Him Shakti

An initiative to empower the remote Himalayan Villages of Uttarakhand

The snow covered mountains and the picturesque landscapes of the Himalayas are amazing indeed. Be it summer or winters there is special charm of the Himalayas. However there is a paradoxical reality that is disturbing. Most of us visit the mountains as tourists but there are thousands of people who are living here since ancient times. The charm of the mountains attracted us and drew us to a remote village namely - Pilang. Pilang is 10 kms away from the main road and it usually takes around 4 hours to reach the village. While interacting with one of the villager we asked, 'How old is your village?', 'As old as river Pilangini, he replied'. River Pilangini is a tributary of Ganga and is flowing since time immemorial. Despite the fresh air and green environment most villages of Uttrakhand are now turning out to be the ghost villages i.e. 'Villages with just houses without people'. Why is this happening? In our course of interaction with one of the villager we were informed that his child was delivered on the trek while his wife was on her way to the hospital. Luckily, the wife and child survived. Not all are so lucky, there have been cases where the women or the child haven't survived. Another villager from Pilang told us, 'It's easy to die over here than it is to live'. Arduous trek and remote location makes it very difficult for the villagers to procure ration that they cannot grow in the village, medicines, medical care, good schooling, etc. As per another villager, 'almost 200 litres of butter milk gets wasted everyday in the village', due to its remoteness villagers make ghee from the milk they have and the by product butter milk is a perishable product and doesn't lasts that long. Village Pilang is 170 kms away from Dehradun out of which 10kms are to be covered by foot. There are other villages near Pilang and total population of the region is about 1000. Villagers are attached to their village however they are also thinking about leaving due to immense difficulties. One of the villager told us that it is hard to find a groom or a bride for their children, as no one wants to send their daughter or take a girl to/from such a remote location. At Him Shakti we have decided to make a difference in this village.

Didsari, Lonthru and Bayna are located approximately 150 kms from the main city. We have worked here in the past and it was a long struggle to help the villagers get bridge and roads. After a long struggle our goal has been achieved. However the conditions of the village are still not ideal. Can you imagine a kitchen with an Ox tied inside it? There are more than 75 BPL families in this region. Employment is a major challenge, most people just depend upon daily wages work for their income. Even the young minds do not get access to quality education, after their school time they just roam around freely. There is an environment of pessimism in the village, due to which acres of fertile land is lying barren today. According to the villagers, they don't till it because they feel eventually the wild boars and monkeys will eat their crop so what's the use. We at Him Shakti also want to make a difference in this village. The products that we make come to you directly from Didsari, Lonthru, Bayna and Pilang.

Though the Himalayan villagers live in abject poverty, they have something special to offer. They use only organic manure in their fields, they keep their animals in a proper and natural environment so that they get proper exercise and do not give them unnecessary medicines to increase their milk production. Due to lack of proper system and channel these products do not reach out to you. Him Shakti is one of those channel . At Him Shakti, we are committed to:

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