The programme began in 2007 with 12 schools and all the 55 teachers, to train these serving teachers, head teachers and School Management Committees. It was clear from the start that some school renovation work was necessary and provision of new classroom furniture, toilet blocks, waste disposal etc had to be tackled alongside the teacher training and provision of teaching resources. The schools omitted from the first phase actively petitioned to receive help, and 3 schools were ‘discovered’ by the trainers. Accordingly the second three year programme began in 2010 with all 28 schools, in this widely scattered and remote region. However it is known that 2 further remote villages each have about 12 children of school age and no education provision so something will have to be done there!
A contract has been approved between REED (representing the UK Himalayan Trust) and the government’s Social Welfare Council. There is good cooperation with the District Education Officer who is always invited to open each course. Supporters who attended the 2nd Hillary Memorial lecture in London will remember Bhim Bogati and Sherap Sherpa who gave an excellent presentation of this project. Bhim and his team of about six trainers visit the Taplejung District three times each year to conduct basic and refresher courses at Lelep and to work in the schools. Two trainers, Rajendra Pant and Suresh Ale are based in the area to work with the teachers and pupils in the classrooms, to collect data and receive petitions for desired improvements. Five good teachers from the first phase were identified by their peers and these ‘key’ teachers assist with the various training activities.
Altogether there are now 128 teachers and 2076 pupils from 28 schools who are involved with different stages of the programme in March, June and September with Rajendra and Suresh returning to Kathmandu for holiday periods.
From June 1st to 26th 2010, the REED team visited 16 schools experiencing as much as 10 hours trekking between some schools in this remote area which is rarely visited by tourists. They reported on the enthusiasm of teachers and the ‘exciting and helpful’ sessions making teaching materials. Pupils are thriving on learning in a new ‘child friendly’ environment and the monitoring of achievement actively involves the parents, many of whom visit to observe activities. The majority of parents are likely to be illiterate and we may soon need to give attention to adult literacy courses.
In September 2010 a 10 day ‘refresher’ training workshop for 65 teachers of 13 schools was held in Lelep (the training base was renovated from a large animal barn). Reed trainers report the enthusiasm and commitment of the participants who continue to develop skills and attitudes that will make them better teachers in the classroom. Detailed reports on training, expenditure and renovations are sent to the UK Himalayan Trust. Jim Strang, in New Zealand, continues to check and approve the budgets. Jim is working with REED in a large training programme in Lower Solukhumbu in December/January financed by the Australian Himalayan Foundation.
The UK Trust has a policy of not commencing a project until the full funding has been raised, The current 3 years of various training and renovations will cost about £45,000 annually and the total amount is held within the Trust’s banking arrangements. This policy is accepted by HM Charity Commissioners who, on the whole, prefer charities to get their money spent. The UK Himalayan Trust is run entirely by volunteer Trustees, who take no expenses, and we are sure that our supporters approve this policy.
The main project of the UK Himalayan Trust is conducted by REED (Rural Education and Environmental Development) and based from Lelep in east Nepal (Kangchenjunga area).
The Himalayan Stove Project is dedicated to preserving the Himalayan environment and improving the health of the people living in the trans-Himalayan region.
We provide clean cookstoves to individuals and families who now cook with traditional, rudimentary cookstoves, or over open fire pits inside their homes, consuming excessive amounts of precious fuel and polluting the indoor air to dangerously unhealthy levels.
Our goal is to deliver 10,000 clean cookstoves within five years.
Our program began in late fall 2009 with a test placement of 48 stoves in Nepal and Bhutan. They were very well received, and we now have demand for 4,000 stoves.
Our first container-load of stoves will arrive in Kathmandu at the end of January.
The full story of our project is on our website at himalayanstoveproject
We are honored to have a wonderful, highly supportive and involved Board of Advisors - Chris Bonington, Tom Hornbein, Doug Scott, Erik Weihenmayer, Jeff Evans, Yale Jones and Sally Berg.
We are a public charity, staffed by volunteers.
We pay all our own expenses, following the model set out by Sir Edmund Hillary when he founded the Himalayan Trust in the 1960’s.
Every dollar that we raise goes to the purchase and delivery of our stoves (with a few very minor exceptions like Web Hosting and Pay Pal fees).
If you know of anyone else who might be interested, please pass this on.
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And please donate now ! himalayanstoveproject
Thanks a lot, and happy holidays
George Basch
Chief Cook
The Himalayan Stove Project
george@himalayanstoveproject.org
505-363-8863
“Reaching the summit of a mountain gives great satisfaction, but nothing for me has been more rewarding in life than the result of our climb on Everest, when we have devoted ourselves to the welfare of our Sherpa friends”
Ed Hillary, as quoted in “Great Climbs, a Celebration of World Mountaineering (1994)” by Sir Chris Bonington.
