building budland

November 10, 2019

The Budland Birdboxes

David Wilson Charity Work, Fundraising, Humanitarian, Humanity, Volunteering building budland, charity, disaster relief, Fundraising, humanity, nepal, philanthropy, UK charity, volunteering

Life throws you a few surprises from time to time, but I feel that some of the most beautiful surprises are in meeting and sharing with amazing people. One of the people I have been very grateful to meet on my journey in this life is Pierre Robilliard, who has not only been a great volunteer on site but is also raising money with his skills. I recently spoke to Pierre further to find out more detail about his journey in Nepal and how he raised the money.

Background

Pierre first came to Nepal over three years ago and has volunteered on three separate trips (the second and third were with us), and he still plans to come back to offer further assistance with the Budland School building phase. I find this kind of support incredible. On top of that he’s been doing some pretty creative things to raise funds that I was not always aware of until quite recently.

Pierre’s relationship with Nepal started in late 2015, hearing stories from Geatan Lievens who was telling of his experience around a fire while sharing a late summer beer in Lille, France. I had actually been Volunteering with Geatan early on that year on my first trip to Nepal after the earthquakes and Geatan had left me some of his corrugated tin for the roof of the house I was to build, knowing I would put it to good use. I had a very beautiful time with Gaetan, who is a remarkable and genuine guy that has also supported us with donations, which we are very grateful for.

Pierre was an old friend of Geatan. Inspired and excited through their passionate fire lit conversations whilst catching up, Pierre mentioned his desire to go to Nepal to another friend, Axel, and they all decided to visit Nepal together with donations for the earthquake victims. Within eight months, together they had raised over three thousand Euros collectively and couldn’t wait to begin, putting it towards a displaced community’s early learning centre in Selang, Sindophalchok District. If you look carefully on a clear day you can see the closest city of Selang, named Chotara, across the vast valley of mountains from where we sleep in Kavre district, on our current project.

Pierre washing in a small Nepali village

This was Pierre and Axel’s first experience out of Europe and he was amazed at the simplicity of the world they were living in, under the stars which seemed so close on the mountain slopes of Nepal. The village had been entirely destroyed by the earthquakes. While Pierre joined them within their makeshift, displaced village he was curious of their reliance on fire and almost enjoying the peace of life with no smartphones or technology. The romantic way that he first viewed Nepal’s simplicity was both a mix of their displacement and also being from a rural minority in a developing country. Soon Pierre realised how challenging it can be in that situation, especially after such a catastrophic devastation. There was still no electricity in that region for example.

I first bumped into Pierre around this time outside of his project while reconnecting with our mutual friend Gaetan in Kathmandu, they were about to head out on the project, while I was actually about to build Budland School some much needed toilet facilities, little did we know then how connected we would become.

Pierre’s Birdboxes for Building Budland

Further inspired by his first month in Nepal which was so intense and overwhelming that it breezed by, all he could think about as he flew back to his homeland was returning to Nepal. When Pierre arrived back in France, he returned to his job as a cabinet maker, and thought about returning. Soon he would come across the further news of our project to build Budland, which only excited his passion to come back to Nepal and travel with purpose again.

Two months before arriving back in Kathmandu, Pierre had started using his skills making bird boxes to raise money. His good friend Axel joined his mission, recycling wood to create small boxes for birds in which to nest, protect and raise their young.

“This is where my passion for wood started, making bird boxes as a child to put on the farm, and now I am continuing my passion for helping the same way.”

Pierre and Axel met at the same college in Lille and studied cabinet making together, even working since then together professionally. Axel was excited to assist Pierre wherever possible, joining the mission of the bird boxes, telling me that it never felt like work alongside Pierre, and that it was in fact a pleasure helping, motivated by knowing that they would help other people’s lives as well as the birds. They both fully committed to volunteering their time for the mission. Firstly, they made thirty bird houses, but with them selling out fast they soon made thirty more, and then further batches of thirty when in demand. Sometimes another friend, Julien Barrail, also joined them to help continue their mission.

“I00% of the money I raise goes to a project, I take no expenses and donate any costs myself with the time I volunteer to make them. I like to volunteer my skills on site to the projects we support too”.

Pierre visited Nepal again to see the village and project he had heard about online and when reaching out to me. It was his will to see the country further and gain a deeper understanding of the nation before any project work started, having only really been intensely volunteering in one village before. Pierre decided to go on his first trek which he claims has only deepened his love for the amazing country. He hiked through the highest pass in the Annapurna region, “Throng La Pass”, approximately 5300m above sea level. His eyes light up when he tells you “it was incredible”. So incredible in fact that he decided to do two more treks in the Annapurna region, the ‘Annapurna base camp’ and the ‘Mardi Himal’. Pierre seems to be fulfilling his many passions as soon as he’s introduced to them, with his desire to share everything with everyone that he can. I’ve seen this myself through knowing Pierre a little, he makes the space around him comfortable for all to enjoy his company. He is a quiet man, but very spirited. Conscientious and mindful of others.

Some of the Birdboxes during the painting process.

Soon I arrived back in Nepal and met up with this eccentric French guy who has become a very special friend indeed over the course of this beautiful journey. We were both excited to meet each other again. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he had started raising money and I could feel his passion as he enquired about the project’s developments and depth, about its heart. We struggled to converse back then, but our French friends Kevin, Margot and Marcel, who were also joining us for the ‘The Great Wall’, helped the conversation. Pierre found it very inspiring and motivating to meet more of the people that had been before and willing to help with the project raising the money for the ground work to be able to start on site.

Being in the village more, he saw more depth to the project in its early development, and it really started to make more sense to Pierre. After two months of trekking and relaxing he was ready to get his hands dirty as we started to build the first retaining wall.

“Volunteering in service of the community let me feel and experience the country very differently from the trekking. Through meaningful hard work and contribution, I have made very real friends in the rural community.”

Pierre working hard on the propopsed school site, developing the land.

When you ask Pierre about the village life, he will often include stories of food. Pierre has a great passion for food, and growing up on a chicken farm, he has a keen interest in all of the preparation. He loves to share the experience with people while learning from other cultures, also showing those that can’t travel to France or elsewhere in the West, how things are cooked back home too.

Ramesh and Parbati had just finished building their new home and shop (a similar design to the one we built for Raju), which we were sleeping in while they waited for the plaster to dry. Since then we have continued to develop the homestay for the projects. Pierre would often cut the meat with Ramesh for dinner but on a special day of progress on site Pierre had said he wanted to do a special BBQ and to show them his chicken and mashed potatoes because they may not have tried them.

“Ramesh and Parbati have become like family to me, we have become so close preparing food and helping to entertain the volunteers; it’s an amazing homestay.”

For the first BBQ, Ramesh got out an old bicycle wheel for the grill. It was a complete mystery where it came from, and as Pierre intended, we had a lot of fun. These kinds of good times have become a traditional staple in the project’s monumental moments on site, where we all put together for the meat and drinks to share with the Nepali builders and our other village friends. Although we lost the bicycle wheel, we are currently using an old fan guard as a grill. Pierre has left his legacy for us to keep sharing these nights on Building Budland projects which since then all volunteers have thoroughly enjoyed.

