Core Vision
The close partnership between the village of Skurbuchan and the Achi Association India with its experts and young heritage promoters offers the possibility to implement an initiative which is truly anchored in the community and responds to its expressed needs and concerns. From the start, the project will be driven by the main stakeholders - the monastery and the villagers - and by the heritage promoters who will accompany and guide them all along, under the technical support and project coordination of the Achi Association’s professionals. The initiative is designed to make active use of local knowledge and capacities and it encourages the community to assume a high level of responsibility and ownership of the project, financially as well as in the decision-making process and actual execution of the work. It is expected that this pilot experience will contribute to establishing a more community-centered and sustainable model for heritage conservation.
First steps
As a response to the concerns of the Skurbuchan community, the Achi Association has offered its support and engaged in conversations with the village and monastic authorities. A meeting was called in August 2011 by Gen Konchok Motup, the young heritage promoter from the Achi Association India. It was attended by the village-head (Goba), two respected community elders (former Gobas), the local head-mason or mistry (rTsikspon), the representative of a regional civil society organization, two of Achi India’s young heritage promoters as well as a member of the Achi Association. During this meeting, an agreement for future cooperation on the conservation of the Khar was reached. The community representatives committed to provide materials and local labor, informing the potential partners that some funds are already available for this purpose and pledging to raise more. The Achi Association India expressed its intention to locate funding to match the local commitment and thus cover the costs for the participation of the heritage promoters and professional consultants. Furthermore, a committee will be formed in Skurbuchan integrated by selected community and monastery representatives to coordinate efforts.
Technical Assessment and Planning
A thorough technical assessment of the condition of the Khar was carried out, including a structural evaluation as well as an appraisal of its architectural and artistic integrity and state of conservation. Based on the results, a plan for conservation was designed, including urgent short-term remedial action and a longer-term restoration/preservation and maintenance strategy. This process was undertaken by Achi Association’s conservation architects and a wall-painting and sculpture conservation expert with the collaboration of local masons and artists, in consultation with monastic representatives.
Together with Konchok Motup, the local head-mason will subsequently assume the task of organizing the necessary materials, appointing an assistant-mason and selecting a team of laborers. They also determined the number of volunteers needed.
Conservation of Skurbuchan Khar
The Skurbuchan Khar shows various conservation issues involving structure, wall paintings and clay sculptures which requires a worthy amount of time as well as considerable amount of funding.
The first phase of the work involved the conservation intervention to tackle the urgent task of lending structural stability to the historical monument, particularly stabilizing the foundation and controlling the buckling/bulging of the three-story external walls, fastening/tying together the load-bearing elements and closing the gaps and cracks that have resulted from them yielding apart. In addition to this, stability must be given to the roof of the main entrance porch in order to remove the emergency infill wall which has been built to prevent its collapse and now completely obscures the entrance to the main temple space.
This is to be followed by conservation works on the wall paintings and sculptures which will involve stitching of the cracks, consolidation of the lost parts and cleaning of the surfaces.