Palliative Care Comes to Himalayan Spiti Valley

Dr. Anwar meeting with Spitians

Another Initiative by Ecosphere uses responsible tourism to best effect

Sunil Chouhan, Co-founder of Ecosphere writes about the new initiative in Spiti Valley, a village tucked away in the Trans- Himalayan Belt of Himachal Pradesh. Ecosphere is trying to introduce the concept of Palliative Care in this valley with the help of the Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut, Kerala.

Hopefully, this winter Ecosphere will send a group of Spitians to Calicut (Kerala) for what could be the start of a  Palliative Care initiative in the Trans-Himalayas.

"It was a pleasant day in the month of October in Spiti Valley, located high in  the Himalayan Mountains. A small group of ‘Spitians’ (people from Spiti) were eagerly waiting for a special guest from the other end of the country, Kerala. They wanted to learn the first lessons of Palliative Care from a visiting doctor, a topic which they haven’t heard about before.

Ecosphere, a local tourism company was behind this new initiative. The aim of Ecosphere was to introduce Palliative Care among Spitians and to set up an initiative to provide care for the needy in the valley, tucked in the mountains of Himalayas with a population of just over 10,000.

The guest was Dr Anwar Husain, one of the proponents of palliative care in Kerala. A small gathering of like-minded people from different sections of the society, came together to listen to Dr Anwar. Dr Anwar focused on the importance of palliative care and the community-based Palliative Care movement, which has been on in Kerala since 1993.

The audience was small but varied and consisted of teachers, nurses, doctors, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, retired government officers, monks and more. The Spitians raised many pertinent questions. Anwar did his best to quell the wave of questions and inspired quite a few people present there to work alongside Ecosphere to start a palliative chapter in Spiti.

The discussions revolved around myriad topics ranging from the very basic need for "The whole idea of palliative care is to create a more compassionate community"- Dr. Anwar clarified during the talk.

It was decided to send eight volunteers from Spiti Valley to the Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut, Kerala to get training in Palliative Care. Hopefully, in this winter Ecosphere swill send a group of Spitians down to Calicut for what could be the start of a small palliative care initiative in the trans-Himalayas.

Ecosphere has been collaborating with Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) to tap solar energy. With the help of the solar panels supplied by Ecosphere, electricity is produced at IPM.

Ecosphere is an extraordinary social enterprise with a focus on conservation and responsible tourism in Spiti Valley. Ecosphere promotes sustainable development by harnessing solar technology in the valley.

Spiti valley experiences extreme climatic conditions and temperature variations ranging from -25 degree to +30 degrees centigrade. For more than 4 months in a year, Spiti valley is obscured by harsh winters.

Scarcity of wood used for fuel, which was transported into the valley, resulted in high emissions of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming and climate change. But Ecosphere recognized the possibility of solar energy in the valley. This extremely cold valley has an abundance of sunny days, almost 250 days a year. The usage of solar passive technology has proved to be a boon here.

Like wood, food also had to be transported to the valley as no cultivation was possible. Ecosphere helped them to build green houses that can be used to grow vegetation.

Over 300 families have benefited by the solar passive houses and improved greenhouses. Over 12 institutions (like monasteries, old age home, and girls’ hostels) have been supported with the solar passive works, greenhouses, solar baths and solar geysers. In addition to this, two villages (over 60 families and one monastery) have been electrified using solar energy.

Adapted from the India edition of eHospice http://www.ehospice.com

See more about Ecosphere’s activities in Vision on Sustainable Tourism HERE:

Valere Tjolle
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