Pierre was so excited giving the mashed potato to our very dear friend Bishnu that he needed to be reminded he had forgot the chilli and masala. I love Bishnu, he has such direct honesty. How it should be. Since I met Bishnu in 2015 he has welcomed us as a volunteer group to his house for drinks and food more times than I can remember, which I fully appreciate, sometimes I’ve reminded him he puts too much chili in his food only for him to give me another sweet roxy to help balance my palate. The drinks flow and the bonding of the team is tight. Volunteering never gets better. These nights have now grown into a perfect hybrid between the two cultures, the rest of the time it’s strictly Nepali, naturally.

“Every day was energised by the people. Work on the walls was tough but the atmosphere and purpose keeps you motivated. Every evening we became closer as friends, every day the work became more fun, it was a tight unit, good times and genuine love of people and the mission. Good times!”

Pierre continued to say that like all creative work, including his carpentry, the brief can be intimidating at the beginning but as you work and see the progress you get more inspired. The progress and accomplishments keep pushing you forward. I have to agree with him. There have been many challenges but it is the people believing as well as the straight purpose that have continued to put the wind in the sails of our projects. Laying the first stones of such a big wall, Pierre reminds me how hard that felt. We were a smaller team in that moment too, but he’s quick to point out how amazing it felt at the end. For me it was absolutely incredible seeing this, seeing Pierre and the team so energised. I hadn’t expected it. We were building a retaining wall, I didn’t think the site work would see this much passion until we started the main school building, but it’s been incredible, because of people like Pierre showing passion with every drop of sweat and each smile shared.

“When I could see what I would be able to create with wood I fell in love with my job. It’s the same when you know something is created to serve a purpose, its important. If it serves to help then it’s an accomplishment, I am proud to of helped”.

Pierre’s brother Anthime selling the birdboxes at the famiy market to raise money for our project.

Since volunteering with us on the first wall, Pierre has been in Australia travelling and working as a carpenter. In France; Axel, Geatan and his family have all been continuing to sell the bird boxes steadily whenever possible and they still are. Pierre’s family sell them on their farm and in local markets alongside their chickens, Axel sells to friends and customers at his mother’s beauty salon, and Geatan in his family chocolate factory.

Pierre came back with Nuria this year to build the next retaining wall and has informed me that they have hit one thousand Euros and have deposited the money into our charity account, informing me there are more bird boxes available. What an amazing success Pierre’s mission has been!

In some free time while I was also waiting for the design to be passed, I visited Phul Maya and Raju to check on them and the house we had built for them. Since I last saw them, they had settled in and looked much happier with life. They had received the beds I had ordered, and now had the freedom to really concentrate on their sustainability. Admittedly this was still a struggle, but it seemed that things were slowly coming together. My heart melted and to be honest I thought the house lacked a little warmth, so I decided to personally gift them a basic carpet, being that culturally in Nepal they sit on the floor for everything, I felt they needed it. Pierre said straight away that he wanted to measure and cut the carpet, installing it with his girlfriend Nuria and myself assisting him.

“Visiting Raju’s home was amazing, they looked after me with tea while I worked and looked so happy, but with genuine appreciation. The house was well made and beautiful. I could see how their life has changed from the project. Seeing this beautiful project [from building budland] gives me confidence in the school project, we will build it!”

The house we built for earthquake victims Raju and his mother Phul Maya

To be honest, I don’t tell him often so I’m just going to say right here, Pierre is a true blessing and amazing. May your heart never be tainted, and may you always fight the good fight brother!

Continuing the work on the second wall with Pierre and Ujwal was like a dream for me. Nostalgic but real, a brotherhood in service. The voluntary commitment these two guys have given is overwhelmingly astounding. There have been quite emotional times which can be evidenced by the ridiculousness of every goodbye, knowing we will see each other and face more challenges together again in the future, which I always look forward too. Beautiful times indeed.

“I was planning to come to Nepal for two or three weeks, to see friends, but I ended up staying nearly three months so I could help [the Budland school project] more!”

Finally I would just like to add that there are more bird boxes still available. Please get in contact with Pierre if you would like a bird box, or email me at david@buildingbudland.com.

I personally guarantee that all of the money paid for one, and also all donations received will go towards the materials, transport of materials, and to the local Nepali community’s builders’ wages.

A special thanks to Pierre, his friends Axel, Julien, Geatan and to their families for all of their time and effort to help support for our project, and to everyone else who has contributed in any way whatsoever to help make the dream of Building Budland a reality. With your help we will make it happen!

A happy moment with Pierre on the project before he entertained us with one of his BBQs.

October 23, 2019

Wall 2.0

David Wilson Charity Work, Fundraising, Humanitarian, Humanity, Volunteering backpacking, blog, building budland, charity tuesday, children, Fundraising, giving tuesday, humanitarian, nepal, philanthropy, random acts of kindness, social work, travel with meaning., Travelblog, travelling, Uk, vharity, volunteer, Volunter abroad, world travel

Our old buddies Pierre and Nuria were Back in Nepal. The beautiful couple seem to have grown much closer since they both volunteered with us on ‘The Great Wall’ and wanted to volunteer again with us. I wasn’t quite ready for them but they understood the gravity of the design being passed. Pierre is incredibly passionate and inquisitive of what was going on, with what I can only say feels like genuine affection for the project and real heart. He was also doing what he can to raise money for us which is incredible, his most recent count was up to seven hundred euros. It was genuinely great to see them both. I told them that after all the messing around with the paper pushing, I was ready to get my hands dirty again too, and willing to do some more essential site work now the design was passed with the local municipality. Perseverance is half the battle I thought, and with project supporters like Pierre I felt stronger. In genuine excitement from passing the design I decided to donate the second and last wall myself, not interrupting any of our collections, which as promised were raised for the school building. Although I won’t be able to do these grand gestures as much in the future, we have to keep pushing forward as much as time pushes us back.

It felt good to be doing something on the ground again, a change of energy, and actually where I really get to fully enjoy the project. It’s great to physically be creating something of importance for the project that will stand for a long time. It’s also great to be back with the expanding team since the last wall and Raju’s house. It was wonderful to welcome them all back as we drank a few cups of Masala chai, also welcoming a few new local builders; who our old friend and site foreman Sukuman had introduced me to on the tea trail of their homes.

The building team was growing beautifully for the school build. After all the running around and stressful moments passing the design, it was exactly what we needed; balance by hammering rocks as hard as you can with two of your favourite allies, in the form of Ujjwal Lage and Pierre Robbi.

