The Prince of Wales has joined the fight to preserve Sherpa heritage in Nepal.
By Charlie Norton
Published: 8:00AM GMT 06 Mar 2010
More than £14,000 has been raised to ensure that one of the last remaining traditional Sherpa homes will be preserved as a museum. Prince Charles was appointed president of the Sherpa Heritage Trust, and Sir Chris Bonington, the mountaineer, its patron. Supported also by Doug Scott CBE and chairman Maggie Burgess, the project has raised funds through the charity Community Action Nepal.
The home, which adjoins a Buddhist temple in the centre of Khumjung, was the first built by the Sherpas after their displacement from Tibet in the 16th century. It has been donated by Pertemba Sherpa, who has climbed Everest three times and guided the Prince through Annapurna in 1981.
The Prince told Telegraph Travel: “Trekking twice in Nepal, with Pertemba Sherpa as my guide, I was struck by the breathtaking beauty of the scenery and the charm of the Nepalese people. But even then I could see the pressure on their ancient customs. So I fully appreciate the importance of renovating the Sherpa Heritage House into a living museum so that present and future generations in the Sherpa community can experience their rich and remarkable heritage and can appreciate in a tangible, memorable way how their forbears lived.”
Building modernisation in the Himalayas has left very few traditional Sherpa houses. Speaking at a gala dinner in London last month, Pertemba said: “This house is unique. The younger generation need to know their culture and history.”
A fundraising trek led by Sir Chris Bonington and Pertemba Sherpa to the grand opening of the Sherpa Heritage House takes place in late October.
Thanks to S.Sherpa for posting the news article about the Sherpa Heritage House donated by my uncle Pertemba Sherpa. It is very enthusiastic that the Prince of wales has graced himself as the President of this Sherpa Heritage House and prominent mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington as the Patron.
This highlights the importance of the preservation of traditional values and customs and sets an example of the living museum. I fully extend my support to the great cause of my uncle Pertemba Sherpa to establish such a historic house into a museum. The establishment of the museum will definitely promote tourism business to the surrounding villages of Khumjung and Kunde.
I wish the successful opening ceremony of this museum in this coming October.
Nima Wangchu Sherpa and Family,
Santa Barbara, california.
This is a wonderful example of an extremely dedicated and a visionary Sherpa literally dedicating his house to preserve and foster Sherpa Culture. In this world where our culture seems to be squeezed and challenged from all sides, steps taken by individuals such as Achang Pertemba give us hope that our culture still has a fairly good chance against changes in the modern world.
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