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“...Community and Resilience among Sherpas in
the Post-Earthquake Everest Region
PasangYangjee Sherpa
In this article, I examine how residents of the
Mount Everest region of Nepal responded
after two major earthquakes occurred on
April 25th and May 12th, 2015. This article
is based on my participant-observation of
discussions among Sherpas, on-foot surveys
of earthquake damage, and the experiences of
residents, which I recorded in Pharak, between
the two major seismic events. I also reviewed
institutional activities and reports that
pertained to the Everest region and spoke at
length with other Sherpas. In these discussions,
the boundaries of 'community'were both fluid
and self-understood. A 'sense of community'
and 'resilience' emerged as salient themes, and
provided an analytical framework to understand
the Sherpa communities' responses to these
earthquakes. The case studies presented herein
are selected based on my direct engagement
with them. The narratives present critical social
responses...”
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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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“...specific networks limited publicity
and ability to connect for villages like Jorsalle, Benkar, and
Gumela. Some villagers also consciously limited their pres-
ence on social media in order to not inflict pain on their
relatives living abroad.
My on-foot survey of the villages in Pharak showed that
the earthquake had unevenly affected the region. While
some villages suffered limited structural damage, others
were completely destroyed. For example, the Chaurikharka
VDCs Area (sq. km) Household Population Male Female
Chaurikharka 344.5 968 3709 1872 1837
Namche 431.3 480 1540 807 733
Khumjung 702.2 551 1912 913 999
Figure 2. Three VDCs of
the Mount Everest Region.
(Nepal Government Census
2011)
HIMALAYA Volume37,Number2 105...”
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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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“... 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 (MoCTCA). In...”
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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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“...DC_Municipality.pdf>
(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 York:
Guilford Press.
McMillan, David W. and David M. Chavis. 1986. Sense of
Community: A Definition and Theory. Journal of Community
Psychology 14: 6-23.
Miyamoto. 2015. Damage Assessment of Everest Region
Nepal - July 15, 2015.
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