Glacier Man
CHEWANG NORPHEL
A retired civil
engineer battles climate change in the Himalayas, building artificial glaciers
that provide irrigation water to mountain villages
At more than 4000 meters above
sea level in
the trans-Himalayas,
the air is so thin that it can be a struggle simply to
breathe. Yet Chewang Norphel is almost jogging across
the boulder-strewn landscape,
with goatlike agility that
belies his 80 years.
Tonight, he will sleep in a
tent 1000 meters higher up, at
temperatures that dip 10°C below freezing,
so as to continue his work in the morning. And what unusual work it is: Norphel makes
glaciers. He takes
a barren, high-altitude desert and turns it into a field of ice
that supplies perfectly timed
irrigation water to some of the world’s poorest
farmers.
So far, Norphel has built 10 artificial glaciers, which sustain crops that feed some
10,000 people. It’s become
his obsession.
“When it is ver y cold and ver y diff icult work, I have to remain focused. All I can think
about is making the most
successful glacier.
He was
awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India,
in 2015
He spends his time at home tending to his garden along with his wife. Most of his household consumption vegetables & fruits are sourced from here. He has also developed an underground storage place to store vegetables. This natural preservation can keep onions fresh for over 9 months!
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