
This podcast is the first in a series of three stories on Outlier Sonam Wangchuk that FactorDaily captured during a two-day trip to Leh.
The first time I heard about Sonam Wangchuk was in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, last year. I was meeting a top executive of Jain Irrigation, and he mentioned an innovative use of the irrigation pipes and drip technology in Leh.
I actually missed Wangchuk by a day in Jalgaon where he was visiting to seek help for his Ice Stupa (artificial glacier) Project. After some digging and asking around, I realised that Wangchuk has been more famous for being a real Outlier. He’s been helping school dropouts and those who’ve ‘failed’ in conventional learning environments become real life achievers.
In 1988, he established The Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an alternative school that helps dropouts and those considered failures in the conventional education system, become achievers.
“I’ve failed in more than half of the things I’ve tried. I wish people more problems, so they learn” — Sonam Wangchuk