Thanks to the on-going funding by Bioligo, and the hard work of the Amchis, the Amchi Project is progressing well, providing much-needed medical services to patients in Leh. Two clinics have been opened, both called Rinzang Clinic, in  Skalzangling and Dargasling. One clinic is rented from a monastery, and the other from a private family. Both clinics are close to public transport links, and operate six days per week (closed Saturday).

It was decided to open two clinics so that the Amchis could develop their practical experience, and to inform the community that LNA is now providing medical services.

Once the work of the Amchi Project is well-known, it is planned to have a clinic at LNA (currently there is not enough space), and to have clinics in villages, using donated space (in nunneries or women's organisations), thus eliminating the need to pay rent.

The pharmacy store has been completed. It has been built underground, beneath the new accommodation block at LNA. Cupboards and shelves are needed to store herbs and raw materials for making medicines.

The clinics are attracting a wide range of patients: women and men, young and old, nuns and monks, and foreign visitors during the summer. Consultations are provided free, and charges are made for the medicines dispensed. The service is especially appreciated by women, as they feel free to discuss all of their concerns with female practitioners. The community is responding well to nuns providing Amchi service.

Medicines

The Amchis have found that patients prefer to take the medicine in powder form, rather than pills.Patients report that the medicine is very effective, as it is so fresh, and they get results in a very short period of time. Dr Palmo has noted the increased effectiveness of the medicine, compared to her training experiences in Dharamsala, where the medicines were affected by the humidity, and by being stored for longer periods.

The Amchi Project now plans  to make pills to supply to other Amchis In Ladakh. The Amchis will collect more herbs and plants this summer.

The Field Research Laboratory (Leh Unit) for vegetables and medicinal plants is now offering support to the Amchi Project.  They have given medicinal plants for The Amchi Project to plant, and they plan to increse their level of support in the future. These plants will be planted in a field near Spituk, donated by a patient. The Project hopes to acquire its own land in Sabu village.

. The general community has shown great interest in the Project, and Dr Palmo was interviewed on local Television. This was an excellent opportunity to publicise the clinics, and increase understanding of the role of nuns in Ladakhi society as providers of medical services to the community.

In 2009 the Amchis collected herbs in Changthang, an 8-hour trip from Leh, & Zanskar. The Changthang trip took five days and the Zanskar trip took ten days, collecting herbs and meeting the local people.  While this was very successful, it became clear that the costs of hiring a suitable vehicle were quite high. It costs 15-20,000 Rs to hire a vehicle for a 5-day trip close to Leh, and 30-40,000 Rs for a 10-day trip to Zanskar. As the Amchis will have at least one herb-collecting trip per year, and hope to visit a number of villages with the mobile clinic, it would be much more cost-effective to purchase a vehicle for the Project. A Tata maxi truck, which can transport 5 people and carry sufficient herbs, would cost 500,000 Rs. It would also enable the Project to provide a mobile clinic to visit more remote villages.

Achievements

• Opening two clinics
• Making and dispensing medicine
• Collecting herbs and plants
• Support from individuals and government organisations for the Project
• Acceptance from the community
• Opportunity to experiment with growing more medicinal plants in Ladakh

Challenges

• Developing a firm financial foundation for the Project, and working towards sustainability
• Developing more links with other Amchi associations to cooperate on mutual interests
• Rising costs of materials from Amritsar
• Cost of rent for clinics

Plans for 2010

• Increase the number of patients seen
• Furnish the pharmacy store with shelves and cupboards
• Deepen the experience of the Amchis
• Cultivate medicinal plants on land donated by supporters
• Collect more herbs in summer
• Purchase a maxi truck to facilitate herb-collecting trips and to use as a mobile clinic
• Suppy pills to other Amchis and generate income for the project
• Develop links with villages, especially women's groups, so that LNA can visit regularly, providing Amchi and Dharma services, with villages contibuting to transport costs, and paying for medicines dispensed

Second Group of Amchis to be Trained

Bioligo has agreed to support the training of a second group of Amchis, and LNA hopes to begin in 2012, once the current project has been consolidated.