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“...HIMALAYA, the Journal of the
Association for Nepal and
Himalayan Studies
Volume 37 | Number 2
Article 13
December 2017
Community and Resilience among Sherpas in the
Post-Earthquake Everest Region
Pasang Y Sherpa
University of Washington, pysherpa(3)gmail.com
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya
Recommended Citation
Sherpa, Pasang Y. (2017) "Community and Resilience among Sherpas in the Post-Earthquake Everest Region," HIMALAYA, the
Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies: Vol. 37 : No. 2, Article 13.
Available at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol37/iss2/13
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Macalester College
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
This Perspectives is brought to you for free and open access by the
DigitalCommons(2)Macalester College at DigitalCommons(2)Macalester
College. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIMALAYA, the Journal of
the Association for Nepal...”
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“...Community and Resilience among Sherpas in the Post-Earthquake
Everest Region
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the editors of HIMALAYA; Sienna Craig and Mark Turin, for their
encouragement throughout the writing process, without which the article would not have existed. Revisiting
the memories of devastation for this article was personally challenging. This article has also been possible
because of the friends and relatives who shared their experiences, and continued support from Un Sherpa.
Barbara Brower and Jim Fisher were extremely generous with their time and advice at different stages of
developing this article. The author is responsible for any and all errors that remain.
This perspectives is available in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies:
http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol37/iss2/13...”
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“...lens, also reveals
the residents' ambivalent attitudes about the
situation. Although the community was highly
aware of devastation and post-earthquake
recovery needs, 'external' discussions of
these topics were subdued. This article then
addresses how'internal'Sherpa discussions
arose as a response to external portrayals
of the Everest region, a populartourism
destination, as a 'non-affected' or 'less-affected'
earthquake zone. Interactions and discussions
that took place 'externally' were unidirectional
and top-down, wherein the villagers were at the
receiving end, and often absent. While internal
discussions strengthened the community's
ability to rebuild itself, external discussions
were instrumental in diverting large-scale relief
and rebuilding assistance, not only from the
region, but from the entire Solukhumbu district.
Keywords: earthquake, community, resilience, Sherpas, tourism.
HIMALAYA Volume37,Number2 103...”
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“...from May 4-11, 2015, to assess
the earthquake damage and record the post-earthquake
experiences of Pharak residents. I also reviewed institu-
tional activities and reports that pertained to the Sherpas
of the Everest region.
Now, two years after the disaster, further reflection on
my discussions with other Sherpas illustrates that a ‘sense
of community’ and ‘resilience’ were the salient driving
forces for the community’s responses. As themes, a ‘sense
of community’ and ‘resilience’ provide theoretical frame-
work to understand how this community responded in
the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes. McMillan and
Chavis’ (1986: 9) description of a ‘sense of community’ is
useful in this context. They describe this sensibility as “a
feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that
members matter to one another and to the group, and
a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through
their commitment to be together.” However, in the case
of post-earthquake Sherpa experiences the definition...”
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“...Tanahu, and Mustang. According to UNDP, HDI
is a “summary measure of average achievement in key
dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life,
being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living”
(UNDP 2016).
Documenting Loss
One week after the devastating earthquake of April
25, the #Khumbuearthquakerelief page was created on
Facebook to try to create a comprehensive survey of loss,
and to support coordination of relief efforts in the region.
Prior to creating this page, residents and travelers were
sharing pictures and stories on their personal Facebook
pages. Reports from Chaurikharka and the Thame vil-
lages, accompanied with pictures, showed that most of the
houses had been flattened in the earthquake. Residents
of villages like Jorsalle and Benkar, on the other hand,
were silent. For those learning about the situation solely
from Facebook, in the first several days it appeared that
only two villages were badly affected. The lack of access
to social media, and specific...”
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“...reported that after the second major earthquake of 7.3
magnitude on May 12, 2015, the epicenter of which was 25
miles from Namche Bazaar, a Khumbu village, many more
houses and schools were damaged and destroyed (GHF
website accessed on May 9, 2017).
Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa, who was in the region during
and after the two major earthquakes, reported that data
collected in the Thame Valley (Namche VDC’s wards
4-9) show 93 percent of residential and tourist struc-
tures damaged by the earthquake; 66 percent were fully
damaged (unusable without major reconstruction) and
27 percent partially damaged (safe to use with repairs)
(Sherpa 2015). Despite the documentation of losses on
the ground, governmental reports of earthquake-affected
zones on a national level appeared showing Solukhumbu
as ‘unaffected,’ or ‘less affected.’ Maps were created within
months, for the purposes of identifying damage and
rebuilding targets. It is notable that these maps portray
earthquake-affected zones neatly contained within...”
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“...only one of the many
venues, and one of the ways people conversed. Daily con-
versations with families and friends informed discussions
of post-earthquake needs at the community level.
