SUMMARY

SUMMARY

I LSTM
CompositionofLSTM
Visitors
LadakhSituation

II EDUCATIONCOMPONENT
TrainingforyoungAmchisinZanskar
PublicationofTHAMEnewsletter
AmchiStudentsScholarships
InterviewwitholdAmchis

Conclusionsandperspectives2008

III CONSERVATIONCOMPONENT
RegionalworkshopinZanskar
MonitoringvisittoSapiMedicinalPlantsManagementCommittee
Insituconservationarea
Conclusionsandperspectives2008

IV ETHNOBOTANICALCOMPONENT
CapacitybuildingvisitwithElisabethDodinet
ConstitutionofHerbarium
Conclusionsandperspectives2008

VRESEARCH
ThesocialenvironmentofbirthinLadakh
Moraleconomies,thecommoditisationofmateriamedicaandTibetan
MedicineinLadakh,India
ChallengesontheIdentificationandthecommercializationofHimalayan
medicinalplantsinLadakh

VI OTHERS
LingshedAmchiCenter
ChanspaClinic
TrekwithLungta
Equipment
FranceVisit

VII FINANCIALREPORT
Financialsituationin2007
Perspectives2008

VII ANNEX

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LadakhSocietyforTraditionalMedicineAnnualReport2007
I LADAKHSOCIETYFORTRADITIONALMEDICINES(LSTM)

Theorganizationisenteringits10thyearsofexistenceunofficially.Itcameintoexistenceas
Nomad Health & Education in the year 199899 and later changed to Nomad RSI. The
organizationwasofficiallyregisteredasalocalNGOonlyintheyear2001underthename
LadakhSocietyforTraditionalMedicines(LSTM).OfficiallyLSTMcelebratedits8thbirthday.
Thissocietyisquiteuniquetobeengagedinthefield,directlylinkedwithAmchi(Health&
Education)systemofmedicineasinthepastonlyamchisseemedtocareaboutthesystem.
The programme is implemented since 8 years through 3 different components: education,
conservationandethnobotany.ItisentitledRevitalizationofSowarigpa(Tibetanmedicine
orAmchimedicine)inLadakh

CompositionofLSTM:

In2007,theemployeestrengthofLSTMis3permanentstaffandoneparttime.

ThupstanChoszang,PublicAwarenessCoordinator
AmchiKarmaChodon,MedicalCoordinator
AmchiKunchokTsering,AmchiAssistant
YangjenDolma,Accountant(parttime)

Also one Amchi assistant at Lingshed Health Center is appointed since 2004. The total
strength of employees becomes 5 including all categories of employees. In 2008, an
administrator will be recruited. The general members of LSTM crosses 50 and LSTM has a
boardcomprising6members:

AmchiThinlesYangjor,prsident
AmchiTseringPhuntsog(chiefamchi),viceprsident
TsewangGonbo,Secretary
AmchiTsewangNurbu,membre
MohammedAbbas,membre
AmchiGyurmetNamgyal,membre

Visitors
Fanny Jamet (Nomad RSI Programme Director) & Calum Blakie (Nomad RSI board
member):2007hasbeenauniqueyearaswehadboth,FannyJamet&CalumBlakiehelping
inmanywaysatdifferentcapacities.ThemainobjectivetohaveFannyinLadakhforalonger
period than ever is to increase the skills & working capacities of each staff members of
LSTM. The team welcomes this idea and it did prove to be fruitful. Also Calum Blakie, as
mainadvisorfortheteam,madethingsrunsmoothandefficiently.Sinceheworked,asthe
director of Nomad in the past his voluntary input for LSTM had been precise and helpful,
especiallyinthedesignofactivities.

AideMedicaleZanskar:ThisorganizationisbasedinFranceanddedicatedtoimprovethe
health of the people of Zanskar. Knowing their dedication, LSTM and Nomad planned to
expandtheiractivitiesinZanskarandthusproposedthemtoworkinpartnership.Sincewe
shareacommonobjectiveofstrengtheningtheamchipracticesinZanskar,bothagreedto
work in close partnership. LSTM had trained 3 young Amchis from Zanskar in the Dusrapa

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School. And at the same time AMZ in partnership with Zanskar Amchi Association (ZAA)
(IndianNGO)hadtrainedabout18studentsaspartofthetheirprojectinZanskar.

AMZs positive node to finance our proposed refresher course for the young amchis and
workshop for the general amchis in Zanskar brought each other closer in the partnership.
This further strengthened the bonds and turned into a triangular partnership among all,
AMZ,ZAA&Nomad/LSTM.Wehopetoworktogetherinclosecoordinationinfutureaswell.
Inautumn,LSTMteammetDrNoelPoiriel,AMZpresidentatLeh.

LadakhSituation

Staggeringnewsaboutnaturalcalamityishighlyremarkedoverthe
lastfewyears.Likeelsewhereintheworld,Ladakhiswitnessing
climatechange.Shrinkingofglaciersandovermeltingoficeinthe
mountainsmakeonethinkoveragainandagainofthefutureofthe
otherwiserichfloraldiversityofthearea.LSTMsvisittosome
medicinalplanthotspots,whicharemostlyaroundalakeorglacier,
witnessedremarkableevidencesofglobalwarming.Evengenerally
speakingtherainandsnowfallsaretakingplaceatunprecedented
periodsinakindbreachingtheoldrulesofaplace.Thisisthe
commoncomplainofthepeopleatpresentaboutclimate/weatherat
leastinLadakh.

