Dear Valued Readers,
Welcome to the August Edition of the Tarayana Foundation Newsletter!
This month, we are excited to share stories of compassion, innovation, and resilience from across Bhutan. From a heartfelt tribute to Her Majesty the Queen Mother to community-driven initiatives in nutrition, safe water, and sustainable farming, each story reflects the spirit of partnership and empowerment that drives our work.
Tarayana Foundation Engages with the Department of Water to Strengthen Collaboration on Water Initiatives
On 1st July 2025, the Tarayana Foundation had the pleasure of hosting a consultative meeting with the Department of Water team, led by Mr. Rinchen Namgay, Chief Program Officer, at the Tarayana Centre. The primary objective of the meeting was to share and discuss the Foundation’s various water-related interventions implemented across the country under different projects and funding support.
The session featured a comprehensive presentation outlining the Foundation’s past achievements, ongoing efforts, and planned initiatives in the water sector. These included rural drinking water schemes, water harvesting systems, irrigation facilities, and community-based water management models, among others. The discussion was aimed at identifying potential overlaps, aligning efforts, and enhancing collaboration between the Foundation and the Department of Water to ensure greater impact and efficiency.
New Wheels, Renewed Hope, Reaching Bhutan’s Last-Mile Communities with Support from BMUV-IKI
With the generous support from the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the International Climate Initiative (IKI) through the project Living Landscape: Securing High Conservation Values in South Western Bhutan, the Tarayana Foundation received two new Toyota Hiluxes.
With the arrival of two new Toyota Hiluxes, a long-standing challenge for our teams- unreliable transport and being stranded in remote jungles for days is finally addressed. These vehicles will be instrumental in helping us reach the remotest villages where we serve, enabling us to work more efficiently, optimize resources, and enhance the impact of our projects on the ground.
This support brings us closer to our shared mission of combating climate change and fostering sustainable development in Bhutan’s most last mile vulnerable communities. Thank you to the IKI project team at the HQ, and the WWF Bhutan team, who saw our struggles on the ground and advocated for us to make this happen. We are immensely grateful. We offer our most humble gratitude to His Eminence Vairochana Rinpoche for his blessings and prayers to take our service to more communities on these wheels.
Empowering Communities Through Food Innovation
As part of our ongoing efforts to build resilient and self-reliant communities, Tarayana Foundation, in collaboration with its local and national partners, successfully initiated a Food Handling and Processing Training for the Lumang Gewog community in Trashigang last month.
The training was organized by the Bhutan Food and Regulatory Authority (BFRA) under the Trashigang Dzongkhag Administration, and implemented through the project “Empowering Rural Communities through Agriproduct Innovation and Local Enterprise Development”, generously funded by the Bhutan Foundation.
The sessions were facilitated by the CEO of Druna Ghu-9 Cereals, who brought invaluable expertise and insight to the community. The training delved into the fundamentals of food processing, covering the “what, why, and for whom” to help participants understand both the opportunities and challenges within the sector.