Partnerships

Current Funders and Networks

The Future Earth Network supports initiative in development on the basis of social justice and ecological sustainability. Based in Sweden, the network has member organisations in Asia and Latin America. SECMOL has been a member since the 1990s, and other Ladakhi partner organisations are LEHO, LEDeG, Women’s Alliance of Ladakh, and Ladakh Amchi Sabha.

Past funders

The Timken Company (India) donated funds for a new Multi-Purpose Hall and a solar building course for Ladakhi youth, in 2016-17. Their funding allowed us to start building an Eco-Training Centre Hostel.

From 2008 to 2012, SECMOL’s media section made videos and radio programmes in Ladakhi, Hindi, Urdu amd English for GERES’s project to build solar heated houses in Ladakh and raise awareness of climate change.

From 2010 through 2012, SECMOL was a partner in the La Ngonpo Project of The Multicultural Centre Prague, connecting Ladakhi and Czech students for cultural exchange online, funded by the European Union.

In 1995, SECMOL’s school reform project, Operation New Hope, won the Operation Days Work grant raised by the students of Denmark. It supported the massive school reform movement in Ladakh from 1996 to 2001, including construction of a residential government high school in remote Changthang; a teachers training centre; training courses for teachers, villagers and headmasters; village education campaigns; tours for headmasters and leaders to see inspiring education models; locally relevant textbooks for government schools of Leh District; and more.

DanChurchAid administered the Operation Days Work grant and continued supporting the Operation New Hope school reform movement after 2001.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, SSNC, Naturskyddsforeningen in the mid 1990s supported the founding of SECMOL’s sustainable campus in Phey: the fields and gardens, the water supply, some solar heated buildings, and other related things.

The Karuna Trust funded SECMOL’s weekly radio and TV programmes and other school reform mobilisation activities, and a video about SECMOL’s youth programmes.

WWF India supported SECMOL teaching environmental issues and climate change to Ladakhi youth.

Informal partners and friend organisations

Teach For India trains and places highly educated enthusiastic people to teach in low-income schools in Pune, Mumbai and other metros. Many of them have come to volunteer at SECMOL or Ladakhi government schools during their school holidays. Indians and OCIs considering changing careers for a few years should check it out.

Saurabh Phadke is an architect who teaches with fun and action about earth building, sustainable sanitation (i.e. composting toilets), and other earth and people-friendly building and design ideas. He coordinated the Natural Building Apprenticeships (short courses in solar design and earth building) at SECMOL, 2013. 2014 and 2015. See his presentation about a building course he gave at SECMOL.

Manzil is a youth empowerment learning centre in Delhi, with which we have had many fruitful exchanges since they first brought a group to a SECMOL youth camp in summer 2001. Manzil has hosted SECMOL staff and students when they were in Delhi and provided many interesting contacts and exchanges.