Glacierslake(Sapi)
II EDUCATIONCOMPONENT

TrainingforyoungAmchisinZanskar

LSTM organized eight days workshop, seminar &

trainingfromthe3rdto10thJuly2007atRukrukCenter
of Zanskar Amchi Association (ZAA) with the aim to
strengthen the knowledge of the young Amchis from
thearea.ThiswasapartofthenewstrategyofLSTM
tomakevillageAmchistoparticipatemoreactivelyby
creating favorable conditions and platform. Most of
the time it happens that only the urban amchis
dominate the seminars held in Leh or any other places where all comes together. This
particular regional workshop/seminar provided opportunity to everyone to speak and
presenthimorherself.Theweekwasdividedinto2majorcomponentsasunder:

1. Workshop(3rdJulyto5thJuly07):theworkshopprovedverysuccessfulasexpected
bymassparticipationoftheoldandyoungamchisoftheregion(40Amchis).Both
thegenerationstookwelladvantageoneachside.Oldsleftnostonesunturnedto
express themselves of their experiences and young of course went on quenching
their thrust for knowledge by asking questions after question. This facilitated to
identify the best resource persons from within the amchi community of Zanskar.
Unlike any other common workshops, the LSTM team who come from Leh, just
facilitatedtheexperiencedamchistospeakout.Ittooknotimetogettheminteract
among themselves first owing to the similarity in language, culture & geography.
Otherwise on other situations such differences become the most challenging
obstacles.Manyoftheoldamchisvolunteeredtospeakonvarietyoftopics/diseases
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 and cure out of enthusiasm and curiosity.
Mostofthemfoundtobeexpertinmany
different medical fields on the basis of
amchisystemofmedicine.

2. Training(6thJulyto9thJuly07):Thesefour
days were dedicated to train all the
youngergenerationofamchisbelongingto
the Zanskar region. Thanks to Aide Medicale Zanskar (AMZ)/ZAA & LSTM/Ladakh
Amchi Sabha/Nomad who trained around a dozen of new amchis in Zanskar
otherwise not so many young seemed to take on the traditional system of
transferringknowledgelikeitusedtobebefore.Thistrainingwasagainconducted
basedontheirfieldexperiencesanddifficultieswhiletreatingpatients.AmchiKarma
ChodonofLSTMwastheresponsibleamchiteacherduringthistrainingperiod.The
early mornings and late evenings were spared to have
guestspeakersontopiclikeconceptofallopathicmedicine,
medicinal plants conservation and many more subjects of
theirinterest.
Attheendofthistrainingtheyexpressedtheirwillingnesstohave
such training sessions in future after enough field practice.
LSTM/ZAA promised to them that the two organizations would
contact AMZ and provide similar training for a longer period next
yearin2008.

PublicationofTHAMENewsletter:

After almost 2 years gap, LSTM published in November 2007 the 8th issue of the Trans
Himalayan Amchi Medical Education newsletter (THAME). The editorial line of this issue,
decided by the scientific committee, was dedicated to articles based on Amchis practical
experiences of healing. We came back to the original aim of the THAME newsletter, to
provide medical education to village Amchis. We are thankful to the French government
whomadethepublicationanditsdistributionfreeofcosttoAmchisinLadakh,acrossthe
Himalayasandalsoworldwide.

AmchiStudentsScholarships

Most of the LSTM sponsored students at Central Institute for Buddhist Studies (CIBS) are
graduated and also Dusrapa diploma course are successfully completed. Presently LSTM is
sponsoring only one amchi, Tsewang Tsomo a student at CIBS, Choglamsar in its Amchi
faculty.AmchiTsewangTsomoisinherfinalyearandwillsooncompleteKatchupadegree.
LSTMisnowmorefocusingonrefreshtrainingforalltheyoungAmchis.

InterviewwitholdAmchis

As an outcome of several seminars and workshops for amchis, involving high profile
personalsregardingpreservationofpreciousknowledgeofamchisystemofmedicine,itwas
stronglyhighlightedaroundthetimethatmeasuresmustbetakenwellintimetopreserve
the amchi knowledge. An immediate step was to begin recording senior practitioners
knowledgewhichcouldbesharedlateronwithyoungergenerationofamchisonoccasion
like seminars and training courses. A knowledge transfer system needs to be framed to
ensurecontinuityofthesystemsbenefittohumanbeingsinthelongrun.Andintheshape
of their follow up action the LSTM had begun a recording process of speeches of senior
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amchisofLadakh.Thismatterisrelatedtogurushessystem(lineage)prevalentintheregion
inthecontextoftraditionalsystemofmedicine.In2007,weconductedindepthinterviews
withfiveAmchis(bothaudioandvideo).Weplantocontinuetheprocessuntilfullcoverage
oftheexpertamchis.Theendresultoftheserecordingsareexpectedtobeabletobringup
as educational tools (documentary, articles based on interviews) and made available for
interestedlearners.

