Committed to the Earth..... Committed to Learning
The Vision
Ri’ is ‘Mountain ‘ and ‘lung’ is‘Wind ‘in many Himalayan languages of Himachal Pradesh (Kinnaur, Lahaul Spiti districts), Sikkim, Ladakh, Tibet and Bhutan across the vast Himalayan belt. The Himalayan Rilung Foundation, a not for profit organisation, based in the north-western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh in India, was set up in 2022, to fulfil the dream of creating a global community of learners, who are committed to protecting the Earth. Our core programme “Mountainwind” is a multi-eco-versity that looks at facilitating learning or education, of a kind that bridges the gap; that combines heart, mind and hand and land skills; that frees and empowers and re-connects us to our forest roots. The underlying principle and idea that finally underlines Mountainwind and all it stands for is the inherent inter-dependence and universal ethics of a common humanity which celebrates diversity, is founded in compassion and is forever learning.
The Foundation works to strengthen the Himalayan connection and voice across national boundaries, by bringing the Eastern and Western Himalayas together onto a common platform.
Building & Nurturing ​​​​
Hand & land based skill learning
Ethical and creative learning
Our diverse Himalayan heritage
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Towards
A compassionate, peaceful, sensitive, inclusive, diverse, respectful world
RITU-NGAPNON/VARUNI
Free spirited, an explorer at heart and an architect by training, Ritu wears many hats. A published writer and poet, creative educator and natural Himalayan farmer; her work has always had a strong research and documentation foundation, especially in vernacular architecture and craft skill traditions which are her passion. Working with natural materials, especially bamboo and timber, has remained the focus of her design work throughout her life. After completing her degree research thesis on the traditional architecture of Nagaland in the nineties, she was based in Arunachal Pradesh for 6 years working on researching and developing the use of bamboo in housing and craft design along with other development related livelihood based grassroots work. Her craft design work under her design studio name of ‘ E’thaan’, has been exhibited and curated by her at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi and the India International Centre( IIC), New Delhi and also in Mumbai and Bangalore. Her design collection titled ‘Naga Roots’was also selected for exhibition in Italy at Venice Design 2019.
INDRA
Indra’s experience and involvement has been and remains in the NGO sector. In 1966, she joined OXFAM, Oxford, U.K. at their headquarters, where the `why and how` of an organisation reaching out to needy communities in faraway Asian and African countries became clear. Aid without patronage, religious bias and most importantly, with a sensitivity towards their ethos, culture and aspirations is how she describes OXFAM. This learning was to stand her in good stead in her work back in India. OXFAM connected her to Action for Food Production (AFPRO). AFPRO provided professional expertise to grassroots organisations working with the rural poor especially marginalised farmers; the emphasis then being on groundwater resource development. She worked for 5 years in the administration department and came to understand what a daunting task it was to bring development to the doorstep of marginalised rural communities. Her stint at AFPRO led to her long association with Mobile Creches,set up in 1969, which pioneered the challenging task of running day-care centres for children of rural migrant construction workers,reaching healthcare, nutrition, basic education to a community deprived of these facilities. As a part-time fund raiser and thereafter during the next 14 years and later, she served as a member of its Governing Council and General Body of which she remains a member to date.
DEVIKA
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​I grew up in the strife of partition and with the dreams of a free country that could be constructed anew. Later I was a lecturer in English literature and loved teaching, but was nagged by the thought of the millions of children for whom the doors of education were closed. I was fortunate to be introduced to Meera Mahadevan by my childhood friend, Indra Bhatia, now a fellow member of our Foundation. We were both swept into the challenge of working with migrant construction worker’s children, particularly the young ones and building an organisation, Mobile Creches, that responded to their needs. It addressed the rights of women and children living in difficult situations. For 50 years now, we have lived and breathed Mobile Creches.We have tried to understand the social, political and economic roots of the problem and engaged in the actions needed to address them.The vision of our Foundation draws me in deeply as another dimension of the search; the practical building of capacity for harmonious co-existence with Nature, understanding sustainable livelihoods, respect for all beings and the importance of compassion, without which none of the above is useful.