Back at Ujjwal’s hostel we also met some wonderful new people wanting to volunteer. Mo (Jess), a young artistic soul, also a walking art gallery with her exquisite range of tattoos which the children in the village seemed to admire. Very different from the tattoos of the local Tamang ladies, and a lot more colourful. She was surprisingly strong and willing to try anything and everything. There was also Tahnni. A loud, hot head from the Bronx with a sharp bite and a soft heart seemingly up for anything challenging and down for the adventure. With these two strong women as an added bonus, Pierre, Nuria and I felt like we would be OK. Ujwal put some time aside, and our old friend and occasional translator Rajat would be visiting for a couple of days with his buddy Rojhan. Oh, we’re we going to have fun. Maybe a little madness with this collective bunch too!

It was amazing to have our two comrades Pierre and Ujwal back volunteering on site beside me, leading the small eccentric gang we had formed to get the job done. Hints of nostalgia with overtones of beautiful new experiences and fresh faces. The wall build went pretty much as smoothly as the last larger one; which is a credit to the team as a whole.

We had to deal with the added logistical problems of getting materials because there had been more rain that had damaged the road. Truck drivers were being understandably cautious. It’s never far away from you here, where a truck is falling off the mountain. Most visits I seem to see the remnants of such an unfortunate event, however the people seem to miraculously escape from the ones I have come to know. The monsoon was beginning, but the wall, being much smaller in size than the last, should be up within ten days. The ground needed the water and so did we, the village had become very dry. We were running out of water every day by the afternoon. This could be a serious problem with the amounts of water we will need to build the school and one I need to look into for the school build, especially in planning for the late spring, early summer months.

Nuria and Tahanni had also met in Nepal before and seemed to enjoy every moment working together. They even seemed to dress like twins as they encouraged each other on site with constant laughter.

Mo had an incredible spirit and was a lot stronger than she looked, Incredible stamina through most jobs on site including fetching and carrying awkward 50kg cement bags and lifting some pretty massive rocks.

Volunteers constantly surprise me with their strength, determination and the stamina they bring to the project. Pierre and Nuria are also a testament to how amazing it feels doing the site work and how close we can get as friends. They are an Incredibly passionate couple with a very healthy attitude to every task, problem, success or joy we experienced together and always with a smile to be shared, often followed by a belly laugh for any occasion.

This wall was much smaller than the colossus we had to build last time, the cost and time had been estimated accurately, just two days over due to weather and road conditions delaying a couple of deliveries. Coming in on its predicted budget efficiently the wall looks great after only 12 days back on site.

With all the past hard work and commitment, the site is now fully retained and safe for us to now build Budland School as soon as possible; which we are still looking for as much aupport as possible.

As we do after any great feeling of achievement on site, we celebrated with our BBQ which has become normal to grill on an old bike wheel or air fan guard. With succulent chicken prepared by Pierre himself with great care, at the homestay with Ramesh and Prabati or buffalo meat we get from the market washed down with a few local Roxys (rice wine).

A special thanks again to our volunteer team: Ujwal Lage, Pierre Robbi, Nuria Falco, Jess ‘Mo’ Thornhill-Wight, Tahanni Maharaj, Rajat Shrestha, Rojhan Shrestha.

As always in full gratitude of our Nepali team as we continue to progress: Sukuman, Milan, Pushpa, Purna, Iman, Frame, Bishwas, Ram, Pullsang, Karna and Keshab.

September 30, 2019

Passing the Design

David Wilson Uncategorized better future, building budland, charity, education, philanthropy, school, social work, travel blog, travelblogger, volunteering

There has been a lot of perseverance in reaching where we are now. Backwards and Forwards, up and down, from the top of the mountain to the bottom and back up again, along the winding bumpy dirt road. I was bouncing on the back of Purna’s motorcycle as we travelled together, between the village office and the main municipality office in Kavre district. I used to feel almost like I was in a different country at the bottom of the mountain, enclosed in a different climate with its incredible heat across the level plain dwarfed between the mountains that suffocated the wind from passing through. It was littered with banana trees across the vibrant landscape and your pores opened floodgates to the sweat that begins to pour down your face in streams on arrival. After so many trips you don’t forget you’re in Nepal though. We also get our sand from down by a river running through near here for our construction projects. The road may be long and winding but we were finally getting around some of the red tape blocking our way to getting the main building under construction.

We are learning a lot of lessons right now, and I have honestly been learning a lot through this whole adventure which I value greatly. It took many rides together and modifications amending the design originally donated by our local friend Sandesh to reinforce the prospective structure. On this journey we have not really known how everything will turn out since the beginning when this project launched, but we always knew it would be an uphill climb to success, something I feel we are slowly winning with every trip back up to the village. I have been gaining the necessary experience through our stubborn perseverance to make this project successful and raise the bar on the early learning, rural educational experience, as we reignite Purna’s dream which for a while felt like it was collapsing with the earthquakes. Still believing very much in the success of this project, growing with confidence along every step of our journey together, thanks often to the people we have met and the support we have already received; driving us both to be strong in testing times so we can help the school have a safe place to learn again, with the efficient furnishings and materials needed for a thorough education.

For now, the mission is simple: To approve the design that Sandesh had kindly donated to us with the municipality, incorporating a complete, current and detailed costing. My main constant fear is how long paperwork and official process can take, especially in Nepal, as a westerner with a clock ticking in my pocket bouncing between my own country and here in Nepal often leaving you with a cultural jetlag of the local perception of time. Life does seem to tick at a slower rate per minute here, yet there are still never enough minutes in the day, it’s a strange paradox I am still trying to figure out.

You learn to accept a great deal of the way time is perceived, while constantly meditating on the subject, especially when things need to be done. I also think at times it has been a strong life lesson I probably needed in patience. The many times you here ‘boli biyanna’ (tomorrow morning) only to hear it again the next day, keeps you looking at that clock with frustration, but as slow as it ticks, it keeps on ticking. It’s time to turn up the heat to get the project cooking again. This took a fair few follow up calls and visits to the municipality offices, but things were starting to look up. We finally seemed to have a genuine contact in the office now. Purna and myself were also enjoying some of the waiting times in corridors, learning about each other and comparing the systems we know, while sharing the ability to laugh and smile in these moments, also sharing countless lunches together, which we often took turns to respectfully get up to pay for meals that cost about 50 pence in a local cafe. Our waiting times seemed to slowly decrease with every visit, as we waited against the backdrop of swarms of local people still buzzing up and down presumably still developing their family residences since the disaster, all at various stages, some seemed much more lost in the system than us. Some looked in complete despair by the look on their kind faces which reminded me that we were actually doing OK. The engineer’s focus seemed to grow with each visit, curious with my being a single foreigner killing time or watching it drift by like a tumble weed, listening to the clock ticking on the wall, counting the seconds for him before he was ready to speak to us. The engineer though became more personal and willing to have more small talk extending further with each visit than the work we were doing on the design, he always offered me a chair, which is quite a luxury in that environment, and promised his support. The municipality office always treated us well, and were happy to wait; we had to be and at least we had their attention.

