NamasteThe Nepal Trust NewsWorking with Health, Community developmentand Hope in the “Hidden Himalayas”Winter 2010 Issue No.11

IN THIS ISSUEWelcome letters 2

Health & Education Field Trip 3

Rajesh Gurung - 5 year anniversary! 4

Fundraise or Die 4

Great Himalaya Trail – Project Update 5

Thank you Rotary Clubs – Trek-to-Electrify 6

Till Solar Inspection 6

Gothi MHP - Project Update 7

A Growing Tourism Perspective... 8

Treks to Build 9

Donor Acknowledgement 11

Photo Album 12

Jeroen crossing Nyu La Pass, 5000m

Humli girl in thought Gothi kids watch from roof Murals on Limi path Weaving in Dolpa

Page 2 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

Chairman’s Welcomeby Dr Mike Love

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Nepal Trust,In my Chairman’s welcome inthe last edition of Namaste, Iobserved that with the electionsover we hoped and prayed for thestability that would allow theTrust to progress with its projectsand programmes.When writing I had little idea ofthe substantial change that was toshortly follow within the NepalTrust itself. Sadly our founderAlan Jacobsen passed away

towards the end of 2008; a great loss to those who knew him welland had worked with him.

Subsequently Jim and Liz, who had been our inspiration and powerhouse for so long, finally concluded that it was time to pass the batonon. They handed the reins over to Chris Rae in April and havesubsequently been taking a long and much deserved break in Greeceto be followed by time cycling in France.

It goes without saying that their departure has left a huge hole,which will take time to fill. I and other members of the Board nevertired of telling people how much the Trust had achieved and of howit punched well beyond its weight: if we were more accurate, wewould have said how much Jim and Liz had achieved and how theypunched on our behalf way beyond our weight.

We wish them well and very much hope that they will stay in touchand find time to join in our activities in some way in the future.

For the future we have taken the decision to base all full timesalaried activity in Nepal under the control of Jeroen van den Bergh

and Jigme Lama, with the UK operating on a volunteer basis. Thismeans that nearly every penny raised is now spent in Nepal, where ofcourse each pound spent goes a lot further.

The Kathmandu team is now responsible for administration, localbook keeping, communications, website, proposal writing, projectcontrol and the delivery of the health programme.

Chris, ably supported by his Mum, is running the UK office on avoluntary basis. The office has moved to Edinburgh, you can find theaddress and contact details at the foot of this issue.

Tony Robinson continues as finance director; Tony Sharpe hastaken charge of fund raising and David Hurman is in charge of thehealth programme. We also now have three new directors: RodgerThom, Donald Brown and Gary Williams. The next issue of Namastewill contain more detail on each and on their roles. All includingmyself are working as unpaid volunteers on a part time basis.

Structurally we have reorganised and registered the Nepal Trust asan INGO: this has considerably simplified matters and allows us tooperate our own bank account, run our own payroll and enter into leaseagreements, etc in Nepal. Key to this change is that the Board can nowexercise direct control and authority over its affairs. Previously it hadto work through a local NGO with its own Board of Directors.

The changes all need time to settle down, but as you will readbelow have already led to a new sense of purpose and energy withinthe team. We have exciting plans for developing the health programmeand working with the community of the Hidden Himalayas for manyyears to come.

As always though we depend totally on your continued support,Mike

Many thanks to all contributors. Photos reproduced courtesy of staff, trekkers and supporters of the Nepal Trust.

Letter from Nugal Vaidya,Chairman of the Nepal Trust’s NGO partner in Nepal

Namaste is just one way to learn about our work. Our website www.nepaltrust.org had a major facelift last year. On there you’ll find the latestnews, info on all our projects and an online donation facility. Content is updated regularly, so add it to your bookmarks and check back regularly.Additionally we launched the popular e-News, a short email newsletter bringing all the latest info right to your inbox. Free to subscribe, andeasy to unsubscribe, contact admin@nepaltrust.org if you’d like to receive it.

Keeping in touch

This is the first time I am writing my message to you and the readers of this new edition of Nepal Trust Bulletin ‘NAMASTE’.I come from the Rotary Club of Mount Everest, Lalitpur, Nepal (Rotary International Distrct-3292). I am a past President there and

am assigned as Assistant Governor in the district level for the Rotary year 2009-10. Through Rotary, I have known the Nepal Trust anda few of the office bearers for many years. I was personally involved with the Nepal Trust during the planning and implementation ofthe Til Solar Project in 2007, through my club and International Partner Rotary Club of Ilkley Wharfedale, England (Rotary InternationalDistrict – 1040). My relationship then grew deeper and as a result I have now joined the Nepal Trust as it’s Chairman in Nepal from 2009.

In Rotary, Rotarians act as community volunteers with our motto “Service Above Self”. I think this spirit has spurred me to lead theNepal Trust in Nepal. Philanthropy is sometimes like a mirage when it comes to be the most remote underprivileged and wild areas likeHumla and the Karnali zone of Nepal and yet nothing is impossible. Due to the tireless efforts starting from our founder Alan Jacobsenback in 1994 to date, many of the office bearers, supporters, donors, volunteers, staff and friends the Nepal Trust has contributed to somuch for the humanity in need in Humla. That is why the Nepal Trust and the Rotary names are so well respected in Nepal.

I now have the responsibility of keeping the wheel rolling and reaching our targets successfully as planned, drawing on the synergythe Nepal Trust possesses with its history and networks. The readers will benefit reading about the various new projects, programmesand other developments for this year through the different news sharing in this bulletin. I take this opportunity to request you all continueto contribute and participate in this noble cause to magnify our DEED for the Humanity in NEED. Thank you.

Nugal Vaidya

Following Janet and David’s recommendations, The Nepal Trust intend to formally develop the medicalvolunteer programme. It is envisaged that extended placements at a health post would allow for staff trainingand enable support to be given in implementing systems and protocols of best practice. If you are a medicalprofessional and would be interested in participating, please contact us.

