Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan – In an extraordinary fusion of digital learning and traditional wisdom, farmers in Skardu have turned a simple YouTube hack into a powerful survival tool by constructing towering “ice towers” — an innovative response to the region’s growing water crisis.
Inspired by videos of artificial glaciers and ice stupas from other parts of the world, local farmers in this mountainous region began experimenting with the idea. Using pipes, gravity, and freezing winter temperatures, they built cone-shaped ice structures that store water in solid form during winter and melt gradually in spring — just when the crops need it most.
“We saw a video on YouTube and thought, why not try it here?” says a local farmer from the Shigar Valley. “Now, instead of our fields staying dry until the snow melts on the mountains, we have early water — and that changes everything.”
These ice towers are a low-cost, eco-friendly alternative to expensive water storage systems. In a region where climate change is accelerating glacier melt and disrupting traditional water sources, the method has brought hope to hundreds of farming families.
Environmental experts are hailing the initiative as a brilliant example of climate adaptation and digital empowerment. “This is grassroots innovation at its best — practical, sustainable, and scalable,” says a climate researcher based in Islamabad.
As the idea spreads to other valleys in Gilgit-Baltistan, these once-remote farmers may soon become pioneers of climate resilience in Pakistan — all thanks to a YouTube video and a little ingenuity.
