Jhamtse Gatsal

Jhamtse Gatsal means 'Garden of Love and Compassion' in Tibetan. It is a community for orphaned children located in a very remote part of Arunachal Pradesh, the state in the north-east of India, bordering Bhutan, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

It currently accommodates about 90 children, but the demands are much higher and constantly increasing. In order to 'educate the heart, mind and body' (one of the Community's missions), to pass on and preserve Tibetan culture to more and more children and in an ever more up-to-date form, the construction of an ambitious and futuristic school centre is underway. 

The existing school buildings at Jhamtse Gatsal, in fact, had become too small and inadequate for the Community's Mission (as well as unsafe in the event of an earthquake), so the creation of this new Learning Centre was envisaged.

The space, which fully reflects the rich cultural heritage and aesthetic style of Jhamtse Gatsal, will promote the 5Cs of learning: Creativity; Critical Thinking; Communication; Collaboration and Compassion.

The building represents 'Śūnyatā', one of the most important philosophical concepts in Buddhism: vacuity, the emptiness that creates everything. It also means 'zero', the root of all mathematics. The zero that can become anything.

The design of the new space will enhance the educational experience of all students and enable them - including our little Lham - through theoretical lessons and practical experiments, to get in touch with themselves, make choices that arise from their true passions and become what they have always wanted to be.