Request for Medics

LEFT: Pema Dolma Lama, Senior Health Worker.

Last year Nepal Trust conducted a major Health and Education field tripwith a team consisting of both Western as well Nepali medical - andeducational experts, including a dentist, doctor (GP), nurses, CMAs,public health worker, consultants, social mobilizers and NT staff.

In terms of Health:Dental work was carried out in Simikot hospital by Rotarian Dr.Richard Vaughn, who currently is involved in the development of along-distance education programme (CD ROMs) in coordination withKings College London University and Nepal Trust, that aims to teachlocal health workers the basic elements of dentistry including e.g.oral hygiene & tooth brushing, caries prevention, disinfection, dentalanatomy, 1 to 1 tuition, etc. and runs on solar laptops – especiallydeveloped for remote mountain regions where there is no electricity.The project is to be spread over 3 years and we encourage otherdentists to contact us and participate in this special project, which if

proven successful, may be taken into the government curriculum byNepal Medical Council.In addition, medical assessments of patients was done in Simikot hospitalby Dr. Robin Ramsay and Sr. Nurse Janet Griffin, who together withsupport staff also gave in-field training to local health workers in Kermi,Yalbang - and Sarkegad. Other activities conducted include healthassessments, site surveys, interviews and the establishment of a newHealth Committee in Yalbang.

In terms of Education:Participatory community trainingswere carried out by Roy Cameronand Raju Aryal (CEEN), alongwith education assessments, sitesurveys, interviews and communitygatherings.

Namaste - The Nepal Trust News Page 3

Health and Education Field Trip

Clean, renewable energy has always been an important partof our integrated development solutions. Due to the fact thatmaintenance of renewable energy resources is a costly andtime-consuming problem, Nepal Trust had the intention to

establish a renewable energy service centre in Simikot, that would serveas a workshop and training centre where local people can be trained inkeeping power plants and other technology maintained and operatingthroughout the year, but also assist local off grid communities in basicsanitation, metal and other construction works.

We are delighted to announce that this idea will soon become reality,as Nepal Trust has entered an exclusive partnership with TRAID (TextileRecycling for Aid and International Development), who has decided toact as our main supporter for this project, which kicks-off fully in 2010.

TRAID is a UK based organisation that recycles old clothes andtextile into high quality clothes that are sold to the public in order togenerate funds for development projects in both the UK and abroad.Currently, TRAID has ten shops located in London and Brighton andyou may like to check them out: www.traid.org.uk.

As Madeleine Bates, International Development Manager fromTRAID, mentioned: “We are so excited about this; it is a real departurefor us in terms of funding clean renewables, and it is such aninnovative project”.

Massive thanks to TRAID for their efforts and support, andwe look forward working with them. In case you have ideas,suggestions, skills, or would like to volunteer for this project, pleasecontact us for more information.

Renewable Energy Service Centre

Hopefully, the title doesn’t refer to me! Fundraising is the lifeblood ofcharities and without it they will surely die. But funds are not god givenand have to be earned usually by a great deal of effort and hard work.

Last year the total income for all charities in the UK (171,000believe it or not) was £50bn. Of this large figure more than half wasabsorbed by 0.5% of charities – the big ones that we have all heardabout. About 40% of the money these big charities earn comes fromstatutory and government sources and is at risk, and causing greatconcern, during these recessionary times. Small charities like the NepalTrust do not rely on such sources of funding but, nevertheless, are notimmune to the difficult financial times we are in. When the going getstough many organisations are not equipped to deal with the problemsand hit a brick wall or fold. That has been the destiny of many charitiesin recent times.

At the beginning of this year the Nepal Trust went through a stickypatch when cash was short and we were not sure how we wouldsurvive. We had to look long and hard at our resources and make toughdecisions on best where to make cuts in order to continue withoutaffecting our core project delivery. The result has been invigorating buthow successful only time will tell – we still need cash to ensure ourfuture. Overhead costs have been reduced to near zero in the UK byour team of dedicated volunteers pulling together to make sure it willhappen. Our team in Nepal (also beneficiaries by definition) haverealised the seriousness of the situation and have taken pay cuts andaccepted stringent budgetary procedures to get the Trust through this

difficult period. The exercise has been illuminating and allowed us tosee more clearly where we need to tighten up and what we need to putin place to promote regular cash flows. A new fundraising strategy planis being formulated.

Muhammad Yunus the inspirational founder of the Grameen Bankis convinced that social business, rather than charity, is the way to tacklesocial problems. This approach has always been at the centre of theNepal Trust’s objectives by working in an integrated way combininghealth care with renewable energy projects and income generationthrough, for example, sustainable tourism.

A little money can go a long way under the new slimmed down andefficient Trust management. Our core projects, particularly primaryhealth care, will need to be nurtured and improved for some time yetto be sustainable in a part of the world so remote and devoid of anyfacilities we take for granted. Stand-alone projects can be funded in avariety of ways but we need regular funds for the core work if it is toreach fruition.

Compared with the sums mentioned earlier our needs areminiscule! £50,000 a year will keep all core projects going and retainour expert Nepali team of locally trained and dedicated people who areputting their skills back in to their own communities. Just imagine, 400of our supporters become full members of the Trust or 100 supportersdedicate themselves to raising £500 a year and our problems are solved.Anyone can get involved.Now that doesn’t sound too difficult does it?

Page 4 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

My name is Rajesh Gurung. I started mywork with Nepal Trust in January 2003as a Driver, Office Assistant and Runnerand I am now exactly working 5 years forNepal Trust. I did my best during thattime to assist the Managers in settingup the office and other project relatedactivities. During this period, theorganisation went through variouschanges and constraints, but I continuedmy support to Nepal Trust and tried myvery best to make all things favourablefor the organisation as such.

