The state of Sikkim has partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to document, conserve, and promote the Lepcha community’s traditional cane bridge-building techniques. This collaborative effort aims to not only safeguard a vanishing cultural practice but also bring global recognition to the engineering ingenuity and ecological knowledge embedded in the tradition.
The Lepchas, considered the original inhabitants of Sikkim, have for centuries constructed lightweight, eco-friendly cane bridges over fast-flowing mountain streams and rivers. These structures—made entirely of locally sourced materials such as bamboo, cane, and creepers—represent a harmonious blend of sustainable engineering, traditional craftsmanship, and community collaboration.
Recognizing the urgent need to protect this intangible cultural heritage, the Government of Sikkim approached UNESCO under its programme for safeguarding indigenous knowledge systems. After a comprehensive review, UNESCO agreed to support the project under its Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) initiative, which aims to promote and protect traditions, practices, and knowledge systems of cultural significance.
The partnership will involve a multi-phased approach, beginning with field documentation in various Lepcha-inhabited regions such as Dzongu in North Sikkim, where the practice still survives. This will be followed by community workshops, the training of youth artisans, and the creation of educational content for schools and tourism platforms.
Sikkim’s Minister for Culture, Heritage, and Indigenous Affairs, Sonam Gyatso Lepcha, welcomed the initiative and highlighted its broader implications.
“This partnership with UNESCO is not just about preserving an art form. It is about honouring our ancestors, empowering our indigenous communities, and demonstrating that traditional knowledge can offer sustainable solutions in modern times,” said Minister Lepcha.
The initiative comes at a critical juncture, as the number of traditional Lepcha artisans continues to decline. With modernization and the spread of concrete infrastructure, cane bridges are increasingly being replaced by steel and cement structures. As a result, younger generations have shown decreasing interest in learning the craft, posing a significant risk to the tradition’s survival.
To counter this, the project will also focus on livelihood generation through heritage tourism. Select villages in Dzongu and Kalimpong (in neighbouring West Bengal, where Lepcha communities also reside) will be developed as cultural eco-tourism hubs, where visitors can witness the construction of cane bridges, engage with local artisans, and participate in cultural exchanges.
UNESCO’s India Representative for Culture, Dr. Eric Falt, expressed the organization’s commitment to supporting the project over the next three years.
“The Lepcha cane bridge tradition is a symbol of human adaptability and ecological consciousness. It aligns perfectly with UNESCO’s mission to promote inclusive and sustainable cultural development. Our collaboration with Sikkim will serve as a model for preserving similar endangered traditions across the Himalayan region,” Dr. Falt remarked.
The project will also include the creation of a digital archive, with high-resolution videos, interviews with elder craftsmen, architectural schematics, and academic research made accessible to scholars and the general public alike. This archive will be housed both online and at the Sikkim State Archives in Gangtok.
In a related development, the Sikkim government has proposed the nomination of the Lepcha cane bridge tradition to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a move that, if successful, would provide further international visibility and funding support.
Cultural historians have applauded the initiative as a progressive step toward recognizing indigenous knowledge systems as vital to both identity and sustainability. Dr. Tashi Denzongpa, a cultural anthropologist based in Gangtok, noted:
“These bridges are not just physical structures. They are living expressions of how communities adapt to geography, climate, and ecology. Preserving them means preserving a philosophy of coexistence with nature.”
As the partnership moves forward, the state of Sikkim is positioning itself as a national leader in cultural preservation through global cooperation, with the Lepcha cane bridge tradition serving as a powerful testament to the value of heritage in shaping sustainable futures.