About the Tibetan Village Project

Mission
The Tibetan Village Project (TVP) is a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to promoting sustainable development while preserving the rich cultural heritage of Tibet. The organization was founded in 2001 by a Tibetan couple, Tseyang and Tamdin Wangdu, with support from friends and family.

What is the story TVP? Tamdin Wangdu grew up in a remote village in central Tibet. Like many other Tibetans, Tamdin did not have the opportunity to go to school, have access to clean drinking water, medical care or electricity. These necessities still do not exist in many places of Tibet. However, Tamdin's dreams led him to explore opportunities and possibilities. He left Tibet and came to the United States in 1993.

In the summer of 2001, Tamdin learned that his father had died at age 57 after suffering four long days of acute stomach pain. Not a single healthcare worker was available in or near Tamdin's village to prevent his untimely death or even to determine its cause. Tamdin believes that just knowing how to perform CPR could have saved his father's life. In memory of his father, Tamdin and his wife Tseyang started the Tibetan Village Project in order to fund a medical treatment and prevention program in his village and surrounding areas. Now several years later, the Tibetan Village Project has expanded its programs to support schools and community development projects. Click here to learn more about TVP's accomplishments, current project priorities and future direction.

How are projects coordinated in Tibet? The TVP is founded and coordinated by Tibetans to help themselves using a bottom-up approach. Most of our projects are small-scale initiatives that work directly with Tibetan villagers through project-coordinators chosen from each village who know the local situation, understand the culture, and speak the language. Under the direction of the TVP's board, Tibetan project coordinators in the field and Tamdin oversee all aspects of project implementation, from coordinating village participation in each initiative, to distributing funds and compiling progress reports.

Board of Directors
Don Cullen, Melbourne, Australia
Karen Wilding, Boulder, Colorado
Jeffery Cohn, Boulder, Colorado
Joe Braidish, Boulder, Colorado
Sunny Klaber, Boulder, Colorado

TVP Executive Director
Tamdin Wangdu, Lhasa and Colorado

Advisors
Dr. Emily T. Yeh of University of Colorado at Boulder
Dr. Marina Illich of Columbia University
Dana Lobel of Naropa University
Stevey Troy, The Sustainable Resources
Emily Davis, Boulder, Colorado
Tseyang Wangdu, Westminster, Colorado