In 2006 I facilitated in the logistical arrangements of our HealthCamp in Humla. From 2007 onwards I was given more duties andfrom that moment I also started to learn about the developmentprojects and their implementation, the necessary administration

works and management. In that year I helped to set up the ambulanceproject, Til solar project and helped organising the ‘Treks-to-Build’.In 2008 I was involved with the repair of Lali MHP, the preparationworks for Gothi MHP, the set up of our ‘Little Doctor’ Programmeand the various field trips we had.

I also visited Humla during these times and I really felt part ofthe organisation by doing so. All these obtained skills helped mewhen in 2008, I was provided the opportunity to take on moreresponsibilities and a bigger role as a Finance/Admin - and ProjectAssistant.

My job now includes maintaining finances, administration worksas well as supporting the overall project implementation alongsideJeroen and Jigme. I have also received trainings regarding this allrecently in 2009 and I am very much enjoying my work. I hope tolearn and develop myself more over time, so that I can make agreater contribution to the organisation and its projects.Thank you. Rajesh

Fundraise or Dieby Tony Sharpe

To follow up on our ‘Treks-to-Build’ initiatives, we recently we have registered the domain names www.trekstobuild.org andwww.trekstobuild.com. Both websites are still under construction and will hopefully be operational in the course of this year.It is in our intention to create these separate websites for our tourism initiatives and develop ‘Treks-to-Build’ as a brand forresponsible travel worldwide. This means that we are in need of a new house-style and logo, which will be integrated in ourbranding strategy to be used to develop promotional materials, brochures, CD Roms, etc.

If you have any ideas or designs you think are suitable, please send them to Nepal Trust and who knows; perhaps in future yourdesign will be used as our brand! Also if you know any people with relevant technical designing/web skills that like to contributefreely for our social cause, please let them contact our office.

The winner will be mentioned in our fundraising efforts/donor list and will receive, next to all credit, a small Nepali gift.

T2B Competition!

Five year anniversary

Rajesh Gurung

The Great Himalaya Trail - Development Programme (GHT - DP) aimsto attract tourists to unexplored and more economically backwarddestinations and regions in order to spread income generation throughoutthe Himalayas (for this project Humla and Dolpa district were chosen aspilot areas). Project activities aim to build the capacity of localentrepreneurs and institutions in order to develop the required skillsneeded to manage tourism in a sustainable way. In addition, the projecttries to increase local economies by fair distribution of economic, socialand cultural benefits obtained from tourism.

To attract tourists to the more unconventional areas, marketing andpromotion of these areas is needed. In addition, they need to bedeveloped as an integral component of the main product ‘GreatHimalaya Trail and effectively branded and marketed to give Humla andDolpa their own tourism identity. As part of the overall promotion ofGHT (including Humla), Nepal Trust ran a promotion trek to Limi Valleylast year with National Geographic Adventure Magazine (withcontributing editor James Vlahos), which has been published in theNovember 2009 issue.

One of the main activities of 2009 has been the development of aValue Chain Analysis (VCA) by Action for Enterprise – the world’sleading VCA consultancy firm from USA - along the GHT, to identifyareas for support and create local employment providing more and betterquality & demanded tourism products, supported by a B2B (Business-to-Business) culture. Next to this, focus lay on the capacity strengtheningof local (non-) governmental organisations to enable them for thedevelopment of overall tourism environment along the GHT.

For the Humla-based activities NT was able to appointed 3 of its own

staff, which provided our staff a great opportunity to step up and to betrained in project management. In Dolpa we work through our newpartner NGO DESERT (Dolpa Educational, Social, Environmental andReservation Team).

Other activities included the formation of a Tourism DevelopmentCommittee (TDC) in Dolpa and Humla, the formation of national – anddistrict level reference groups in order to advocate for sustainabletourism development (incl. NT partners such as NIDS and HDI - throughNorway Development Fund), tourism development activities with localgovernments (DDC/ VDC), and the development of an extensivemarketing and branding strategy, which resulted in the establishment ofa separate GHT website that provides information about GHT project,with all the tourism destinations as such. For more information seehttp://www.thegreathimalayatrail.org

Spin-offs of this project are amongst others books and articles that havebeen published (see http://www.greathimalayatrail.com/links.html).

While implementing, we have received immense support from theprivate sector, as well as local governments and communities. Althoughthis project entails new approaches which will provide NT with newchallenges, we are confident that some significant changes will be madein tourism development in West Nepal.

Namaste - The Nepal Trust News Page 5

In November 2008 the Nepal Trust trekked with mountaineer Jamie McGuinness to Mt. Saipal to explore the region for potential newtrekking routes and tourism attractions.

The team started their journey after their Limi Valley/GHT trek with SNV and NGA from Simikot via Kermi to Yalbang, and down toChalla; a medieval village isolated in steep mountains and located on a slope that runs almost straight down - a unique village as never tobe seen in Humla District.

We were the second group to reach Challa in 2008 and the only ones in the entire year that took the challenge to trek even further down,all the way to Mt. Saipal base camp from where our explorationstarted. From Challa there was hardly a trail visible, the terrainwas rocky and it was as isolated as you could possibly get.However the views were fantastic and the potential for newexploration routes in abundance.

For more information and Jamie’s story about ourMt. Saipal and Limi treks, please visit his website (and scrolldown) at:http://www.project-himalaya.com/treks-previous-2008.html

Great Himalaya Trail - Project Update

Mt. Saipal Exploration Trek

James Vlahos -National Geographic Adventure Magazine at Halji HP

GHT team in Limi Valley for tourism promotion

Page 6 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

Thank you Rotary Clubs of North Wales (Distr. 1180), UK and Mt.Everest (Distr. 3292), Nepal to provide assistance to the NepalTrust and the villagers of Chyaduk in the construction of a 4.5 kWMHP to electrify the entire village!

This project will provide power for the entire village ofChyaduk (about 1.5 days walk from Simikot H.Q.), which consistsof 36 households (with approx. 200 people), a local school (withapprox. 30 students), monastery, community centre, saw mill, oilexpeller and crop irrigation.

