News Petition Campaign Ambassadors Climate for My Life Blog

WWF

Skip to content

Home

News

Khumbu Festival

19 June 2009
Khumjung, Nepal - As part of the Imja Tsho Action Event held in the Khumbu Region to raise awareness about Climate Change and its impacts on the Himalayas, the Khumbu Festival was held in Khumjung village. The festival focused on highlighting the Mountain Communities of that region, their culture, heritage, and their crucial role in maintaining and protecting the mountain environment.

This event was part of WWF’s Climate for Life campaign to raise global awareness on the impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayas. The event was organized by Tsherwi Yondhen Tshokpa (a Sherpa students’ group) and iDEAS and supported by ICIMOD and The Himalayan Trust. Youth Clubs, Social Service Units and the local residents of the region also actively participated to make the event a success.

During the opening session of the programme, medals, certificates and Climate-for-Life mementos were distributed to the winners of the Beat the GLOF Action Run held on the previous day. Speakers lauded the efforts of the local communities who had actively worked towards raising awareness about this issue and emphasized that the international community should, now, help turn this awareness into action on the ground.

The WWF childrens’ book series “Pani Prasad” in Nepali was launched at the programme, which became an instant hit with adults and children alike. The Pani Prasad mascot also circulated the Festival, amidst cheers from the crowd. WWF also set up a stall at the Festival, interacting with the local communities and disseminating information on various environmental issues including Climate Change.

The Festival was a wonderful display of the local culture and traditions. There were traditional Sherpa dance and song competitions; stalls were run by the Aama Samuha (Mothers’ Group) selling traditional Sherpa food items as well as Cottage Industry items; the participants mostly wore traditional attire. Inhabitants from all over the Khumbu had come to participate in the Festival, and the singing and dancing went on through the night, as people from different castes and communities all came together to raise their voic e for a single cause.