Conclusionsandperspectives2008

Theeducation componentof the Revitalizationof sowarigpa inLadakh is a special focus

fortheLSTMastheprogrammestartedwiththeDusrapatrainingfor20youngAmchis.For
this reason, the importance of strengthening the knowledge of the young generation of
Amchis through trainings should not be undermined. The trainings also provide a special
occasion fortheyoungtomeettheelderAmchisandcontributetoreducetheknowledge
transmissiondifficulties.
Thusin2008,LSTMwouldliketoorganizetraininginZanskarandtopublishanewissueof
THAMEnewsletter.Toavoidgapbetweenthepublications,wehavetothinkseriouslyfora
sustainablefuture,asithasbecometheonlycommonplatformforatleastLadakhiAmchis
toshareknowledgeandexperiences.
ToconductinterviewwithexpertAmchisisalsoalongtermideafortheLSTMtocontribute
totheknowledgetransmission.Itisstillalongwaytobeabletoproduceappropriatetools
toreachthisaimbutin2008,theLSTMwillcontinuetherecording.

III CONSERVATIONCOMPONENT

So far conducted awareness campaign in twenty villages across Ladakh concerning the
connections between the medicinal plants and local medical practices is one important
meanstomakepeopleawareabouttheimportanceofahealthcaresystemtolivehealthy.
The rural population in most case do have bond with traditional systems of medicine and
comparingthesubjectwithits(amchi)sustainability,whichisbasedonplantdiversity,helps
toimpartconservationconsciousness.

RegionalworkshopinZanskar

AmajorportionoftheJulyworkshop/seminar,entitledStrategydevelopmentformedicinal
plants conservation in Zanskar, was fairly dedicated towards the conservation issues.
ThroughPRAtechniques,participantsmadeawareaboutthekeyfactorscausingdecreasein
the plants diversity. Based on the collection practices of the amchis a mapping of certain
areasofZanskarwasdrawntoidentifyhotspotareasforMPs.Whenagenerallistofplants
foundintheregionwascompletedthroughrankingmethod,alistofendangeredmedicinal
plant species was prepared. LSTM plans to develop a regional medicinal plants garden.
Regionalgardensareexpectedtorepresenttheoverallplantdiversityofaparticularregion.
This garden will experiment primarily on the endangered/vulnerable plants of a particular
regionforcultivationandlaterencouragetheindividualamchistogrowthemtomeettheir
dailyrequirements.

The following places were jointly identified as hot spots in the region to take necessary
conservationactions:
1. Rangdum
2. Ralakong

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 3. Thangso
4. Obarak
5. Shilafou
6. Stongdayla
7. Zhongkhul

Endangered medicinal plant species for conservation were jointly identified as well as the
reasonsfortheirimportance(establishedthroughgroupranking):
1. Wanglak difficult to find in past, even more difficult in present and the roots are
collected
2.SoloKarpomanyuses,largequantityused,difficulttofindinpast,evenmoredifficultin
presentandrootsarecollected
3.Palunotdifficulttofindbeforebutverydifficultnowbigconservationrisk
4.Bongkar/DutsiLomaveryusefulandnowhardertofindthanbefore
5.HonglenVeryusefulandnowhardertofindthanbefore

Theworkshopwasalsoagreatopportunity,benefitingofthegatheringofamchisandamchi
associations working in Zanskar to design a resolution addressing amchis problem and
disseminatedtoamchiaswellaslocalauthorities.(seeAnnex)

Grouppicturesattheworkshop(RukRuk)


MonitoringvisittoSapiMedicinalPlantManagementCommittee(MPCC)

Since 2005, the LSTM had initiated some activities for conservation in Sapi village as this
village is well known for being a hot spot. The LSTM conducted public awareness
campaignsonbothAmchimedicineandmedicinalplantsconservationandabotanicaltour
(realization of an herbarium). Moreover a committee (MPCC) was formed 2 years back to
control the plants collection that takes place in Sapi by mostly Amchis and some other
people.

ThemainpurposeofSapivisitthisyearwasastudytouraboutbotany.Buttheteamtook
theopportunity to do somemonitoring and organized a meeting with the MPCCSapi. We
havediscussedtheissuesrelatedtothefunctionofthecommitteeanditsoverimpact.It
was mostly to listen to them about their experiences since the committee was formed.
Although most of the committee members received training in conservation methods, we
exploredtheadditionalskillstheymightneedtostrengthenthecommittee.

FollowingarethemainconclusionsoftheMeeting:
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1. The first point, which dominated the meeting in the first hour, was about a
foreignersgroupguidedbyoneAmchimonkfromIgoo.Therewastherumorinthe
village that the group has come particularly to collect medicinal plants. Some
concern people along with MPCC members met them to ensure that they are
Amchis at first level and secondly if not collection is prohibited. The monk Amchi
reacted and said that he has permission from the forest department to collect
plants. Members of the committee were amazed to hear him and for a while
removedthemselvesfromit.DuringthemeetingitwasdiscussedthatAmchiclinics
arenotregisteredandhowcomehehaspermissiontocollectplantsfromtheforest
Deptt.Intheendeverymemberofthecommitteerealizedthathewaswrongand
hisintentionwastojustscarethevillagersbyunderminingtheirfragileconceptof
conservation.

2. Most of the members expressed the need of Amchis becoming more alert and
actively participatory. Other members do not feel comfortable yet with the
sustainableharvesting.

3. The committee urgently needs a concept paper introducing conservation and
sustainable harvesting. They think that this will simplify their task and more
convenienttoapproachtheAmchicollectors.

4. Ifnottwo,onesignboardmustbeerectedonalocationinSapiabouttheexistence
oftheMPCCanditsobjectives.

5. Anyway, the important thing was that the village head, Goba expressed his
satisfactionoverthefunctioningandoverexistenceoftheMPCCatSapi.