The project implementation hopefully starts in 2010 and isexpected to take approximately 7 months time to complete. Weencourage members of both participating and sponsoring RotaryClubs from UK and Nepal to have their representatives hands-oninvolved in the project work.

Thank you Rotary Clubs of Beaconsfield (Distr. 1090), UK andMt. Everest (Distr. 3292), Nepal to provide assistance to theNepal Trust and the villagers of Yari in the installation of 57 solarpanels to electrify the entire village!

This project will provide power for the entire village ofYari (about 1.5 days walk from Tibetan border), which consistsof 57 households (with approx. 420 people), a local school,1 monastery and a community centre.

After our successful ‘Trek-to-Electrify’ in 2007, during which12 UK Scouts and representatives from the Ilkley WharfedaleRotary Club installed around 400 lights in the village of Til (LimiValley), it is now the turn of the Rotary Club of Beaconsfield(Distr. 1090) in 2010. We encourage members of bothparticipating and sponsoring Rotary Clubs from UK and Nepal tohave their representatives hands-on involved in the project work.Rotarians from Beaconsfield already have shown interest to cometo Nepal in October to not only visit the manufacturer for solarequipment inspection, but also to assist Nepal Trust in thelogistical arrangements and solar panel distribution to localvillagers for this project in Humla itself.

Camping site at Yari

TIL SOLARINSPECTION VISITNOVEMBER 2008We’re happy to seethat all solar equipmentwas working properly.The local people wereextremely happy to havelights in their homes andthanked the Nepal Trustand the Rotary Clubs ofIlkley Wharfedale andMt. Everest once again.

Both electrification projects will not only improve vital and practical community services and livelihoods and positively affectthe lives of the villagers of Chyaduk and Yari, but also of other people living in and around the valley and those who arepassing through, such as tourists, merchants, farmers, Buddhist monks, shepherds, volunteers, researchers, developmentworkers and above all school children.

Next to the direct benefits of electricity generation, the installation of sustainable and clean energy systems will not onlygive local people a healthier home environment, that will reduce the level of respiratory diseases and deforestation, but alsowill promote local tourism development (home stays), literacy and hygiene, support food production, create localemployment (machine operators, handicraft production by women) and will increase development - and investment activitiesin the area.

In addition, the project will also minimise the carbon emission from replacing the ‘Jharo’ (inner part of pine tree whichis flammable and is used for household lightening), imported kerosene or Chinese torches and costly dry-cell.

Yari SolarElectrification Project

HALJI MHP REPAIR &INSPECTION VISITNOVEMBER 2008Nepal Trust staff andlocal porters trekked 5days through heavy snowin order to repair HaljiMHP. Due to the heavysnowfall several poleshad fallen down andcables needed to bereplaced. Also during thisvisit we re-supplied thehealth post with muchneeded medicines.

Conclusion

Chyaduk 4.5 kW MHP

Gothi MHP - Project Update

Water Project Kaskikot

Namaste - The Nepal Trust News Page 7

Manufacturing of electrical and mechanical componentsAs per the contract signed on March 2008, all the electromechanicalequipment for Gothi MHP has been manufactured by Structo Nepal Pvt.Ltd. During the process, community leaders including Member ofParliament from Humla, Mr Karna Jit Budhathoki, user committeechairman Hansa Thapa and other representatives and project staff visitedthe factory to inspect and check the quality of the equipment.

Transportation of equipment to the siteUntil now, 6 helicopter loads of equipment has already been transportedto the site. A separate helicopter landing site was developed in Talchari;the site for the micro Hydro in Gothi in August 2008.

In April 2009 a test landing with the civil aviation authority wascompleted to register the site an official helicopter landing site.

Community mobilisation in implementationand raising additional fundsOne of the biggest challenges for the project has been the unprecedentedrise in the cost of helicopter transportation which increased from Rs118/KG to Rs 200/Kg leaving the project in financial crisis. During thecourse, the cost also went up in a number of other components.

The cost revision done in November 2008 by Oshin Power Servicesshowed the budget deficit of $ 52,686.75 excluding the amount of$ 16455 which was committed by DDC/Community but not yet delivereddue to a change of officers and lack of funds at DDC.

NTmobilised the community leaders andmembers to explore potential

donors in the district and jointlysubmitted a proposal to PovertyAlleviation Fund (PAF) toprovide the necessary funds tofill the deficit. The proposal is inthe process of approval withthe support from HimalayanConservation and DevelopmentAssociation (HCDA); an NGOresponsible for managing PAFprojects in Humla.

Civil and E/M installation worksAt the field level, all necessary local materials including wooden poles,stone, sand and aggregates have been collected and transported, andelectromechanical equipment has been stored at the site. Some canal andintake works including building BBT have been done. Followed with theinformation of budget deficit and difficulties in transportation, the projectworks had to be halted and therefore the engineers were called backfrom site in January 2009.

The next stage works will involve installation of HDPE pipes(2-3 weeks) and installation of electromechanical components by theinstallation company (3-4 months). As soon as the approval from PAFcomes, we intend to immediately transport the remaining equipmentand dispatch the technical team to carry out the installation. We expectto complete the project by July/August 2010

Nepal army helicopter landing

This article is written by Dick Verstegen and Ellen Deimann fromHolland.Dick is appointed by his Dutch Rotary Club Eindhoven-Veldhoven(District 1550) as ‘Paul Harris Fellow’. He has been extremely activewithin Rotary for the last 25 years on not only club - and district level, butalso on national and international level. At present he is a member ofPast Rotary Club ‘De Kempen’.

The queue of people gets determined in advance due to the lack ofwater resources. Only twenty to thirty women are standing at the watertap in the hill village of Kaskikot, close to Pokhara. Today the tap is openfrom 14:00 – 16:00 PM. They all know the protocol – you have to belucky to get some, but don’t even try to take too much – the social controlis high. Two hours of water availability per day – this comes in practicalterms down to hardly six litres per person, which is according to thestandard’s of World Health Organisation (WHO) ten times too little. Towash your self in the local pond is NOT an option, as due to the pollutionand waste deposits this barely streaming water source is highlycontaminated. Because of this, the conditions of hygiene and health inKaskikot are very miserable.