Purna was showing genuine passion, always willing to step up to the challenges for his school. This is always good to see, always making the time to do what was needed and direct certain procedures he knew more in one of his native tongues. Through the passing of time spent with him and his commitment, my trust in Purna keeps me alive as we grow to know each other through the project, looking into the big picture together as his trust in us reciprocates with each step. Right now, as a farmer’s son who has many commitments, the season was just between the heavy planting and the harvesting times the calendar has now opened up, which meant he could spend more time with me jumping through the hoops we still needed to jump through. I enjoy spending time with Purna most when our mission takes us on these excursions, or on site together developing the land. We are fortunate to have each other in these times because there can be a lot of waiting around when calling the government offices in Nepal; it doesn’t seem like appointments are ever scheduled there, it really is a case of just turning up as much as you can and prioritising your application, but by that very way we are more in control to push it through with this more personal, old fashioned approach.

All in all, it took around 55 days to complete the design process and only a ten-day cooling off period for any contest or complaints, which is obviously mandatory (and actually seems a relatively short time), but we were pushing as hard as we could now. In this time, I was also with my dear friend Ujwal liaising in Kathmandu with another government engineer who was taking care of the design’s modifications. Finally, on one visit the magic happened in the municipality and the Government engineer stamped and signed the design while giving us a registered number. Wow! We can actually build what is on the paper now. That’s an awesome feeling!

True to my promise to keep the donations strictly for the building work on this project I have also managed to personally donate costs incurred on the design modifications and taxes on the design being passed and I am deeply grateful for our friend Sandesh Prajapati; a local civil engineer, for his great effort and the donation of the original blueprint as we continued to develop and cost the project with the municipality. It has certainly made developing the project a great deal easier with his original voluntary support.

We have actually designed the building for the future development of Budland School, for them to grow from strength to strength once we finally get them to the first phase of building which we are only currently promising. We have made sure the design’s foundations can take the rise of building further stories in the future if the school develops further, however we are only going to be building the first floor in the near future to get the current children into a safe, secure and real building that enhances their learning experience.

It’s taken some serious time and networking getting this stage passed and a milestone in the project that feels like tremendous progress. The design is relatively simple but should be efficient for the needs of the school, with your support we can actually build it! Let’s build Budland!

We will publish the design soon.

March 27, 2019

A Home For Raju: Doing Right for the Cause

David Wilson Humanity, Uncategorized adventure, backpacking, building budland, charity, charity tuesday, disaster relief, donate, earthquake, give back, humanity, natural disaster, nepal, one love, one wold, philanthroy, purpose, relief, travel, volunteer, world travel

Marcel had finally arrived back in Nepal and was on site surprising us during the worst of the afternoon heat. The Nepali team had clearly missed this guy’s larger than life character for the last year bringing the high energy that surrounds and comforts us as we work. Marcel has become a very good friend to us all. He is a really special guy and an exceptional volunteer. The man is full of love and is very compassionate. He met me with the largest hug, packed full of emotion, and a kiss from his brother Kevin (who has helped raise a lot of funds for our school site’s retaining wall last year and also helped us build Monisa’s house after the earthquakes over three years ago now) to set the project alight with a new energy that I hope we can carry forward as a team. We had reached our first milestone on the project and onto the next level of bricks; all of us feeling ultra-comfortable with the highest team spirit I’ve experienced yet; now working with talented Nepali friends and not just builders anymore. Nothing could stop us and no problem would be unsolved. As Marcels motto continues,

“One problem : One solution”.

The building just kept growing. I had also started laying some bricks now. It had been three years since my introduction to block laying in the Philippines on my first rebuild volunteer adventure, this also being a little different, so I stayed close to Milan’s guidance. The beautiful thing about this site is that everyone can and will fight to learn more, everyone seems to want to grow here, especially the young locals, so I try to encourage the volunteers to join in with them and not be too nervous but to get amongst the passion of our beautiful team, as we all are looking out for each other.

Johannes left us for a moment to go to a music festival but gave us a solid promise he would return; his commitment was shown by him leaving most of his belongings with us. Our project is in full flow now, but waiting for no one. The windows and door frames were in and we were approaching the wall’s final height so Marcel decided to go for his first trek in Nepal. He was venturing to the snowy mountain tops of Langtang which are clearly visible on a good day from the site. Langtang is a place I dream of going to eventually due to us looking at its tremendously awesome power daily, as it dwarfs our own location but enhances our view. Langtang is extremely remote and was incredibly destroyed by the earthquakes in 2015, however being a popular and heavy tourist trekking zone, it has had serious investment. From what I hear it’s been a very hard place to help logistically in comparison to us. Even with our issues with the roads we are closer to a city. It’s trekking closed for the first year after the earthquake. I dreamt I could go with Marcel, but for the moment I have to accept that maybe it’s better to keep that dream alive for another time and maybe with other volunteers one day.

I am always happy to see volunteers going to explore Nepal further, as I believe it is very important. Marcel and Johannes hadn’t seen much outside the village before they disappeared and it helps them get a further context as well as gain perspective for what we are actually doing, whatever they ultimately choose to do themselves. I knew both of them would be back before long.

While we were getting the walls up to height the government engineers came twice to check we were fully respecting the design laid out for us. They were very happy with our work and our small meetings were simple. I also started to have concerns for Raju and his mother’s wellbeing in the future. We hadn’t raised money for what I was now thinking by only voicing concern for proper shelter. While working, I realised that we are not doing full justice for them without further basic essential facilities, such as a toilet, washing room and ventilated cooking space. These are things I’m not seeing any other organisation or the government caring about in this area, and in my mind, they are as important as anything we are all already doing. The house is not so efficient without these simple services, and from my experience here I decided we should be raising the bar just a little bit higher. The space was there if we wanted to work the land a little further. Soon we were laying new foundations and expanding the design on each side, but only a little. These facilities require a significantly smaller space and cost less than what we were already doing, especially for a small family of only two rural village people. Besides, Frame and me had one helluva lot of fun digging the gigantic hole for the septic tank!

The new walls went up fast and soon we split into two groups. I joined Sukuman with Bikram (Keshab’s young brother) and Bijay for the toilet and washing room’s concrete slab roof, while the others helped Milan and our new welder Raju on the main house and kitchen roof. Keshab and Bicram’s closest family friend, Bijay (who has been an honour to work with since the retaining wall for the school) got a generator and welding equipment on loan for us from his father. We needed more power than we recently had available for metal cutting from the basic electricity supply in a neighbour’s house. For the welding we needed an onsite generator, being available locally was a blessing. However, from the equipment available and hiring a welder it is a genuinely serious concern I have that there is no proper eye protection equipment available. Although they don’t seem bothered, they should be, so I have promised to bring them a professional, utilisable welding visor on my next visit for them to share. If anyone would like to donate any other basic safety equipment, they are most welcome.

