Members of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/without-sherpas-there-is-no-mountaineering">Nepal’s Sherpa community</a> are known the world over for their mountain climbing expertise. But Ang Phurba Sherpa is proving that the inhabitants of villages below Mt Everest can be equally expert farmers.&nbsp; Just away from the hustle and bustle of the city in Gokarna Ang Phurba is busy on the morning rounds of his dairy farm, inspecting the milking machines. The farm is spread across half a hectare in Sundarijal amidst a lush backdrop of Shivapuri National Park. The smell of cow dung is mixed with the odour of disinfectant at the door to prevent lumpy skin disease that is spreading across Nepal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-family-that-works-together-stays-together">A family that works together stays together</a>, Sahina Shrestha Ang Phruba has 175 Jerseys, 85 of them milking cows, some are lazily chewing the cud while others feed on hay. Cows that just delivered are in a separate maternity ward. The lone bull has a corner all to himself. <a href="http://www.salakafarm.com/">Salaka Dairy Farm</a> was established 10 years ago, and is one of the two largest dairy farms in the country producing 1,300 litres of milk every day sold to 700 households in the Gokarna area who subscribe to home delivery. Customers also visit the farm for fresh dairy products, and there is an outlet in Boudha for paneer, rasbari and other processed products.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230720130756_4953a11f8733d3c523781dd4d9569d66f0b99c852ba5bf0909c90899b12777f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230720130756_4953a11f8733d3c523781dd4d9569d66f0b99c852ba5bf0909c90899b12777f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="5333" loading="lazy" alt="Cow farm Kathmandu"> </figure>  What sets the Salaka apart from other dairies is the productivity, a concept Ang Phurba says he learnt when he spent eight years in Israel working a floriculture farm. His cows produce up to 22 litres of milk a day when Nepali cows on average give only 5 litres daily. What is his secret?&nbsp; “I just give them nutritious feed, as much as they can eat. Water is important, they drink the same quality water as I do,” explains the 34-year-old Sherpa as he shows visitors around his farm guarded by fierce-looking dogs. Sherpa also uses the new technology for artificial insemination that ensures that nearly all the calves born are female. This further increases the productivity of his farm. Ang Phurba is originally from Salleri in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/lifetime-experience-on-pikey-peak">Solu Khumbu</a> and left on a work visa to Israel where he trained primarily in floriculture. But after eight years, he was determined to start something of his own back home, deploying the techniques he had learned in Israel. Three months after he returned, Ang Phurba leased the farm in Gokarna and started growing vegetables for sale in the Kathmandu market. He was doing fairly well, but faced a chronic <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/corruption-and-nepal-s-chronic-fertiliser-crisis">shortage of organic fertiliser</a>. At the same time he found that the demand for milk was much higher than any other agricultural product in Kathmandu. Which gave him the idea to start a dairy which would also allow him to produce his own manure. The idea worked brilliantly. Today, Ang Phurba’s farm is making more money from selling organic fertiliser than from selling milk products. Vermicomposting is a simple but highly cost-effective technology of converting farm waste such as cow dung into organic manure with the cooperation of willing earthworms. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-organic-uncle-of-chitwan">The 'Organic' uncle of Chitwan</a>, Anita Bhetwal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230720130756_a047c27b98b2c9377b310f99459260d48d963c5b6288bdfb2db12221cb28d9b7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230720130756_a047c27b98b2c9377b310f99459260d48d963c5b6288bdfb2db12221cb28d9b7" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="Vermicomposting"> <figcaption>Vermicompost at Salaka.</figcaption> </figure>  Salaka produces 1.5 tons of vermicompost per day and the product is so much in demand from all over Nepal, that it is out of stock at the moment. Even when it is available, Ang Phurba’s employees cannot fill the sacks fast enough to meet demand. Ang Phurba Sherpa is a different breed of businessman-farmer, who is not looking just for quick returns, but sees the larger picture. He trains other farmers and willingly shares his knowledge, and sells his vermicompost at just Rs18 per kg even though it can fetch anywhere up to Rs100 in the market.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/milking-every-opportunity">Milking every opportunity</a>, Sahina Shrestha Asked why he does not sell it for more, Ang Phurba replies: &nbsp; “I am not interested in getting rich fast, the idea is to make fertiliser affordable and accessible to local farmers so that they can also be more productive. As long as I am not losing money, I am happy. I will prosper if everyone else prospers.” Ang Phurba still grows vegetables in his adjoining greenhouses, fertilised by his own compost. He has plans to expand his dairy, and modernise his workflow. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/biodynamic-agripreneurs">Biodynamic agrepreneurs</a>, Sanjib Chaudhary He is in Israel this week to attend workshops on recent advancements in the dairy industry with a special focus on low-emission technologies for energy-intensive farms.&nbsp; Ang Phurba believes in hard work, building a strong network of local farmers and taking one right step at a time. He says: “Eventually I want to manufacture fully processed UHT milk that people can drink directly out of the bottle without having to boil it like elsewhere in the world.” &nbsp;

