The Rato Machindranath Jatra festival in Nepal, rooted in legend and tradition, celebrates the end of a historical drought and reflects humanity’s connection to the environment. As Kathmandu grows, rapid urbanization and poor infrastructure planning have strained the environment, causing severe pollution and health issues. The topography of the Kathmandu Valley traps pollutants from local and regional sources and vehicular emissions have surged, worsening air quality. This in turn contributes to a climate feedback loop wherby pollutants and rising temperatures accelerate the melting of the Himalayan glaciers further contributing to their decline. The Rato Machindranath Jatra festival, with its deep-rooted connection to natural cycles – and their disruption – offers a poignant lesson highlighting the need for a paradigm shift towards planetary health, integrating community-based, traditional ecological knowledge with modern science for sustainable solutions and the health of both people and planet.
Tom walks us through the Rato Machindranath Jatra, the roads, the surrounding dwellings and their residents by means of pictures he took while participating in the Field Lab in this article: Click Here
Check out more of Tom’s work here: http://www.tomwhitephotography.com/