It was not long until the house was essentially built. Now we were just in need of plastering, the completion of the front porch/patio areas, and a lick of paint. Johannes soon enough was back to join in the fun, as we went from room to room and plastered the outside. The speed which Sukuman, Milan and Pushpa covered the walls was incredible, it was a struggle to keep filtering sand finely and mixing the cement as fast as they were throwing it at the walls. Raju was clearly now getting very excited by the progress and development of his new home. Always eager to help after school and on Saturdays if there were appropriate tasks to give him, but often trying to help using his own initiative, with us just having to keep an eye on him and look out for him. Raju started laughing more and even dancing often to the music we play on site. Normally by the end of the day as we are washing up or drinking one last Chai (his mother is constantly looking after us, an amazing host), I find myself dancing alongside him too at times, this little six year old has a strong character and an infectious sense of joy.

Marcel soon showed up for the last days of plastering just before we were ready to paint. However, Marcel decided to go straight to the school site where he was joined by the Nepali team for the backfilling of last year’s retaining wall, which was a big job itself. Marcel is much happier with the heavier work and more passionate about the school project, requesting to be in service to the school when possible. As Johannes and I progressed with the painting of the house, I knew I would also join them at the school site in due course. Johannes has been a truly loyal brother staying with the house until full completion. Both Johannes and Marcel are now our longest serving volunteers on building sites and are incredibly special with the amount of work they have both donated in service alongside our Nepali team. It is fully appreciated and it seems they love the experience here whist also getting to know Nepal on a more personal, and deeper, cultural level.

The painting took time. We worked outside first following through into the house that was more protected from the sun and taking time to dry. We were joined by a couple of other volunteers; Ian and Jo; that were in Hostel One96 (thank you Ujwal and Sangeet!) and wanted to come help for a few days. They gave us some much needed fresh energy, helped us create a huge dent in the painting work needed in the few days they could manage to give us and raised our spirits even higher. Soon it was time to say goodbye as Johannes and I battled on to completion, even without truly figuring out how to open a Nepali tub of paint properly (although Johannes did have a good stab at it)!

The house itself took a month to finish including plastering; while the painting took another month while waiting for the plaster to dry, as we worked around the changing conditions. Ultimately now we were trying to help them make a house a home with a heavy heart, knowing it would be years before they could even invest in the paint. Paint is expensive.

I darted between the two projects, the retaining wall backfilling and the house. However it wasn’t so long before we were all back together at the house for it’s opening ceremony of Puja. This ceremony is for the house to be blessed by the Buddhist Lamas. The ceremony is conducted inside through a whole night of chanting and blessings. In the main room stood a few banana trees that would later be replanted, bound together beautifully making a mini gazebo, filled with offerings and décor that served as the focal point we sat around while the Lamas interacted with it in service of the house blessing. The night bled into the morning as the chants continued outside in the low glowing morning sun to raise the prayer flags, bless the house further while decorating the exterior walls with flowers.

It was a very peaceful and beautiful morning, but that was about to change as we geared up the transition from ceremony to after party; switching the chanting for some loud Tamang music coming through a large speaker. The ceremony and opening party were both incredible. A very life enriching experience to be a part of. Soon the building team arrived for some great food and questionable but highly entertaining dancing, as we celebrated the house passing to Phul Maya and Raju, the most incredibly beautiful way of celebrating our hard work and our completed mission. Oh, we were having such a good time! It also served as our final great time together for the moment, until hopefully we will all be back together for the school later in the year.

I dream now of working with this very talented, efficient and hardworking team again in the future, as well as welcoming new volunteers; and with your support financially, together we will build Budland!

Thank you all so much for your previous, continuous and ongoing support. Let’s continue rolling the good work forward and keep the dream alive!

Dhanyabaad.

(Thank you in Nepali)

June 29, 2018

A Home For Raju.

David Wilson Uncategorized aid, backpacking, blog, budland, building budland, charity, earthquake, Fundraising, humanity, international, natural disasters, nepal, random acts of kindness, travel, travel with meaning., volunteer

The wall’s success, along with the tragic circumstances of one family, has opened up an opportunity to start the scholarship program within our project early.

Over three years ago now, Raju’s family’s life was turned upside-down while his house was seriously damaged within Nepal’s extreme devastation as a consequence of the earthquakes. Nearly one and a half years ago Raju tragically lost his father. These losses have put a further large strain on the family, and the burden of these events combined was worse than we had feared when I recently visited with Ujwal and Shushil to assess and document their situation and their story. This was so apparent now we were actually seeing their living conditions, environment and actually talking to them. Although healthy, it seems they are still very much lost in the darkness. Seeing them and their situation made us immediately accept the scholarship.

Phul Maya; Raju’s Mum, has contemplated pulling him out of Budland School to help take some stress away from her constant struggle. Like many locals in mountain areas, she never got the chance to be educated. She comes from an uneducated family but understands the benefits of education. She works hard, not only as a single mother; but also caring for their livestock, and is also struggling to support her late husband’s children from a previous marriage (who are are much older, and educated in Kathmandu). She relied heavily on her husband for the practical tasks, and since his passing has not been able see the ability to ever have a home again or understand how to claim any subsidy as a victim of the earthquake. This has led to her being lost in a system with no further safety net.

Pulling Raju out of Budland is something we do not want to happen; due to his potential, his friendships and his resillience. He has, from all understanding, been a good student throughout the difficulties over the last 16 months since losing his father. Phul Maya can also find some comfort knowing that her wishes for her child will continue on the Scholarship program we have negotiated. Looking at their living conditions, not much has changed since the devastation caused by the earthquake over three years ago now. Even when Bicman, Phul Maya’s late husband, was alive, times must have been very hard.

As we walk around the building together, every structural point is weak. The load bearing walls are cracked so deeply at the corners of both the building and windows, from the ground up to the roof. Originally the building would have had another story that now ceases to exist. The house next door now has an open wall where the two houses were once adjoined upstairs. This could quite easily be a serious additional hazard for them if it was to fall down. Now the single room is only just standing and sheltered by old leaking tin sheets that don’t particularly do justice to their purpose!

Some further security with a little comfort in the form of a small house, will greatly ease their stress and help their mental health. They have been struggling relentlessly together for a long time on their own. A little help would lift them up to a much better life.

While we are still dealing with the complications of the larger project; I feel that if we come together for this small project we could have a quick success before the dangers of the monsoon once again approach.

The paperwork for this house project is much faster and there are some stock house designs the government released which we can work from quickly. However the deadline to build the foundations and apply to be checked by a government engineer for release of any subsidy for earthquake victims was creeping too close for comfort with the approach of the Nepali New year. ‘We have to act fast!’ I constantly thought to myself while investigating their situation. We had just two weeks to build and complete the house foundation for the engineer to assess the work, and for the government to release about one third of the money needed to build the house (this being the maximum you can actually claim as a victim).

The main worry before begining, was getting the deeds to know she would be able to keep the land and the house. This was a real challenge in such small time. We met a local man called Rizen Lama; a close family friend who was also hoping we would help them; offering a donation of wood for the windows and doors; he also seemed well educated. He spoke to Ujwal, Sushil and myself in depth. Soon he was with us on the mission too, making sure the land was secure and giving us copies of the legal documents to file. Now we could finally start the hard labour needed to meet the deadline.

