Introduction

Sonam Wangchuk, an Indian engineer and education reformist, was born on September 1, 1966. He is most renowned for establishing the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) in 1988 in response to the shortcomings of the local educational system. He avoided using fossil fuels by designing the SECMOL complex to function only on solar energy. He started a cooperative project called Operation New Hope in 1994 with the goal of improving government schools. In order to alleviate water scarcity in Ladakh, Wangchuk is also credited with developing the Ice Stupa technique, which builds artificial glaciers to store water for the winter.

Early life

Sonam Wangchuk was born in 1966 close to Alchi in Ladakh, but because there were no schools in the area, he didn't start school until he was nine years old. In their mother tongue, he received instruction. At 9, he relocated to Srinagar for schooling, where he battled with language barriers and endured harassment, which he characterized as the saddest point of his life. He fled to Delhi in 1977 in order to ask a school principal for assistance. Wangchuk disagreed with his father over his topic of study, therefore he had to pay for his studies in order to receive his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology Srinagar in 1987. In 2011, he studied Earthen Architecture for two years at the Craterre School of Architecture in France.

Career

Sonam Wangchuk initiated Operation New Hope and co-founded the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) in 1988. In addition to being the Hill Council Government's education advisor, he edited Ladags Melong from 1993 to 2005. He was a contributor to the Ladakh 2025 Vision Document and founded the Ladakh Voluntary Network in 2002. In order to preserve winter water for agriculture, Wangchuk created the Ice Stupa in 2013. He was also appointed to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education. He began working on the FarmStays Ladakh initiative in 2016 and has been concentrating on the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives since 2015.

Innovations 

In order to promote energy-saving ideas, Sonam Wangchuk has planned and managed the construction of passive solar mud structures in Ladakh, Sikkim, and Nepal. His rammed earth school, fueled by solar energy, stays warm during the bitterly cold winters. When SECMOL was leading the World Congress on Earthen Architecture in Lyon, France in July 2016, the organization was awarded the International Terra Award for best building. The solar-heated lecture hall and multiple classrooms within SECMOL's rammed earth "Big Building" were built with conventional low-cost methods while adhering to the principles of passive solar architecture.

Ice Stupa

To help Ladakh's farmers deal with their water shortage, Sonam Wangchuk launched the Ice Stupa project in January 2014. He built a prototype that could hold 150,000 gallons of winter stream water. In 2015, his suggested method of siphon drainage caused a disastrous flash flood in Zanskar after a landslide created a deadly lake. He used the Ice Stupa technique in Sikkim in 2016 and received an invitation to construct the first Ice Stupas in Europe for winter tourism in the Swiss Alps. In Ladakh, local artisans constructed a 10-foot-tall ice stupa in February 2018. The project took 25 days to complete at -12°C.

Mobile Solar-Powered Tents 

Sonam Wangchuk created solar-powered tents for the Indian army in February 2021; each tent could house roughly ten soldiers. The difficult circumstances faced by 50,000 Indian soldiers in high-altitude regions served as an inspiration to him. These tents exploit the heat they retain throughout the day to stay warm at night.

Politics

In 2013, Sonam Wangchuk assisted in the formation of the New Ladakh Movement (NLM), which was motivated by the aspirations of Ladakhi students and aimed at advancing sustainable education, the environment, and the economy. In the end, the campaign transformed into a non-political social endeavor that aimed to bring together local political figures for Ladakh's development.

Boycott of Chinese products

In June 2020, in the wake of border clashes between China and India, Sonam Wangchuk called for Indians to utilize their "wallet power" to boycott Chinese goods. His plea attracted a lot of media coverage and celebrity endorsements, and it coincided with calls for a general boycott of Chinese products following the June 15 clash in Galwan Valley.

Ladakh autonomy protest

Sonam Wangchuk tried a fast in Khardungla Pass on January 26, 2023, to draw attention to the effects of climate change on Ladakh and to demand that it be protected under the Indian Constitution's Sixth Schedule. The authorities put him under house arrest and limited his access, stating that temperatures below -40°C were inappropriate. Wangchuk persisted in his fast and protest from the campus of HIAL. He started a fast until death in March 2024 to support protection from industrial interests and constitutional safeguards. He also organized a 21-day hunger strike to demand independence for Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.

In popular culture

2009 saw Sonam Wangchuk rise to fame as his tale served as the basis for Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots character Phunsukh Wangdu. Frequently called "the real-life Phunsukh Wangdu," he makes it clear that he does not represent the role.