Himalayan Community Support

Nepal Projects Newsletter

We have issued an updated Newsletter concerning our current projects in Nepal, for your copy please download the PDF document:

Nepal Responsible Tourism Projects Newsletter - 04/07/11

Where in the world?

The Himalaya is by many measurements the greatest of all mountain chains. Separating the Indian sub-continent from the great plateau of Tibet it runs in a great arc from Pakistan in the west, through India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. But like many other areas of the world the differing communities and environments that make up this mountain wonderland are under constant stress and strain.

What are we trying to do?

Exodus have been organising tours and treks to this region for 35 years and have developed many long lasting partnerships and friendships with our operators and leaders as well as some of the local communities we visit. It therefore has been only natural for us to seek out ways to give something back; but with such a large and diverse area to cover how do we decide what to do? Well we look for small-scale practical projects that can help local communities and preserve or improve the environment, whilst giving the maximum possible long-term economic benefit. This means we have focused on supporting children and their educational needs, supplying basic resources to communities, such as fresh water and sustainable wood supplies, as well as introducing some alternative technologies to help the environment. We also believe in being responsible and fair to our staff by training, equipping and paying them properly for the amazing work they do.

How did we set it up?

In essence we have just built on foundations laid down 35 years ago, but perhaps a major turning point came in 2002 when we started supporting the Nava Kiran Orphanage in Kathmandu. Over the next few years we raised the money to build an entirely new home for the orphans and are now involved in helping fund their education. In addition we also support several other schools and children's education. Below is a summary of all our projects in the Himalaya and what we have achieved in 2010 and what we hope to achieve in 2011.

Esther Benjamin's Trust

Our support of the Esther Benjamin's Trust was new in 2010. Founded by Philip Holmes the trust focuses on improving the lives of Nepal's most vulnerable children and young people. The refuges in Nepal cater for 140 children who are "at risk" of being trafficked or suffering domestic or sexual abuse.

In 2010 we started sponsoring the nursing training of one of the girls, Deepa Moktan. Her training will cost approx £5,200 for the 3 years training course in Kathmandu. We have already raised £1,687 so need to raise a further £3,513 over 2011 and 2012.

Please visit the Esther Benjamin Trust's website for more information

Nepali Times news article 'Company of dreams' reports on the Esther Benjamin Trust

HAMWWA (High Altitude Workers Welfare Association)

Another new project started in 2010. This small NGO was set up by climbing sherpas to help the families of climbing sherpas who have lost their lives or livelihood climbing or trekking. The money we raise goes towards the education of the children left behind. We gave £500 in 2011 and hope to raise another £500 in 2012 towards the education of 5 children.

Porter Welfare

In the Everest region there are porter shelters in several places where porters can get a bed for the night and reasonably priced food. In 2010 we donated solar cookers to the porter shelters in Thyangboche and Gorak Shep. We also donated some blankets and trekking boots to the porter shelter in Gorak Shep.

If you are visiting Nepal you can help by bringing any old walking gear for our porter clothing bank in Kathmandu. Or you may like to help the Porter Progress clothing bank

Nava Kiran Orphanage

Although we still aim to help the Nava Kiran Orphanage many of the children are now sponsored for their education and the orphanage has its own website and raises much of its own funds.
However, in 2011 the kitchen/dining annexe was almost destroyed in a fire and a boundary wall needs replacing. We would still like to raise £8000 towards this and school fees for 2012.

Kalika School

The Kalika School is above the Seti River and has been visited by our Annapurna in Luxury (TNX) groups since 1998. Since that time we have helped the school in various ways.

The school now has almost 100 students but only 3 teachers including the head master so since 2009 we have been sponsoring one additional teacher. This costs approx £220 for a year.
We would like to extend the smokeless stoves project to this village and need to raise £3,000 to buy 60 stoves.

Danda Kharka, Nepal

This village is home to Chewang Sherpa, one of our popular trekking guides, and several of our assistant guides. For the past nine years a couple of Exodus Trekkers have been raising money to help the village and water pipes have been put in the village, the monastery has been repaired, a community kitchen has been built and 30 houses in the village were given a solar panel and light bulbs. Kirsty and Angus have now raised another £500 for the village and as Angus is a pilot for British Airways they have donated another £500 for the village. The villagers have decided that they would like to be connected to the local hydro power plant so each home will have electricity. This project will hopefully be completed by the end of 2011. Each family will put some of their money towards the cost and we would like to help them by raising an additional £1,000. Our Sherpa Heartland Trek (Trip code: TNM) spends a night in Danda Kharka, where you can meet the locals and see all the projects.

