Sonam Wangchuk (born 1 September 1966) is an Indian engineer, activist, innovator, education reformer, and environmentalist. He is the founding-director of the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), founded in 1988.
๐ Early Life and Education
Wangchuk was born in 1966 near Alchi in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir (now Ladakh). He was not enrolled in a school until the age of 9, as there were no schools in his village.
His mother, Tsering Wangmo, taught him all the basics in his own mother tongue. At age 9, he was taken to Srinagar and enrolled in a school there, where he faced language barriers and mistreatment.
Wangchuk completed his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Srinagar in 1987. He also studied Earthen Architecture at Craterre School of Architecture in Grenoble, France, in 2011.
๐ซ SECMOL and Education Reform
In 1988, Wangchuk started Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) with his brother and five peers. He was instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994, a collaboration to bring reforms in the government school system.
From June 1993 until August 2005, Wangchuk founded and worked as the editor of Ladakh’s only print magazine Ladags Melong. In 2001, he was appointed as an advisor for education in the Hill Council Government.
In 2002, he founded Ladakh Voluntary Network (LVN) and served as secretary till 2005. He was appointed to the Drafting Committee of the Ladakh Hill Council Governmentโs Vision Document Ladakh 2025 in 2004.
โ๏ธ Ice Stupa and Water Solutions
In late 2013, Wangchuk invented and built a prototype of the Ice Stupa, an artificial glacier that stores winter stream water in giant ice cones. By February 2014, they built a two-storey prototype storing roughly 150,000 litres of winter stream water.
In 2015, Wangchuk proposed using a siphon technique to drain a dangerous lake formed by a landslide in Zanskar, but his advice was ignored. In 2016, he applied the Ice Stupa technique for disaster mitigation at high altitude glacier lakes in Sikkim.
In October 2016, Wangchuk went to the Swiss Alps and started building the first Ice Stupa of Europe. In February 2021, he developed solar-powered tents for the Indian army, accommodating around 10 soldiers each.
๐ Awards and Recognition
Wangchuk’s contributions have earned him around 15 awards as of 2025. These include the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018), the title of Eminent Technologist of the Himalayan Region by IIT Mandi (2018), and the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2017).
Led by Wangchuk, SECMOL won the International Terra Award for the best building in July 2016. The rammed earth ‘Big Building’ at SECMOL was built using simple, low-cost traditional techniques on principles of passive solar architecture.
๐๏ธ Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL)
Wangchuk founded the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL) with Gitanjali J Angmo after his experience with SECMOL. His motivation for starting HIAL stems from a desire to address educational and developmental challenges specific to Ladakh’s context.
His vision is to provide higher education and create a sustainable future for the region by equipping youth with skills necessary to thrive in their unique environment.
โ๏ธ Activism and Movements
In 2013, Wangchuk helped launch the New Ladakh Movement (NLM), a social campaign working for sustainable education, environment and economy. In June 2020, he appealed to Indians to boycott Chinese products in response to the India-China border skirmishes at Galwan.
On 26 January 2023, Wangchuk attempted to fast at Khardungla pass to demand protection under the Sixth Schedule, but authorities allegedly prevented him. In March 2024, he started a fast-unto-death for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
On 30 September 2024, during a walk from Ladakh to Delhi, Wangchuk and his supporters were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border and released on 2 October 2024.
| Year | Event/Achievement | Location | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Founded SECMOL | Ladakh | Education |
| 2013 | Invented Ice Stupa prototype | Ladakh | Innovation |
| 2018 | Received Ramon Magsaysay Award | Philippines | Award |
| 2021 | Developed solar-powered tents for army | Ladakh | Innovation |