6. A recognition paper or registration of the committee with the Forest Department

proves to beimportant.So therehas to besome kindof cooperation and consent
from the Department that MPCC Sapi could practice conservation activities. Every
oneexpressedthatitisjustamatterofmakingacontactwiththedepartmentand
thereisnoquestionofanylikelyobjectionagainsttheconservationmeasuresbeing
donebythecommittee.

7. Attheendaunanimousproposalwasmadethatthecommitteemustholdmeeting
with the general public to disclose their aims and activities to gain better
cooperationofthemass.

The meeting helps to design the next step for supporting the committee that will be
implementedin2008.

Insituconservationarea
A medicinal plants hot spot had been identified by the team and Mr Mohammed Abbas
(LSTMboardmember)inMahe,Changthang.ThefieldbelongstotheChemdeymonastery.
Contacts had been settled with the authorities of the monastery, to allow the LSTM to
protecttheareaandtoestablishaninsituconservationareain2008.

Conclusionsandperspectives2008

The resolution designed with the Amchis in Zanskar covered not only medicinal plants
conservationissuesbutalsoanykindofproblemsfacebyAmchis.Ithadbeendisseminated

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totheAmchisaswellastoorganizationsandlocalauthorities.Itisanimportantstepaswell
as a useful tool to implement activities in Zanskar. In 2008, LSTM will follow up the
resolutiontogetherwithZAAaswellaswillinitiatethesameprocesswiththeAmchisofthe
Changthangarea.
Part of the resolution emphasized the need for cultivating medicinal plants and especially
endangered/vulnerablespecies.Thus,in2008,LSTMwillstartacultivationprojectthrough
establishing a nursery (experimental cultivation) and exploring the location to establish
regionalgardens(Nubra,Zanskar).

RegardingtheSapiMPCC,theLSTMtakesinaccountthefeedbacksfromitsmembersand
willcontinuetomonitorandwillprovidetherequestedtoolstoimprovetheconfidenceand
theefficiencyofthecommittee.

Tofacilitatetheimplementationoftheseactivitiesandtobeabletotransmitmoreskillsto
Amchis and villagers, the LSTM will seek for training possibilities on cultivation and in situ
conservation(enrichmentplanting,rotationalharvesting)methods.


IV ETHNOBOTANICALCOMPONENT

CapacitybuildingwithElisabethDodinet(NomadRSI)

AbotanicaltourwasarrangedfortheLSTMteamtotakeadvantageofElisabethDodinets
(NomadRSIboardmember)presenceinLadakh.Itwasaimedatenhancingtheknowledge
oftheteamregardingplants,whichwilllaterbeusefulforthecurrentprojectsonmedicinal
plantsconservationinLadakh.

SapiwaschosenforbeingoneoftheimportanthotspotsinLadakhformedicinalplantand
theteamhadmarveloustimelearningaboutplant.Basicknowledgeonidentifyingdifferent
plantfamilyandspecieswastaughtduringthese3daysaswellasonthetwodaysspared
fortraveling.

Constitutionofherbarium

Theteamtookfulladvantagetocollectspeciestoconstituteacompleteherbarium.Bynow
LSTM owns quite sufficient specimen fromSapi areas inthe form ofherbarium. E.g.when
theteamvisitedSapitoraiseawarenessamongthepopulationaboutconservationofMPs
we manages to collect about 50 different species and press them in herbarium. Next
ElisabethledagroupintheSapiMountainsasamovetoenhancethecapacitiesoftheLSTM
team regarding botany and conservation skills we managed to collect another around 40
specimensandpressedforherbarium.

Conclusionsandperspectives2008

TheLSTM team still needsto buildcapacityin academicbotany and benefitfromoutsider

expertisesuchasElisabethDodinet,especiallyastheethnobotanycomponentmaybeofa
hugeimportanceinthecomingyears.Thedesignofacompleteanddetaileddatabaseisthe
next step to be able to gather in a useful way all the data collected so far. A common
medicinalplants (botany and uses) database forCambodia and Ladakhprogramme will be
establishedin2008.

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V RESEARCH

AspartoftheNomadRSIresearchunit,researchesinanthropologyandinethnobotanyare
conductedinLadakhindependentlyoftheLSTMprogramme.Nevertheless,asthesubjects
oftheresearchersareclosetotheproject,theLSTMteamadvisestheresearchersandread
theirreportstohelpthedesignofactivities

ThesocialenvironmentofbirthinLadakh
SandraBrnreuther,MAstudent,SouthAsiaInstitute,UniversityofHeidelberg,Germany

Birth as a social practice is closely connected to body concepts, concepts of health and
illnessandisembeddedinbroadersocial,religious,andpoliticalcontexts.Myresearchwill
beconductedduringAugustandSeptember2007inKanji,avillageinKargildistrict,Ladakh.I
plantofocusoncontemporaryconceptsandpracticesregardingpregnancy,birth,andthe
timeaftergivingbirthaswellasontheincreasingbiomedicalizationofbirthandthepossible
changesresultingthereof.IaminterestedinhowbirthtakesplaceinaruralareainLadakh.
What kindof pre and postnatal careisgiven tothe motherorthechild? How do women
managechildbirthathome?Whatkindofcomplicationsmightariseandhowaretheydealt
with?WhatroledoestheAmchi,thebiomedicalpersonnelfromtheMedicalHealthCenter
in Kanji, or the family/community play? And why does an increasing number of women
decidetogivebirthinthehospitalinLeh?Whataretheexpectations involvedandhowis
thisprocessrelatedtowidersocioeconomicorpoliticalchanges?

