“Waste in Bhutan is a significant and growing environmental problem. The household wastes- plastics, pet bottles, clothes and shoes, paper, cardboard, construction debris, and many many things we don’t use anymore, are dumped in streets, streams, rivers and forests. And with more than 30% of the Bhutanese now living in urban areas, the problem can only grow worse.

Reports indicate that the municipal authorities in Thimphu and Phuentsholing collect 37 and 25 tons of solid waste on an average, three times more than what was collected in 1998.” (http://www.vast-bhutan.org/)

The event sponsored by the Bhutan Foundation, was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister of Works and Human Settlement. The festival provided a wonderful transformation of the entire Clock Tower Square where several artistic displays created by VAST and made entirely out of waste were set up across the square, children from different schools performed songs on recycling, and took part in the project’s activities. The event was a perfect example of the great advocacy work VAST continues to do through art.

Regina Deluise who teaches photography at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) taught a two day photography workshop for nonprofit organizations in Thimphu On August 9th and 13th. The workshop which was meant especially for nonprofit employees who travel to project sites to take pictures during monitoring and evaluation trips. The participants of the workshop met twice over a period of a week to discuss technical issues of basic camera function, and explore the power of the photographic aesthetic. During the workshop, Regina addresses the questions and problems of the participants.

The participants spent the first day looking at the work of a number of important photographers and discussed the power of images. As the participants were mostly first time photographers, she introduced them to the basic functions of the camera such as film speed (sensitivity to light), shutter speed, and existing light conditions. Participants also spent an hour in the afternoon taking pictures to be critiqued during the second session. The photography workshop was held as part of the Bhutan Foundation’s Civil Society Organization Development efforts.

The Bhutan Foundation organized the second Introduction to QuickBooks Accounting Software workshop for nonprofit organizations in Bhutan on July 5th & 6th, 2010. The workshop which was held in partnership with READ Bhutan, was carried out by Mr. Parshu Ram Pandey of READ Nepal. The workshop was offered to help nonprofit organizations explore options of how best to organize and maintain nonprofit finances using the QuickBooks software. The two day workshop was attended by thirteen participants from different nonprofit organizations in Bhutan.The Bhutan Foundation donated copies of the QuickBooks Premier 2010 software to participating organizations. Workshops are held by the Bhutan Foundation as part of our Civil Society Organization Development efforts.

For more information on the exhibition, please visit http://www.rmanyc.org/nav/exhibitions/upcoming

The Bhutan Ecological Society (BEST) was officially launched on 5^th June, 2010 coinciding with the World Environment Day. The Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment invited Her Royal Highness the Princess, Ashi Chimmi Yangzom Wangchuck, the patron of BEST to launch the event as well as award the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Outstanding Environmental Stewardship award for policy leadership to Dasho Paljor J. Dorji.

BEST was established to create a platform for information, opinion and experience exchange on matters related to Bhutan’s ecology. Seminars, workshops, journals and other sources of media will be used to provide and promote opportunities for scientific research as well as create an outlet for information dissemination. Keeping an open membership to all those interested, BEST plans to meet annually to discuss and debate the ecological issues faced by Bhutan.

You can watch the talk on the TED website at: http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_conley_measuring_what_makes_life_worthwhile.html

Norfolk Library
9 Greenwoods Road East
Norfolk, CT 06058

Much of today’s world is characterized by rapid urbanization, globalization, and advancements in technology yet at the same time poverty rates continue to climb and we are faced with massive environmental degradation and political instability in many regions of the world. In the midst of all these changes and often chaos lies Bhutan, a country known for its pristine beauty and rich culture and one that has taken a very different path with its development approach of Gross National Happiness. Known as the happiest nation in Asia, many claim that the rest of the world can learn from this small Himalayan kingdom. Dr. Bruce Bunting, President of the Bhutan Foundation who has been involved with the country since 1986 will be giving a lecture on how the country’s history has helped it deal with the many challenges it currently faces and what the world can learn from Bhutan’s example. Dr. Bunting has written several articles on Bhutan including one for National Geographic magazine.  Before becoming president of the Bhutan Foundation, Dr. Bunting was the Managing Director and Vice President of World Wildlife Fund’s Special Programs and Strategic Partnerships.

