Welcome to Happy Valley

By Xochitl Rodriguez

A soft drizzle falls at the Centennial Farmer’s Market. The spaces that are normally packed with produce, merchants and shoppers are empty. A few people wander through the ghostly empty air. The market is surprisingly silent. Suddenly, there is sound of feet moving quickly, voices singing loudly and children beginning to bounce through the vacancy. The Happy Valley Youth Cooperative is preparing a performance for the SAARC Summit.

Young children watched with excitement and curiosity through the windows as the members discussed the traditional and contemporary steps they were incorporating into the performance. The children listened to the story they were building which spoke of the environment and man’s interaction with and impact upon it. Elder passersby stood at the windows, watching and listening. Some of them curious, some of them smiling, and others seemed to try to discern the unfamiliar combination of modern and traditional dance the Happy Valley members were choreographing. After some time the children began to join in the dance. In that moment, the impact Happy Valley could have on the promotion and development of a generation, culture and society is evident.

Happy Valley as an idea was conceived when Sangay Rinchin, Sonam Rinzin and Tshering Dorji, who had all done junior high and high school together, met and agreed upon the concept of setting up a youth organization based on a system of fairness and equity. “Our main intention was and continues to be to help others. We wanted to initiate a business with a different purpose,” said Sonam Rinzin. Happy Valley uses a non-profit cooperative approach to tackle social issues by engaging youth and calling upon them to initiate their own participation in society and specifically, social advocacy campaigns.
“Our Kings have been so kind to the people and everything has been provided for us. We wanted to teach young people that they must do things for themselves now and only take help from the government when it is really needed. We wanted to help young people accomplish things that they could call their own,” said Tshering Dorji.

Happy Valley employs youth in a positive environment that is geared toward participation in the positive development of Bhutan. Presently, the majority of Happy Valley’s social advocacy work is delivered through open-air street theater. Its café serves as another employment option for the youth.

It was Sangay Rinchin who suggested a cooperative as the best model to achieve this. In developing the framework for the cooperative, the group of young men followed the guiding principles of the International Cooperative Alliance.

The first principle is Voluntary and Open Membership which specifies that Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial or religious discrimination.
The second principle concerns Democratic Member Control.

Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are also organized in a democratic manner.

The third principle calls for Economic Participation from Members. Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. Part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.

The fourth principle ensures Autonomy and Independence. Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.

The fifth principle dedicates the cooperative to providing its members with education, training and information. Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders about the nature and benefits of cooperation.

Cooperation among cooperatives is the sixth guiding principle. Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

The final principle promises concern for communities. Cooperatives work toward methods of sustainable development of their communities through policies proposed and approved by their members.

The three young men were revolutionary in their thinking as this youth run, cooperative based system is the first of its kind in Bhutan. The framework for the cooperative was adjusted in such a way that made it uniquely applicable for Bhutan specifically and the trio began to recruit members. The three young men had ties to the New Theater Company in Thimphu and when they decided to resign from the company, five other members opted to resign as well and join the cooperative’s effort. As they considered who they wanted to recruit, the founding members held true to their dedication toward providing youth with a platform and tools to contribute to and participate in Bhutanese society positively. They visited drayangs and observed the environment and the talent the performers had. They offered them membership in the cooperative to provide them with an alternative performance opportunity that carried great dignity with it on both a social level as well as a personal level. Other targeted recruits came from backgrounds of alcoholism, drug addiction, video game addiction, materialism, emotional instability and gang related activities. The cooperative began to take form and gained momentum as every new, eager and hopeful member joined forces with the initial trio.

The complete text of this article is available in our print edition

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