Due to personally being moved and having to act fast I decided to donate the house foundation to get the ball rolling and the show on the road. We had to make sure the job was completed quickly so she could claim the subsidy on the total house cost of 6000 USD. The government subsidy of 2500 USD after the engineers checks, means we only need a further 3500 USD to complete their house. I feel now that Raju is a big part of our project, and seeing his physical condition at home whilst also worrying about their mental health confirmed this is worthwhile.

Looking at their situation got me thinking on how many lost, uneducated people that perhaps cannot even read or write, are surviving in these conditions without any support or checks, and with the system failing them. How many could there actually be out of the thousands of victims rendered officially homeless after the earthquake?

After the initial worries we had now reached a point where the practical work could commence. I arrived back at the village to put a team together while Ujwal was collecting volunteers within his hostel. I was lucky this time to be joined by Max and Cece, who previously helped us with Monisa’s house after the earthquake and organised the French festival to fund the Budland School site’s retaining wall with Kevin and Margot. They came to help the larger project but were very understanding on the development of the paperwork being slow as they already knew Nepal. It was the last half of their trip and they thought it was amazing to branch out into this smaller project with us. Before leaving Kathmandu we were also fortunate to meet a Danish rapper called Dave Havlia in the hostel who was very keen to join us and dig the trenches in the village.

When we arrived we got straight to work dismantling an old chicken pen on the proposed land and cleaning the site. Meanwhile our previous foreman, Sukaman, having made himself available. had had a nasty accident, almost losing his finger to an electric steel grinder, just a couple of days before. Keshab came back immediately with Ramesh but we needed a foreman. That night I spoke to Indra who owned the shop next door to Ram’s homestay (where we live in the village). Indra immediately understood and agreed to join us. As a friend of Sukaman and also a professional builder with experience on this government design he was perfect! We had a good team to start, and without a moment passing got straight to work dismantling, measuring and digging. We had almost completed the trenches by the second day. Max and Cece agreed to continue while I bought all the materials including cement and Iron rebar, while ordering large stone trucks for the next morning. They couldn’t arrive that day because of the flash rains making the already bad dirt mountain roads even more dangerous for heavy trucks.

The next morning we went straight to work on a very hard site logistically. Set three steps below the road, meant we had to manually carry all materials to the site on foot; sand, gravels, cement and the gigantic stones which again we will have to sledgehammer down a liftable size. As you can imagine this is tiresome, time consuming heavy labour. We worked together initially before slowly staggering people to work on the site. Indra and Keshab were the first to start work on site due to experience with the volunteers and Ram staying with me for the long haul of materials over the next three days until the next stone truck was due. This increased efficiency by a large margin in our race against time.

About a year ago whilst in Sri Lanka, I met a Filipino named CJ. We bumped into each other in a hostel while passing through the city of Kandy for a couple of nights. I extended a night, enjoying his company, some drinks, and his genuine early interest in the Budland School project. Less than a year later I am meeting him by chance in Hostel One96 and he’s throwing himself straight into it! I had brought him to this area of Nepal on his arrival, but having no work ready at that point CJ jumped on another project with another organisation promising he would be back, and disappeared after we celebrated Holi festival together.

Suddenly one afternoon CJ arrived on site, turning up with Ujwal like a rockstar. Ujwal came for the night with us but CJ had come to join the marathon sweat we were enduring throwing and carrying the heaviest materials down the mountain. He was serious yet jovial in high spirits “at least we were not walking up from the road,” as hard as it was, we knew it could be worse.

Max, Cece, CJ, and Myself couldn’t stop laughing through the work, natural comrades in what was a gruelling exercise workout. The connection and energy between us was magical, it kept us all going and set the pace when one of us was getting tired. Together a tedious and heavy job was made much lighter. It was amazing being in such great company with all three of them again. The belly laughs were as big as the weight we human donkeys were carrying . I knew that without people as crazy as this beside me we would not reach the deadline for the government.

Once the Materials arrived we started helping move and lay the stones around the site, and before you knew it we had to say goodbye to all three of them. Of course we couldn’t let them go without an amazing, somewhat traditional project BBQ out of an old oil drum with an air fan’s protective grill (replacing our missing bike wheel) at Ramesh’s shop. The meat was washed down with a jerry can of local Roxy (rice wine) and some good local music to dance to. Waking up was hard that morning, but going to work was harder. I felt great in myself, but saying goodbye to half of the team, who brought a lot of energy to the site work, was not as easy as the extra cup of coffee I was drinking. They are people you grow a little with through these experiences as we continue to love with every rendezvous connected to a project in support of others. You were very missed on this day guys!

The day’s work was as good as the others but it was an emotional slog. Returning to Ramesh’s shop for our after work beer, there was a new face awaiting our arrival back home. Ujwal had messaged earlier that he had sent a super strong man to lift rocks, his name was Axel. Ujwal wasn’t joking. The next day on site he proved his power and never stopped working. Maybe the beef really is better in Argentina?

Axel has had some experience and was willing to learn, throwing himself straight into the action. He couldn’t communicate well being a native Spanish speaker, relatively new to English. Axel could, however, understand us well. A true force on site and an example of motto I live and travel by; “the more you give; the more you get back”. This work is good for the mind, the body and the spirit.

That evening we met yet another man with the very same attitude in abundance. A man I was half expecting to show up through brief contact online via Marvin Gort, a mutual friend. I had met Marvin travelling in Indonesia a while ago, and he put Joel in contact with me. Joel messaged me to say he was in KTM (Katmandu) and ready to get his hands dirty for the cause.

Joel had been waiting for us at Ramesh’s homestay with a million questions after what he had seen online, our brief conversations, and whatever Marvin had said since I had met him over a year ago during the early conception of the Budland school project. Joel was surprised we were building a house, but excited to join in. As soon as we got to the site, seeing the house, his heart and emotions seeped into the project as deep as the cracks in the building; like us he was now fully committed. Joel never stopped throwing himself into any task, I got the feeling Joel might even stay longer, he seemed settled wherever he was on the site blasting out some heavy rock music, getting the job done, and he seemed care free with time for rich experiences.

There were now six of us on site. A power group! Keshab invited his brother Bicram in hopes of getting the job done faster to make seven. Bickram was almost as strong as Keshab and only sixteen which was pretty amazing. I wondered how many of these rocks these guys had lifted, I was feeling the burn but we were now almost ready to move straight onto the metal work.

Together, in just three days, we moved through the metalwork; to the formwork and the concrete pour. All proceeding seamlessly with Indra’s direction; finishing at 8pm on the Nepali New Year’s Eve. It is about to become 2075 in Nepal, and what an amazing year it will hopefully be. We have been very lucky so far with the sorts of people attracted to our project, every one of them a blessing. If we keep the energy high and persevere, with your support there is no reason for anything but success.