Moraleconomies,thecommoditisationofmateriamedicaandTibetanMedicinein
Ladakh,India
CalumBlaikie,UniversityofKent,England

The research will examine the dynamic relationships between the exchange and trade of
medicinal plants, the medicines made from them and the practice of Tibetan medicine in
Ladakh,HimalayanIndia.Muchrecentliteratureconcernstheimpactsofmarketexpansion
on the management of medicinal plants and on their potential to further both rural
development and conservation objectives. However, detailed studies of the
commoditisation of medicinal plants and medicines and the effects of shifting patterns of
accesstothemfortraditionalhealingarescarce,leavingimportantlinkagesbetweensocio
economic change, natural resources and medical practices insufficiently understood.
BuildinguponobservationsmadeoverrecentyearsinLadakhandabroadliteraturereview,
thisresearchaimstoassessrecenthistoricalandcontemporaryprocessesthatareshaping
the economy of materia medica and to establish their likely implications for the future of
medicinal plant management and the practice of Tibetan medicine in Ladakh. This will be
achieved through an indepth study combining anthropological and ethnobotanical
methods.Outputswillcontributetodebatesinarangeofacademicfieldsandwillprovide
data of value to policymakers and actors concerned with issues of natural resource
management,publichealthandtraditionalmedicineintheHimalayanregionandbeyond.

Challenges of identification and commercialization of the Himalayan medicinal

plantsinLadakh
ElisabethDodinet,EHESS/UniversityofToulouse2,France

The Tibetan medicine pharmacopeia in Ladakh presents specific challenges: the pressure
duetocollectionsaresusceptibletoincreaseontheIndianterritory,atthesametime,the
localfloraisverylittlestudiedintermsofbotany.Moreover,numerouslocalpractitioners,
essentially trained through lineage (oral transmission,) have been developed specific
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knowledge towards plants that are not included in the texts. This research aims to design
approachesandnecessarytoolstoallowthelocalteams,withnoacademicbackground in
botany,torecord theknowledge and to identify theplants usedbythe Amchis in Ladakh.
The research also aims to raise awareness in Europe about the challenges of the
commercialization of certain products that endangered the specific biodiversity of
Himalayanplants.

VI OTHERS

LingshedAmchiCenter

TheLingshedAmchiHealthCenter(LAHC)hasnowbecomealmostselfsustainableinmany
ways.WehadanindepthmeetingwiththeGeshela,wholooksafterthegeneralwellbeing
oftheoverallSinggela,tolookforultimatesolutionswhichmakesitselfsufficient.Since
thenLSTMisbearingsalaryforoneamchiplacedatthecenterforthewholeyear.Although
thereareseveralmoreamchiswhoserveinrotationbutonlyoneAmchiispaidwhichthey
shareinrotationbyasocietyofthearea.Thiscommunityownershipandpartialassistance
from LSTM makes the whole center run well round the year. The infrastructure exists in
complete form andthe amchisof the centermanagestocollect necessary herbs fromthe
area and provides medicines. Apart from some precious pills most of the pills are now
manufactured at the center. LSTM provides assistance to purchase precious materials
occasionallyandpaysmonitoringvisitsonceayear.

ChanspaClinic:

LSTMs Chanspa clinic is growing in activities and it is beginning to make small profits to
sustain its medicine component. The clinic is one of the few initiatives taken by LSTM to
sustain it financially. In summer, Leh being a place of tourist attraction the maximum
numberofpatientsareforeignersandinwinterthisclinicisafacilityforthelocalstoimpart
healthservicesofTibetanmedicine.LSTMclinicinChanspaistheonlytraditionalhealthcare
facility in the area. Owing to the fact that amchi medicine has a long history of treating
patientsfreeofcost,theclinicisnotabusinesscenterandthereforetheconsultationaswell
asmedicineforlocals isexclusiveofanyprofit.OntheotherhandLSTMbelievesthatthe
localpeoplemustbemadeusetopaytheduepricetothelocalamchis.Intheancienttimes
amchis used to have the community helping on their fields to compensate the services
renderedintheduecourseoftimebuttodaymodeofeconomyhaschangedandeverything
isweightintermsofmoney.Hence,LSTMsoneofthemajoractivitiesistoeducatepublic
ontheimportanceofpaymentandhelpsustaintheamchisystemofmedicine.
KeepinginviewtheinterestshownbygrowingnumberofforeignersChanspaclinicofLSTM
isplanningtoextendthefacilitiesfortouristsinsummer2008includingsellofboiledwater
and herbal cosmetics, weekly video projection and more documentation available for the
visitors

TrekwithLungta:

OnceagainthereisnodoubtthatLadakhisaplaceoftouristattractionandtheeconomyis
dependent on tourist industry but after agriculture of course. In this way LSTM/Nomad
decidedtoorganizetreksontheworldfamoustrailsthatexistinLadakhandculturaltoursin
Buddhistmonasteriesandvillages.

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ThisactivityisincorporatedwithLungta,oneofthewellknownlocaltravelagentsstrivingto
introduce EcoTourism in the region. 2007 was the 3rd year of this partnership between
Nomad & Lungta. Every year, the LSTM receives around 50,000 INR from Lungta and we
hopetogrowitbymultiplyingthenumberoftouristsspendingtheirholidaysinLadakhwith
Nomad&Lungtajointventure.

