Ecosphere, a social enterprise organisation, is working to introduce palliative care to the Spiti Valley in the trans-Himalayan belt of Himachal Pradesh with help from the Institute of Palliative Medicine in Kerala.

Sunil Chouhan, co-founder of Ecosphere writes about this new initiative in Spiti Valley and the visit to the region by Dr Anwar Husain who focused on the importance of palliative care and the community based palliative care movement that has been developed in Kerala.

Ecosphere is a social enterprise with a focus on conservation and responsible tourism in the Spiti Valley. Ecosphere promotes sustainable development by harnessing solar technology in the valley, and has now 

One of the interesting things that came up during the discussions was regarding the socio-cultural systems prevalent  within the Spitian (Buddhist) society to look after the elderly and the ill. As Dr Anwar said in his talk, “The whole idea of palliative care is to create a more compassionate community." The monks and some of the people present were very keen on trying to incorporate aspects of palliative care within their socio-religious traditions. 

As a result of the visit  it is planned to send eight volunteers from Spiti Valley to Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut, Kerala for training in palliative care. 

Read more on the India edition of ehospice.