The ‘tap water’ comes from far. Due to the geographical location ofKaskikot and its neighbouring villages Sarangkot and Naudanda, manykilometres of pipe are necessary to channel the water from the source tothe local communities. Due to the fact that these pipes are almost lyingexposed above the ground rather then being properly buried, overcrowdedand prehistoric buses are destroying them constantly, furthermore, bydriving over them. What is even worse is the fact that the water sourcetends to dry up; something has to happen, as the situation will become lifethreatening. The Government is well aware of the situation, but money isnot available in a civilian war torn Nepal. Once there is funding available,a single water tank gets purchased, but, due to the lack of installationcapacity, is left there to rust in the open country, or a few hundred metersof pipe gets installed; in all procurements that don’t lead to anything,rather then spending money without result.

Indications show that if you have to wait for the Government to solvethe water problem of Kaskikot and the other villages, it will take youabout 30 years! Who will still live there by then? A project with a soundapproach is needed, in which the problem is dealt with thoroughly andsolved within a couple of years.

Our adopted son, HomBahadur Nepali, who wesupport with his education,comes from Kaskikot. Hisparents are still living there.Ellen and I saw how life isweighed down due to thelack of water. We havecarried out an explorationstudy ourselves, first toidentify the need for asolution and Nepal Trust, onour behalf, has conducted apreparatory study in January 2009. After this study several issues wereraised that needed to be clarified in order to get an accurate insight onthe best way forward.

Nepal Trust, with technical support from UNICEF and in partnershipwith CODEF (Community Development Form - http://codefnepal.com),under leadership of Sr. WATSAN engineer Mr. Guna Raj Shrestha,who has been continuously involved in water and sanitation sector forthe last 20 years, has conducted a comprehensive field study inJuly 2009 and made a very interesting water documentary (seewww.dailymotion.com/video/xaycda_waterproject-nepal_creation).CODEF, established in 1999, is a national level NGO in Nepal(Sankhuwa Sabha District) and is a pioneer in the water and sanitationsector with its head office in Kathmandu. CODEF has accomplishedseveral water and sanitation projects in partnership with UNICEF,WHO, UN-Habitat, Concern World Wide, EU, Plan Nepal, Water Aid,Helvetas and Nepal government.

The study showed that the project requires a significant amount offunding; approx. €400,000, which we hope to raise in Holland fromservice clubs and through international subsidies and partnerships. Weare incredibly grateful to the Nepal Trust, and specifically Jeroen and hiscrew in the Kathmandu office, for all of their efforts and involvement todate. However; the real work has yet to begin…

Dick Verstegen & Ellen Deimann

Ellen, Hom and Dick

Dear past ‘Trek-to-Builders’, supporters, members and Rotarians.Today tourism is one of the world’s largest industries; it produces4.4% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employsaround 200 million people globally. In addition to this, the UnitedNations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) states that tourismnowadays has become a major sector of economic activity since thelatter part of the twentieth century and all indications are that it willcontinue growing at a global average of 4.5% in the years to come. Atthe same time, our global heritage of living species is threatened asnever before, as the protected areas that harbour so much of theworld’s biodiversity are exposed to the pressures of unsustainabledevelopment. The precautionary approach urges us to be especiallyconcerned about tourism in protected areas, given the risk of damageand destruction to this unique natural resource.

The UNWTO continues that with this growth a diversification oftourism products and destinations is taking place, with increaseddemand for nature based tourism, including ecotourism, visitationto national and natural parks, rural based tourism, and the like. It isestimated that within the tourism sector itself about 10% ofinternational tourists wish to purchase natural and cultural heritagesites, which makes this particular segment the fastest growing withinthe sector overall. In addition, there is a tendency that over the lastdecade several initiatives came up to combine sustainable tourismdevelopment with social works (i.e. charity/experience tourism,responsible/green travel, etc.).

This indicates that there is a growing interest within the market thatshows tourists are more inclined to leave more behind than just theirfoot prints and sincerely try to make an effort to use their holidaymoney in a very useful way by helping less well off people that haveto struggle every day in order just to exist.

Haven taken this into account about 15 years ago, The Nepal Trusthas been pioneering responsible tourism in the far Western corner ofNepal since 1995 and was the first development organisation in thisvast region, if not the entire country, to initiate the so-called ‘Treks-to-Build Health & Community’ programme. A simple yet highly effectiveprogramme, in which environmentally responsible tourism is used asa tool to provide direct benefits to natural areas and to the social,cultural - and economic welfare of locals, promoting conservation andsustainable development.

Despite the rich biodiversity and natural habitats of Humla andthroughout the Karnali region, mountain people live, in general, intremendous poverty. Our ‘Treks-to-Build’ present great opportunitiesfor developing a kind of sustainable tourism that not only can generatehigh levels of employment and incomes for the poor, but also enhanceslives of rural communities through infrastructure development, socialmobilisation, training, education and institutional development.In order to achieve this, Nepal Trust has responded to the needs oflocal communities for improved access to basic health, education,employment, food security and renewable energy resources for thelast 15 years, by bringing paying tourists to our project areas to notonly enjoy a great holiday, but also to help building up localinfrastructure facilities, such as health posts, schools, monasteries,community centres, solar panel installations and micro-hydro powerplants. All with and for local people, to improve their quality andenjoyment of life.

The income generated from our ‘Treks-to-Build’ form additionalfunding for our charitable works, that is all re-invested in the localvillages through community based projects, medicine distribution,incentives and social activities. The budgets are separated from thedonor project finances deliberately, due to the fact that local peopleshould still be able to get their project in case tourists don’t sign up.

In 2008 we have been selected as programme manager for the‘Great Himalayan Trail’ Development Programme, an initiative fromUNWTO, SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation), ST-EP

(Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty) and Nepal Tourism Board,to promote tourism throughout Nepal in order to reduce poverty levels(SEE ARTICLE GHT PAGE 5).

