Economic-Strengthening Pathways for the Bottom Billion

Hello, my lovely readers!  As mentioned in a recent post, it's very exciting to see the literary fruits after two years in my current role at the Grameen Foundation, working with some of the poorest populations of the world.  Of course, nothing beats seeing impact and an improvement in their lives.  As a practitioner, documenting our processes and learnings that allow for these outcomes is becoming increasingly important.  In May 2010, a group of practitioners gathered virtually to discuss how we can intentionally and more effectively reach and service the poorest to facilitate a sustained movement out of poverty.  This report summarizes the main issues raised during the e-consultation, “Economic-Strengthening Pathways for the Bottom Billion: Connecting the Dots,” sponsored by Poverty Outreach Working Group of The SEEP Network, May 17–19, 2011. A complete transcript of the discussion is available at http://tinyurl.com/2011econsult.

The e-consultation brought practitioners from different economic development disciplines together in order to learn about one another’s recent innovations in reaching the very poor and helping them move along an economic-strengthening pathway toward increased economic self-reliance and growth. By better understanding various dimensions of extreme poverty and identifying different segments within very poor populations, e-consultation participants started to lay a foundation for a common conceptual framework for economic strengthening. This framework reveals relevant entry points for different interventions and services along a pathway from extreme poverty to economic self-reliance.


The paper can be accessed by clicking here or copying and pasting the following link in your browser: http://www.seepnetwork.org/economic-strengthening-pathways-for-the-bottom-billion--connecting-the-dots-resources-349.php.

A Place of Travelers and Magicians

I remember one Friday afternoon in Kabul, we had little to distract ourselves with and decided to download and watch a film projected onto our dining room wall.  My very good friend and colleague found Travelers and Magicians, a Bhutanese film, depicting the tensions between the new and the old that the younger generations face.  Nyingma and Khajupa are the two sects of Buddhism practiced here, and while the former allows monks to marry, the more dominant latter limits life to prayer and the monastery.  More and more, monks are choosing to resign from such a life and join the movement towards modernization.  But, this generation is torn between two worlds because while one tempts them with an unknown future with the outside world, the other is a magical one that ties them very strongly to the magnificence of their past and present, woven by who possibly else but magicians.  I was beginning to feel convinced so as I made the two or so hour hike up to the Taktshang Goemba (Tiger’s Nest monastery), and upon reaching my destination, there wasn’t a single doubt left in my mind. 

Massive prayer wheels and strings upon strings of colorful prayer flags guided the way up to the Tiger’s Nest.  The monastery gained its name from the belief that Guru Rinpoche flew there on the back of a tiger, believed to have been a manifestation of his consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, to conquer the demon, Singey Samdrup.  He, then, stayed on to meditate in a cave for three months around which a temple has been built within the monastery.  The last stretch of the journey to the monastery included descending and then ascending a flight of 700 steps, crossing a small bridge under a waterfall, and passing the Singye Pelphu Lakhang (Snow Lion Cave), where Guru Rinpoche’s consort is believed to have meditated.  The views of the monastery grow increasingly magnificent throughout the hike, but once one reaches the entrance, it is a photographer’s torture.  Like with all temples, photography is not allowed within the walls of the structure.  It was painful to bear, but the rationale behind the rule is sound.  The monastery’s temples, like all Bhutanese temples, contain absolutely lovely bronze and gold-plated statues of the Guru, Buddha, various forms of Tara, and many other Buddhist deities.  Because the treatment of captured images by tourists can’t be controlled once removed from a memory card, the government believes the sanctity of the divine would be at risk.  The government established this rule after openings its doors to visitors to pre-empt any potential defamation of their gods and saints. 

Prayer wheel at the base of the Taktshang Goemba cliff

More prayer wheels and flags with the monastery in the backdrop

Prayer wheel, situated one hour into the hike

Prayer flags garland the hiking path

Singye Pelphu Lhakhang (Snow Lion Cave)

The monastery is comprised of a series of temples connected by courtyards lined with prayer wheels and walls covered with colorful murals depicting various scenes from Buddhist mythology.  Doorways gilded with gold and other metals with intricate designs mark the entry into each temple, the most breathtaking housing three massive statues of the divine with elaborate and colorful iron-welded backdrops of vines, lotus flowers, and celestial clouds.  Thangkas and multi-colored banners adorn the ceilings, while bronze cups of holy water and brass butter lamps embellish the shrines.  I could have remained there staring away for hours.  With such structural wonders embedded within mountain crevices or just inches from collapsing into stunning valleys, it’s no wonder that many believe Bhutan may be the long lost, elusive Shangri-La. 

Stunning Bhutanese architecture

A view of the Taktshang Goemba through prayer flags

Guru Sungjem Lhakang and Guru Tsengye Lhakhang

Another view of the Tiger's Nest, held by "angels' hairs"

Sun finally shines on the monastery

En route to the monastery

Drukpa playing the traditional chiwang (fiddle)

Before heading to Thimphu, we visited Paro (Rinpung) Dzong, which literally translates as ‘fortress on a heap of jewels.’  The dzong is overlooked by Bhutan’s national museum, which is somewhat rudimentary but still houses a spectacular collection of the colorful masks used during religious festivals.  Dzongs are some of the best examples of Bhutanese architecture and often house both civil service offices and monasteries.  The white-washed walls of the dzong are massive and are also ornamented with those stunning arch-framed windows described in yesterday’s post.  Within the outerwalls, lined with balconies at each level from which monks peer out, is the largest structure of the dzong--- a five story tower housing the government offices at the center of the courtyard.  Dzongs’ monumental size allowed for their use as fortresses from where the military could defend the country from the various invasions throughout its history. 

