{"id":103039,"date":"2022-01-14T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T06:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=103039"},"modified":"2022-01-14T08:26:43","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T07:26:43","slug":"lets-only-buy-bio-degradable-prayer-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/lets-only-buy-bio-degradable-prayer-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s only buy bio-degradable prayer flags"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Long lines of multi-coloured prayer flags dangle from Buddhist stupas, they are strung up on Himalayan summits by mountaineers, and they flutter noisily at pilgrimage sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dawa
Dawa Yangzom Sherpa with prayer flags at the summit in Rowaling with Mount Gauri Shankar in the background. Prayer flags like these will increasingly be eco-friendly from now on. Photo: DAWA YANGZOM SHERPA.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At Kathmandu\u2019s Boudha shrine<\/a>, the prayer flags stream down in four directions from the top, adding to the sacred ambience under the ever-watchful eyes of the Buddha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 18 December, however, the stupa is getting a green makeover<\/a> that will not be immediately visible to visitors \u2014 prayer flags made from synthetic material will be replaced by biodegradable ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called Lung ta<\/em> (Tibetan for \u2018Wind horse\u2019) prayer flags are essential at Buddhist shrines across the Himalaya from Ladakh to Bhutan. Activists are launching a campaign to replace them with more eco-friendly alternatives as expressions of faith and spirituality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ang Dolma Sherpa, founder of Utpala Crafts in Kathmandu, this has been the culmination of a five year campaign to spread the acceptance of the biodegradable prayer flags and khada <\/em>she initiated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt all started with 15 Buddhist leaders from around the world, including the Dalai Lama, signing the Buddhist Climate Change Statement to World Leaders at COP21 in 2015,\u201d she says. \u201cI was convinced small-scale initiatives like these can also help address pollution and climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Biodegradable
Biodegradable khadas from Utpala Crafts. Photo: SUSHIL MANANDHAR.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea germinated in 2016 with khada<\/em>, the traditional ceremonial scarves used in almost every occasion, from birth to weddings, graduations, arrivals, departures and even funerals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up in a Buddhist family, we used to have heaps upon heaps of khada<\/em>collecting in our house, and once every month we used to sit and separate the old ones from the new to throw or recycle,\u201d recalls Ang Dolma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even then, massive amounts of khada<\/em> went to waste. \u201cWhen I was younger, I didn\u2019t really care about it,\u201d she says, \u201cbut when my father died in a car accident in 2011, I noticed during the funeral just how much of it was thrown away.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, khada<\/em> used to be made of cloth, and sometimes silk, but this changed with the introduction of synthetic materials, such as polyester and nylon. And since khada<\/em> used in funerals cannot be recycled, these are either burnt or thrown away, creating greenhouse gases, pollution and garbage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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