Dharmalaya Institute
Dharmalaya Institute
A flagship case study of our holistic, multidisciplinary, purpose-driven work
Perched magically on a forested hillside in the Himalayas, Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to “cultivating the best of human nature in harmony with the whole of nature.” The institute offers a contemplative approach to learning and practicing the arts and sciences of sustainable living and holistic personal development in a breathtakingly beautiful natural setting.
Purpose
In Dharmalaya institute’s own words:
Dharmalaya Institute is an Indian educational and charitable organization devoted to empowering compassionate changemakers, with a practical focus on solutions for sustainable thriving and the adaptation of traditional wisdom for modern needs.
Through contemplative practice, we understand ourselves and the ways of nature. Through hands-on service learning, we gain experience and skill. Building on these foundations, we forge compelling possibilities for compassionate living.
The institute’s charitable mission: “to unite the best of traditional wisdom with creative innovation to produce compelling possibilities for sustainable and compassionate living in the Himalayas and beyond, and to empower sensitive and skillful changemakers to lead the way.”
Project
Dharmalaya Institute was cofounded in 2009 by Mark Moore and Mai-Linh Leminhbach, who developed and managed the institute for the first decade before handing over the leadership to its India-based team. Thus, the creation of Dharmalaya Institute is a prime living example of Studio Lungta’s vertically and horizontally integrated work bridging multiple disciplines: we designed both the “hardware” (its eco-campus, natural buildings, gardens, and other spaces) and the “software” (its organizational model and culture, its educational philosophy and core programs, and its storytelling via website, media, etc.), all tuned for the place, its people, and its purpose.
What we did:
Visioneering: Starting with observing the needs on the ground and listening to the needs expressed by community stakeholders, cultivating a vision for meeting those needs, seeking counsel from experts and elders (including H.H. the Dalai Lama), and cultivating a plan to realize the resulting vision.
Organizational development: From founding formalities to designing the org structure and its principles, policies and practices, and building the community of kindred spirits that make the magic happen.
Eco-campus development: Master planning for the six-acre hillside campus; architectural design and natural building (nine earth-and-bamboo structures to support the institute’s functions, including one celebrated collaboration with award-winning eco-architect Didi Contractor); permaculture landscaping (including organic gardens and orchards, rainwater harvesting systems, compost facilities and an enchanting outdoor classroom).
Educational experience design & instruction: Articulation of educational philosophy; curriculum development; individual program development (courses, workshops, retreats, etc.); contributing instruction/facilitation for most of the educational programs during the institute’s first decade; training and mentoring the institute’s next generation of leaders, educators, and facilitators.
Storytelling & PR: Developing the website for the institute; generating content to engage the public; managing communications with prospective students and other members of the public; and training others in all of these roles.
Key distinguishing features:
Cultural crossroads: The campus is situated at a fertile and fascinating crossroads, where the plains meet the Himalayas, where ancient wisdom meets modern life, where traditional sustainable living practices meet all manner of modern approaches, and where people of all sorts from across India and around the world come to explore sustainability and well-being.
Aspiration to apply compassionate principles to all aspects of the project, including relationship to the land (e.g. sensitive stewardship with minimal intervention, natural building, organic farming, reforestation, etc.), relationships with the local Himalayan villagers (e.g. respect and care, providing opportunities for green jobs at living wages, as well as support for health care, opportunities for education, and more), and other fundamentals such as resource consumption and waste management, natural energy and efficiency, financial matters, and so on.
Residential programs for real-world education, empowering learners as teachers and as agents of service to the local community and beyond: The majority of the institute’s programs are residential, supporting an immersive experience. This called for a thoughtful approach to integrating the “hardware” and “software.” For example, the institute takes a “learn it by living it” approach to empowerment and personal development through service learning and other forms of experiential education. Programs such as these provide precious opportunities to learn hard and soft skills for sustainable and compassionate living by studying and practicing them in the real-world context of the institute’s eco-campus itself. In fact, the structures, gardens and other spaces of the campus were all built by the institute’s students and volunteers, working alongside the village artisans employed by the institute, as a part of various programs of the institute.
