Nestled in Annapurna region, the Gilung Village is a haven for those trekking to the Himalayas. In order to acclimate to the altitude of the Himalayas, trekkers enjoy Internet Café’s, see the sites of many historical buildings and shop for any goods they may need on their journey to the top of the world. The village has cool, wet summers and chilly, dry winters mainly affected by its altitude and the summer monsoon season.
There is no government in the village, only schools and families that have lived here for generations.Sacred Economics is how they live. Everyone lives happily together and takes care of one other by the services they offer.
The felt for the strikers is made by hand and assembled individually with care and Love. To see the women get so excited for how their felt feels is pure Love. They are excited to be a part of making something so beautiful. The hand hammered singing bowls are also made with pure Love. The men take great pride in producing these Master Grade Healing bowls. Everyone is a part of the team.
The village also has big beautiful homes that the families live in. In some cases, because of the lack of a government to enforce restoration of these buildings, these old half-timbered homes are torn down to be replaced by huge concrete buildings. The earthquakes that hit this village heavily damaged many of these homes. The houses are still standing, including one of the two five-tiered, however the families are not able to live in them due to their instability. Many heritage experts say glimmers of hope still remain in restoring these beautiful homes rather than replacing them with concrete monstrosities.
The children of the village have been spending their days out in the open, singing and dancing and drawing in order to move through the trauma of losing their homes. Education is going to be a key concern as now many schools have been damaged or have been reassigned as temporary housing. There is a child friendly space at the relief camp that keeps children engaged in play, a crucial step to ensure children that the children heal from the trauma of the earthquakes. This village is heavily dependent on international help. This is their source of funding in order to continue living the lives they so enjoy and producing the goods they make for the rest of the world.
While search and rescue efforts have been difficult to find everyone, many of the villagers have set up their businesses and are making their goods again. The first batch of post-earthquake singing bowls are in their final stages. The monies that are raised from the sale of these bowls will go directly into helping the Gilung Village restore to a new version of life. People will want to re-engage with what they see as normalcy.
The villagers feel they really touch people’s hearts with their helping hands because of the different businesses they offer. These businesses provide many jobs for everyone. There is plenty of raw material available so that everyone can benefit in sharing a life for their families that includes food, education and homes to live in. They work with their hands and their hearts in order to live in a Sacred Economic fashion. The children of the village are the reflection of this living environment. They are well taken care of, are able to be educated and when the time is right, they begin working with their hearts in whatever they want to do.
There are so many opportunities to help create lives that everyone loves being a part of. Not only do they make singing bowls, but they can also make scarves, yoga pants, hand carved pieces of art made from wood and crystals that are found glittering all over the countryside. If we can pay them for a good they make and import it to the rest of the world, then they can continue their way of life and flourish for generations to come.