Drinchengang Plans Bhutan's First Innovative Model Village, Linking Heritage With New Homes

A Historic Village Prepares for a New Chapter

Drinchengang, a village of 86 households and around 800 residents in Bhutan's Wangdue Phodrang, is preparing to become the country's first Innovative Model Village under a Royal Initiative. The project combines a move to safer housing with plans to preserve traditional architecture, develop new sources of income and bring digital tools into village life.

Also known as Rinchengang, the settlement covers 24 acres and is divided into two chiwogs, or local administrative areas: Drinchengang Lho and Drinchengang Jang. Its compact homes and terraced fields reflect a history stretching back to the 17th century, when artisans brought by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel established the village.

Drinchengang became known for master stone masons whose work helped shape Bhutan's dzongs and temples. That craftsmanship remains central to its identity. The development project seeks to carry this heritage into a new settlement while addressing the risks posed by aging buildings, some of which are at risk of collapse.

Residents are to move to Sulalumpa in Barithang, a few kilometers from the original village. The plan includes temporary accommodation, essential infrastructure and permanent homes modeled on Drinchengang's traditional architecture. Each family is to receive freehold land ownership, meaning ownership of the land rather than temporary permission to occupy it.

The ambition reaches beyond replacing houses. Tourism, traditional crafts, cooperative businesses and digital connectivity are intended to help residents earn a living while keeping their community together. As of June 17, 2025, the initiative is presented as a possible template for rural development elsewhere in Bhutan.

Why Drinchengang Was Chosen

Drinchengang's selection reflects both its cultural importance and its practical needs. Its status as a heritage site and its history as a center of craftsmanship make it a setting for a project that seeks to connect preservation with modern living conditions.

The village's distinctive adobe homes are part of that heritage. Its aging infrastructure, however, has created safety concerns that require more than cosmetic repairs. Redevelopment is intended to protect residents while safeguarding the architectural and cultural features that make the settlement distinctive.

Drinchengang also has a communal way of life that the project aims to preserve. Under the Maephu tradition, extended families live together beneath one roof but cook separately. A shared building can therefore contain several family arrangements, each retaining a degree of independence.

The village's compact layout supports this close communal life. New housing and shared spaces are being planned with that pattern in mind, so that a change of location can retain familiar relationships between homes, families and neighbors.

How the Move Is Planned

The Drinchengang Village Development Project is organized in phases. It officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony presided over by the Tsugla Lopen of the Central Monastic Body, underscoring the project's national importance.

The first phase focuses on relocation and basic infrastructure at Sulalumpa. Temporary transit camps, supported through His Majesty's Kidu, a royal welfare initiative, are to accommodate residents during the transition. Access roads, water supply, drainage and electricity are priorities intended to reduce disruption to everyday life.

The Project Steering Committee approved the relocation site with input from local leaders and residents. The location places the new settlement a few kilometers from the original village, allowing the project to address unsafe housing while remaining close to the community's existing setting.

Permanent homes are planned once the initial infrastructure is in place. The sequence matters for residents: roads and utilities need to support the settlement as families move through temporary accommodation and into lasting housing.

The village's history and the project's planned progression can be set out in a short timeline:

• 17th century: Artisans brought by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel established Drinchengang.
• Project commencement: A groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by the Tsugla Lopen of the Central Monastic Body.
• First phase: Relocation arrangements and essential infrastructure are prioritized at Sulalumpa in Barithang.
• Later phases: Permanent homes and plans for livelihoods, digital integration and community enterprises are to follow.

No calendar dates for these phases or a completion deadline were given. The schedule is described through the order of work, with infrastructure preceding permanent housing.

New Homes With Familiar Traditions

Each family is to receive a newly constructed home alongside freehold land ownership. The houses will be modeled after traditional Drinchengang architecture, bringing the appearance of the old settlement together with modern construction standards.

The proposed homes will replicate the traditional adobe style. Shared spaces are also intended to support the Maephu tradition, recognizing that preserving a village involves its social arrangements as well as its buildings.

A nearly 300-year-old house is among the significant historical structures the project seeks to preserve. Such buildings connect the development plans to the village's longer history, including the craft skills for which its residents became known.

The central task is to provide safer living conditions without losing cultural identity. For residents, that means the design of a new home, the availability of communal spaces and the ability to maintain extended family life are closely connected parts of the move.

Farming and New Sources of Income

Drinchengang's economy has traditionally depended on paddy farming and vegetable cultivation. Terraced fields provide food and income, but limited land availability restricts the scope for agriculture on a larger scale.

The development project therefore includes plans to broaden the ways residents can earn money. Its vision is a community able to sustain itself through several activities, including farming, tourism, cultural industries and local enterprises.

