Before his tragic death, Dr. Akong Tuku Rinpoche agreed to let me digitise the Samyeling archives. He described this project as “quite a big job,” which, knowing the scale of Rinpoche’s vision, made me feel as though I was taking a lot on!

To date over 40,000 photos and slides have been scanned in high resolution, some taking up to 20 minutes each.

The final stage of this project is to scan the telecine movie reels. These reels are currently in good condition but will degrade over time so it is important to preserve them as soon as possible. Due to the specialist equipment required, this is the only part of the digitisation project which has to be outsourced.

The contents of the media appear to include rare early 20^th Century footage of Tibetan Lamas, scenery, religious ceremonies, documentaries and personal media of Akong Rinpoche and Trungpa Rinpoche.

It is hoped that some of the footage might contribute to the upcoming film ‘AKONG - a remarkable life’ (http://www.akong-remarkablelife.com/)

I have found a reputable company, CineLab (http://www.cinelab.co.uk/) and been to meet the MD and technical team. They have reviewed the media and quoted £2370 (including a 50% charitable discount) to prep, clean, 2K scan and grade.

Please kindly contribute whatever you are able to help complete one of Akong Rinpoche’s wishes. Digitising this media will preserve these precious assets for present and future generations.

Thank you

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Offline donations (payable to ‘Rokpa UK’) can be sent to: Archive Digitisation Project, ROKPA UK, Kagyu Samye Ling, Eskdalemuir, Langholm, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, DG13 0QL

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT KAGYU SAMYE LING