When I visited my aunt’s home in Chumoa before the
second earthquake, it seemed visibly unharmed. Stones
were piled on top of each other and the land was intact. I
asked her if her home was damaged. She showed me the
cracks in the walls. Stones had fallen from the sides of
the structure, but the frame had stood. When stones fell,
they were immediately picked up and put back in place.
My aunt later hired some men to repair the remaining
cracks. Her house is also a teahouse, which she operates
during tourist seasons, and the main source of her family’s
income. It was important to make sure that the house did
not look like it was falling apart.
In response to the earthquake, two charitable organiza-
tions were registered in Colorado and Washington, in the
United States, independently of each other. These organi-...”
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“...ernmental organization in the Everest region, focused
on monitoring and supporting schools throughout
Solukhumbu. A survey they conducted had revealed that
227 schools in the Solukhumbu district were damaged:
some were totally destroyed, and some sustained partial
damage and cracks. The Rebuild Earthquake Damaged
Solukhumbu Schools (REDSS) project was implemented
to reconstruct and repair school buildings in the district.
According to the Himalayan Trust Nepal website, as of
April 2017, REDSS had successfully completed their project
in seven schools (accessed on May 14, 2017).
The Local Tourism Economy
On July 15, 2015, two months after the second earthquake,
Miyamoto Inc., an international group of earthquake and
structural engineers, published a report titled Damage
Assessment of Everest Region. This assessment was pro-
posed by Intrepid Travel, the largest tour operator in
Nepal, and was conducted on behalf of the Government of
Nepal through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil
Aviation...”
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“...(DUDBC). ATC-20 is a guideline used in
the United States for post-earthquake building safety
evaluation. The report’s structural assessment of the
Everest region covering Khumbu and Pharak, north
of Lukla, reported:
Out of approximately 710 buildings, earthquake
damage of structural concern was observed in
120 buildings (17 percent); 83 percent of build-
ings can be given a green tag per ATC-20/ DUDBC
guidelines. It was found that most of the build-
ings that were damaged can feasibly be repaired
(Miyamoto 2015: 7).
These report results also highlight shortages of reconstruc-
tion materials, which have slowed the process of repair
and rebuilding. This report then recommends completing
a detailed risk-assessment study post-monsoon in order to
manage the identified risks associated with the geologic
hazard. It concludes, “The majority of accommodation
structures and trails have sustained minimal damage from
the April and May earthquake” (Miyamoto 2015: 9).
In Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa’s (2015) article...”
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“...increasing
number of residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In
the last twenty years, as tourism industry continued to
expand, the region has witnessed swelling migration into
this part of Solukhumbu, which has historically been home
of the Sherpas. The demographic characteristic of the
region has thus shifted, and became evident while dealing
with the post-earthquake relief and recovery. Experiences
described below reveal the significance of social networks
and reciprocal relationships in times of crisis.
Farak (Pharak) Sherpa Kyidug was one of the first
locally-based organizations to mobilize themselves in
assisting earthquake-affected community members. As an
emergency relief initiative, they collected funds among
themselves, bought bags of rice, and distributed them.
Later, they became the focal point on the ground in Pharak
for donors to identify recipients, and distribute relief
goods. The Kyidug was originally established to support
the welfare of the Sherpas of Pharak, so they...”
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“...In Tok Tok, I met a woman who had come to the region
with her family, like many others, in search of better
economic opportunities. Before the earthquake, she used
to look after her goats and ran a small business out of
her rented house. When government officials and Pharak
village representatives came to survey her losses imme-
diately after the earthquake, they documented damages
to the house. In the list of victims of such surveys, renters
like the woman were excluded because they did not own
any property. Technically for the purposes of the survey,
she had not lost anything. In reality, she had suffered a
heavy loss. Her livelihood that relied on the day-to-day
business she conducted in this house was disrupted. When
I met her a week after the first earthquake, she knew she
was going to remain financially destitute for a long time.
Her migrant-family neighbors had left Pharak for their
natal villages, but she could not return. For her and her
family, Pharak was now their home base....”
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“...and Transforming
Identity in Nepal. New York: Columbia University Press.
Government of Nepal. 2011. National Population and
Housing Census 2011 (Village Development Committee/
Municipality).
(accessed on May 22, 2017).
The Greater Himalayas Foundation. Earthquake. earthquake> (accessed on May 9, 2017).
Gusfield, J. R. 1975. Community: A Critical Response. New
York: Harper & Row.
Himalayan Trust Nepal. About Schools Rebuild Project
(REDSS).
(accessed on May 22, 2017).
#Khumbu Earthquake Relief Facebook Page. About.
(accessed on May 14, 2017).
McFarlane, A. and F. Norris. 2006. Definitions and Concepts
in Disaster Research. In Methods for Disaster Mental Health
Research, edited by Fran H. Norris, Sandro Galea, Matthew
J. Friedman, and Patricia J. Watson, 3-19. New...”
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