The monetization of Tibetan medicine : an ethnography of village-based development activities in Lingshed
Résumé
This chapter examines a development project implemented at the turn of the millennium in the remote Ladakhi village of Lingshed that aimed to revitalize Tibetan medicine and health care in the region. The project was solicited by the villagers and amchi themselves, who had already started to strengthen their medicine by establishing an amchi organization and a medical center. Unable to implement these projects on their own, they asked the international nongovernmental organization (ngo) Nomad rsi to support them logistically and financially. The project eventually aimed to create a new health-care system that included a community fund to support the village amchi. As we show, this was a complete novelty that nevertheless needed to be incorporated within older values and norms regarding medical care and reciprocity.