Nepal – The Chairro Gompa Restoration

The Chairro Gompa Restoration Project is a great opportunity for you to help Nepali people preserve an important part of their cultural heritage and daily life.

The Chairro Gompa (Gompa is the Tibetan word for ‘Buddhist monastery’) is a 300 year-old building that was once the religious center of the Takhali people of the Mustang region of Nepal. When the Chinese government closed the border to Tibet, the villages along the trade route met with economic hardship. The affluent salt traders of the region were forced to relocate in order to support themselves and their families. The Chairro Gompa fell into poverty and disrepair. For many years the people of the area still came to the monastery to perform their religious practices, but the dwindling population found it difficult to support and maintain it. The last of the resident monks left Chairro in the nineteen seventies and the fate of the gompa was left to the elements and to a handful of locals who tried to conserve the building to the best of their abilities. 

The harsh weather conditions of the area have taken their toll on the outer structure of the gompa and the treasures inside are at risk of being lost forever. Centuries-old wall paintings and sculptures dwell precariously in a building on the verge of collapse. Without immediate attention these works of master artists and craftsmen will be erased from existence.  You can join one of the CRTP groups going to Chairro and participate in the restoration.

Lama Sashi Doj, a world-renowned painter and Buddhist monk, is now in charge of the restoration and conservation of the fine artwork of Chairro Gompa.   He belongs to the family of artists who were responsible for many of the sculptures and wall paintings at Chairro and at other gompas in the area dating back five generations. For the future of Chairro, Sashi is also establishing the first teaching component of the monastery by providing monastic art training and secular infrastructure such as a medical clinic.

You can view a video of our work at Chairro on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFbzFHCaDg

Anyone from any background can participate!  For more information about this program or to find out how to sign up, click on the Sign Up Now button either above or below.