Sonam Wangchuk, a mechanical engineer from Ladakh
who is believed to be the inspiration behind the 'phunsukh wangdu' character in '3 idiots'
His school is known for innovation
his creation 'Ice Stupa' got a Rolex award in 2016
A prize money of 67Lakhs, all of which he contributed towards creating a University
so who is this man and whats his story, lets us drive to Ladakh
Story begins during his days as a student
Sonam wanted to choose Mechanical, his father wanted him to go for Civil engineering
So Sonam decided to pay the fee on his own
He started classes for students during his Semester holidays
in the hope to pay the next year fee
But his teaching methods got so popular that more kids started coming in
with this, he was able to earn enough money for the rest of his engineering
Thus started a journey which is empowering 1000s of Ladakhi kids with Education
during the 90s, only 5% of the Ladakhi kids were passing matriculation
Sonam after his Engineering, has decided to change the education system in Ladakh
and with some of his friends started SECMOL(Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh)
With the help of Government has made the curriculum more relevant
He has included locals & parents in supporting the schools
in 7 years the passing percentage has become 55
and 2015 it has become 75%
Sonam was happy with the result, but still there were 25% of kids who failed
He believes that its not the kids who fail, its the system which fails them
So Sonam has started an alternate school for these kids
with only one criteria for admission, that the students must have failed in the traditional schooling system
if they pass, their name might be in waiting list :)
This school functions like a small country
they have their own parliament which changes every 2 months
there are goals set for the 2 months and kids drive the decisions in achieving them
different ministers are nominated
They have their own radio show, news paper and even a timezone
the time zone is 1 hour ahead of IST, Sonam says this helps in kids waking up early and going to bed not too late after sunset
he says if the whole world followed this, how much energy would we save
Kids here learn by doing
an example is, kids make Jams and they understand chemistry when they are trying to preserve it for longer duration
they learn marketing and finance when they have to sell the jam
and with money earned they travel, because of which they understand Geography
The school is located on the banks of Sindhu river
All the buildings in the Campus are made up of mud and all their energy  needs are met by Solar energy
cooking, heating and even pumping water
Through the day the walls here absorb heat and release it during the night
Maintaining a +15 temperature inside even when the outside temperature is -15
Leh is a big desert
their primary source of water comes from melting of Glaciers
so they have a great influx of water during summers
but the months preceding summers are the worse
Sonam with a fellow engineer came up with an innovative idea, Ice Stupa
without the use of moving parts or electricity or storage facility
provides water during spring time
So how does this work ?
Ladakh  is a hilly area, so pipes are laid so that water from streams at higher altitude is directed to a low altitude land area
Water flows without any pumps because of gravity
During winters when the temperature is about -15 deg C
The flow is turned on and it comes out as a fountain
since the temperature outside is so low, it immediately becomes ice
this running all night takes the form of a Cone
Cone has a low surface area to volume ratio, so it is exposed to less heat during day and melts less
But WAIT ? if the temperature is so low that its frezing, how is water flowing in streams and the pipe
If you thought this, then you are today's, 'Student of the day' :)
Because of  special property of Ice, the top layer of streams become Ice but the lower layer are still water and flowing
We are making a video coming Saturday about this, do watch out
Come Spring time, this Stupa slowly starts melting providing water
This is mostly used in Irrigation and utilities
The school planted 5000 tress and water for these are drawn from the Ice Stupa
Water is released between the months of March-June
post that starts summer and they get watre from the Glaciers
Each Stupa stores about 20Lakh litres of water
Sonam wishes many more of these are setup
So the desert becomes a forest and would help in Global warming
If this happens, it would be the first time the number of Glaciers is increasing with time after the Ice age
This project got great recognition
They were invited to Sikkim to work on Lhonak lake which has a high chance of flooding
they used Siphon technique to divert water to a different region
Siphon techinique is how we take petrol from cars and bikes during emergency
They were invited to create an Ice Stupa in the Alps of Switzerland
This is one of the rare occasion where we are transferring our technology to the west
Many students form this school are in notable positions now
Sonam says, if our failures can do this, imagine what our sucessful ones can do
When asked what further goals he has
Siachen Glacier where there is constant tension, it is estimated that we spend about 5Cr per day to secure the border
He wishes that both the nations resolve their differences and spend this 5Cr in education than security
helping in aiding development
second his alternative university for which he has donated all his money from the Rolex award
If you wish to donate for this cause, link is available below
and I wish Sonam Wangchuk great Success and a very Happy Teachers Day :)
Thanks for watching and Keep learning, for a Better Us means a Better Tomorrow :)
