𝐃𝐨𝐋 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐤 𝐆𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐠, 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐠

On November 25, the Director, along with the Chiefs and team, visited Merak and engaged with the highland farmers of the community. In her opening remarks, the Director expressed gratitude to the farmers for their exceptional efforts in yak herding and enhancing their livelihoods, noting that their contributions are integral to the nation’s development process. She also highlighted the unique cultural heritage of the Merak and Sakteng communities, emphasizing its paramount importance in preserving the country’s rich cultural identity.

Merak Gewog in Trashigang Dzongkhag is a hub of traditional livestock rearing, deeply intertwined with the livelihoods and cultural identity of its highland communities. The Gewog hosts 41 households dedicated to yak rearing, with a total yak population of 1,363. Yaks play a vital role in the highland ecosystem, providing essential resources such as dairy products, wool, and transport, which are integral to the community’s sustenance.

Additionally, 134 households are engaged in rearing Zo-Zoms, hybrid cattle that combine the resilience of yaks with the productivity of domestic cattle.

𝙑𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙠

A modern wool-processing centre in Merak Gewog, Trashigang Dzongkhag, is revolutionizing wool production in the region. The centre, established under the *Community-based Mechanised Micro Wool Processing Centre for Economic Empowerment of Brokpa Women and Youth* project, has significantly improved efficiency. Traditional methods, which took six days to process 1 kg of wool into yarn, have been replaced with machinery that accomplishes the task in just one hour. This advancement is helping Brokpa women save time, reduce their workload, and improve the quality of their products.The project not only modernizes wool processing but also empowers women and preserves cultural traditions. It aims to enhance the financial independence of herder women and provide training in wool processing, dyeing, and weaving techniques. These skills have enabled them to produce high-quality wool, increasing its market value.

Funded by the European Union (EU) through Helvetas, along with additional contributions from APIC and the Trashigang Dzongkhag Livestock Sector, the project is managed by Buchung Kewa Zangpo Aumsu Deytshen. This initiative is revitalizing sheep-rearing practices while preserving Bhutan’s traditional attire, such as teodung, chuba, kango shingkha, and zhamu.
By blending innovation with cultural preservation, this project is transforming the lives of highland communities in Merak and Sakteng, ensuring sustainable livelihoods and a brighter future for its people.

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Workshop on habitat- rangeland restoration: Tracing seasonal mobility of Bhutan’s Yaks

The Department of Forest and Park Services along with Department of Livestock, National Land Commission of Bhutan and chairpersons from Bhutan yak cooperatives conducted workshop from 18th to 19th November, 2024 at Paro aimed at tracing seasonal mobility of yaks. The workshop was supported by ICIMOD Nepal.

In Bhutan Rangeland accounts for about 3% of total land area (As per NLCS present tsamdro map). The Workshop underscored the multiple benefits of Rangelands. Its ecosystems services include not only as grazing resources for yak and horses but also for wild herbivores. Moreover, rangelands are habitat of key biodiversity, medicinal plants, water source as well as carbon sink.

The NLCS has already nationalised the Tsamdro and it is in the process of redistributing to the herders of highlanders. With this process, the ownership of the rangelands will be clarified with the vision to ensure sustainable use of these resources by the herders for their livelihoods. However, impacts of climate change and other socio-economic factors are leading to deterioration of most of these Tsamdros. Growth of unpalatable spp, weeds, invasive spp, shrubs as well as drying of water sources are key issues. As such there is an urgent need for developing management plan for these Tsamdros.

To generate input for developing management plan, the workshop participants were trained on use of  Survey 123 apps to collect data on pastures, their uses, issues and migratory pattern. The data collected will be used to develop decision support tools for use by various stakeholders including Department of Forest, Department of Livestock, Land Commission and others.  The workshop also noted that the use of Survey 123 app should add value to the information already collected by NLC using Tsamdro App. The workshop agreed on action plan on implementation of the Survey 123 app with technical and financial support from ICIMOD.

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