The Tibetan Settlement Office (T.S.O.) (formerly "Tibetan Welfare Office") is acting within the Tibetan Ministry of the Interior and is part of the central Tibetan administration in

Dharmshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The T.S.O. organizes projects in the social, cultural and economical sectors. Furthermore, they focus on issues of environment and enduring development.

Waste Management

In 1994 the "Clean Upper Dharmshala“-project was launched by the T.S.O. The aim was to solve the waste management in Upper Dharmshala which needed strong efforts due to the increase of nonbiodegradable waste in that region. In the beginning the project had installed three „Green Workers“, who collected recyclable material from companies and households in

McLeod Ganj McLeod Ganj, also spelt McLeodganj, (pronounced ''Mc-loud-gunj'') is a suburb of Dharamshala in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" (a short form of Dharamshala used mainly by Tibetans) because ...

. A great positive impact on the environmental situation could also be achieved by installing five dustbins which were frequently emptied by a dust cart. Furthermore, public toilets were built, which are frequently being maintained. The drainage system in the area of McLeod Ganj and the

Dal Lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in ...

was displaced to prevent water pollution.

Recycling

Recyclable material is being collected door by door by the "Green Workers" or emitted by the households. The following materials are being recycled: *soft

plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their Plasticity (physics), plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be Injection moulding, moulded, Extrusion, e ...

(i.e. plastic bags) *hard plastics (cassettes, ballpoint pens, packages,...) *glass bottles, cullet *

carton A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box. Types of cartons Folding carton ...

*clothes and shoes *

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

and other metals The collected material is either sold in Dharmshala or transported to

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal cor ...

(distance: 80 kilometres). The transportation itself is not cost-effective.

Paper Factory

The T.S.O. opened a little paper factory in Upper Dharmshala where handmade products are made by recycling paper.

The Green Shop

In 1994 "The Green Shop“ was opened and is an environmentally oriented shop selling various products and acts as a collection point for hazardous materials, such as used batteries and expired medicines.Green Shop
Furthermore, the following products are sold: *clean water *paper products from the paper factory *bags *ecological shampoos and conditioners *soaps and crèmes *Tibetan tea

Social Commitment

The Tibetan Settlement Office is concerned about the needs of the society. It tries to find various solutions by questioning youth, education, and old-age provision. The T.S.O. is also giving legal advice in cases of conflicts in the society. One of its main goals is to obtain a social, religious and political harmony within the society. The T.S.O. also established the „Gaddi Women's Self-Help Society“. Since 2003, the Tibetan Settlement Office is a partner o
Austrian Service Abroad
with one Austrian Social Servant (usually) per year working here for ten months.

References

External links

* ttps://cudpswm.wordpress.com Website of the Clean Upper Dharamsala Programme (CUDP)
T.S.O. on facebook

CUDP on facebook
{{Central Tibetan Administration Central Tibetan Administration Sustainability organizations Welfare agencies