. Over 90% of the people are from the traditional
‘Gurung’ ethnic group. Many of the Gurung
have served in the British Army, Ghurkha Regiment.
Other minority groups include Damai, Kami and Sarki.
Most of the villagers are involved in agriculture and
cultivate the slopes directly in front of, and around
the village. The houses are built of mud, mainly of
two levels: the ground floor consists of a lower living
area with a wood cooking fire in the ground and mats
for people to sit on. Sleeping is in a separate area
on the ground floor and on the upper floor.
Tangting is rich in culture and traditions which are
being passed from generation to generation. The villagers
believe in many Gods. The main festivals that are celebrated
in Tangting are the Nepalese festivals of Dashain (Hindu
festival) which is an important family festival. During
Dashain, temporary swings will be built in the village
and young girls and boys often court each other. Other
festivals include Tiah, Lochhar and Boundha Jayanti).
The village is picturesquely placed in the foothills
of the Himalayan Annapurnas and is surrounded by hills
and forests. Mount Annapurna 2 and 4 and Mount Lamjung
provide a scenic backdrop and tower over the village.
Electricity was recently brought to Tangting, through
hydro-electric power and every village has light from
4pm until 10am. |
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VILLAGE
TWINNING
On discussing the subject of town twinning with a
friend some time ago we both said this is often seen
as a 'jolly' for local dignitaries and wouldn't it be
better to twin with a village that needs help in a third
world country. It was foremost in my mind when Capt.
Guring of Carver Barracks (a member of the Ghurka’s)
approached me personally to see if I could advise him
how to go about helping his village, which was in dire
straights. I immediately thought of the idea of twinning
Debden, and possibly Wimbish, with his village which
would make a lot more sense to me and would also make
for closer relations with the barracks. This idea met
with unanimous approval from Debden Parish Council and
I have prepared this leaflet to distribute to the village
in order to obtain some feedback on whether they would
support this project. I have sent details of the village
and my suggestion to the Chairman of Wimbish Parish
Council and am waiting to hear their views on the idea.
I set out below some information on the village for
your interest. |
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