■ HIMALAYA, KYANJIN GUMPA: Surviving the brutal conditions of the Himalayan mountains is no joke. But the many peoples that call these mountains home; Sherpas, Tamangs and Tibetans just to name a few, have adapted fairly well. The ox looking animal known as the Yak is key to their adaption.

Yak bulls and cows gives these mountain dwelling people milk, fur, meat, insulation, cement and also fuel! Yes, you heard right. Yak dung is used as fire-wood; fueling stoves and warm meals in communities living way above the tree-line.

Kyanjin Gumpa, which sits at 4000m above sea level at the end of Nepal's Langtang valley, actually do have a little forest growing on a mountain nearby. Exactly how, given that the mountainside the town is built on is completely treeless, I never got a proper answer to. I did notice some small streams coming down the mountain the forest grows on though, meaning it's probably perpetually naturally irrigated.

The people living in Kyanjin Gumpa hence don't have to solely rely on Yak dung for all their heat and cooking needs. But they do use it to supplement their fires, which regardless of which fuel is being burnt, are incredibly labor intensive to maintain.

Just how labor intensive exactly? Well you be the judge as I become a Himalayan Yak Dung Hunter for a day.... 😎

■ Traditional Tibetan village in the same mountain range: https://youtu.be/u141xs853I8

■ GONGO NEWS: Free limited edition Himalayan Yak Gongo in the afterlife for all of you who watched and LIKED these videos from the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal. Thank you all for helping it succeed with your likes and views 🙏

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