Sonia Awale

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Down in Sherpa’s farm

Located in the tri-junction of three districts, Palpa, Gulmi and Syangja, the deep and narrow Ridi valley is a popular pilgrimage site because of the sacred saligram fossils found there. But despite its religious significance, this is not a part of Nepal where someone would want to start a long-term business. It is far from the market towns, and many have migrated to cities or overseas. But one migrant worker, Ravi Lal Pantha, has not just returned to his home town but is running a thriving dairy business that has created a value chain directly benefiting 120 farmers in adjoining districts. “If we are industrious and conscientious, we can earn a livelihood in Nepal by doing the same work our parents and grandparents did,” says Pantha. “I am a migrant returnee, and if this is what one person can do, imagine if the government encouraged more Nepalis to return and helped them reintegrate.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030640_8cb26fd421e9f8d010993e3e3ad146cbe9da4226ad5621b8febe90c198079d56.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230610030640_8cb26fd421e9f8d010993e3e3ad146cbe9da4226ad5621b8febe90c198079d56" data-rendition-name="original" width="5758" height="3839" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>  Pantha started ‘Gaurav Dudh Dairy Tatha Prasodhan Kendra’ in 2014, just five months after returning from South Korea.&nbsp; When Pantha was young, his family visited Ridi during festivals. Every time the family headed to his maternal grandparents’ house in Palpa, he passed Ridi. People from all three surrounding districts performed final rites of their loved ones on the banks of Kali Gandaki here.&nbsp; Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/money-grows-on-trees-here">Money grows on trees here</a>, Sahina Shrestha Milk and dairy products like ghee and curd are essential for festivals and birth and death rituals. Pantha noticed that there was always a scarcity of milk in the area and in summer, and dairy products people brought from homes for puja would go bad. Local farmers reared cattle, but not for commercial purposes.&nbsp; Pantha saw a business opportunity, and decided to locate his dairy business in Ridi. There was demand and the local farmers could also sell their milk. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030636_b96883cdf92da1400ca4c90ea347910339a44e9a35b2acac4a060217c451c42a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230610030636_b96883cdf92da1400ca4c90ea347910339a44e9a35b2acac4a060217c451c42a" data-rendition-name="original" width="3111" height="1977" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>  He soon ran into problems. He would take the milk in his motorcycle and sell it door to door. Yet, he could not sell all of his inventory and many people would buy in credit. He did not know how to process milk or make other products from it, so much of the milk he bought would go to waste. “Initially it was difficult,” admits Pantha, who had no prior dairy experience. It was only after his fourth month into the business that he finally sold 20 litres of milk in one day. “That day I felt like I had won a battle,” he says.&nbsp; Still, his business ran at a loss the first year. “Every day I’d work from 4am to 9pm, I’d even make my family work hard, but all for naught,” he recalls.&nbsp; His friends said he had gone mad after returning from overseas, saying he had lots of savings, so he could afford to lose money. It was after he faced difficulty with his eatery business in Kathmandu, that Pantha had first gone to South Korea in 2009 through its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-of-workers-working-together" target="_blank">Employment Permit Scheme (EPS)</a>, looking for a better future. There he earned Rs200,000 every month piloting a ship.&nbsp; Despite the earnings, he felt unfulfilled. “I was saving money, but my children at home were without a guardian and in a foreign land we are treated as second class citizens, without much respect,” he adds. Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/don-t-give-up-on-nepal-it-has-lots-to-offer">Don't give up on Nepal, it has lots to offer</a>, Sahina Shrestha So, he decided to return to Nepal with his savings and work in his home district near his family.&nbsp; “Regardless of what people said, I kept going,” says Pantha. “I convinced myself not to worry, saying that this was business, and profit and losses were all part of it.” Desperate, he went to the district veterinary hospital and livestock service expert centre and got trained in Pokhara and the Dairy Development Corporation. In 2016, he established a dairy processing unit to make and sell dairy products like ghee, curd, and paneer (cottage cheese). But he ran into another problem: locals in the area were not used to buying those dairy products.