Equipment:

In 2007 LSTM made considerable infrastructure developments. This was fulfilled when the
French government through the reserve parlementaire decided to fund material
purchasing.Thisequipmentpurchasemadeorganizationalpartmucheasierthanbefore.
Infact,sincemorethan5yearsLSTMhasbeendreamingtoownapieceoflandinLehtown
to have better working space and avoid expensive rent on hiring office. The dream partly
realizedwheninDecember2007theLadakhAutonomousHillDevelopmentCouncilfinally
heardourvoiceandofficiallysanctionedapieceoflandinthenameofthesociety.Thoughit
isaverysmallpieceoflandbutneverthelessweconsideritasrecognitionofoursocialwork.
We do consider itasan encouragementfor our initiatives inthe field oftraditional health
caresystemsrevitalizationprocess.

FranceVisit:
TheLadakhteamfelttoexpresstheirexperiencefromtheFrancevisittocelebratethe10
yearsofNomadRSI(onemonth/October2007).

At more than one occasion the participants from Asia responsible for implementing the
NomadprojectsbothinCambodiaandLadakhexpressedtheirwillingnessandimportanceof
comingtogetheratasingleplatform.Tenyearswasonesuchopportunity,whicheveryone
took as a golden opportunity to meet and share problems as well as successes of global
Nomadprojects.Everyonemomentwaspreciousforeveryonefromseveralangles.

The facetoface interaction of the team with the members of Nomad and the working
conditionofeachoneofthemimpartedabetterunderstandingofonesownresponsibility.
Thistruthmadearealencounterofthevoluntaryspiritanditsneed.Thearrangementfor
the visiting team to stay with members and friends of Nomad strengthened the bond
betweenmembersandvolunteerworkers.

Everything went so fast and intensive that we realized in the end this one month equals
yearsofnormalpacedlearning.NowworkingforNomadisdifferentthanbefore,nowyou
knowsomethingabouteverything.Nothingisimaginarynowbutpriortothisinteractionso
manythingsarebasedonimaginationandassumptions.

Strengthened friendship helped to realize the need and opportunity of social work. We
received affectionate hospitality from friends, members of Nomad and many of their
familiesforwhichwearedeeplythankfulandwerealizehowstrangersbecomebestfriends
innotime.

VII FinancialReport

Financialsituationin2007

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2007 was financially difficult for LSTM despite the numerous proposals designed and
submitted to several foundations for pursuing the project. In one hand, LSTM had few
moneyforimplementingactivitiesandinthesecondhand,theprojectwasawardedthrough
NomadRSIforanequipmentgrantfromtheFrenchgovernment.

Themainfundersin2007were:

Thelocalgenerationincomerepresents12%ofthefundingoftheLSTMin2007.

Perspectives2008
2008willbehopefullymorecomfortablefortheLSTMintermsoffinance.NomadRSI/LSTM
are on the way to secure a 3 years funding from a French company foundation. If the
fundingis secure,itwillmakea big differenceonthewaythe teamanticipatesthefuture
andarealimprovementintermsoffinancialsecurity.

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Moreover,itisexpectedthatLSTM/NomadwillrenewthepartnershipwithAMZforanew
trainingfortheyoungAmchisofZanskar.AMZalsowantsthistimetosupporttheTHAME
publication.
Finally,itremainsfundsfromtheFrenchgovernmentgrantthatwillallowtheLSTMtobuild
itsownofficeandequippeditinsolarenergy.

VIII ANNEX

Resolution
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP ON AMCHI MEDICINE AND
CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN ZANSKAR
3rd to 6th July 2007

AmchimedicineinZanskarisbothavitalhealthserviceandanimportantcomponentofthe
culturalsystem.Amchisareholdersofacenturiesoldmedicaltraditionandarededicatedto
lifelonglearningandpracticeinserviceoftheircommunities.However,atthepresenttime
manyofthemarestrugglingtomaintaintheirpracticeandcontinuetobeinthehealthcare
service. The general public uses their services all the time, strongly and unanimously
supportingthissystem.Thisshowsthatthesystemmustalsobeappropriatelysupportedby
the government. People show the value of the Amchi system, from birth to death, from
kings to the lowest governmental support in time will be greatly appreciated by all the
peopleofZanskar.StrongdualexistenceoftheallopathicandAmchisystemswillreducethe
burden on existing governmentsupported public healthcare services. Without Amchi, the
rural life in particular will be in despair. People of Zanskar, including all communities,
support Amchis without discrimination the Amchi system is absolutely vital for Zanskar,
fromveryisolatedareastothetown.

To give the Amchi an opportunity to meet together and discuss this situation, a threeday
seminar of Zanskari Amchis was held at Zanskar Amchi and Astro Welfare Association
Centre,Rukruk,betweenJuly3rdand 6th2007.IthasbeenorganizedconjointlybyZanskar
AmchiandAstroWelfareAssociation(RukRuk)andLadakhSocietyforTraditionalMedicines
(Leh).Duringthisseminar,whichwasattendedbymorethan35Amchisfromeverypartof
thegreaterZanskararea,manyoftheproblemsfacingAmchiswerediscussed.

Theworkshopwasdividedintotwomajorthemestodiscuss:

The first partofthewhole sessionwasdedicatedtoexploringthehardships being

facedbytheAmchisinthepresentsetofeconomicandsocialstructures,followed
bysomepracticalsuggestionsforhowtheirsituationcouldbeimproved.