This gave us also the great opportunity to introduce NationalGeographic Adventure Magazine to our development projects inHumla District (Limi Valley) - the article has been published inNovember 2009 edition. This is a great recognition and reward for allour efforts to date, but this is not where we stop!

The Nepal Trust is trying to extend its ‘Treks-to-Build’ as a globalmodel for responsible tourism, by appealing to international travelagents, tour operators, development organisations and individualtravelers worldwide (and you!), starting with Nepal’s poorest districts,notably Dolpa, Mugu, Bajura and Kalikot, that lack basic (social)infrastructure but have tremendous tourism potential. So please joinand support the Nepal Trust; trek, explore and enjoy with us! In orderto raise awareness about our development works and intensions, wehereby like to inform you that The Nepal Trust has been participatingin the ‘Geotourism Challenge 2009: Power of Place - Sustaining theFuture of Destinations’ contest with its ‘Treks-to-Build Health &Community’ projects, for which we have received tremendous supportfrom Rotary over the years (see video on the link mentioned below).

This contest is about identifying innovative examples of tourismdevelopment around the globe and we truly believe that over the last15 years we tried our very best (together with Rotary and all youfellow supporters) to make a genuine effort by creating ‘A NewTourism for a New Century’. We kindly request you to support theNepal Trust in order to help us implementing our grass-rootsdevelopment efforts to help the poorest people on this planet, that areliving in the far end of West Nepal, tucked away in the ‘HiddenHimalayas’.

Please visit the link below to learn about our initiative anddevelopment projects. Our full entry contains supporting videoand photo material of real tourists and can be viewed at:http://geotourism.changemakers.com/en-us/node/22669

We truly appreciate it if you could share this message with yourfamily, friends, networks and colleagues or whoever you think mightbe interested in sustainable development for people in need. On behalfof Nepal Trust I kindly thank you all for you great efforts in advanceand we hope to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us for anyof your inquiries or requests.

Best regards,Jeroen van den BerghDirector of Operations, The Nepal Trust.jeroen@nepaltrust.org www.nepaltrust.org

Page 8 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

A Growing Tourism Perspective...

Jeroen at Nyu La pass - 5000m + (photo taken by James Vlahos)

Namaste - The Nepal Trust News Page 9

In 2007 Nepal Trust organised an interaction programme with Nepal Scoutboys and girls and the Scout team fromWharfedale. During this programmethe Scouts exchanged songs, told each other about their social programmes.We also visited the Nepal Scout museum; in all a very memorable day inwhich Scouts from different parts of the world connected with each other.

I blame Stephen Venables forintroducing me to the Himalaya andthe wonderful country of Nepal!I blame Rotary International forintroducing me to The Nepal Trust!

Antarctica is my normal destination.The Polar Regions tell of a fascinating,albeit recent and brief, history of man’sendeavours to penetrate the ‘GreatWhite’. The Heroic Age of exploration(1898 – 1922) is a subject dear to my

heart. I have a library of over 1000 books on the subject and I writeendlessly about it. I have journeyed south a number of times now.I know what it is like to be cut in half by razor-sharp winds and to walkin an endless, dreamlike, state for hours on end.

And then, about 6 years ago, one of Britain’s most accomplishedand yet most modest mountaineers crossed my path. Stephen Venablesbecame the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen in 1988. Ithas been my privilege to trek and climb with him over the past 5 years.

We have ‘done’ strategic parts of the Khumbu Himal and recentlyreturned from a gruelling circuit of Manaslu. In October 2007 wefound ourselves trekking through the Pabar-Kinnaur regions ofNorthern India. The list goes on.

In 2005 I became acquainted with an impoverished family inKathmandu. Over the past 4 years I have grown to love them dearly

and consider them some of my closest friends. Naturally, I have triedto help them where possible and in a way that avoids interfering withtheir ordinary lives.

In the UK I am President of the Rotary Club of North Norfolk.Nine months ago, I was reading an in-house magazine ‘RotaryWorld’ and learned, for the first time, about the fantastic work carriedout by The Nepal Trust. What caught my eye immediately was the‘Treks-to Build Health and Community’ programme. What a simpleyet fantastic and innovative concept! The idea of taking paid – uptrekkers on a journey of scenic AND community discovery ispowerful and unique. What could be more responsible? At a singlestroke, profits from the treks are ploughed straight back into localcommunity and environmental projects. The tourist wins. The localpeople, economy and environment win.

Well done to The Nepal Trust and well done to Jeroen and Jigme,in particular!

I am so impressed with this initiative that I intend to get involvedin a ‘T2B’ trek to the Limi Region in September 2010. I want to findout more about this great idea. I want to be involved in the future. It isa marvellous opportunity not to be missed. If anyone is interested injoining the team please get in touch with The Nepal Trust as soon aspossible – there’s much to arrange, there’s much to achieve.See you there?

Stephen Scott-Fawcett FRGS.

Mr. Shree Ram Lamichhane is Chairman ofthe Asia Pacific Region sub Committee forScouting, Chief Commissioner of NepalScouts and Chief Commissioner of the HonoryCouncil of Luxembourg.

He says, “I very much appreciated the workof the Nepal Trust and UK Scouting and what itdoes for the welfare of Nepal. I personally amgrateful and also on behalf of Nepal Scouts tosee such support to our Country. Especially asour Founder, Mr. Baden Powell is from the UK,I feel a deep connection towards UK and wecan be proud he gave such a wonderful youthorganisation to the world. To show our gratitudefor this, we named one mountain peak ‘Baden Powell Scout Peak’, whichwe cherish as one of our national treasures. Currently there is an expeditionteam from Finland that is climbing this wonderful peak. This all indicatesour close ties with UK and as it was a privilege to have your group as ourvisitors, Nepal Scouts definitely looks forward to develop its relationshipwith Nepal Trust and Scout boys, girls and their leaders from the UK.”