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030644_48a4c58b73680f5db6b43855501afb8590142e7b2f687393747669be2d378eb9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230610030644_48a4c58b73680f5db6b43855501afb8590142e7b2f687393747669be2d378eb9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2988" height="2070" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030636_203a038f2a5b71e94c5decc869465762475894c2cb7b8640b0d3c7dd92892a4a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230610030636_203a038f2a5b71e94c5decc869465762475894c2cb7b8640b0d3c7dd92892a4a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2967" height="2096" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>  At first, it was difficult for him to sell even 5kg paneer every few months because even though the residents were largely vegetarian, they were not familiar with the cheese. To market his products, he started giving away a few kilos of paneer at banquets every time he was invited to a wedding or other functions.&nbsp; “I told them to pay me what they wanted if people liked it, if not it was on me,” he says of his new marketing strategy. These days he sells the same paneer for Rs850 per kg, and people in Ridi have taken so much to it that even the smallest gathering now has a paneer dish. People who used to sneer at him, now request him to train their children in the dairy business. Nowadays, a steady stream of customers keeps Pantha busy from early morning to late night at his shop in Ridi Bazar. On the rare occasion when the shop is closed, customers call him to ask when it will reopen. Twice a day, his employees collect milk from farmers and farmers groups with the help of five collectors, and bring between 800-1,000 litres of milk to the processing centre. “The farmers now trust me,” Pantha says. “These days even if someone else approaches them and gives them more money, they stick with me.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030636_a811f5688373eb43d4921b5576f55516f05f33860704d1155743bc0ad780d539.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230610030636_a811f5688373eb43d4921b5576f55516f05f33860704d1155743bc0ad780d539" data-rendition-name="original" width="3143" height="1985" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230610030644_34674b47c74e4ab9e8d14171d7549550553106b0a6a4ddd9dd5687e1f62a042e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230610030644_34674b47c74e4ab9e8d14171d7549550553106b0a6a4ddd9dd5687e1f62a042e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2938" height="2058" loading="lazy" alt="Milking every opportunity"> </figure>  &nbsp;He makes his own ghee, paneer, curd, and kulfi among others for his shop and also conducts training for others. He is now getting into ice cream as well.&nbsp; Apart from his processing unit and his shop in Ridi, he has expanded to outlets in Gulmi and Palpa. He delivers packaged milk and milk products to the shops and the shopkeepers get a cut from every item sold. “I am happy and proud that I have been able to connect farmers with the market,” he says. “These days more farmers are going commercial, which is a good thing for the local economy.”&nbsp; One of the highest grossing farmers group with whom he conducts business is from Aslewa, Satyawati Rural Municipality, with which he does Rs1 million worth of business every month. Pantha also acts as a mediator between the government and the farmers, helping with training provided by the state. “Real farmers are busy toiling the soil and do not have any idea about paperwork, the government is too busy to go looking for them, so I do what I can to bring them together,” he says. “But the government needs to ensure it benefits actual farmers.” When Pantha went to South Korea more than a decade ago, he did so out of compulsion. “It was not my intention to go there to learn something new and come back home and work,” he says. “Things just worked out that way. No matter how much you earn abroad, it is difficult to earn trust and respect. In Nepal, no matter how much or little you earn, people still respect you.” But the biggest lesson he learned there which has helped him in Nepal was the importance of disciplined work. “Discipline and hard work can transform not only an individual, but also society and the country,” he says. Pantha wants to continue working well into old age and build a good image for himself. His biggest dream is to help fellow Nepalis gain employment in their own country. He says in poetic Nepali, “Najau aba khadima khusi sanga paisa khojum hamrai pakha, hamrai barima.” This is the seventh in the series Striking Roots, where we feature the stories of entrepreneurs from across the country. If you know someone whose story needs to be shared, email us at editors@nepalitimes.com

Milking every opportunity

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

dairy

Down in Sherpa’s farm

Milking every opportunity

Turkish Basketball

The Last Days of the Khampa

Turkish to Seville

Digital protection for Nepal’s art