A special thanks to the Nepali team being available; Indra, Keshab, Bicram, Ram. To our very special volunteers; Maxime Hervouin, Cece Veille, Dave Havlia, CJ (Claro Edano Jr.), Axel Jarmolinski and Joel Bladt, who always help make this possible, through their hard work, passion (both on and off site), and for donating their heart, time and energy.

Finally, thanks to all of you who continue to contribute in other ways, both financially and verbally, who support us continually, even simply by reading this blog and spreading the word. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

If you would like to support this project please visit our crowdfund on go-fund-me https://www.gofundme.com/rebuildrajushouse

100% of donations go exclusivley to the materials needed to rebuild the house and nepali tradesmen who will be assisted by our international volunteers free of charge.

May 9, 2018

The Great Wall.

David Wilson Humanity backpacker, backpacking, building, building budland, charity, earthquake, education, givebach, humanity, kids, one love, travel with meaning., travelling, voluneering

I was walking up the spiral staircase to the rooftop bar of Hostel One96. I could hear universal laughter interrupted with the French language of familiar voices. Kevin and Margot were upstairs enjoying the beginning of another new experience together. Kevin had even brought his brother Marcel along for the adventure this time and they were celebrating their reunion with Ujwal. Their plane had landed 9 hours previously to mine at 8am but as soon as I met them I knew we were going to ride the rollercoaster together again. I was glad to rest my bag down due to its excessive weight. My bag was full of children’s books, the first collection for the library in the school that my mother had kindly collected.

Kevin and Margot had previously joined me building Monisa’s house after the earthquake. A project I had started with a dear friend Marie over two and a half years ago. All together again we felt nostalgic but ready for the adventure ahead of us. We knew we had a limited time but all wanted to make it worthwhile for ourselves and the project. The drinks flowed with the conversation as we grew more excited to volunteer together again. We decided to not waste a moment and wake up fresh and early to see our growing number of friends in the village as soon as we could.

Kevin and Margot have already been so amazing. They are a very admiral couple that seem to give all their heart and energy to everything they do. They have just been raising money for us in France, throwing together an amazing and diverse festival for different audiences over more than 24hrs successfully. I joined them for the weekend and was amazed how family friendly the day was with games for the children, live bands and

great food before the night brought out the serious party animals with some heavier music. Their total now was slightly higher than my last report from them and now hitting 4700 Euros. I was amazed at the further amount they had raised in the small time since I left them hung-over but very happy in France.

On arrival It was important for them to be re-acquainted with the family they had helped before with Ujwal and me; but now also for them to be further acquainted with the school and the people they are fully supporting now. The feeling of being together again in Nepal was overwhelming. I was loving meeting Marcel again too, such a beautiful man with a great energy, I first met him at the French festival where he was serving as a security guard to make sure it was a success.

We arrived in Baluwpati at Lunchtime for our grand reunion with Ramesh and Pārbati. It was a grand welcome. It was emotional. As crazy westerners we had no idea what to do other than drink copious amounts and have a 36 hour welcome back party at Ramesh’s shop with everyone nodding off for a couple of hours here and there as the party stayed strong.

After the Party I had to rush back to the city. We had a very special volunteer on his way to Nepal. Another Kevin also a French man and best friend of Kevin and Margot was arriving in secret in Kathmandu to surprise them (while also passionate and willing to work hard with us from what he had heard of our past adventures). This was apparent as soon as I met him in Kathmandu. I doubled up that meeting with Linda, a young German woman who got in contact with us through one of our mutual travelling friends. Linda and myself had enjoyed a couple of long Skype meetings where I gave in to her passion to join us. Linda had just started raising money for the project before arriving and connected with a school in the UK; where she is currently living with her husband, to start a penfriend program with the kids in Budland. Kevin and Margot were doing something similar with a school in France. Both ideas were very successful with the school when they did their special classes. I hope for it to continue. Always amazing to see volunteers with fresh ideas and initiative. She was already in Hostel One96 on my arrival back to the city with Kevin arriving less than five minutes after my arrival that evening. Timing was perfect and we started to discuss what lay ahead of us.

Due to her busy life and commitments and just finishing her trek to Everest Base Camp, Linda decided to make her way later with Ujwal as I headed straight to the village with Kevin. We arrived and the others were in Bhaktapur city for the day. We put a mask on Kevin to keep some suspense for their reunion as it had been four years since they had seen their good friend, they thought we were mad but we thought meeting him in a remote Asian village would be all the more surreal.

Dashain festival was just heating up to my surprise as I thought we had arrived in Nepal at its closing to start work. We had already managed to secure a builder. We started material negotiations and deliveries on site, but hadn’t yet finished negotiating the stones for the retaining wall. During the festival it became impossible to continue work due to the country closing down for several days. There was nothing to do but get lost within the village celebrations.

Soon enough we managed to get a JCB for continued work before starting the wall as we had to dig much deeper than I originally planned on when checking the soil. Those few days we managed to get all materials on site just before the next festival. Kevin and Kevin had been organising the site to help ensure its efficiency and had done an amazing job. Half the materials came on a semi decent road but travelled a long way; however the sand came from a river at the bottom of the valley on a terrible road through areas of fewer infrastructure, which increased the price. Stones however are coming in super cheap compared to other people’s. Ujwal and Purna did a fantastic negotiation with the local truck drivers, one of whom also helped, as his daughter goes to Budland School.

Diwali was beginning for the next few days. The group split up to celebrate the festival in different places. I remained in the village starting work with a couple of French guys (Pierre and Valentin) who had arrived. All materials were now on site. Pierre had met Valentin trekking and I had known Pierre through another mutual friend; Gaeton Livens, who I met while volunteering on a few smaller projects after the earthquake, before starting Ram and Monisa’s House.

Pierre, Valentin and Myself started to lay the stone foundation, while enjoying the village festivities in the evening and managed to complete the first level of stones, and had just started the aggregate level before the others came back to join us. We were happy to see them and in real need of their help making such large mixes of cement and stone.

Marcel arrived first with a man named Victor who gave us a solid day’s work as he passed through. They had been trekking to different villages throughout the festival. Kevin and Margot had decided to spend it with Ujwal’s family together before going on a quick road trip to Sindopalchok; another district seriously affected by the earthquake, to see another house they had built together with earthbags after the earthquake and check they were ok, which they were. Time was moving on and it wasn’t long until they were back giving their fair amount of sweat together on this project, mixing the concrete and throwing it as fast as it could be laid.Soon we were breaking, moving and laying the first big rocks of the main wall, being re-joined by the original team of people while Pierre and Valentine went trekking to return later. Marcel the jolly giant amazed us with his gigantic power lifting and moving the large rocks. As time went on we could feel ourselves getting stronger. I continued to challenge myself against Marcel however he will always be known here as the ‘Human JCB’. To Marcel nothing is impossible as he continued to chant his saying,

“One problem, one solution”

throughout the site with whatever challenged him. This saying has now become somewhat a project mantra. Marcel even covered some driving in a 100sq foot truck on bad roads, which is a small truck in his experience. He is a heavy goods driver by trade and can carry double trailers on monster sized trucks, however on the Nepali roads there were moments for him to struggle to success.

