Decoration of Honour in Silver for Vice- President Christine Jantscher

© BMEIA

On 17 February, Christine Jantscher was awarded the Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria for her many years of commitment to Austrian development cooperation and for her outstanding work in the Association of Friends of Bhutan. The award is also a recognition of the indispensable role of civil society organisations in Austria’s international relations.

Thanks are also owed to the members of the Association of Friends of Bhutan, whose generous support makes the work of the association at all possible. Read more

Vocational training for girls and young women with disabilities

On 17 February 2025, Dasho Kinzang Wangdi, our counterpart and local representative of the Association of Friends of Bhutan Austria, handed over working equipment, sewing machines and weaving seets worth 5,000 euros to the Bhutanese CSO Draktsho. The donation was provided by the VIC Women’s Group in Vienna. It will benefit girls and young women at the Draktsho centre in Trashigang in eastern Bhutan. Read more

Presentation: Bhutan’s Conservation Efforts: Successes and Challenges (Norbu Wangdi PhD, 25 October 2024)

Bhutan is famous for its pristine forests, covering almost 70 percent of its area, its abundant water resources and its rich biodiversity. Bhutan is also known as the first carbon-negative country of the world, with its forests absorbing three times more CO2 emissions than it emits. Bhutan’s consistent and rigorous protection and conservation measures and appropriate legal regulations have not only preserved its natural treasures so far. The country wants to remain a globally recognised champion of the environment. However, these efforts are not without challenges. With development imperatives placing increasing pressure on the natural environment and resources, also Bhutan faces the critical challenge of balancing conservation with development.

Speaker: Norbu Wangdi (PhD) is an alumnus of BOKU University in Vienna, where he completed his doctoral studies in Natural Resources and Life Sciences in 2016. Before that, he obtained a master’s degree in Instruction and Practical Training in Forestry and Allied Subjects from Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, Uttarakhand in India. He is currently working as Director for Forest and Water at the Bhutan Ecological Society and as a resident lecturer for Land Use Natural Resources and Conservation  at the Center for Climate and Sustainable Futures (CCFS), School for Field Studies in Paro.

Click here for the presentation

A Heat Pump Dryer for the Khengrig Namsum Cooperative (KNC)

On 16 February 2024, a fire destroyed the Cooperative’s processing plant and reduced the building including all machinery to rubble and ashes during the night. KNC lost several drying and packaging machines as well as its entire stock of turmeric powder in just one day. During our visit in March 2024, we could see for ourselves the extent of the devastation. In cooperation with our sister association Bhutan Network we wanted to help KNC to resume their work.

With the help of additional donations Bhutan Network and Friends of Bhutan Austria could hand over 6,096 Euros to KNC for a much needed heat pump dryer .

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Visit of the Project “Mini-Motor-Ploughs for Women Mountain Farmers”

Successful project completion

The project targeted female mountain farmers in the districts of Lhuentse and Trashigang in Bhutan, most of whom have to manage the work in the fields on their own. The aim of the project was to enable 35 economically disadvantaged female mountain farmers, who only practise subsistence farming, to increase their agricultural productivity and thus their income opportunities by mechanising the extremely costly and labour-intensive cultivation of their fields and terraces through access to microloans.

With the financial support of the City of Vienna and with the help of Tarayana Foundation/Tarayana Microfinance, all 35 women mountain farmers were equipped with mini-power-tillers. The joint effort has fundamentally changed the lives of the beneficiaries and enabled a significant step towards sustainable livelihoods and prosperity.

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Khengrig Namsum Cooperative (KNC)


A successful agricultural cooperative in Zhemgang, central part of southern Bhutan

Thinley (r.) together with Friends of Bhutan

On 30 September 2023, Mr Thinley Wangdi, chairman of the Khengrig Namsum Cooperative (KNC), visited the Friends of Bhutan Association in Vienna *. He reported on his work in the Cooperative, which he founded 9 years ago after having promised his father not to leave his ancestral home in remote Kheng Bardo and not to let the land fall fallow. Thinley quit his good job as an employee in the capital Thimphu and started the Cooperative with 16 young farmers.

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Climate Resilient Water management in Rural Bhutan

With a grant from the City of Vienna, Friends of Bhutan Austria supports a project of the Bhutanese organization Tarayana Foundation for an integrated, climate resilient water management in Goshing, in the district of Zhemgang.  The aim is to combat the drying up of water sources and thus improve the livelihood and food security of the inhabitants of the village of Lichibe. First of all, a hydrological mapping of the spring catchment area of Lichibe will be carried out. Together with the inhabitants, ditches will be dug and water reservoirs will be built. In addition, a water user group will be established and education on improved sanitation and hygiene will be provided. Finally, the villagers are also building pour-flush toilets in each of the 54 households. Read more

Cultivating Healthy Social Media Habits

Friends of Bhutan Austria, together with the Society-Switzerland-Bhutan and the German-Bhutan-Himalaya Society, supports the Bhutan Center for Media and Democracy to create awareness in the communities through parent and youth education on safe and responsible use of the digital space.

There are 13 youth centers in the country providing safe space catering to children’s and youth’s recreational and social needs outside of the school system. The project will benefit the youth center coordinators, parents, youth and children residing in the communities around the center through imparting digital media literacy.

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