Construction has begun at the Kilung Shedra!
Welcome to the crew!
The innovative solar cap is being installed.
Due to pandemic-caused inflation of the cost of building supplies,
we still need to raise $130,000 to finish the construction.
Please donate HERE to help us open the shedra this year.
Construction has started again for the 2021 building season with the intention of completing it this year.
Now, due to the economic consequences of the pandemic, inflation in China and Tibet has caused a huge increase in the prices of building materials. The construction costs of the Shedra project have risen because of this.
We now need $130,000 more to complete the Shedra.
Dza Kilung Rinpoche shares:
“In 2016 when the Kilung Shedra and Children’s School was destroyed by a devastating fire, the whole Kilung Community felt a great loss of the source of Tibetan culture and Buddhist study and legacy for future generations to come. We all were heartbroken to see what had happened.
I said then: we’re not letting this disastrous fire take away our younger generation’s learning opportunities. We will rebuild this important center again no matter what hardships we may have to go through.
We hope to fill this financial gap soon, so that we don’t have to postpone the completion of this project.
I am very confident, and rejoice to think that this project can be accomplished this year with all of your generous support, care and love. This will ensure the students and children can come back to their learning again!”
To help us complete the shedra this year, please donate HERE.
The Shedra is taking shape on the outside, but there is still much work still to do on the inside.
As the rooms of the Shedra take form, it is now time to focus on providing supplies and materials to furnish and equip them.
Children are the future of Tibet. They need an education that includes their language and cultural heritage and prepares them for the modern world. The Kilung Community School will provide them with the education they need.
For the Kilung Children’s School, a partial list of what is needed includes:
Tables and Seating
Text Books
Writing Materials
Computers/ Technical Equipment
Salaries/training/supplies for teachers
Donations are needed to furnish and equip the kitchen and dining hall.
Here is a partial list of what is needed:
Large commercial refrigerator and freezer: $1094
Large commercial stove: $938
Traditional Stove for heating: $470
Pots, pans and utensils: $470
Bowl and plates: $125
Tables and chairs: $1250
Exhaust Fan: $235
Fire extinguisher: $156
Misc. kitchen and dining hall supplies $1094
Nomad families are at risk for many preventable diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and hydatid disease. Currently, they have very little access to medical care, prevention and health education.
The Kilung Health Clinic will make an enormous difference in providing preventative care. Please help us furnish and equip the clinic this year!
Thank you for your help in equipping the Shedra with these necessary supplies!
We begin 2021 with wonderful news! An anonymous donor has gifted Kilung Foundation
the funds to complete the construction phase of rebuilding the Kilung Shedra!
We are now requesting donations to fully furnish and equip the Shedra complex – temples, classrooms, dormitories, library, kitchen, community rooms and health clinic.
Here are the four levels of the shedra that we now will be outfitting!
Stay tuned for more details, and please sign up for our mailing list HERE for the latest updates.
Tremendous progress this 2020 building season!
Click on photos to enlarge.
Here are some videos…
Here are photos of the intricate framework for the solar cap being constructed. Click on photo for slideshow and to view full size.
Read more details about the innovative solar cap HERE.
One of the most special features of the Kilung Shedra is the solar cap. This large expanse of special glass will cover most of the inner courtyard and will provide passive solar heat for the building. It will create sun-warmed sheltered spaces where students and monks can study during the day, while producing passive heat to the adjacent areas.
From architectural rendering to reality!
Kilung Rinpoche, with the advice of specialized engineers, chose this design to avoid the environmental impact of heating with coal and to minimize costly electric heating bills.
Rinpoche and the Shedra contractor agree that completing the solar cap now is a priority in order to protect the rest of the structure and to potentially provide space where temporary tents can be set up for ongoing use by students or workers.
The Shedra solar cap will also offer an innovative model for earth-friendly construction in this region where abundant sunshine is a renewable natural resource.
Help us finish the roof!
2020 construction on the Kilung Shedra and Community Center began again on the auspicious day of Saga Dawa, June 5th.
Here are some photos and videos of the construction now ongoing.
Click on photos to see full-size slide show.
In 2019, working with the local nomad community, Kilung Foundation successfully established an herb tea business, Orgyen Terja, in Dzachuka.
In folk stories, Orgyen Terja was brought to Tibet as a hidden treasure by Guru Rinpoche. The dried leaf made tea has been traditionally enjoyed by Tibetans for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, this herb tea was almost forgotten. But its delicate flavor and healthful properties inspired us to revive it for the benefit of people drinking it, and also to promote local economic development.
Professors in Peking University identified the herb as Potentilla tatsienluensis. Laboratory analysis showed that the tea is caffeine-free, and contains rich functional components such as the antioxidant falconoid.
Local nomads were hired to collect and process it. In order to obtain its best form, flavor and aroma, we adapted modern tea roasting techniques to making the tea.
At the end of last summer, we successfully obtained all necessary business licenses and permits. In addition to local sales, we opened an online store on Taobao, the Chinese leading online shopping website. Orders are coming in from China and Taiwan. In the future we hope to expand sales beyond Asia.
The tea production ended with the coming of winter. Not only did the local nomads receive their payment, but the profits will support Kilung Foundation’s humanitarian projects in Dzachuka, in particular the rebuilding of the Kilung Shedra complex.
This is Sonam Yonten, now in his early 30s.
Sonam’s parents died when he was a young boy. He joined Kilung Shedra when the first Shedra program started and became a monk. Sonam studied very hard, completed his training and later became a teacher for Kilung Children’s School, before the fire destroyed the Shedra.
After the fire, he and the Shedra and Children’s School students have been waiting for the Shedra to be rebuilt so that they can return to study. In the meantime, he is teaching adults in his community how to read and write. The children are now far from home in government schools, and not able to benefit from Tibetan education near their families.
DONATE HERE
to help rebuild the Kilung Shedra and Community Center.
Click HERE to follow the progress of the Shedra rebuilding.