Mr. Lamichhane has been actively participating in Nepal Scouting formore than 40 years and has been awarded for his contribution in generatingdisciplined and self-dependant school; students through the teachings ofScouting throughout Nepal. He recently has been awarded first class ofBoys Scout citation medal of Thailand, which was presented to him by theThai Prince at a function at Chitralada Raj Prasad in Bangkok.

A Special attendant was the first trained Nepalese Scout,Prof. Govinda Narayan “Jyapoo”. The programme was alsobroadcast on national television.

Please visit the Nepal Scouts website at:http://www.nepalscouts.org.np

Shree RamLamichhane(Chief CommissionerNepal Scouts)

The Nepal Trust scores a hit with ‘Treks to Build’

The Nepal Trust & Scouting

Supporters’ packs availableWe now have Supporters’ Packs available to help make things easy for those of you who are keen to get involved in raising awareness

and funds. Full of ideas and resources, these can be sent out by post or you can download items from our website.

This initiative is aimed at groups such as Rotary clubs, towns, businesses or even families,whowould like tomake a unique connectionwith a village in Humla. In return for fundraisingto cover the ongoing costs of our projects in a village, you can receive regular updates fromthat village, in the knowledge that you are helping guarantee a more secure future for thevillagers and their children.You can also arrange to visit your village on one of our treks.

Membership: Committing to a regular donation is the most valuable way to support our work. Knowing that you’ll continue to be there helpsus plan ahead and secure further funding, and with Member or Friend status, you’ll automatically receive the annual edition of Namaste.

Gift Donations: If you’re stuck for what to buy for the person who has already has everything, why not give them a present that will make adifference, in the form of a donation? We can produce greetings cards with beautiful pictures from Humla.

Gift List:With the help of the Justgiving website, it is now simple and secure to set up your own site for people to donate to the Nepal Trust,ideal for special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries.

Shop Online: Easyfundraising is a website listing 600 online stores. Whenever you shop with any one of the stores, you'll generate a freedonation for us of up to 15% of your spend at no extra cost to you! www.easyfundraising.org.uk/thenepaltrust

Page 10 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

Fundraising

Community Connections

Volunteering Opportunities in the UK

Chairman Mike Love connects with villagersfrom the Ghoti community

We have been developing some exciting new initiatives for fundraising, givingour donors a choice in how they support our work in Humla. Below are just afew ideas that may interest you or people you know.For further details, see the website, or contact Chris Rae atadmin@nepaltrust.org or thechrisrae@hotmail.com Tel. 07879 016443

Kris Whybro took part in the UKIronman, raising over £1,000 insponsorship via his Justgiving website.

In order to channel funds to where they are needed most, we keep running costs to an absolute minimum,so we’ve always got jobs for volunteers. Here are just some of the ways that you can help out in the UK.

Fundraise: Challenge yourself to organise or participate in an event, raise sponsorship with a funexperience that will make a difference!

Speak out: Represent the Nepal Trust in your area at speaking engagements, conferences, village fetes etc.

Contribute to the website: Put your creative skills to use by writing articles, researching andediting videos and photos.

General help: If you’re based near Edinburgh we often need help with tasks such as mail-outs(biscuits will be supplied!).

Education is key for development of local communities. The Nepal Trusthas the intention to improve education of local school children in Humlaand especially along the GHT route. During our last field visit in late 2008,Nepal Trust received a request from Yalbang/Yangar Community to helpraising funds to rebuild and equip the local Government school.

If you are interested to be a potential donor and want to come out ona trek to rebuild this school, please contact our office in UK.

To already start our educational support in Yalbang, Chiara Bassetti, abright Italian volunteer, assisted local school teachers and school children inJuly andAugust 2009. She furthermore looked at possibilities to implement(wo)men education programmes. Chiara had great time as a volunteer livingin the local community and the programme was a great success.

Please read Chiara’s story below to see what made her join Nepal Trustas an educational volunteer:

“I guess what brings me to Nepal and to the Nepal Trust is a combinedlove of people, mountains and the desire to give back something of whatI take from the wealth of experience that travelling and being in adifferent country to my own gives me!

Having taken a year out from everything since September 2008 totravel around the globe, I have been in Kenya, Argentina, South East

Asia and Nepal/India will be my last stopbefore I return home and a country I havewanted to go to ever since I can remember.

I chose to contact the Nepal Trust becauseI did not want a fluffy volunteer post witha big company and tonnes of other westerners.I wanted something personal, somethingserious, something challenging and I amhoping that this is what I have found.

I expect it to be hard (I will be way out of my comfort zone in theHimalayas on my own with nobody I know and people of a very differentculture to my own) but at the same time immensely rewarding, where Ican offer some of what my education and western privileges have given meand are a normal part of my day-to-day existence to an area whereinsomething as simple as education is hugely underdeveloped yet hugelyimportant if countries such as Nepal are to lift themselves out of therestrictions of poverty. In return I imagine that the beauty of the landscapeand the Nepali people will, by working with them and living in their homesfor these six weeks, be something I will carry within me as a trueexperience of the country, the people and an exchange of the different yetequally valuable gifts that our different cultures can interchange”. Chiara

Education Volunteers / Rebuilding Yalbang School

Chiara

Namaste - The Nepal Trust News Page 11

Become aMember: Donate at least £10 per month/£120 per year to become a member. In return, you will receive Namaste, our yearlymagazine, and exclusive invites to member only events. (Please return this form to us, and also complete the standing order form below.)

Become a Friend: As little as £2 per month or £25 per year will make an ongoing difference.You will receive Namaste and other regularcommunications updating you on our work. (Please return this form to us, and also complete the standing order form below.)

I enclose a one-off donation of £___________ (Cheques should be made payable to 'The Nepal Trust')

GiftAid: I am a UK taxpayer and would like the Nepal Trust to reclaim the tax on my donation.