Thesecondpartofthesessionwastoraisealltheissuesrelatedtomedicinalpants
access for Amchis and the depletion of some of medicinal plants of the area and
thustodefineastrategytoencounterthechallenges.

PartI

ThemajorproblemsfacedbyAmchisinZanskarare:

1. Financialproblems:
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a) Due to the socioeconomic and cultural changes of recent decades, the public
support for Amchis (both financial and in kind) is declining, whilst at the same
time the number of diseases and of patients seeking treatment is increasing.
ThissituationmeansAmchisaretreatingmorepatients,butarereceivinglessin
return,puttinggreatpressureontheirpractice.
b) FinancialproblemspreventAmchisfromaccessingtherawmaterialsrequiredto
makesufficientmedicinestotreatthenumberofpatientsandrangeofdiseases
thattheyareaskedtotreat.
c) Amchis face great difficulty in accessing certain highly important and very
expensivematerialsusedinmedicines.

Possiblesolutions(andresponsiblepartiesfortakingaction):

Organize awareness campaigns across Zanskar, to encourage the general

public to support Amchi more effectively and to pay Amchi for the
medicinesreceived(NGOs)
Arrangeforcollectivepurchasingofrawmaterials,sothatthecosttoeach
Amchiisreducedandthequalityofmaterialsisensured.Amchiatdifferent
levels(local,areawise,Zanskarwide)shouldorganizetopurchasematerials
(from Delhi, Amritsar or Leh) by pooling money and then sharing the
materials(AmchisandAmchiassociations;NGOs)
Amchis should be aware of, and use, substitute materials for the very
valuableandrarematerials.Amchishouldalsosharethesematerialswhen
theyhavethem(Amchis)
Amchigroupsandcommunityorganizationsshouldconsideranddiscussthe
possibility of establishing collective payment for Amchi services, or of
forming some form of committee to manage Amchi activities (Amchis and
communitygroups;NGOs)

2. LackofGovernmentandadministrativesupport:

a) ThereisaninsufficientnumberofAmchisreceivingthegovernmentstipend
b) There are vacant posts within the existing provision for government Amchis,
meaningthatthereisnoteventhefullcomplementofgovernmentAmchireceiving
thestipend
c) The amount of the stipend and the raw material provision is too low. It has not
increasedatallinmanyyears
d) ManyAmchiseitherdonotgettheirstipendinatimelymanner,orarenotreceiving
thefullamountduetothem
e) Government Amchi system should include women Amchis at the present time
therearenone

Possiblesolutions(andresponsiblepartiesfortakingaction):

ThepostofChiefAmchishouldbecreatedinKargilDistrict,toovercomethe
problems listed above. Leh District has had a Chief Amchi successfully
dischargingtheseresponsibilitiesformanyyears(Government;HealthDept.)
The number of Amchis receiving the government stipend should be
increased(Government;HealthDept.)
Thevacantpostsshouldbefilledassoonaspossible(HealthDept.)

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 The amount of thestipendand the annualraw materialssupply should be
significantlyincreased(Government;HealthDept.)
The administrative mechanism should sincerely work to deliver the full
stipend amount in a timely and appropriate manner to the existing
governmentAmchis(HealthDept.)

3. Knowledgetransmissionandexpertiseproblems:

a) Amchisdonothavesufficientaccesstoexpertknowledgeholdersandtherefore
facedifficultiesinimprovingthestandardoftheirknowledgeandskills
b) The system of transmitting practical knowledge from the older to the younger
generation of Amchi is not functioning effectively, leaving the younger Amchi
with incomplete training in clinical practice, medicine production and other
importantfields.
c) Amchisfaceparticulardifficultiesinthedetoxificationofcertainmaterialsused
in their medicines, due to a lack of both expert knowledge and expensive
materials
d) TherearenoprofessionalresourcepersonspresentinZanskarwhoareableto
provideexpertadviceandassistancetoAmchionaregularbasis

Possiblesolutions(andresponsiblepartiesfortakingaction):

Regular training / workshops, given by expert Amchis, should be organized for

AmchifromZanskar(NGOs)
CIBSshouldintroduceanAmchistreamintheirschoolZanskar(NGOsrequestto
CIBS)
YoungAmchisshouldspendatleast1or2monthsperyearwithelderAmchis
(bothelderandyoungerAmchis)
Ifpossible,abranchoftheSowaRigpaResearchCentreshouldbeestablishedin
Zanskar(ZAA;SRRCLeh)
Experts from Leh or Dharamsala should be invited to Zanskar to train Zanskari
Amchisindetoxificationtechniques(NGOs)

4. LackofCollaboration

a) ThereisalackofcollaborationbetweenAmchisinZanskar,whichisessentially
due to long distances, the absence of transportation/communication facilities
and also the lack of opportunities to gather together. This makes it difficult to
organizeactivities(i.econservation,cultivation)andtovisitpatients.
b) ThereisalackofcollaborationbetweenNGOsworkingontheAmchisystemin
Zanskar

Possiblesolutions(andresponsiblepartiesfortakingaction):

Regular seminars / workshops should be organized to enable Amchis to
meetanddiscusstogether(NGOs)

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 Morediscussion,coordinationandcollaborativeactivitiesshouldtakeplace
between different organizations and NGOs working on Amchi medicine in
Zanskar

PartII

MedicinalPlantConservationStrategyDevelopment
Followed by short speeches made by different individuals on the global issues related to
medicinal plants and overall plant diversity, the participants begun to discuss in groups
about strategy development for medicinal plants conservation in Zanskar. After a lot of
exchange of ideas and views among the amchi participants and others steps have been
adoptedtowardsmakingconcretestrategy.
The first step was to fix area prioritization, which becomes apparently crucial for
conservation.Andthesecondstepwastoexplorethewaysinwhichtheplantdepletionis
takingplace.Alsothestepsincludedprioritizationofcertainspecieswhicharealreadyatthe
brink of extinction and need immediate protection. Finally, the discussions and group
meetings identified solutions and responsibilities of the government, NGOs and the
communities and the responsibilities of different stake holders like Amchis and other
collectors.