Thulopatel

Thulopatel is a fairly large village in the Jiri area south of Everest. Many of our trekking staff come from this village and in 2010/11 we installed smokeless stoves in 89 houses.

Solar Cookers

We have now installed more than 50 solar cookers in the Everest region. They are mostly in teahouses where trekkers need boiled water. We have also donated cookers to The Sir Edmund Hillary Hospital and School in Kunde and Khumjung, the porter shelters in both Thyangboche and Gorak Shep and the monastery in Thyangboche. In 2010 two Exodus groups helped put the stoves together whilst out on trek. If you would like to donate a solar cooker the cost of one is £350 including transport. More people in the Everest region would like one and we would love to raise the money for at least 10 more cookers, which means raising £3,500.

Braga Tree Nursery

• The yearly salary (approx £520) will be paid out of the general funds we raise.

Ladakh Project

• In 2010 we gave £230 to build a greenhouse for a disabled children's hostel in Chushot village.
• In 2011 we are helping to provide safe drinking water for trekkers in the Markha Valley, the main trekking route in Ladakh. Mineral water bottles are the bane of life in Ladakh. Glass and tin are bought by outsiders and taken to other parts of India to be recycled whereas plastic mineral water bottles weigh so little it is not worth anyone taking them to recycle elsewhere. Working with the Youth Association for Conservation and Development in the Hemis High Altitude National Park and Niyamdu Dro, a French NGO in summer 2011 trekkers in the Markha Valley will be able to buy safe drinking water from many of the villages.
• " In August 2010 flash floods killed many people in Ladakh and many more were left without homes and/or farmland. Exodus started an emergency flood relief fund which has been used to help Ladakhis rebuild homes and lives after the flood.

Himachal Pradesh

From 2011 we will be incorporating another project within our Himalayan Community Support portfolio. This is supported by Philippa Russell, who lives in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh and leads some of our trips including Mountains, Temples and Hillstations, The Flowers and villages of Lahoul. You can visit the project on the Dharamsala and the Dalai Lama, the Cycling through Himachal Pradesh and the Mountains, Temples and Hillstations trips.

Nishtha Trust

Founded in 1998 the trust works for the benefit of the hill people of the Kangra Valley in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, North India. The primary activity of the trust is to run a primary health clinic for the poor and underprivileged of the area. Through interaction with patients other health programs have been developed such as nutritional enhancement, health awareness workshops for women and youths, outreach programs for single women, provision of clean water in villages, eco-san toilets for the poor, personal development and self-defense training for women and herbal cultivation and the use of traditional herbal remedies.
The Nishtha Community Centre provides a space for social support, development programs and livelihood enhancement training. It is also a venue for community activities, a library and computer training centre. It also has a kitchen for community meals, child nutrition, patients and guests, and it is a refuge for the chronically or terminally ill and women in need. For more information see www.nishtha-hp.org

What can you do to help?

None of this would be possible without the fantastic support we get from clients and well wishers around the world. Although Exodus staff and our local partners and leaders put in a huge amount of time and effort, we do rely on raising vital funds from you, our clients. Over the years Exodus trekkers and travellers to this region have been sponsored for their treks and cycle rides or have run marathons at home, others held cake fairs at schools, sold souvenirs obtained in the Himalaya, or even donated money in lieu of wedding gifts. However the funds are raised, a few pounds, dollars, euros or rupees can and do make a real difference to the lives of many and help maintain the amazing mountain environment that we go so far to see. On certain trips to the Himalaya you may be able to donate locally (especially in Kathmandu), or on your return through Friends of Conservation in the UK.

Clients travelling to India (especially Ladakh) can help by bringing any old gardening tools with them which they can give to the leader in Delhi and we will make sure they get to the disabled children's hostel in Chushot.

Clients travelling to either Ladakh or Nepal can help by bringing children's storybooks out for school libraries. Easy reading books with pictures are most useful. We are helping with the libraries in Thulopatel and Kalika Schools and books would also be appreciated at the disabled children's home in Ladakh. You can give the books to your leader and he will make sure they are given to the schools.

Would you like to know more?

You can read our Himalayan Community Support newsletter no 3 or you can contact our Exodus Himalayan Operations and Project Manager Valerie Parkinson by emailing her at valeriepark59@tiscali.co.uk

Updated: 04 July 2011