Karakul is a small and remote village of ~240 families in the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan. The community of Karakul survive through nomadic herding of yaks, goats and sheep and for 6 months of the year exist in sub-zero temperatures without an electricity supply or running water. For heat they burn dung and a small shrub (tereskin) - one of the few plants that grow locally. The inhabitants have a cruel existence made more challenging through congenital diseases from living at such high altitude (Karakul is 3916m above sea-level).

The 'Roof of the World' Regatta was conceived in 2014 as a tourism development initiative to attract extreme adventure tourists to the region and to promote international awareness of this amazing destination. Tourism can provide a new source of economic income for families who struggle to survive otherwise. The regatta became the highest altitude sailing event in the world and soon took on a festival flavour as tourists, competitors and organisers began to also invest their time into the local community. Onshore activities for all age-groups and sectors of the community were instigated to educate, build team-working and enhance social cohesion.

The regatta has now been running for three years and from 24th-29th July 2017 we want to expand the onshore and offshore activities for this year's event. We will be attempting a world altitude record for Swimrun competition as we swim and run across the island archipelago. We will also be extending our education programme and hope to provide a lasting legacy through the provision of new textbooks to the school in Karakul village.

All donators (above £20) will receive a 'Roof of the World' Regatta 2018 calendar, featuring photos of the 2017 event.

To learn more about this year's event and the success of previous years, see...
FB: https://www.facebook.com/roofoftheworldregatta/
or
META website: http://www.meta.tj/projects/

To get in touch email: rotwregatta@gmail.com