Community Location Map
📍 Location: Changthang Plateau, Ladakh, India / Tibet
Overview & Cultural Background
The Changpa are a high-altitude nomadic pastoralist community inhabiting the desolate Changthang plateau of eastern Ladakh, situated at altitudes ranging from 4,000 to 5,500 meters above sea level. Adhering to Tibetan Buddhism, the Changpa move their yak-hair tents (rebo) up to ten times a year to follow seasonal pasture availability across frozen high-desert valleys.
The Changpa are famous for rearing the Changthangi goat, which produces pashmina (cashmere)—one of the finest, warmest, and most valuable natural animal fibers in the world. Their pastoral economy relies on intimate knowledge of high-altitude ecology, freeze-thaw cycles, and traditional veterinary care.
Key facts
- Estimated Population: Approximately 11,000 high-altitude pastoralists
- Primary Livestock Herded: Changthangi pashmina goats (Capra hircus), Tibetan sheep, yaks, and mountain horses
- ️ Contemporary Challenges: Unprecedented winter snowstorms and altering monsoon rain patterns due to Himalayan climate change, geopolitical border militarization restricting seasonal pastures, youth migration to Leh for education, and economic exploitation by fiber middlemen.
Featured Films in the Festival Program
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Living in the Mountains of Ladakh ⏱ 3 min | 🌍 India | 🎬 Stanzin Dorjai Gya