Loden Foundation
Fostering an enlightened and happy society through promotion of education, social entrepreneurship and Bhutan’s culture and tradition
Loden Foundation is dedicated to fostering an enlightened and happy society through promotion of social entrepreneurship, education and Bhutan’s culture and tradition across the Bhutanese society.
Our core programme areas are as follows:
- Education initiatives
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Culture Programme
Education Initiatives
The Loden Foundation was one of the first organizations to support children at school in Bhutan by providing costs for uniforms, stationeries, sports gear, etc. Although school education in Bhutan is state financed, such extra costs can be often too heavy a burden for rural families whose livelihoods are based on subsistence farming.
Since 2012, Loden Foundation supports deserving students for higher education. It has also been a pioneer in starting and operating Early Learning Centers for young children in far flung areas.
Our work is two-fold:
We find either a sponsor or a child as requested
We channel and administer the funds efficiently
ECCD (Early learning Centres):
There are many day care centres and kindergartens in the cities but very few places for early child development and learning in rural parts of Bhutan. This puts the rural children at disadvantage in education. Loden ECCD Centres aim to give equal opportunities to the rural children and help them gain an early start in education.
Loden currently operates five ECCD centres in the following Districts:
- Ura Community in Bumthang
- Lingmithang Community in Monggar
- Norbugang Community in Samtse
- Goshing Community in Zhemgang
- Dawakha Community in Paro
Loden hopes to establish similar centres in other parts of Bhutan to help supplement the state effort.
You can donate funds, children’s books, toys and nursery rhymes to support our centres. Contact info@loden.org.
Scholarship for School Children
Child sponsorship was the first project of the Loden Foundation. Loden started as a programme to link potential sponsors with poor children in the Himalayas. Hundreds of village students in the Himalayan countries do not go to school or abandon it prematurely because their families cannot afford a school uniform or few books.
Social Entrepreneurship
Why Entrepreneurship Programme?
Traditionally, economic activity in Bhutan centred on farming and trading. In a rapidly changing world, such activities cannot add sufficient value and economic growth or provide employment to the increasing number of educated and intelligent young people who enter the workforce every year. The development of a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship can meet these needs. Our programme is designed to promote and encourage entrepreneurial activity, while maintaining social and ethical responsibility.
How it Works
Training:
A core part of our Entrepreneurship Programme is to develop an understanding of entrepreneurship amongst Bhutanese people, and especially amongst young people who may be about to leave school or college.
Twice each year, we run 2 day training courses to explain the concepts and to enthuse young people to consider becoming entrepreneurs, the training is also aimed at people who may have started a small business but wish to grow it. The courses are run in all parts of Bhutan and are typically attended by up to 100 participants.
Subjects covered include marketing, business strategy, accounting, preparing business plans and how to convert an idea into a business proposition.
Financing:
The Loden Entrepreneurship Programme (LEP) offers interest and collateral free loans that are repayable over three years after an initial repayment holiday of up to 6 months to a year. The term of repayment will be linked to the nature of the business, for instance the period will be longer for an agricultural proposal where there is a growing and maturity cycle. Most types of business will be considered for support, whether in service, farming or manufacturing sectors, provided they comply with Buddhist principles and are expected to create employment opportunities.
Selected business ideas can avail loans up to maximum of Nu 1.5 million. Although no security is sought, we do require a guarantor.
The ‘Call for Business Proposals’ are made twice a year , around Spring and Fall seasons. During this time, aspiring Bhutanese entrepreneurs are invited to submit business proposals and other necessary documents listed in the detailed announcement. Business proposals are reviewed and shortlisted by a panel of judges comprising of Bhutanese and international business experts. The final shortlisted applicants are then called for a final round of interview.
Mentoring and Monitoring:
An important part of Loden’s entrepreneurship programme is the support we give and the encouragement of networking amongst our family of entrepreneurs. We also monitor the businesses we support and their financial performance through a combination of our management team in Thimphu who are supported by skilled people with relevant business experience, who may be based locally or overseas.
Our team regularly visits entrepreneurs when we offer business advice and in some cases moral support – we know it sometimes can be very lonely being in business! Our commitment to providing ongoing support to our entrepreneurs differentiates Loden from a simple credit provider.
Culture Programme
The Loden’s Cultural Program aims to preserve and pass on the rich cultural heritage of Bhutan to future generations. The programme focuses on the documentation and study of Bhutan’s written and oral traditions.
- Documentation & Study of Bhutan’s Oral Traditions
The rich and vibrant ancient cultures of Bhutan are fast disappearing as globalization reaches even remote valleys of Bhutan. This programme aims to carry out an extensive audio-visual documentation of Bhutan’s oral and intangible cultures.
- Digital Documentation of Bhutan’s Written Heritage
Bhutan has a lot of far-flung monasteries and temples today representing a literary treasure trove that is still unharmed and unexplored. Through this programme, we undertake a digitization programme to safely preserve the precious archives in digital copies and to make them available to scholars and readers resulting in over four million images of books from some 27 temple and family archives.
Who we are?
Dr. Karma Phuntsho
Founder and President
Lopen (Dr) Karma Phuntsho was trained as a monk in Bhutan and India, and received a M.St and D.Phil in Oriental Studies at Balliol College, Oxford. He was a researcher at CNRS, Paris and the Spalding Fellow for Comparative Religion at Clare Hall, Cambridge University. He is currently the president and the founder of Loden Foundation and the director of Shejun Agency (www.shejun.org), a non-profit organization that focuses on the documentation and study of Bhutan’s written heritage and oral traditions. He is currently based in Thimphu, Bhutan. He is the author of the Books; History of Bhutan and The Autobiogrpahy of Terton Pema Lingpa.
With him, many other volunteers, scholars, students and ordinary people are working for this project.
Traditionally, economic activity in Bhutan centred on farming and trading. In a rapidly changing world, such activities cannot add sufficient value and economic growth or provide employment to the increasing number of educated and intelligent young people who enter the workforce every year. The development of a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship can meet these needs. Our programme is designed to promote and encourage entrepreneurial activity, while maintaining social and ethical responsibility.
Bhutan Dialogues is a space for critical and civil conversations with thought leaders and changemakers drawing upon their expertise, achievements and inspiration. It aims to invigorate development thinking and refine our ideas and the pursuit of human progress. It is a forum for right speech and mindful listening.
Bhutan Dialogues is led by Loden Foundation and The United Nations in Bhutan. Dr Karma Phuntsho, a thought leader, social worker and the President of Loden Foundation currently serves pro bono as the host for the dialogues.
Read more about the Loden Foundation here
