Sonam Wangchuk (engineer) explained

Sonam Wangchuk
Birth Date:1966 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Alchi, Jammu and Kashmir (now in Ladakh, India)
Occupation:Engineer, educator
Organization:Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh
Known For:Ice Stupa, SECMOL, Ladags Melong, Operation New Hope
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Father:Sonam Wangyal
Mother:Tsering Wangmo
Awards:Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2017)[1]
Fred M. Packard Award (2016) [2]
Rolex Awards for Enterprise (2016)
Real Heroes Award (2008)
Ashoka Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship (2002)
Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018)

Sonam Wangchuk (born 1 September 1966) is an Indian engineer, innovator and education reformist.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] He is the founding-director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which was founded in 1988 by a group of students who had been in his own words, the 'victims' of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh.[9] He is also known for designing the SECMOL campus that runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting or heating.[10] [11] [12]

Wangchuk was instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994, a collaboration of government, village communities and the civil society to bring reforms in the government school system. He invented the Ice Stupa technique that creates artificial glaciers, used for storing winter water in the form of a cone-shaped ice heap.[13] [14] [15]

Early life

Wangchuk was born in 1966 in near Alchi in the Leh district of Ladakh. He was not enrolled in a school until the age of 9, as there were not any schools in his village. His mother taught him all the basics in his own mother tongue until that age.[16] His father Sonam Wangyal, a Congress politician who later became the minister in state government, was stationed in Srinagar. At the age of 9, he was taken to Srinagar and enrolled in a school in Srinagar. Since he looked different compared to the other students, he would get addressed in a language that he did not understand, due to which his lack of responsiveness was mistaken for him being stupid. He recalls this period as the darkest part of his life. Unable to bear the treatment, in 1977 he escaped alone to Delhi where he pleaded his case to the school principal at Vishesh Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Wangchuk completed his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Srinagar (then REC Srinagar) in 1987.[17] Due to differences with his father over the choice of engineering stream, he had to finance his own education. He also went for two years of higher studies in Earthen Architecture at Craterre School of Architecture in Grenoble, France, in 2011.[18]

Career

In 1988, after his graduation, Wangchuk (with his brother and five peers) started Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). After experimenting with school reforms in government high school at Saspol, SECMOL launched Operation New Hope in collaboration with the government education department and thevillage population.[16] [4]

From June 1993 until August 2005, Wangchuk also founded and worked as the editor of Ladakh's only print magazine Ladags Melong In 2001, he was appointed to be an advisor for the education in the Hill Council Government.[19] In 2002, together with other NGO heads, he founded Ladakh Voluntary Network (LVN), a network of Ladakhi NGOs, and served in its executive committee as the secretary till 2005. He was appointed to the Drafting Committee of the Ladakh Hill Council Government’s Vision Document Ladakh 2025 and entrusted with the formulation of the policy on Education and Tourism in 2004.[20] The document was formally launched by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India in 2005. In 2005, Wangchuk was appointed as a member in the National Governing Council for Elementary Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.[20]

From 2007 to 2010, Wangchuk worked as an education advisor for MS, a Danish NGO working to support the Ministry of Education for education reforms.[21]

In late 2013, Wangchuk invented and built a prototype of the Ice Stupa which is an artificial glacier that stores the wasting stream waters during the winters in the form of giant ice cones or stupas, and releases the water during late spring as they start melting, which is the perfect time when the farmers need water.[22] He was appointed to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education in 2013. In 2014, he was appointed to the Expert panel for framing the J&K State Education Policy and Vision Document. Since 2015, Sonam has started working on establishing Himalayan Institute of Alternatives. He is concerned about how most of the Universities, especially those in the mountains have become irrelevant to realities of life.[23]

In 2016, Wangchuk initiated a project called FarmStays Ladakh, which provides tourists to stay with local families of Ladakh, run by mothers and middle-aged women. The project was officially inaugurated by Chetsang Rinpoche on 18 June 2016.[24]

Innovations

Wangchuk has been helping in designing and overseeing the construction of several passive solar mud buildings in mountain regions like Ladakh, Sikkim and in Nepal so that energy savings principles are implemented on a larger scale. Even in -30 Celsius winters, his solar-powered school, built with the rammed earth, keeps the students warm.[25] [26] [27] Led by Wangchuk, SECMOL has won the International Terra Award for the best building in July 2016 at the 12th World Congress on Earthen Architecture in Lyon, France.[28] The rammed earth 'Big Building', located at SECMOL. The campus was built using simple, low-cost traditional techniques on principles of passive solar architecture.[25] The building comprises a big solar-heated teaching hall, along with several rooms for the students and other classrooms.