GORDON
A professional with over 25 years of experience on developing and delivering innovative and impactful humanitarian and development projects across Asia, Europe, Africa and globally. Gordon is an Irish national, now married and based in India for over 20 years. He has worked on major emergencies in Asia since 2002 – the Asia Tsunami, Pakistan Earthquake, Burmese refugees, Sri Lankan conflict, Cyclone Nargis, Typhoon Haiyan, Nepal Earthquake, Syria and the Rohingya crisis and Covid pandemic. His field of work encompasses programme design, development, delivery and contract management of large-scale institutional donor funded projects for EU, ECHO, WFP, FCDO, UNOPS, UNDP and others. He has an in-depth understanding of poverty, humanitarian assistance, social exclusion and disability. His development and humanitarian expertise is backed up with 10 years academic and professional experience as an adviser on European Union policies, programmes and laws.
PETER
Peter was born in Sikkim in India, raised in the United States and then returned to his birthplace to start the Taktse International School . The school founded in 2004, is the manifestation of Peter’s dream to bring the kind of progressive, liberal arts education that he received at the Waring School in Beverly, MA, USA to his native state-Sikkim. As the principal of the school from 2008-2016, Peter along with the founding Trustees and educators, pioneered a new kind of education based on “intentional hybridity”, “Open Enquiry”,”Egalitarian”, “Process driven” systems and pedagogy which altogether is a bold departure from the traditional education in Sikkim based on the standards set by British colonial rule, characterized by rote-memorization and strict discipline. Alongside supporting the school as an external resource person, Peter is now working on a civic engagement startup ; is on the board of Waring School in Beverly, his former high school and dreams about pursuing projects geared towards innovating higher education in India.
‘MOUNTAINWIND’
THE HIMALAYAN ECOVERSITY
Learning to live and Living to Learn
A different way to learn and a different kind of learning
Ethical and value-based learning to transform the self and the whole.
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Mountainwind is seen as ………
A platform for creative, social, experiential and ethical learning
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A platform for learning HAND and LAND skills that derive from and nurture the earth and our environment and all that makes us humble and humane
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A learning environment that allows free expression, questioning and dissent
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A place that inculcates the sense of world community with an abiding respect for its inherent diversity.
Spaces that make you
want to learn
A vision-led design, the compact MW Campus seeks to create an ideal learning environment to make the learning experience inclusive, natural, fun, hands-on and non-hierarchical. Designed and built in 2022 by architect-designer Ritu-Ngapnon Varuni, who is also the Founder-Director of Mountainwind; the Campus has residential facilities for men and women and a dining hall alongwith the main building(The Morung), which houses the workshop, library,office and learning spaces.
THE MORUNG
THE CAFE
AND
HOSTEL BUILDING
HIMALAYAN COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMME
MULTI-SKILL RESIDENTIAL COURSES
HIMALAYAN HERITAGE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION PROGRAMME
THE THREE-PRONGED
MW PROGRAMME
MULTI-SKILL RESIDENTIAL COURSES
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5 TO 7 DAY MULTI-SKILL RESIDENTIAL COURSES
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MAXIMUM 8/10 PARTICIPANTS PER COURSE
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NO QUALIFICATONS REQUIRED EXCEPT INTEREST!
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FOR 17+ AGE GROUP ONLY
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NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL HIMALAYAN ENVIRONMENT
ECOLOGICAL & VERNACULAR BUILDING PROGRAMME
REVIVING VERNACULAR HIMALAYAN BUILDING TECHNIQUES
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HANDS ON CONSTRUCTION COURSES
​LIME PLASTERING, EARTH CONSTRUCTION TIMBER TRUSSES, BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION, STONE MASONRY
COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMME
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‘KHUD KI PEHCHAAN’: COMMUNITY YOUTH LEADERSHIP CAMP
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15 participants from Bhuira Panchayat villages aged 19 years to 36 years.