New volunteers were again arriving before they went trekking and wanted to spend a few days hard labour, and were curious to see what it was all about in real life. My eldest brother’s best friend Mark Lawson was arriving with his Daughter Persia, her Fiancée Joseph Gould and his cousin Sam Johnson. We had a strong rock moving team in them, bringing fresh energy which always felt good. On the first evening after doing a solid afternoon together it was time to also say goodbye to our beloved friends Kevin and Margot as it was their last night.

We enjoyed the local hospitality at Purna’s house where his wife Dolma and he had put on a beautiful feast to say thank you to Kevin and Margot and welcome to Marks team. It was a fantastic evening full of heart, sharing past experiences and giving an orientation to the new members of our team who already seemed to be absolutely amazed to be with us after just half a day since they arrived.

We continued to chat after dinner with Ramesh and a few drinks at his homestay which we are still setting up for the project. We got to know each other a little further before it was time to call it a night for a fresh early start in the morning.

Work was going faster than I was anticipating at the beginning due to the colossal size of the wall’s base which slowly tapers up to a narrow point. This was the strongest cost effective design we were offered by our new engineer Sandesh, who is a man who has been a blessing to work with so far.

The school had asked today that we break at 10am to visit the School, it’s always important to show everyone the situation inside the current school so they can fully understand the reality of why their generous help is so important to us. Their welcome was full of Malah (flower necklaces), Tika (kind blessings), and gentle smiles from all the children and their very appreciative teachers. This visit was very much a surprise for me too with the reception we received. The high energy and appreciation was growing with every day’s work. It did not take long for Joseph to pull out his guitar and start to play a few famous numbers while Persia started to sing to all the children with a surprisingly powerful voice. The children were nodding their heads and clapping to the beat in awe of such a special impromptu concert. Something I hope we see more of depending on the volunteers we have! This kind of entertainment is rare in the village here.

Back on site things continued to the same rhythm and we were making good progress going through our routine while laughing and joking keeping the atmosphere alive. As the level of stones rose up from foundation, even just a few levels, Mark said what we were all thinking,

‘’I think we can almost call it a wall now, it’s not just a hole in the ground anymore’’ to a great cheer of accomplishment.We continued the slog until Marcel had to say goodbye to meet his brother and Margot in Kathmandu and make sure he got his flight. Marcel woke up at 6am to start going around the village and visit people’s houses. I had never met someone like Marcel before literally giving his whole heart away to everyone and somehow connecting so very deep in such a short time. Throughout his stay he was getting up extra early to join in with village activities including milking a buffalo, which wouldn’t let him take it. It had been a lot of fun with him and again I found myself very emotional saying goodbye, but knowing we will see him again here through the course of the build. Marcel’s goodbye got bigger as the day went on and by lunch disrupted the build so much that we took a break before sending him away on Purna’s bike as we got back to getting our hands dirty. I imagine as goodbyes go, his was marked at around 7 hours and probably one of the longest in history!

Marks team had another day of rock slinging before they had to say farewell too. They all seemed to have had a profound experience. Mark I met in the UK previously and spoke to him about the project, to which he was very curious. He had told me he was coming trekking with his daughter at this time and would love to visit us. It wasn’t until on site however, working alongside us with school director Purna getting amongst the village that he could fully understand. I realised and appreciated there is no substitute for being here with us and the village.

What has amazed me this time is how different it is to the previous projects I have been involved with or run. Not only is this a much bigger and more complicated project, it also has a much bigger warmth and energy. Ujwal and myself have built up friendships here approaching three years now, the people are so open to us and sharing so much of themselves too, hoping that we are also successful. The project is much more community spirited this time than previously, and will effectively help more people. The volunteers are connecting with everyone so fast it’s quite amazing.

Another big goodbye was upon us with more great characters. Ramesh and his wife gout the Malah and the tika ready with blessings for our volunteers’ a safe journey onwards. Purna phoned to invite us for more blessings at his house as we wished everyone a good farewell. I joined them as far as Bhaktapur to see Ujwal quickly, who was harvesting rice with his family. We had just experienced some flash rain which had destroyed a lot of the rice and has made a lot of people’s lives harder this season.

After a quick meeting with Ujwal it was time for my final goodbye while I sorted out some funds for the site and got back to the build. We had a hard week ahead with no volunteers but work was remaining strong if slightly slower.

The weather was cooling down now as we were approaching winter. Along the project we had also said goodbye to a few villagers that had passed away which seemed to be followed by a day’s flash rain, almost as if the world was crying for them. The fifth person passed in the village during the build, followed by a final splash from the heavens. Work has to stop on these days for the village to pay their respects, but also for the weather conditions on site.

I went back to Kathmandu to see the other French Kevin that was still here but had been on a trip somewhere in the mountains. I needed volunteers again. Kevin said he was coming back along with Pierre and Valentin who had again been on a large trek in the Annapurna region. We also managed to grab some more guests wanting an interesting deeper experience in Nepal.

We had a great team, energetic and passionate. Within a few days they all agreed they wanted to stay until we finished the retaining wall. It felt great seeing their passion growing and that we had a solid team until this phase’s completion. I never expected to see such passion as I have building a retaining wall but people really seem to understand what we are doing here. Asier, a Spanish guy travelling with his cousin Lander, had also read the whole website in KTM but was blown away on arrival here.

The build was now going strong and smooth, almost like it was on autopilot. Everyone knew what they were doing, were comfortable and worked hard giving every drop of sweat to us. The volunteers kept switching roles to keep energy high and keep the day interesting. We were all growing close to the Nepali team now too and the laughter and jokes kept the energy flowing through us all.

On an evening we started to enjoy some super fresh chicken BBQs and relax around the fire as the nights started cooling. Pierre was the master butcher and chef on these nights.

Once we finished the wall, to the great feeling of achievement mixed with that day’s endorphins racing around, we decided to celebrate with some local alcohol and buffalo BBQ. Shushil our photographer came back and cooked some Buffalo steaks for us on our final celebration of the wall’s completion. As the Local Roxy flowed with our spirits high many villagers came to join us to celebrate this small victory on the project, however we still know we have many challenges lying ahead. All roads we choose in Nepal are never easy, but very worthwhile.

Thanks to all our international volunteers on this stage for a great time and most of all amazing work.

Ujwall Lage, Purna Tamang, Kevin, Margot Bossard, Marcel, Kevin Vinke, Pierre Robi, Valentin Roux, Linda Barron, Persia Lawson, Joseph Gould, Sam Johnson, Victor, Asier Ventosa Rodrigo, Lander Santos, Leonore Dor, Nulia Falco and Tom Pativor.

Also a special thanks to our strong and commited Nepali team members for your time, skills and dedication.

Sukaman, Iman, Prithiman, Keshab, Ram, Bijay and Arke.