Isolated greenhouses provide winter vegetables

In a newly built solar house on the outskirts of Leh in the Indian Himalayas, LEHO has its office. The organization is an expert in building greenhouses that also work in winter. With thick well-insulated walls and a south-facing plastic long side, you can close the frost during the winter nights. Durable vegetables can be grown all winter and provide an income for the family. The reason why you can grow all year in greenhouses is that Ladakh is more than 3000 meters above sea level, where it is rarely cloudy. In order to improve the health of the population and increase the nutritional value in the diet, a variety of new kitchen plants has been introduced. This also provides an opportunity for income, which is an important step in improving the conditions for the villagers.

LEHO is also working to support women’s groups. The organization organizes courses in weaving so that women can make the famous paschmini fabric that is sold to tourists during the summer and generate large incomes. The women also get help with getting started knitting, pickling and dry apricots that can be sold. The support from LEHO also consists of the marketing of the goods and that they have set up portable sales lockers in places where tourists come. The cabinet is filled with goods that are exposed in a good way, which increases sales and thus women’s incomes. Restaurants, Internet cafes and other places in the city of Leh, where tourists gather, can also handle the sale of local goods for a fee.

LEHO and LEHO’s friends collaborate within the Future Earth with the goal of increasing the organic cultivation in the area. This work has yielded successful results and today most agriculture in Ladakh is used without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. LEHO has also begun work on certification of agriculture through participatory certification.

Here you can read more about LEHO (Swedish): https://framtidsjorden.se/forandra/leho/

Contact LEHO
Email: sultanaleho@yahoo.co.in
Email: tashi@yahoo.co.in