“In the heads of many people, scary pictures arise when they hear the words “plan” or “planning”. And I understand that, because we, as human beings, truly insist on making things difficult and complex,” the founder of Khengrig Namsum Cooperatives said, adding that it’s part of our nature because when we understand and achieve something that for many others seems extremely hard, we feel proud of ourselves. It’s a deep psychological thing.
Speaking to Magazine, he said we have probably heard the saying “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there and you have to know your master goal in mind.”
𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐁.
In 2014, Thinley Wangdi, 45, gathered 16 youths from Zhemgang around him in Thimphu and went back to Zhemgang to start a farming cooperative as required by the cooperative regulations.
Later, he said that the parents of some of them were infuriated that he hoodwinked their children into leaving urban areas like- Thimphu to take up farming in remote Zhemgang. “Some of the parents pursued him, knives in hands,” he said.
Thinley Wangdi said that he had many challenges in the initial period of his business. “It didn’t work as per my plan. People didn’t believe my idea. I have faced challenges like no proper landscape, road connectivity, water, and human-wildlife conflict because it is an Agro-based.”
Eight years on, KNC is thriving, Thinley Wangdi thanks to support from various quarters, including the government, Helvetas Bhutan, European Union, and CSOs.
“Now, we have four different parts of the business which include vegetable production, value addition, import supply, and nursery production,” he shared.
At this time of the year, the cooperative floods Thimphu town with supersized organic vegetables, winter chilies, and fruits.
KNC is successful in some new ventures. He shared that in a recent year, KNC harvested tonnes of bamboo shoots to produce pickles amongst others.
when asked what you want to advise young entrepreneurs, he said our youth need to focus on one idea and stick to the plan and work on it. (𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧)
Thinley proudly says, in a royal audience, His Majesty the King said to him that he should not leave KNC behind and that His Majesty would keep watching the progress of KNC. He says those sacred words have kept him and KNC going.
When asked what also keeps him going, he shared that he doesn’t have a plan B which, for most Bhutanese, happens to be Australia and other businesses. “If I had a plan B, I would have failed along the way,” he said, adding that we need only one plan that we are willing to die with.
He also shared that KNC was founded by very committed and dedicated young farmers in Zhemgang. The overall objective of the cooperative is to improve the livelihoods of the people of Zhemgang Dzongkhag, and its members – each with a minimum qualification of high school level education – represent all eight Gewogs of Zhemgang Dzongkhag.
KNC is guided by cooperative principles and values, and operates within the framework of legislation for cooperatives issued by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
Thinley Wangdi, the Chairperson, is responsible for the overall planning, implementation, and management of the cooperative under the directives of the Board of Directors (BoD), consisting of local farmers.
By Sonam Choden