Ice Stupa

See main article: Ice Stupa. In January 2014, Wangchuk started a project called the Ice Stupa. His aim was to find a solution to the water crisis being faced by the farmers of Ladakh in the critical planting months of April and May before the natural glacial melt waters start flowing. By the end of February in 2014, they had successfully built a two-storey prototype of an ice stupa which could store roughly 150,000 litres of winter stream water which nobody wanted at the time.[29] [16] [30] [31]

In 2015, when Ladakh faced a crisis due to a landslide which blocked the Phugtal river in Zanskar and caused formation of 15 km long lake which became a huge threat for the downstream population, Wangchuk proposed to use a siphon technique to drain the lake and water jet erosion to safely cut the edges instead of blasting the lake as was being planned. However, his advice was ignored and blasting work was carried on. On 7 May 2015, the lake finally burst into flash flood which destroyed 12 bridges and many fields.[32] [33] [34]

In 2016, Wangchuk started applying the Ice Stupa technique for disaster mitigation at high altitude glacier lakes. He was invited by the Government of Sikkim to apply siphon technique for another dangerous lake in their state. In September 2016, he led a three-week expedition to the South Lhonak Lake in North-West Sikkim, which had been declared dangerous for the last few years.[35] His team camped for two weeks at the lake, amidst rain and snow, installing the first phase of a siphoning system to drain the lake to a safer level until other measures were taken up.[36] [37]

In late 2016, the idea started gaining traction from the authorities in the Swiss Alps. Wangchuk was invited by the president of Pontresina, a municipality in the Engadine valley, Switzerland to build Ice Stupas to add to their winter tourism attractions.[38] In October 2016, Wangchuk and his team went to the Swiss Alps and started building the first Ice Stupa of Europe, together with the Swiss partners.[39] [40] [41]

In February 2018, a group of young local sculptors and artists from Ladakh built an actual 10-feet high ice stupa. The wondrous sculpture is made entirely of ice and it took them 25 days of hard work and dedication to complete the project. As the stupa was housed inside another giant ice tower (ice stupa artificial glacier), it was made in very low temperature of around -12 degrees Celsius.[42]

Mobile Solar-Powered Tents

In February 2021, Wangchuk developed solar-powered tents for the Indian army. Each tent can accommodate around 10 soldiers. According to Wangchk, he came up with this innovation when he learned that around 50,000 Indian soldiers were working in harsh weather conditions in high-altitude areas.[43] [44] This invention traps the heat energy during the daytime and utilizes this energy to keep the tent warm during night.[45]

Politics

In 2013, on repeated requests from students community of Ladakh, Wangchuk helped launch the New Ladakh Movement (NLM), a social campaign and Ladakh's version of Green Party[46] with the aim of working for sustainable education, environment and economy.[47] It also aimed at uniting all local political leaders under one banner for the growth and development of Ladakh.[48] Eventually, the members decided to make it into a non-political social movement.

Boycott of Chinese products

In June 2020, in response to the India-China border skirmishes, Sonam Wangchuk appealed to Indians to use "wallet power" and boycott Chinese products.[49] This appeal was covered by major media houses and supported by various celebrities.[50] Following the Galwan Valley clash on 15 June 2020, there were calls across India to boycott Chinese goods.[51] [52]

Ladakh autonomy protest

On 26 January 2023, to highlight the effects of climate change on the fragile ecosystem of Ladakh and to demand its protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, Wangchuk attempted to go on a fast at the Khardungla pass. However, the authorities prevented him from going to Khardungla by putting him under house arrest, restricting his movement, as well as restricting people from visiting him. The police denied the charges, stating that he had not been given permission to enter Khardung La pass, citing temperatures being unsuitable for the fast, at less than -40°C.[53] They also detained a few of his students supporting him from the HIAL campus. Wangchuk continued to voice his protest and fasting from the HIAL campus.

