BHUTAN SENIOR SANGHA SANCTUARY PROJECT

The Development of a Senior Housing Prototype for

Elderly Monks in Punakha

A Draft Proposal

Prepared by Mary Ann Tsao

June, 2008

Background

Although Bhutan is a relatively young country, the proportion of older people is increasing and there is a need for suitable housing for older people, especially the Sangha. While the Sangha is generally well supported in Bhutan, there are situations where some of the monasteries are insufficient resourced and therefore unable to support the elderly monks after their retirement at age of 62. Some of these Sangha elders who fall through the cracks have to struggle to eke out a living in their old age. In other situations, the living environment of the monasteries is unsuitable for elderly monks who are frail or have disabilities because of steep stairs, harsh winters as well as inadequate and unsafe toilet facilities. Elderly senior monks also need a conducive environment for their continued study and practice of the Dharma upon retirement and would need support for day-to-day life, especially when they become frail in their late life.

This issue was brought up at during an audience with His Holiness the Jhe Kenpo during his private visit to Singapore in August, 2007. His Holiness expressed great concern for those elderly monks under the Monk Body who may not have an appropriate place to live in their old age and has already requested and received a special parcel of land from His Majesty, the King of Bhutan, to build a special facility for these elderly monks, and a group of well wishers in Singapore – including Lawrence Chiang, Phillip Tan and Mary Ann Tsao – volunteered to assist in this project.

During their assessment visit to Bhutan in late November, 2007, Mary Ann Tsao and Shirley Ong had the privilege of discussing this project in-depth with His Holiness, a visit to the site in Punakha, the opportunity of meeting with the Ministers of the Monk body, the Minister and Chief Justice of Punakha, as well as Mr. Karma Penjor, Director for Religious Affairs of Bhutan.

Following their visit, a small workgroup was assembled in Singapore to seriously consider the project and after the second assessment visit to Bhutan in May, 2008, a tentative work plan is to be developed as a the next step towards the drafting of an MOU for this project.

The following summarizes the development to-date for this project.

Project Description

The aim of this project is to build a 50/60-bedded Senior Sangha Sanctuary - a prototypic senior housing unit that can serve as a replicable model in service of senior monks and potentially for other older people of Bhutan in the future. While catering to the daily practice needs of the Sangha, the design of this project will incorporate principles of aged care that would optimize ageing in place – the ability of older people to live independently in their community even with increasing frailty and disability.

Towards completion of the construction phase and with better definition of the care staff situation, the project scope may expand to include the training of care staff for the elderly monks – be they paid or volunteer care givers from the community or younger/other monks that form part of this community. Similarly, it maybe appropriate to consider the provision of training in age-related areas of health, nutritional and medical care for the care staff as well as neighborhood health stations at that time.

In terms of long term sustainability of this Sangha community, the Department of Monk Affairs explained that the Monk Body – under His Holiness the Jhe Kenpo – is committed to covering the operating cost of the facility on an ongoing basis.

Facility Design

The land that is designated for this project is in Punakha Valley, where the weather is mild in the winter (does not require heating) and not excessively hot in the summer (no requirement for air conditioning).  The site is approximately 73 acres in size and is located on a hill top with auspicious views of some of the most significant and sacred temples in the surrounding area. The site is accessible by a narrow dirt road (sufficient for a large car but not for a 17-seater bus) and is presently home to a BT tower, small clusters of village dwellers, and a level 2 health station staffed by two community health workers.. The site does not have access to utility infrastructure, namely, electricity, water and sanitation facilities. With the King’s support, the Government of Bhutan has agreed to provide the necessary infrastructure for this project.

The architectural design will also take into consideration the overall future use of the land (including a temple and individual meditation retreat facilities, as well as additional units to expand the number of available beds) when siting the Sangha Sanctuary at the chosen location. As much as possible, local materials will be used both for the purposes of preservation of traditional design as well as for cost containment.

Further in-depth study will be required to thoroughly understand the “lifestyle” of the elderly monks who will be living there so that the design of the facility will optimize the quality of life of these elderly monks.

As a topographical survey of the site has not been completed, design cannot commence until this survey is available.

Based on a discussion between a local architect and Calvin Tsao -a New York based architect who has agreed to do the broad architectural design - a very rough estimation of the building cost is around US$1 million.

Design Specifications

Based on the above and the preliminary discussions with the Jhe Kenpo, the senior monks and the Department of Religious Affairs, a preliminary set of specifications has been drawn up. (Please see Annex A)

This can only be finalized, however, after the in-depth needs assessment – to be conducted tentatively in August 2008.

Financing

Assuming the project will not cost more than the current estimation of US$1 million, the Singapore Work Group (see Annex B for members) will aim to raise the full financing for the project, but this will need to be re-assessed and confirmed after the tendered quotes are received.

Frederick Tsao has pledged 50% financing of the project up to US$500,000, but considering the need to build in a 20% cost over run contingency as well as the probable need to provide follow-up training programs, the group may aim to raise the US$1 million and keep the US$500,000 as reserve for the above.

The group will need to decide on how we would like to address cost over run in excess of 20% or if the estimated cost of construction is much higher than the current estimate of US$1 million.