If you would like to attend the event, please rsvp to the Norfolk library: 860-542-5075

The role of civil society organizations is an important one; practiced correctly, they can have an effective and complementary role to that of the government. Philanthropy and non-profit organizations have been identified globally as the much needed answer to many critical issues that every society faces, but not all governments can provide solutions for. Bhutan is no different, the gap between what the new democratic government of Bhutan can provide and what is required to achieve the development aspirations of the country can be bridged by a sound and effective non-profit sector.
Developing a strong civil society also reinforces democracy and the practice of democratic procedures and experience of personal responsibility for public good. Establishing an effective Civil Society Sector is very much in line with establishing a sound and effective Democratic Government. It is with these ideas that the Bhutan Foundation has mapped out steps that would continue to build on the current success and vitality of the existing civil society organizations by providing them with the opportunities to build their organizational capacity through development workshops and trainings.
The Civil Society Development Program works to strengthen and support civil society organizations’ ability to deliver to the people and to serve the public, while promoting high standards in accountability, ethics and management.

Project Objectives

• To advice, organize trainings, improve organizational capacity; and to provide professional help through workshops in the areas of management, finance, fundraising and public relations.
• To build an efficient civil society sector and to encourage the public (donors) to identify, select and support effective organizations
• To eventually build and maintain a comprehensive base of information on the activities of civil society organizations in Bhutan, and to serve as a forum where organizations may be able to share and disseminate information

Work Plan

Phase I- Providing Resources:

Holding seminars, workshops, conferences to train professional personnel to deal with the growing needs of civil society organizations and to cope with the changes in the needs of the people it serves. Provide organizations with better accounting tools such as the QuickBooks Pro Non-profit Edition that the Bhutan Foundation currently uses, in order to help develop a better financial management system.

Phase II- Developing a comprehensive online knowledge center:
Getting together a comprehensive selection of materials on non-profit governance, financial management, fundraising strategies, etc. that will be available to partner civil society organizations.
Develop an online knowledge center in the later stages which could serve as a gateway to an extensive collection of information and resources dealing with non-profit management. The online center could also serve as a forum for members to carry dialogue on particular issues facing the civil society sector. Members will also be able to access each other’s annual reports and other reporting documents to maintain transparency and trust with the public and within the members.

What it will achieve: The Civil Society Organizations Development Program will help non-profit organizations evaluate themselves and improve all aspects of their organizational performance and to ensure that all organizations uphold the high standards of the existing civil society organizations. Through capacity building activities the organizations will be able to improve their performance, therefore raising the quality of ethical management for Bhutanese non-profits which will help donors identify successful civil society organizations in Bhutan.

Its recipe contents table looks more inviting than the menus of most Bhutanese restaurants and, flipping through its pages, one can almost smell and taste the aromas and textures of succulent phaksha pa, the crunchy hogey and bitter khule.

The book ‘Foods of the Kingdom of Bhutan’ should come with a warning – Do not go through this book on an empty stomach. It accentuates hunger pangs. The book is the culmination of a common interest in food and cultures and repeated travels to Bhutan of Ernest T Nagamatsu and his son Erik Nagamatsu. Food, according to Ernest Nagamatsu, who has travelled extensively around the world, is “the common denominator leading to an understanding of the various histories and traditions of the world’s different cultures.”

Despite having culinary experiences from various cultures of the world, the two have specifically produced a cookbook on traditional Bhutanese food, simply because there aren’t any books on it. The recipes are simple and, as expected, chili, powdered or whole, is the indispensable and integral part of all recipes. The book includes a small section on trekking food and preparation and cooking of momo and buckwheat noodles.

It also puts Bhutanese cuisine in a flattering light, with its exhibition of the wild and organic vegetables like the patsha, fiddlehead fern, and the mushrooms that proudly decorate the book and the traditional wooden bowls. However, in the process, it almost evokes a sense of nostalgia, in the sense that most restaurants in Bhutan are dominated by Indian and Chinese cuisine.

An excerpt from the Kuensel by Kinley Wangmo, 16 May, 2010
Go here to view the full article: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=15462

All proceeds of this book benefit the Bhutan Foundation and Tarayana Foundation.