In March 2024, he started a fast-unto-death to press for his demand for constitutional safeguards for the Union Territory and protection of Ladakh from industrial and mining lobbies.[54] He also began a 21-day Climate Fast hunger strike for giving statehood to Union Territory Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.[55] [56]

In popular culture

Wangchuk came into the spotlight in 2009, when his story inspired Aamir Khan's character Phunsukh Wangdu in the film 3 Idiots directed by Rajkumar Hirani.[57] He has been referred as "The real life Phunsukh Wangdu".[58] However he says that he is not Phunsukh Wangdu.[59] [60]

Awards

YearTitle
2018Ramon Magsaysay Award[61]
2018Honorary D.Litt by Symbiosis International[62]
2018Eminent Technologist of the Himalayan Region by IIT Mandi[63]
2017Indians for Collective Action (ICA) Honor Award, San Francisco, CA [64]
2017GQ Men of the Year Awards, Social Entrepreneur of the Year[65]
2017Global Award for Sustainable Architecture[66]
2017State Award for outstanding environmentalist by J&K Govt.[67]
2016Rolex Award for Enterprise[68]
2016International Terra Award for best earth building[69]
2014UNESCO Chair Earthen Architecture, by CRATerre France[70]
2008Real Heroes Award by CNN-IBN TV[71]
2004The Green Teacher Award by Sanctuary Asia[72]
2002Ashoka Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship, by Ashoka USA[73]
2001Man of the Year by The Week[74]
1996Governor's Medal for educational reform in Jammu and Kashmir[75]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Rana. Nikita. World Environment Day 2017: Sonam Wangchuk's ice stupas ensure there's water in Ladakh. Firstpost. 2 June 2017.
  2. Web site: Packard Awardees. 10 June 2020. IUCN.
  3. News: These 10 Innovators Are Changing the World, From Oceans to Eye Care. https://web.archive.org/web/20161116154957/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/innovators-change-world-oceans-eye-care-rolex-laureates/. dead. 16 November 2016. National Geographic. 25 November 2016.
  4. News: Khattar. Sakshi. Teach India: Think local, think Ladakhi. The Times of India. 26 July 2008.
  5. News: 3 Idiots pato के असली फुनसुक वांगडू, फेल छात्र भी इनसे पढ़कर बनते हैं वैज्ञानिक. Daily Bhaskar. 30 May 2015. hi.
  6. News: Meet the real life 'Phunsukh Wangdu' from '3 Idiots'. The Economic Times. 18 November 2016.
  7. News: Varghese. Shiny. The best solar device is timing. Indian Express. 22 December 2016.
  8. News: Griffin. Peter. Ice Stupas: Conserving water the 3 Idiots way. Forbes India. 29 December 2014.
  9. News: Khanna . Aastha . 24 November 2019 . There is greater need for basic intelligence than artificial intelligence, says Sonam Wangchuk . . 19 December 2022.
  10. News: From Leh comes a mountain of ideas. The Times of India. 26 November 2016. Delhi.
  11. News: Ranjendra. Ranjani. In the land of little rain. The Hindu. 8 December 2016.
  12. News: लद्दाख में बच्चों के लिए उम्मीद की नई किरण हैं 'सोनम वांगचुक'. Zee News. 18 January 2017. hi.
  13. News: Lenin. Janaki. Artificial glacier could help Ladakh villagers adapt to climate change. The Guardian. 24 February 2015.
  14. News: Saxena. Siddharth. Ice stupas to end water woes. The Times of India. 22 February 2015.
  15. News: Ibrar. Mohammad. पानी की किल्लत से जूझते लद्दाख में सोनम वांगचुक का आइडिया किसानों के लिए साबित हो रहा गेमचेंजर. Navbharat Times. 26 November 2016. hi.
  16. News: A Ladakhi dream fuelled by a Swiss award. Livemint. 25 November 2016.
  17. News: Paul. Debjani. The Phunsuk Factor. Indian Express. 31 October 2013.
  18. News: Global Award 2017- Sonam Wangchuk, stupas et enseignements. lecourrierdelarchitecte.com. 17 May 2017. fr.
