Climate activist Gitanjali Angmo, Director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, has emerged as a forceful voice for the people of her region. A Chevening scholar and social entrepreneur, she relocated to Ladakh in 2017 with the focus of creating a model of experiential learning whereby students are taught to tackle the challenges of climate change and to find sustainable solutions to the problems facing people living in this cold desert.

In the last five years, she has worked to create 150,000 sq ft of sustainable infrastructure and guided over 300 students to combine innovation with sustainable lifestyles. She is presently in the news speaking out forcefully for the release of her husband, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was arrested under the NSA and flown to Jodhpur for leading a peaceful protest, demanding statehood for Ladakh and implementation of the Sixth Schedule.

Angmo has no hesitation in pointing out how her husband, a scientist by training, has spent the last two decades doing grassroots innovations suited to the unique environment of Ladakh. In 2005, Wangchuk was appointed as a member of the National Governing Council for Elementary Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development. While working on innovative methods of primary education, he also spent time developing a prototype of an artificial glacier called the ‘Ice Stupa’ that could store the stream waters during the winters in the form of giant ice cones. The water would be released for agricultural purposes during late spring. This technology has been accepted by several countries in........

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