Tourism centered on the village's heritage and scenic surroundings is one proposed source of income. Cultural industries would support traditional crafts and businesses that celebrate Bhutanese culture, connecting economic activity with skills and knowledge already associated with the village.

Cooperative businesses and other enterprises led by the community are also part of the plans. Participatory governance, in which residents help shape decisions affecting their community, is intended to support the settlement's lasting sustainability.

These proposals give the relocation a wider purpose. Improved homes would address living conditions, while new economic activities would seek to give families more ways to support themselves in a place where agricultural expansion is constrained by the amount of land available.

Tourism Revenue and Digital Access

Plans are underway to introduce an entrance fee for visitors to Drinchengang. The aim is to use tourism revenue to support community initiatives and maintenance, connecting the cost of caring for the village with some of the income generated by visits.

The fee structure and exemptions are still being finalized. Those decisions will determine what visitors pay and who may enter without paying, as the project seeks to balance tourism with local needs.

Digital integration is another pillar of the model village. The initiative proposes using technology in education, business and governance, alongside better connectivity and digital tools.

Young residents are a particular focus. The aim is to help them participate in Bhutan's changing economy without losing their connection to the village. In practical terms, the plan brings digital access into the same development framework as housing, livelihoods and cultural preservation.

Officials and local leaders see this combination as a potential template for other villages: retain the features that give a community its identity while improving the services and opportunities available to the people living there.

Drainage and Footpaths Already Bring Benefits

Drinchengang has also benefited from international development support through the United Nations Capital Development Fund's Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, known as LoCAL. Recent investments have improved sanitation and infrastructure, including stone paved footpaths and modern drainage systems.

The work combines two everyday needs: a firmer surface for walking and a route for water to drain away. These improvements have helped residents move around more safely and improved health and sanitation, with particular benefits for older people and children.

Sarita Gurung, Gewog Administrative Officer in Thedtsho Gewog, described how the drainage and walking surface were built together and what the work meant for residents:

With the project, we now have the footpath with stone slabs. We made it like a two-in-one kind of thing where we have the drainage system going underneath and above it we have the pavement with the footpath and the stones slabs. It has immensely benefited the public.

The improvements show how relatively small projects identified locally can address several needs at once. They are part of a wider effort in Bhutan to include climate adaptation in local development, helping rural communities cope with changing weather patterns and environmental challenges.

Residents Welcome Opportunities and Raise Concerns

Residents have taken part in consultations throughout planning and implementation. Most support the initiative, welcoming the prospect of better living conditions and new opportunities, while some remain apprehensive about the transition.

The condition of the access road to Sulalumpa is one concern. Families have also raised questions about maintaining communal traditions and how increased tourism could affect their way of life.

Project leaders have pledged to address these issues through continued consultation and community engagement. Their stated approach stresses transparency, flexibility and responding to problems as they arise.

Local leaders, including the Toedtsho gup, have helped build agreement and connect the project with community aspirations. One local leader described the purpose of the move in terms of both continuity and change:

We're not just moving homes; we're building a future that respects our past.

The concerns place everyday requirements alongside the project's larger ambitions. A usable road, reliable services and space for established family traditions will shape how residents experience the new settlement.

A Potential Model for Rural Bhutan

Policymakers, development experts and rural communities across Bhutan are watching the Drinchengang model. Its approach brings heritage conservation, sustainable livelihoods, digital innovation and community participation into one village development project.

Officials believe success could help guide similar initiatives elsewhere in the country. The phased approach, focus on local ownership and alignment with national development goals are intended to support rural revitalization while respecting traditions.

Drinchengang's experience brings several connected tasks into view: move families away from unsafe structures, preserve important buildings and customs, establish essential services and create income opportunities beyond limited farmland. The project seeks to address those needs together, with residents participating in decisions about the community's future.

Key Points

• Drinchengang, also called Rinchengang, is being developed as Bhutan's first Innovative Model Village under a Royal Initiative.
• The historic settlement in Wangdue Phodrang has 86 households and around 800 residents across 24 acres.
• Residents are to relocate to Sulalumpa in Barithang, with temporary accommodation supported through His Majesty's Kidu.
• Each family is to receive freehold land and a new home modeled on traditional village architecture.
• The plans seek to preserve the Maephu tradition and significant historical structures while supporting tourism, crafts, digital access and community enterprises.
• LoCAL support has improved footpaths, drainage and sanitation, benefiting mobility, health and safety.
• Residents have raised concerns about road access, communal life and tourism, while project leaders have committed to continued consultation.
• The project is intended to provide lessons for rural development elsewhere in Bhutan.