APrioritizationofareasandspecies
1.Importantareasforconservation(establishedthroughparticipatoryprioritization):
1. Rangdum
2. Ralakong
3. Thangso
4. Obarak
5. Shilafou
6. Stondayla
7. Zhongkhul

2.Importantmedicinalplantspeciesforconservationandthereasonsfortheirimportance
(establishedthroughgroupranking):
1. Wanglakdifficulttofindinpast,evenmoredifficultinpresentandrootsare
collected
2. SoloKarpomanyuses,largequantityused,difficulttofindinpast,evenmore
difficultinpresentandrootsarecollected
3. Palunotdifficulttofindbeforebutverydifficultnowbigconservationrisk
4. Bongkar/DutsiLomaveryusefulandnowhardertofindthanbefore
5. HonglenVeryusefulandhardertofindthanbefore

BConservationproblemsandstrategy
Factorscausingthedepletionofmedicinalplants:

1. Climatechangelessrainandsnowfall;Soilerosion/landslides/avalanche,which
destroyareaswhereplantsgrow
Possiblesolution/responsibilityforinitiatingactions:

Nothingtodothesearenaturalfactorsandcanonlybeadaptedto.However,activitiesto
reducesoilerosionbeingundertakenbygovt,NGOsandWatershedcommitteesshouldbe
supported.

2. Overexploitationofplantresources(harvestingbyAmchisandnonAmchis)

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Possiblesolution/responsibilityforinitiatingactions:

A)Amchis:

Collectonlyaccordingtotheirneeds,notjustbecausetheplantsarethere
(Amchis)
Trytocultivatesomeimportantplantspecies(Amchis)
Useappropriatetoolsforharvestingplants(Amchis)
Raiseawarenessofimportanceofconservationamongstgeneralpopulation
(NGOs)

B)NonAmchis
Investigateresourcerightsformountainareas(NGOs,Govt.and
communities)
Giveawarenesstocommunitiesaboutvalueofmedicinalplantsand
importanceofconservation(NGOs,Govt.andcommunities)
Communitymembersshouldtakeresponsibilitytomanagetheresources
sustainably(NGOs,Govt.andcommunities)
Communityshouldkeepcarefulwatchtopreventcommercialover
exploitation(NGOs,Govt.andcommunities)
Stakeholdersandcommunitymembersshouldtrytogainauthorizationand
officialsupportfromgovernmenttoinitiateconservationactivities(NGOs,
Govt.andcommunities)
Onceauthorizationandsupportisgained,communitiesshouldbegin
conservationactivities(suchascommitteeformation)andtake
responsibilityforimplementation(NGOs,Govt.andcommunities)
Communitiesshouldbetrainedandsupportedtocultivatemedicinalplants
(NGOs,Govt.andcommunities)

C) Form village committees, or extend existing village management systems

(Tsokspas,Gobaetc)toincludemanagementofMAPs.
The priority for establishing Medicinal plants management committees should be on Hot
spotsofZanskar(i.eareaswithahighdiversityofMedicinalPlants)andpossiblytoextend
this kind of management structure to other parts of Zanskar. Committees should involve
Amchis,religiousrepresentativesandrepresentativesofwomensandchildrensgroups.The
committee should benefit from proper training and awareness, especially on sustainable
harvesting practices to achieve concrete results in terms of collection management.
(communities,NGOs)

3. Overgrazingbylivestockofareaswheremedicinalplantsgrow
Possiblesolution/responsibilityforinitiatingactions:

Organizeawarenesscampaigninconcernedcommunitiestoreducegrazing
inareaswheremedicinalplantsgrow(NGOs)
Inareaswithveryhighplantdiversity,eithersociallyfence(whole
communityagreesnottograzetheiranimalsthere)oractualfencingthus
preventinganimalsfrograzingintheseareas(NGOs,communities)

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 4. Unsustainableharvestingpracticesamchisdonotfollowcorrectharvestingtimes
andmethods,orharvesttoomuch
Possiblesolution/responsibilityforinitiatingactions:

Amchisshouldimprovetheirknowledgeofcollectionpracticesaccordingto
theAmchitextbook(Amchis)
Amchismustcollectthedifferentplantpartsatthecorrecttimeofyear
(Amchis)
Collectonlyaccordingtotheirneeds,notjustbecausetheplantsarethere
(Amchis)

5. ExcessivecollectionofrootsAmchisareharvestingexcessiveamountsofplants
forwhichtherootsareused(e.g.Wanglak,SoloKarpoandBongkar)
Possiblesolution/responsibilityforinitiatingactions:

Alloftheseaboveconservationmethodsshouldbeappliedwithparticular
attentiontoplantsofwhichtherootsareusedinsowarigpa.
Trainingonconservationmethodsparticularlyinenrichmentplantingand
rotationalharvesting(NGOs)

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