Dharma, our driver, slowed down for a moment. "See that peak jutting out of that cloud? That's the Rohtang Pass." As extraordinarily skilled as Dharma was manoeuvring along cliff edges and scraping past potential Himalayan landslides, my stomach flipped at the thought of the jeep eventually reaching 3,978m at Rohtang. Maybe it was the combination of 13 hours of rough terrain and altitude sickness that caused me to pass out shortly after, but I remember very little of the next 24 hours, the pass or how we reached our destination. This was the beginning of the most incredible two weeks of our lives.
The Spiti valley is tucked away at almost 4,300m, between the borders of Tibet and India. Home to a population of 10,000 Buddhists, Spiti Valley is also nicknamed "Little Tibet" stemming from the commonalities in traditions, customs and culture shared with their neighbouring region. The high altitude surrounding the valley gives rise to a hostile climate with Spitians spending almost half the year in dry, -30°C conditions. The locals' only source of vegetables is their summer stock, which means scarce supplies of staple vegetables during the colder months. The greenhouse project was a way to change this.
Razan, an old school friend, and I had both been looking for an opportunity that combined sustainable development work, travel and a personal challenge. We came across the website of i-to-i, an organisation connecting volunteers with local charities around the world, which then put us in touch with a charity in India called Ecosphere. Ecosphere were looking for volunteers to build their eco-friendly greenhouse design, which enabled rural farmers to grow vegetables during winter months when temperatures plummet. The project was exactly what we were looking for and we signed up straight away. Running on child-like excitement, we couldn't wait to head to the Himalayas and start building.
Boarding a Kingfisher propeller plane from Delhi (237m above sea level), we flew alongside peaks and landed at the foothills of the Himalayas. The entire plane was stunned by the surrounding beauty when we landed in Kullu. A 90-minute drive later, we arrived in Manali. We were now at almost 2,000m above sea level. At 5am the following day, we set off on our jeep journey to Kazaa (the main village of Spiti) via the Rohtang Pass. We left early to avoid traffic on an already "dangerous road" as described by an experienced, tough-looking local. We avoided looking down and thanks to Dharma's careful steering, the journey was far less nail-biting than I thought it would be.
However, the altitude sickness crept up on me unexpectedly and mercilessly. Nothing can prepare you for it, regardless of how fit you are. From what people told me later, voices had sounded distant, my complexion became ghost-like, food didn't agree with me and my extremities curled up. It's a good thing I don't remember much. I woke up the next morning after arriving in Kazaa (5,575m above sea level) feeling absolutely fine but completely unaware of how I ended up in the Sakya Abode, a guesthouse visited by passing travellers and monks, including the Dalai Lama. It took two days for our bodies to adjust. A minute's walk or slight incline left Razan and I breathless. Skip to the following week and we were lifting bags of mud, trekking up mountains and cycling. We made our final phone calls to our loved ones before heading to the project site for a fortnight where there would be no phone, running water or electricity. We were off to build the greenhouse, the reason we came here. We could not wait.
Pin valley, at about 4,242m is one of the main villages of Spiti and lies roughly two hours by road from Kazaa. The project was based in the Kunghri gonpa (monastery), home to about 150 monks. These monks followed Nyingma, the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The team consisted of myself, Razan, Barbara (another i-to-i volunteer), Kunjin (a local mason), Chhering (an Ecosphere guide) and two additional labourers.
Day one was spent shifting bags of heavy mud across the site to begin the four sides of the structure. By sunset we had completed the first level of the greenhouse. How a team of five was going to complete a six-metres-by-nine-metres structure in 10 working days, was questionable. The next four days were spent building up levels of the outer wall, and once we reached a little more than two metres, work on the inner concrete wall began. We moulded and set the concrete bricks overnight and the climate dried them instantly. Meanwhile, we had started to collect local waste to use as insulation between the walls. Sifting through rubbish, we came across a plethora of commercial household names that had managed to find Spiti, bringing their non-biodegradable bottles, bags and wrappers with them. Any organic material was turned into a compost heap, which will eventually be re-used as greenhouse soil.
Our typical day would begin at sunrise, occasionally attending the morning puja (prayers) in the gonpa. Surrounded by butter candles and local incense, the melodic and mesmerising chants of the monks and morning gongs gently woke us up each day. We had generous servings of local bread and parathas at breakfast and carried out most of the heavy labour in the morning, before the intense afternoon sun arrived. This consisted of shifting mud and 12kg rocks, lifting mud, shovelling, grading and levelling. By noon we had completely burned off breakfast and were positively exhausted. After lunch, we usually took a half-hour nap before getting back into our boots and gloves. Once the sun went down, it was bucket filling time, racing to wash off the dung, soil, rubbish and sweat we'd been wearing all day. The routine required plenty of self-motivation, determination and discipline, especially waking up to get back onto the site after lunch (no alarm clocks, no snooze buttons). Walking back past the greenhouse for dinner every day was the most gratifying moment of the day, watching it gradually rise amongst a backdrop of snow-capped Himalayan peaks. We had made this together using our hands, two wooden planks, a shovel and a pick-axe.
Once the double insulated walls and ventilation were complete, we constructed the north-facing roof using bamboo, reinforcing it with branches from the nearby trees. Another layer of mud later, we covered the south-facing roof with a polythene sheet. We were almost done. Having been so busy with work, we never left the site during the day, so getting the rest of the afternoon off to explore Pin valley was a treat.
We headed to the pea fields and listened to the beautiful harmony of the Spitian women singing to pass the day as they picked fresh pea pods. Naturally, we joined in and spent the afternoon picking peas. The fields were infinite but the crop can only grow for four months of the year.
If every Spitian picked all day, there would still be entire fields untouched. These organic, hand picked, succulent, sweet peas were then loaded onto a truck to Delhi. These women's wages for a day's worth of picking was about $0.50 (Dh1.5). The truckers will sell them on to be exported from the capital and the peas inevitably find their way to far-off places such as Dubai, New York and Shanghai -still organic, but over-packaged and overpriced. We picked up a few more pods and savoured the taste.
The last two days of work was the easy part - painting and planting. We whitewashed three of the inner walls with locally produced paint and we painted the back wall black. The heat inside the greenhouse felt like getting into your car at the height of an Abu Dhabi summer. At least it was working.
Whispers swept through the village of three ladies building in the gonpa and there were onlookers everyday towards the end. The local monks were very excited when they realised what we were building. Some of the younger monks even lifted up their orange robes and joined in the painting.
The night before completion, we worked on the soil inside the greenhouse. I held by breath as we axed through the piles of yak dung, levelling it with the greenhouse floor. Singing our way through the overwhelming stench within the suffocating heat of the walls, we dug, dug, and dug. I've never appreciated a bucket of cold water over my head as much as I did that night. We had briefly adopted the Spitian way of life, and doing so was a poignant reminder of the indulgences we live with in the developed world.
travel@thenational.ae
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
More coverage from the Future Forum
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Command%20Z
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The%20specs
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
