Eco-tourism potentials in Qudang, Tibet 

By LIU Rongkun, Program Manager

From April 19 to 22, I went on a short trip to Qudang Township in southern Tingri County, where houses the world famous Karma Valley for its richness in outdoors activities. During this trip in addition to meeting with The Pendeba Society’s previous trainees who live in Qudang, I also tried to explore some tourism activities that could involve our past trainees from local communities. The participants of the eco-tourism English training program are very interested in guiding trips in their surrounding areas and I with them experienced some good trails which turned out very adventurous.  There are many good outdoor activities that could be explored in Qudang such as rafting and mountaineering in addition to hiking and trekking. These trips are very good for experienced hikers and those who look for adventures in hidden Himalayas. However, to make it happen would require some facility support which The Pendeba Society may be of help in its future development. For example, as discussed in the 2nd council meeting, The Pendeba Society is thinking of setting up a “Karma Valley Pendeba Eco-tourism Collaborative,” where our participants could apply their learned knowledge in reality. In the future, The Pendeba Society could even provide local family guesthouses with small loans or grants, helping them improve their facilities to attract more tourists and increase their income.  

How to communicate effectively has not been easy for everyone, especially development professionals.  With an aim to help project staff in the field, ICIMOD held a 4-day workshop titled “Knowledge Sharing in Asia,” with support by IFAD and FAO from April 3-6, 2011 in Kathmandu, Nepal.  

The Pendeba Society’s Tsering Norbu and LIU Rongkun were glad to be invited to attend this workshop where other 30 participants across 10 counties in Hindu Kush-Himalayan region also partook to hone their English writing skills and facilitate knowledge sharing between and among various intended audiences and stakeholders. 

Bathed under spring breezes in Kathmandu valley, our participants got together and shared the challenges that they faced from their past writing experiences. This workshop provided participants with basic skills and tools required to ensure that knowledge, development experience, and lessons learned from them were adequately captured and shared through proper writing. Divided into small groups, participants took a closer look at and investigated various writing types such as newsletters, web contents, case studies, reports, and policy briefs. 

On the evening of March 16, 2011, the Pendeba Society hosted a farewell dinner for the participants of the Ecotourism English Training and hospitality trainings. In addition to the Pendeba Society staff, the dinner was also attended by several officials and other concerned people from local government departments and QNNP Management Bureau, including Deputy Party Secretary of Tingri County, Mr. Lu Peihua, Director of Tingri County Party Commission, Mr. Qian, Deputy Director of Tingri Tourism Bureau, Mr. Suolang, and Deputy QNNP Management Bureau Tingri Branch, Mr. Ci’Ou. 

Mr. Tsering Norbu first on behalf of the Pendeba Society expressed his appreciation of the trainee’s active involvement in this three-month training. He was also thankful for the support from the local government that helped much allow this training program to happen. In the meantime, Mr. Lu and Mr. Qian both acknowledged the importance of carrying out such training programs in Tingri County, which could considerably improve vocational skills for local Tibetans and enable them to better make advantage of the tourism resources in QNNP. Our trainees also showed their gratitude of being part of this training program. A participant said: “Before this training, I knew very little about English and barely wrote any English words. But now I can communicate in basic conversational English. This will be of great help for his future life.”