Name: _____________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________________________________

Address:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ Postcode: _______________ Tel: _____________________________________

I have set up a standing order for £_____ per *month/quarter/year (*please indicate) with effect from ___ /___ /___

If setting up a standing order, please send this portion to your bank or building society:

Bank Standing Order Mandate

Your Bank Name:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bank Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your Account No: __________________________________________________________ Sort Code: ___________________

Please pay to: Bank of Scotland, 102 High Street, Forres, Moray IV36 1PA, Scotland

For the Account of: The Nepal Trust - Account No: 00107833 Sort Code: 80-06-81

The sum of £_______________ and the same sum on the same day in each *month/quarter/year (*indicate)

Date of first payment:_________________ Signed: _________________________________________ Date: ___ /___ /___

Please return this form to: The Nepal Trust, 20/9 Craighall Crescent, Edinburgh EH6 4RZAlternatively, you can donate online at www.nepaltrust.org Gift aid & standing order forms are also available online.

A Big Thanks to Rotary

APPRECIATION AND THANKS TO ALL OUR KIND SUPPORTERS

Over the years the Rotary clubs of Wells and Avalon (D.1200) havebeen great supporters of the Nepal Trust, especially in the healthcaresector. In the upcoming year the clubs will support the refurbishmentof a health post and the implementation of child health educationprogrammes that aim to educate school children in the fields ofpersonal hygiene, family planning, diseases, sanitation, first aid andnutrition.Once again we like to thank the clubs for their great contributions andsupport!

Once again The Nepal Trust would like to express their gratitude for thecontinued support of individual Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, Districts andthe Rotary Foundation.

ROTARY PROJECTS 08/09:Ghoti Khola Micro-Hydro - Districts 1160, 1010, RC CheltenhamCleeve Vale (D.1100), Sturminster Newton (D.1110) - now in progressHealth Post refurbishment - RC Antrim (D.1160) in memory of thelate Rtn. David J. McConnell - completedHalji Micro-Hydro - RC Misbourne Matins (D. 1090) - completedTil Solar Project - RC Ilkley Wharfedale (D. 1040) - completed

Contributions of £100 or more towards the ongoing projects inhealth, education and renewable energy have been made by theRotary Clubs of: Farnborough, Maidenhead Thames, Bangor, Wells,Avalon, Uxbridge, Berwick upon Tweed, High Wycombe, Aberfeldy,Edgbaston, Campeltown, Shirley, Chorley, Sidcup, MisbourneMatins, Hove, Strathendrick, Bushey & Oxhey, Warwick, N Wirral,Ramsbottom, Fleet, Keyworth & Ruddington, Pitlochry, LeamingtonSpa, Frodsham & Helsby, Denny, Horwich, Elgin, Callander andWest Perthshire, Sherwood Forrest, Endon Stockton Brook. A number ofother Clubs have also bought raffle tickets, but we cannot list all thenames due to space restrictions. Many thanks to you all for your support!We are also grateful for the help from the International ServiceCommittee of RIBI, the Rotary Foundation and in Nepal the RotaryClubs of Lalitpur and Mount Everest.

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Wells Rotary (D.1200)& Nepal Trust -December 2009(Jeroen van den Bergh& Adrian Lawrence)

From July 08 to July 09 we have had donations of/amounting to £300or more from the following:Individuals:Anne Brown, Gisel Bode, Sue Millar, Ceris Jones, Rich andDi Coleman, Danny Jones,Adrian Lawrence, Edwin Dunlop; Mrs I. Owen;Mike & Pavla Love; Thomas Riebl; Peter Knowles; Alan Jacobsen, EHGlendinning; Annelies Litschauer, Chris Rae, Jim Donovan, Liz DonovanTrusts, Companies: TRAID, SNV, STEP, CAF, UNESCO, The PagetTrust, The Street Theatre Workshop Trust, The Paul Charitable Trust,The Souter Charitable Trust, The Stonewall Park Charitable Trust,The Rhododendron Trust, Wells Golf Club.For their enthusiastic fundraising efforts we would like to thank:Janet Griffin,Adrian Lawrence, Tony Robinson, Tony Sharpe, Mike Love,Nikolay Love, Anna Dawbin, Ceris Jones, Laura Flutter, Bob Small,Dave Atkins, Drew Hall, Jill Davies, Amy Ford, Kris Whybro and allthe people who sponsored them in their activities.

Our raffle in May brought in almost £4000 - thank you all for helpingwith the tickets!

Thanks to our volunteers, helpers and others for their support andcontributions: Steve Davis, Dan Yeoman, Roy Cameron, Rodger Thom,Donald Brown, David Easton, Jane Lockyer, Phil Jackson, Stuart Tizick,Isabel Smith, Angela Ewing and all the staff, directors and trustees ofthe Nepal Trust teams in the UK and Nepal.

As always we’re sorry that we can’t mention all the names of peoplewho are donating regularly or are helping in some other way. Just knowthat your contributions, financially or otherwise, are always fullyappreciated.

THANKYOU SOMUCHAND PLEASE CONTINUETO HELP!

Support Form

Printed

byBigSky,

Findhorn

Tel:01309691640/1

The NepalTrust20/9 Craighall CrescentEdinburgh EH6 4RZ UK

Tel: 0131 467 4020E-mail: admin@nepaltrust.org

NepalTrustG.P.O. Box No: 8975, EPC 4131Maharajgunj, Kathmandu,NepalTel/Fax: 00 977 1 4016034E-mail: ntrust@wlink.com.np

www.nepaltrust.org

Page 12 Namaste - The Nepal Trust News

HW Kendrup Lama at Halji HP - re-supplied HP to get Limi throughthe harsh Winter months (Photo taken by Jamie McGuinness)ABOVE: Villagers Til

ABOVE:Yalbangmonastery

PHOTO ALBUM

ABOVE: Nara Lagnapass (4580m)

RIGHT: Humla kids

ABOVE: Health & Education Kermi HP

ABOVE: Elgin Rotary & Nepal Trust - November 2009

LEFT: Bridge to Limi

LEFT:Humla kids