  19. Web site: Sonam Wangchuk: The real 'Phunsuk Wangdu'. 19 January 2017. JharkhandFeed. 19 January 2017.
  20. Web site: Sonam Wangchuk at Entrepreneur's Meet 2017. Entremeetsmit.in. 30 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013517/http://entremeetsmit.in/website/EntreMeet/sonam.html. 25 May 2017. dead.
  21. News: Ladakh. Reach. In conversation with Sonam Wangchuk. ReachLadakh. 30 April 2013.
  22. News: Coates. Ashley. Ice stupas: a Himalayan answer to climate change, water shortage and glacial flooding. The Independent. 30 May 2017.
  23. News: Sarkhel. Aritra. Meet Sonam Wangchuk, the 50 year old innovator from Ladakh. The Economic Times. 22 December 2016.
  24. News: Chauhan. Divya. These Ladakhi Mothers Are Opening Up Their Homes To Travellers. Time To Ditch Those Hotel Rooms. ScoopWhoop. 1 August 2016.
  25. News: Mascarenhas. Josceline. Here's what Sonam Wangchuk plans to do to solve Ladakh's water woes. DNA India. 16 April 2015.
  26. News: Hasan. Snigdha. Mumbaikars, here's your chance to meet Sonam Wangchuk who inspired Aamir Khan's character in '3 Idiots'. Mid-Day. 15 April 2017.
  27. News: Reddy. R. Ravikanth. 'Three Idiots' inspirer to set up Mountain varsity. The Hindu. 11 January 2017.
  28. Web site: SECMOL wins International Terra Award for best building. State Times. 16 July 2016.
  29. News: Pareek. Shreya. The Engineer Who Is Creating Ice Stupas To Solve The Water Problems Of People In Ladakh. 30 June 2017. The Better India.
  30. News: Kattakayam. Jiby. ice stupas Ice for a green Ladakh. DNA India. 2 November 2016.
  31. News: Man-made glacier leads to a new water world. Asian Age. 31 March 2017.
  32. News: Artificial lake in Kargil bursts; bridges, buildings damaged. The Tribune (Chandigarh). 8 May 2015.
  33. News: Mok. Kimberley. This scientist wants to create 'artificial glaciers' to combat melting Himalayan ice. TreeHugger. 24 November 2016.
  34. News: Devadas. David. Ladakh's innovator Sonam Wangchuk toils for a visionary project to reverse climate change. Firstpost. 26 November 2016.
  35. News: Man Who Inspired Amir Khan's '3 Idiots' Role Explains How His Team Saved Lakhs Of Lives In Sikkim. indiatimes.com. 17 November 2016.
  36. News: South Lhonak Expedition 2016: A technical Report. 30 June 2017. Government of Sikkim. dstsikkim.gov.in.
  37. News: Dhungel. Pankaj. Lhonak lake situated deliberated at climate change consultation. Sikkim Express via Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority. 7 May 2016.
  38. News: Building Ice Stupas in Arid Landscape. 30 June 2017. Deccan Post.
  39. News: Yashwant. Shailendra. Sonam Wangchuk's Ice Stupas Are Firing Up Interest From Ladakh To The Swiss Alps. The Huffington Post. 18 May 2016.
  40. News: Tyagi. Chhavi. Sonam Wangchuk's Ice Stupas Are Firing Up Interest From Ladakh To The Swiss Alps. The Economic Times. 14 December 2016.
  41. News: 3 इडियट्स में आमिर खान के किरदार को इंस्पायर करने वाले इंजीनियर को मिला ग्लोबल अवॉर्ड. Jansatta. 17 November 2016. hi.
  42. News: Ice stupa has a heart now, Ladakh ought to fight climate change with innovation and traditional values.
  43. Web site: Ladakh-based engineer Sonam Wangchuk develops mobile solar-powered tent for Indian Army .
  44. Web site: India’s First Solar Heated Tent .
  45. Web site: Innovator Who Inspired '3 Idiots' Develops Solar Heated Tent For Army .
  46. News: New Ladakh Movement (NLM) announces to plunge in forthcoming LAHDC elections in Leh. Scoop News. 30 August 2016.
  47. News: New Ladakh Movement releases manifesto. State Times. 24 February 2014. Jammu.
