Ri HIMALAYA
Our Vision
The culture of the Himalayas is deeply rooted in its mountain ecology. Roots Initiatives Himalaya or Ri Himalaya (Ri meaning mountain in Ladakhi) honours the region’s rich legacy of cultural and environmental interdependence. Our work conserves, revitalizes, and reimagines Himalayan heritage through community-centred and sustainable approaches, with a commitment to safeguarding it for generations to come.
WHAT WE DO
CONSERVATION
Working with visionary communities and individuals, we support the restoration and conservation of historic buildings and cultural landscapes while promoting their adaptive reuse as museums, cultural centres, and community spaces that retain their cultural integrity and contemporary relevance.
RESEARCH
We research and record Ladakh’s tangible and intangible culture and knowledge systems to encourage intergenerational knowledge transmission and create accessible repositories of cultural knowledge.
EDUCATION
By setting up a Heritage Academy, we will conduct courses, workshops, and curated programs on heritage studies and conservation for artists, cultural leaders, and community practitioners. The academy will also engage with schools, universities, and youth groups to nurture pride and responsibility for cultural heritage.
LIVELIHOODS
Guided by the principle that cultural sustainability is linked to the , we generate livelihood opportunities for communities through conservation partnerships, homestays, ecotourism, craft markets, cultural performances, heritage walks, and guided experiences.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Hundurman Broq
Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum
Hundurman Broq
Unlock Hundurman – Museum of Memories is a community-led heritage initiative in Hundurman Broq, an abandoned Purgi settlement near Kargil, close to the Line of Control. Once a thriving village connected to historic trade routes, Hundurman was transformed by conflicts and border changes between India and Pakistan, leaving homes, possession
Unlock Hundurman – Museum of Memories is a community-led heritage initiative in Hundurman Broq, an abandoned Purgi settlement near Kargil, close to the Line of Control. Once a thriving village connected to historic trade routes, Hundurman was transformed by conflicts and border changes between India and Pakistan, leaving homes, possessions and families divided. The museum, created with local residents, preserves this history through everyday objects, photographs, letters, household artefacts and remnants of war. More than a collection of objects, Unlock Hundurman offers a human story of memory, resilience and life on a contested border, beyond the dominant narrative of war.
Zbayul, Henasku
Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum
Hundurman Broq
Zbayul, meaning “the invisible village” in the local dialect, is the old name for Henasku, a historic settlement tucked behind a gorge along the Leh–Kargil highway. Once an important stop on the trans-Himalayan trade routes, Henasku grew through centuries of movement and exchange between Kashmir, Ladakh and Central Asia. Today, its ancien
Zbayul, meaning “the invisible village” in the local dialect, is the old name for Henasku, a historic settlement tucked behind a gorge along the Leh–Kargil highway. Once an important stop on the trans-Himalayan trade routes, Henasku grew through centuries of movement and exchange between Kashmir, Ladakh and Central Asia. Today, its ancient fort ruins, traditional homes and cultural landscape offer glimpses into a lesser-known chapter of Kargil’s past. Project Zbayul, a community-led initiative, works to preserve this heritage while creating sustainable livelihoods through village homestays, handicrafts, heritage conservation and responsible tourism. It invites travellers to discover a village hidden in plain sight.
Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum
Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum
Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum
The Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum of Central Asian and Kargil Trade Artefacts is a family-operated museum preserving the story of Kargil’s forgotten Silk Route heritage. Established in 2004 by descendants of Munshi Aziz Bhat, a pioneering trader, the museum grew from the remarkable rediscovery of artefacts preserved in the Aziz Bhat Sarai, buil
The Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum of Central Asian and Kargil Trade Artefacts is a family-operated museum preserving the story of Kargil’s forgotten Silk Route heritage. Established in 2004 by descendants of Munshi Aziz Bhat, a pioneering trader, the museum grew from the remarkable rediscovery of artefacts preserved in the Aziz Bhat Sarai, built in 1920 as an inn and trading hub for Central Asian caravans. Its collection of coins, textiles, jewellery, manuscripts, utensils, clothing, horse equipment and everyday objects reveals a world shaped by commerce, migration and cultural exchange. Together, these objects bring alive the people, journeys and connections that once made Kargil a crossroads of the trans-Himalayan world.