Manidhar flags along the banks of the Paro Chhu

Monks at their present home, Paro (Rinpung) Dzong

The Wheel of Life mural inside the Dzong

More stunning intricate word carvings

Main entrance to the Dzong

The 'Utse' or 'Central Tower' of Paro Dzong

Monk seated by the dukhang (prayer hall) entrance

LOVE these arched windows!

Guarding the dukhang

During the major festivals, the largest being tsechu, which occurs during the peak tourism season (September/October), the dzong’s courtyard is decorated with vibrant banners and thangkas as dancers adorn themselves in the most colorful of costumes and masks of animals, deities, and celestial beings to reinact significant stories and events from Buddhist folklore.  While unfortunately I’m missing out on observing and even engaging in these unique theatrical events at the heart of Bhutanese culture, I admittedly am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to explore this mystical land with the sense that I have it all to myself!  

In the Land of the Dragon

It’s not every day that your pilot announces through the intercom, “And, in roughly twenty minutes, we’ll be passing by Mt. Everest, which can be viewed from the left side of the aircraft.”  My side!  Um, wow?  As the aircraft entered Bhutan, the terrain and climate immediately shifted to a mountainous, cold one amidst blankets of blue pine and cypress trees.  The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to pre-empt a sense of alarm in us passengers as we descended into Paro airport, cautioning us of the usual heavy turbulence.  Shortly before touchdown, it appeared we would crash right into the side of a mountain as the plane veered to the left before miraculously hitting the run way in a final moment of perfection.  This was clearly not the first time this pilot had flown into Paro International airport.  Panic was suspended and replaced with awe.  We had reached the Land of the Dragon at last.

Mt. Everest from a Druk Air aircraft

Day one in this breathtaking country has been magnificent!  Paro is a tiny, barren town cushioned in its namesake valley with a population widely dispersed across paddy fields and apple orchards.  White prayer flags for the dead (manidhar) emerge vertically from the pine covered mountain slopes, blowing vigorously in the wind, while the colorful flags of the live (lhadhar), garlanding trees, fences, bridges, and temple courtyards dance vivaciously.  Their reflections can be seen in the crystal blue waters of the Paro Chhu, its banks lined with white pebble stones of all sizes, as it flows through the middle of the town.  Houses built in the traditional style, as decreed by Bhutanese law, are either white-washed or made of stone and are ornamented with intricately carved, wooden arched windows, usually two rows of three arches, one atop the other, painted in maroon, orange, and yellow hues.  The arches are typically filled in with purple, blue, or turquoise curtains or shutters, making each set of windows appear like marvelous ornaments.  The walls of the top level of a home are only of a waist-level height ad used for storage of household goods, straw, and animal feed.  Each home, to me, seemed worthy of being a national monument.

I suppose that was the king’s purpose.  Bhutan only recently opened its doors to tourism, and roads, telephones, the internet, and television followed only shortly after.  While its leadership has accepted that an isolated existence is no longer viable, it has, with tremendous thought and prudence, strategically embraced what is considers are necessary aspects of modernization while minimizing any compromise of national identify and culture to the extent possible.  Men and women are required to wear the national dress, gho and kira, respectively, when at work, school, and religious and state functions.  Selling cigarettes is illegal, and Bhutan was the first country to ban plastic bags and smoking in public places.  Most noteworthy is the country’s method of measuring its development--- through gross national happiness (GNH) --- an index reflecting the fourth king’s dream of a country where “compassion is favored over capitalism and wellbeing is measured alongside productivity.”

Paro (Rinpung) Dzong on the banks of the Paru Chhu

Paro Valley and the Drukgyel Dzong

Drukpa chewing paan near the Dzong

General store in the typical Bhutanese architectural style

The country’s history is a vibrant mix of modern fact with an ancient one deeply rooted in Buddhist folklore and mythology.  Many monuments, temples (lakhang), and monasteries (guemba) are hundreds of years old and have origins linked to the most significant and famous saint of all, Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padhmasambhava), who is believed to be an incarnation of Buddha.  My first stop in Paro was to Bhutan’s oldest and most beautiful temples, Kyichu Lakhang, which houses one of the largest statues of the Guru, alongside a red Tara holding a bow and arrow made of flowers.  According to lore, when the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo, believed that a demoness embedded in the earth was blocking the transportation of what is now Bhutan’s most sacred treasure, the Jowo Sakyamuni statue, he ordered for one hundred and eight temples to be erected in a single day to pin down the demoness to the earth forever.  The Kyichu Lakhang is believed to be the temple built on the left leg of the demoness, the most troublesome part of her body.

We wrapped up the day at one of Bhutan’s many significant dzongs (fortresses), the Drukgyel Dzong, which has largely been destroyed after a butter lamp accident set it ablaze in 1951.  The Dzong was built in 1659 to commemorate the victory over Tibetan invaders.  I was told that Tibet is only a two-day trek from there, just through the two mountains in the Dzong’s backdrop. 

Prayer wheels of Kyichu Lakhang

Walls of Kyichu Lakhang

Lhradha prayer flags in Paro Valley

Knob of the Kyichu Lakhang entrance door

A Drukpa circumambulating the Kyichu Lakhang 

As we made our way back to the guesthouse, I gazed up at the Taktshang Goemba, perched 900 meters above on the side of a cliff.  The Tiger’s Nest Monastery is Bhutan’s most famous site, and I’ll be exploring it in about twelve hours!