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COMMUNITY YOUTH ART PICNIC
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BI-MONTHLY SUNDAY GATHERINGSBOOK CLUB
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Reading and discussion Group
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Story telling
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Book listing and library membership management
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Poetry and creative expression/writing
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FILM, ART & MUSIC CLUB
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Screenings and discussions around films & books
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Folk music and dance evenings
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Music & Art Workshops
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The Mountainwind Core: Hub Council
RITU-NGAPNON/VARUNI LA - Founder-Director, Mountainwind & The Himalayan Rilung Foundation, facilitator
​There is learning in each moment of our lives and an un-ending possibility for growth and transformation, so that we can become more wise and compassionate everyday. In my mind that is what we are here for and which I love to explore all the time.. I am human and the earth is my home.The scent of the pine forest and the mountain-wind are a part of me, as I grew up in the Himalayan mountains. The tree, bird and butterfly were my constant childhood companions. The city I was born in, always felt alien and going back regularly, to the mountains, as we always did, was always going home. Designing and writing have been my languages for most of my life. The journeys I’ve taken, the flowers I’ve seen, the trees I’ve climbed and the path I’m on. I have had the amazing opportunity to traverse many paths and imbibe and make many cultures my own. Nagaland, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Assam , Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are the India I know best and where my heart has led me over the past many years. The tug and sound of the mountain wind, the many shades of green of the forest , the rough ridged textures of tree bark, the play of light through a spider’s web, the feathered leaves of the bent bamboo, the fire on the mountains at sunset ,the dewdrop clinging to the grass are some of the thousands of visual experiences embedded in my consciousness. My designs are born from a deep connection to the earth, inspired by the mountains and the forest, which I think all beings have but some tend to lose. I feel that I have a horse spirit that is wild and free like the mountain-wind. Mountainwind was the secret name that I gave to myself as a child. Now in the same spirit, I give this name to my dream. The dream of an inclusive, deeply compassionate and free-flowing human world. One that offers equal opportunity and respect to all beings of the planet. A world that reveres the Earth - our home.
GORDON LA - Founder-Director, The Himalayan Rilung Foundation, Hub Council member
Over two decades ago, I embarked on a transformative journey into the heart of global development and humanitarian work across Asia, the Middle East and beyond. My professional canvas is filled with the vibrant colours of innovation and impact. With a firm academic rooting in Ireland, United Kingdom and Europe, I have a keen interest in turning visions into reality with a key lens on strategic leadership in programme development to project design, innovation, and performance delivery. I wish to always continue to champion a vision of positive change, blending passion and professionalism, experience and academic thought into a narrative of inclusion, impact and transformation.
RAJAT LA - Hub Council member, Facilitator
As an engineer with a strong connection to nature, I finally found my calling when I started an environmental consultancy to help enterprises prevent pollution through the efficient use of natural resources. Building upon more than 20 years of manufacturing industry experience (also as an entrepreneur), I now love to analyse and improve resource consuming processes to minimise waste. I am currently exploring pathways to a sustainable lifestyle for individuals as well as enterprises. A way that can enhance the quality of life without depleting the earth’s resources and straining the planet’s ability to absorb our waste. In my opinion, going back to a more basic, effort based, organic lifestyle is a great starting point.
TEJAL LA - Hub Council member, Facilitator
I am a life-long learner and student. The main thread of my interest is - how to bring about an irrevocable transformation in our attitudes, so that we can live in genuine harmony with ourselves, other living beings and the earth.. It is my conclusion that in order to live a deeply satisfying life, it is beneficial to cultivate the embodied wisdom of inter-dependence. My eyes of critical intelligence have been sharpened by feminism, gender & sexuality studies and eco-philosophy. After studying contemporary visual art with a focus on experimental film and video, there developed a politicised awareness of representation, identity and power. My work was exhibited in the framework of museums and galleries internationally. Travelling,observing,listening,being in different cultures and living closely with nature, further expanded my field of sensitivity. With my interest in holistic and sustainable living, both permaculture and non-violent communication were a natural development. Since 2015, I have been able to deepen my study of the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni; the ground of which is the fertile heart-mind of love that wishes to benefit all sentient beings with a view of profound interconnectedness. Human beings are endowed with everything we need, so that we don't have to fight with the world we co-habit. With an internal paradigm shift of view and affect, individually and collectively, we can work with rather than struggle against. This is what I dedicate myself to.
How to reach BHUIRA VILLAGE
Nearest railway station : Kalka via Chandigarh via Delhi
Trains from Delhi to Kalka and Chandigarh are available daily.
Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi, Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi, VandeBharat Express, Himalayan Queen, Kalka Mail
Nearest bus station: Rajgarh is 10 km or 20 min drive
Nearest Main Bus station : Solan1 and half hrs drive
Nearest Local Airport : Shimla is 3 hrs straight drive
Nearest International Airport : Chandigarh is 3 hrs 30 min straight drive
If you enjoy a road journey then driving all the way from Delhi to Bhuira takes 8 to 9 hours non stop ! Not because of the distance but due to the traffic and population of the plains!