  48. News: Pargal. Sanjeev. BJP creates history, wins two-third majority in Leh Council elections. Daily Excelsior. 24 December 2015.
  49. Web site: Ganai. Naseer. 30 May 2020. Magsaysay Awardee Sonam Wangchuk Calls For 'Boycott Made in China'. 6 June 2020. Outlook India.
  50. Web site: 'Boycott Chinese products': Milind Soman quits TikTok after 3 Idiots' inspiration Sonam Wangchuk's call. 31 May 2020. Hindustan Times. 31 May 2020 .
  51. Web site: Pandey. Neelam. 16 June 2020. Traders' body calls for boycott of 3,000 Chinese products over 'continued' border clashes. 17 June 2020. ThePrint.
  52. Web site: 19 June 2020. China reacts cautiously to mounting boycott calls of its products in India, says it values ties. 20 June 2020. India Today.
  53. News: 29 January 2023 . Ladakhi innovator Sonam Wangchuk says he's under house arrest, police deny charge . The Hindu . 30 January 2023.
  54. News: Sadhwani . Karina . Explained Ladakhi Climate Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s 21-Day-Hunger Strike for ‘Truth, Environment, & Democracy’ . 23 March 2024 . . 22 March 2024.
  55. Web site: Sonam Wangchuk (Phunsukh Wangdu of 3 Idiots) is on 21 days hunger strike (Day 21) . Bru Times News . en.
  56. Web site: Climate fast: Why is Sonam Wangchuk protesting in Ladakh? . The Times of India . en . 24 March 2024.
  57. News: Menon. Shyam G.. What you did not watch in 3 Idiots - Rethink after Ladakh education initiative fell victim to bureaucracy and resentment. https://web.archive.org/web/20100722043505/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100719/jsp/frontpage/story_12700204.jsp. dead. 22 July 2010. The Telegraph (Calcutta). 19 July 2010.
  58. News: Paul. Satarupa. Meet Sonam Wangchuk, the real life Phunsukh Wangdu of 3 Idiots. Hindustan Times. 8 December 2016.
  59. News: I am not Phunsukh Wangdu: Wangchuk. Hindustan Times. 25 October 2016.
  60. News: Pareek. Shabdita. Meet The Real-Life Phunsukh Wangdu, The Leh Engineer Who Inspired Aamir Khan's Role In 3 Idiots. ScoopWhoop. 17 November 2016.
  61. News: Two Indians, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, Receive Magsaysay Award . 1 September 2018 . ndtv.com.
  62. Web site: Innovator Sonam Wangchuk Awarded Honorary D.Litt Degree. 3 June 2020. BW Education.
  63. Web site: Change the way students are picked for IITs: Global Awardee. Tribune. 30 April 2018.
  64. Web site: Sonam Wangchuk to receive the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2017. ScooNews. 15 May 2017.
  65. Web site: GQ Awards: Men of the Year 2017 Winners. GQ India. 23 September 2017.
  66. Web site: World Environment Day 2017: Sonam Wangchuk's ice stupas ensure there's water in Ladakh. FirstPost. 12 August 2017.
  67. News: 31 get state award. Greater Kashmir. 27 January 2017. Srinagar.
  68. News: 3 IDIOTS में जिनसे प्रेरित था आमिर का किरदार, उन्हे मिला ये AWARD. Hindustan. 19 November 2016. hi.
  69. News: SECMOL wins International Terra Award for best building. State Times. 16 July 2016.
  70. Web site: Sonam Wangchuk. Environment Netoerk.
  71. Book: Nita Ambani. Rajdeep Sardesai. Nita Ambani. Rajdeep Sardesai. Real Heroes: Ordinary People Extraordinary Service. August 2011. Roli Books Private Limited. -93-5194-0-57-8.
  72. Honour for green warriors. Frontline. 1 January 2005. 22. 1.
  73. News: Sonam Wangchuk's Introduction. 30 June 2017. Ashoka (non-profit organization).
  74. Web site: Foundation Day Lecture by Sonam Wangchuk. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. 27 January 2016.
  75. News: 19 July 2013 . Chief Judicial Magistrate acquits Sonam Wangchuk in 6-year old case . ReachLadakh .