HIAL 5th Ice Stupa Competition Awards, 2023: World Water Day

Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) ​ enabled the making of 28 Ice Stupas and Artificial Glaciers across 25 locations worldwide in 2022, conserving 72.2 million liters of water. Out of all the structures made, 27 Ice Stupas were made in Ladakh in 14 different villages which conserved a million liters of water.

Today on World Water Day, the final results of the Ice Stupa Competition 2022-23 were announced at Kulum Village.

Our Chief Guest – His Eminence Bakula Rangdol Nyima Rinpoche blessed the occasion with his divine presence.

Winning teams of the 5th Ice Stupa competition are: –

-First Prize of Rs 3 Lakhs was distributed between the teams of Stongdey Zanskar and Chumikchan Sankoo villages for building an Ice Stupa that conserved 13 million liters of water each.

– Second Prize of Rs 2 Lakh was awarded to the Kulum and Apathi village teams for building Ice Stupas that conserved 11 Million Litres of water each.

– Third Prize of Rs 1 Lakh was distributed between the teams of Ang Temisgam and Hongchet Zanskar for building Ice Stupas that conserved 8 million liters of water each. In addition to the above, the Ice Stupa Project also​ acknowledged the following 8 participating teams ​for their tremendous efforts​ with a cash prize of Rs 10,000 each: Baroo, Malikbar Umba, Hunderman, Barchey Doks, Barchey Landoks, Hordas, Phosa Sanjak, Tyakshi.

The total prize money of INR Six lac Eighty Thousand has been given by our Founder Director Mr. Sonam Wangchuk from his personal funds accrued from the various awards that he has won to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship amongst the youth of Ladakh so that they can begin to take stewardship of their eco-systems through local innovations and interventions like Ice Stupa artificial glacier.

Also, the 3rd batch of the Applied Ecology and Ice Stupa Course at HIAL concluded today at Kulum with 5 students from various backgrounds, from different parts of Ladakh and the world successfully completing the course. The 6-month certificate course was designed to give an overall ecological perspective of the world we live in and how humans should make space for themselves which is sustainable for all other living and nonliving components of the earth. It focused on climate change and its impact on the high-altitude regions of the world, particularly Ladakh. The course emphasized how innovations like Ice Stupas and artificial glaciers along with new plantation techniques and low-energy-intensive solutions can come together to strengthen our resilience and adaptive potential against climate change. Certificates to the students were distributed at the event.