The making of sacred clay molds is an ancient and labour-intensive Buddhist practice. For these sculptures, clay is gathered from sacred sites across Bhutan and combined with precious stones, medicinal plants, and holy water, which is also collected from sacred sites. The clay is then pressed into molds to create images of enlightened beings. This transformation of ordinary earth into sacred form is understood as a practice that purifies negative karma. The images depicted in

The Zhung Dratshang holds a vast and invaluable collection of sacred manuscripts, many of which are foundational to the study of Bhutan’s art history and cultural scholarship in Bhutan and the greater Himalayan landscape. Over the years, our pilot digitization program has preserved hundreds of these fragile texts. By 2030, supporting project Digitize Dratshang, we aim to complete the digitization of sacred manuscripts of Zhung Dratshang across Bhutan, creating a secure offlin

By 2030, we aim for a fully documented, secure, and accessible digital archive of Bhutan’s sacred heritage For centuries, Bhutan’s sacred texts and ritual records were carefully preserved on handmade paper and palm leaves, later held in paper archives without a complete digital record. With the blessings of His Majesty the King and His Holiness the Je Khenpo, we began Bhutan’s first systematic digitization of monastic heritage. Over the past three years, we have successfully