Yak Dung

Young Tibetan herdsman Lance takes the viewers on a special tour full of pleasant surprises: how Tibetan cannot live without yak dung. With temperatures falling as low as minus 40º C on the Tibetan plateau, yak dung is a valuable heating source for herdsmen. A non polluting fuel, it is used to burn offerings to the gods and light oil lamps. Children make toys out of it, while artists sometimes sculpt figurines of the Buddha using this material. It is also used in construction and medicine. The quality of the dung is an indicator of the environmental health of the plateau and the yaks that roam it. In the near future, Tibetans may no longer live with yak dung. Will they still be themselves then? Lance is a member of the Nyanpo Yuzee Environmental Protection Association. He devotes part of his time to monitoring wetlands.