Restore the faith: help to rebuild a Mani in Sherpa village

About the cause

Hello everyone,

My name is Lin Tzu Yu. For many times I trekked in Solukhumbu area in Nepal, worked as a trekking guide there. Solukhumbu is the homeland of Sherpas, the most reliable people for mountaineers in Himalaya. During the earthquake in 2015, many areas in Nepal were damaged, so was Solukhumbu. The villages and trekking routes after Lukla were rebuilt well after 2 years, but the lower part wasn't. The villages along the Hillary trail, Jiri to Lukla weren't rebuild well compare to upper Solukhumbu. Because of lack of tourists, they get less attention.

2 years after earthquake, just recently, I visited this part of Solukhumbu again, and found that the rebuild progress was not good at all.

In this route, there is a village called Sete, where I met my friend Chottin Sherpa many year ago. She asked me for helping her rebuild the "Mani" and "Gompa" in the village.

Help rebuild the Mani, help them to start their new life page

Mani is a wheel that painting with Tibetan Buddhism paintings and mantras. Pilgrims turn it by clockwise direction. One turn, same as one oral recite of the prayers. For locals, Mani and Gompa(Monastery) is the center of their Buddhism belief. And relates to many aspects in their life. For elders, turning Mani wheel while reciting mantras at the same time is their daily life business. They meet and greet each other there, turning the wheel and do circumambulate, which maintain their psychological and physical health. In a small village like Sete, the only Mani and Gompa means a lot more to them.

And the importance of the Mani and Gompa for them, is more than we think. Many Sete villagers are staying in temporary wood made house now, because their traditional stone made house collapsed or damaged during the earthquake. I met another Sete girl in the village, she said she will first wait after the Mani be built, then she will try to make her own new house.

About the fund

Chottin told me that to rebuild the Mani, includes materials and the paintings on Mani...etc, needs around 1,000,000 nepali rupees( USD 9700). Now Chottin's family already collected 200,000 nepali rupees( USD1950) from villagers and relatives from nearby village. There are still 7750 USD left. It should be a big burden for a small Sherpa village like Sete. So we hope we can get the financial support from our friend all over the world. Any amount, even small, is deeply appreciated.

As a regular visitor to Nepal and its mountains, I will go to Nepal, also Sete village this October. I will bring the cash, if too much, I will transfer to their local account. Keep documenting the progress and the list of spends on my personal website. Please check: www.windoffreedom.com.tw

Other ways you could help

For this lower Solukhumbu area, the tourism is the main income for locals. Before earthquake, more and more tourists chose to fly to Lukla directly to save time. But as a regular trekker here, I feel this lower part is somewhere can not be missed. This route is where rich culture were well preserved, where you can enjoy relax atmosphere, not crowed like upper area. Most important thing is that, take this route, ups and downs between valleys, help you acclimatize better after you move to higher places like Everest Base Camp. But after earthquake, the visitors get lesser!

So I suggest, I you plan to go to Everest Base Camp, slow your step, take a walk between Jiri and Lukla, being a tourist there is the best way you can help.

起因

大家好，我是林子毓，長期往來尼泊爾，作為登山嚮導在當地生活著，我特別熟悉尼泊爾的Solukhumbu地區。Solukhumbu是雪巴人的家鄉。眾所皆知，雪巴人是登山家在喜馬拉雅山上最親近也最為仰賴的攀登夥伴。

2015年尼泊爾地震，許多地區遭受重創，Solukhumbu也是。主要從Lukla出發的健行路線在兩年後已復原如初，但低海拔的Solukhumbu地區，即Jiri到Lukla─著名的Hillary Trail健行道上的村莊，卻仍未完善修復。因為此路段較少觀光客，在以觀光立國的尼泊爾，得到的重建資源相對比較少。

地震兩年後的最近，我再訪了這段路，發現許多村子都仍是半毀狀態。我有個當地好友住在路上一個叫做Sete的村子，她叫做Chottin Sherpa，我在多年前第一次健行此處時與她相識。兩年不見，從前她友善招呼我的熱情依舊，這次卻有些話難以啟齒，原來是她希望我能幫忙她籌資重建村子的Mani轉經筒和Gompa小寺院。

幫助村民重建Mani轉經筒，開啟他們的重建之路

Mani轉經筒是一個刻畫著藏傳佛教經文的大圓桶，對於當地人來說，小小的Mani轉經筒和Gompa寺院便是他們佛教信仰的中心。許多重要的人生事件都會在這裡舉行。對於老人來說，來此轉經是他們的每日要務，他們在這裡彼此相遇聊天，一圈圈的轉經，間接保養了他們的身心健康。 在像Sete這樣的小村莊，唯一的Mani轉經筒和Gompa寺院就顯得更為重要。

轉經筒對於雪巴人來說，比我們想像的更為重要。許多Sete的村民如今仍住在臨時建造的木屋，因為他們的傳統石屋皆在地震中倒塌或毀損。我曾問另一個Sete的女孩，她說她要等到Mani轉經筒重建完之後才來考慮重建她自己的房子。

關於重建經費

Chottin告訴我，重建Mani轉經筒，包含外建築結構與轉經筒及其上的繪畫雕刻等，需要1,000,000尼泊爾盧比，大約9700美元，30萬台幣。目前Chottin的家人已向鄰村與親戚募得20,000尼泊爾盧比，1950美元，6萬台幣。仍有約7750美金的差額。對於村人來講遙不可及，所以我們希望能向世界其他朋友求助。即便只是小小的金額，我們都感激不盡。

今年10月我也會去一趟尼泊爾山區以及Sete，計畫將現金交予Chottin等村民，如果金額太大，我會直接匯款到當地帳戶。由於我經常前往尼泊爾，也會接著紀錄及更新重建情況，並要求村民紀錄花費細項，並於我的個人網站更新。我的個人網站可參考：www.windoffreedom.com.tw

其他你可以幫忙的方式

在Solukhumbu，觀光是主要的收入。但近年許多遊客為了節省時間，選擇直接飛到Lukla，錯過了Lukla以下，到Jiri這一段路。但其實有些可惜，Lukla以下這一段雖然海拔較低，但豐富的雪巴文化被保存於此。比之Lukla以後的山區，因人少更安靜些，適合好好享受健行。更好的是，在河谷間上上下下的健行路，提供健行客最佳的高度適應，在之後的高海拔區比較不易有高山症狀出現。

因此我建議，如果要去聖母峰基地營，就從Jiri出發吧，慢慢的走，作為一個觀光客拜訪這裡是你最能夠幫忙當地的方式。