Contemplative approach: The institute’s educational approach adapts the principles of Earthville Education, bringing a deeply reflective, contemplative approach to all of its programs, including the most practical hands-on trainings. This approach enhances learning, catalyzes deeper connection and engagement, and fosters personal development along with the topical learning, providing genuinely life-changing educational experiences.
The immensely helpful support of luminaries of the region, including:
H.H. the Dalai Lama, who generously offered formative advice informing the conceptual development stage;
Didi Contractor (award-winning eco-architect), who served pro bono, first as the architect of the institute’s main building and then for a decade as an instructor and a close partner in program development;
Other prominent figures in the Indian and Tibetan communities, including visits and guidance from several of India’s leading eco-architects and natural builders and exemplary teachers from the Buddhist and yogic traditions.
Studio Lungta team members engaged in the project, and their key roles in it
Visioneering & leadership: cofounder, director, board chair
HOD: org design, culture-building, community-building, mentoring
Placemaking: campus master plan, building & garden design, natural building, permaculture implementations
Education: curriculum development, program design, instruction, retreat facilitation
Storytelling: website development & graphic design
Leadership: cofounder, director
HOD: culture-building, community-building, mentoring
Education: program design, instruction, retreat facilitation
Placemaking: design and supervision
Education: head of architecture & design faculty, program design, instruction, retreat facilitation
Storytelling: website development & graphic design
HOD: organizational development, communications & community building
Education: program design & facilitation, mentoring
Storytelling: video production & social media
Design & storytelling: video production, website, graphic design, photography
Education: program design & facilitation, mentoring
Connections
You can experience Dharmalaya Institute for yourself, starting with a visit to its website: dharmalaya.in.
You may also wish to explore its budding sister campus in Colorado, the Earthville Institute, which the Studio Lungta team began developing in 2023.
If you’d like to explore how Studio Lungta might help you realize your own inspirations for purpose-driven projects, you can reach out to us here.
Project at a Glance
Client:
Dharmalaya Society, a nonprofit educational organization in the Himalayas
Location:
Himachal Pradesh, India
Scope of our work:
Visioneering
Master planning for six-acre campus
Architecture & design
Natural building
Permaculture landscaping
Organizational development
Program & curriculum development
Storytelling (website, media, etc.)
Selected media:
Featured in two documentary films: Marrying the Earth to the Building (Switzerland) and Earthing (India), both of which include interviews with Studio Lungta’s Cofounding Principal Mark Moore
Featured in two books: An Adobe Revival, by Joginder Singh with text by Didi Contractor; and A Call to Return, edited by Lakshmi Swaminathan
Featured in numerous print and online articles published in India and worldwide
Timeline highlights:
2007: Visioneering begins
2009: Charity legally established
2010: Construction begins
2011: Educational programs commence
2016: Operational sustainability achieved
2017-2018: Media coverage expands globally via coverage in Swiss documentary film and photo essay book (see below)
2019: President of India awards India’s highest civilian honor to the head of Dharmalaya Institute’s architecture faculty, Didi Contractor
2020: Founders begin succession process, transferring leadership to team of alumni
Sustainable design features:
Built from natural materials, including site-made adobe bricks, earthen plasters, cob, rammed earth, earthen floors, bamboo-and-slate roofing, local wood and stone, etc.
Passive design making best use of sunlight and of natural materials for insulation
Organic gardens and orchards using traditional local methods augmented with permaculture design principles and modern soil science
Composting toilets producing natural fertilizer for the gardens and orchards
Rainwater harvesting and natural greywater filtration for use in gardens and orchards
Passive solar water heating and cooking
Studio Lungta team member roles:
Mark Moore and Mai-Linh Leminhbach cofounded the institute, and five of our team members have contributed in various roles. Details in the “Project” section at left.
Key collaborators:
The Earthville Network (US-based nonprofit)
Award-winning architect Didi Contractor, architect of the campus’s first building and consultant for several subsequent buildings, and partner in curriculum development for educational programs in vernacular eco-architecture and natural building
Advisors from the Indian and Tibetan communities
Builders:
Himalayan village artisans
Architecture interns, students, and volunteers
Studio Lungta’s cofounding principal Mark Moore (who also supervised all of the above)
