Happy and fulfilled!

Well, being back to Kathmandu after three and a half weeks in Dhawa feels like I arrived in a cosmopolitan city. The trip was long and tedious. It took 11 hours on a bus to cover 140kms, the first few hours in a primitive -so called- road and then on the ‘highway’. After driving one hour, a bus in front of us was broken down blocking the rocky tiny road. We had to wait 3 hours to fix it so we could pass and continue. The travelling conditions were appalling. Packed at the last seat next to a window I was covered by a mix of dust and sweat. Reaching the paved road and it took just 30 mins for our tyre to go flat! Another hour wait on the road side, we made a trip of 7 hours 11. Typical Nepal! Nobody seemed to bother though, nor did I. I’m getting use to the lifestyle. I even helped on changing the tyre!

Flat tyre bus

Stop for servicing

Back in Dhawa, the solar installations are completed and fully operational. I am so happy and delighted that everything worked out at the end! Both buildings are now interconnected, all lights and sockets in place, two lights on a tree on the village’s main square as well as electricity line to the local tailor and the shop. A big hole in the ground on the back of the school accommodated the earthing rod. The mobile charging mania started with many people asking to use the electricity in the school. Mobile phones in the village are almost all made in China with the battery lasting only an hour or two… After the initial trial period, the school will start charging a fee (10 Rupees) so it can generate some money for maintenance too. They were all so happy, students and villagers.

Dhawa_Installing electric poles

Dhawa_Setting the wire

Dhawa_Earthing rod

Dhawa_Poles installations team

Dhawa_Justin n Dita (Learning Planet) Nektarios (ENVIRON Foundation)

Dhawa_Daal bhat lunchtime

Dhawa_Local villa

Dhawa_Local woman

Dhawa_School committee members

On Friday, there was a leaving ceremony. The children, as well as ourselves, danced, sang songs and attended performances. The program included red paint on the forehead (again) and flowers on the neck. It was soooo emotional. Lots of people from the village, students and people from the school building committee, the women committee, teachers and the solar technicians danced and had great great fun! Lots of speeches too, I even gave a short speech in Nepali I had prepared… I received presents and took a lot of photographs and videos. All this time, I made friends and lived their lifestyle. The children were all soooo amazing! I was so sad leaving them but I tried to explain them I had to go back were I belong and promised them I will never forget them and one day I will go back to meet them again. I will keep helping the school from wherever I am. It was an unforgettable experience that I will remember all my life and here I would like to express my gratitude to ENVIRON for giving me this opportunity. It will stay deep inside me and definitely will help me to look things positive, give me hope and be a better man. My days in Dhawa, living and working with these indigenous people, were the strongest experience of my life, till the next one…

Dhawa_Local women

Dhawa_Ceremony rehearsals short video

Dhawa_And the party begins...

Dhawa_On a dancing mood

Dhawa_Happy and fulfilled

Dhawa_Shanti, Sunita n Kamala (teachers)

Dhawa_Susila (Giri's wife, middle) and the women's committee

Dhawa_After party tea at school

Dhawa_Sachin, my best Dhawian friend

Dhawa-Fully litted and plastered classroom (painting to be done next week)

Now back in Kathmandu, I am getting prepared for my trip in Tibet. I think I need some holidays after 25 days without a day off! And what holidays! Tomorrow, I leave Kathmandu behind to drive to the Tibetan border. It will take 6-7 days in the Tibetan plateau, driving through high altitude passes with amazing mountain views and lakes. I heard it’s something like a high altitude dessert! On the way, I will visit Tibetan settlements, monasteries and villages reaching Lhasa and staying there for the last 2-3 days. I will take a flight from there back to Kathmandu. I can’t wait the moment I will see the Potala palace, a monumental size fort, palace and temple, all in one, residency of Dalai Lama till 1959 when Chinese invaded Tibet. I dream that moment months now! Lhasa is a prohibited city for foreigners. I will need to have a guide and I wont be able to hang around on my own otherwise I will get fined!! The Chinese cultural genocide of Tibet is happening and Tibetans in the city are now outnumbered by Han Chinese. I will try to be cautious and not give any cause for troubles. As Dalai Lama says, I will go and see, experience it with my own eyes, and then go out and tell the world. Free Tibet!

Tashi delek (Tibetan greet=blessings and good luck)

Nektarios~

Life in Dhawa

Believe it or not, I am writing this post from the school in Dhawa! The solar system is almost ready and I have managed to sneak some AC~230V to power my laptop and the satellite data key. It seems almost unbelievable! There is no water supply, no roads but we have (clean) power and internet connection!! The last couple of weeks our working patterns have been a bit exhaustive; waking up at 6.30am, start working at school at 7am. Carpenter, the builder and the solar technicians are already there while the kids start arriving at 9 for the 10am assembly. The weather after that gets really hot and only indoor work is possible! At the end of the day, shower at the local tap, food and sleep at 10pm!!


Tomorrow we start the interconnection link between the two buildings. This is one of the most challenging tasks of this project. 20 poles need to be erected between the rice fields to connect with power the old and the new building! We have already taken measurements and identified locations. We need to dig holes and install the wooden poles. All these in 40oC heat and no cold water or drinks! Works are well undergoing though and soon we will have all solar installations completed!

  Dhawa_Works undergoing

Dhawa_Works undergoing2

Dhawa_Power regulation equipment

Dhawa_Autofocus at the school roof

Dhawa_Inauguration of first power device by headteacher

Working and living with the Newaris is just an amazing experience! People here in the village are so simple and authentic with no influence from the media or the ‘outside’ world whatsoever. They are amazingly adapted to their natural surroundings and they live a hard everyday life. However, they are all happy, welcoming and always with a smile! The children are all so energetic! I think I can communicate better with them rather than the adults even if the only thing they say is “Hello, how are you, where are you going?” Oh, and “what’s your name”! Classes are taking place as we work in the school so we are engaged with them on an every day basis! I am aiming to deliver some seminars next week to the older classes regarding solar energy!

Dhawa boyz

Dhawa_Class 2-always happy students

Dhawa_Babu enjoys his rice

Dhawa_Somita posing

Dhawa_Sarsati posing

Things here are not easy. Comfort is a word never heard here! Beds have no mattresses; houses have no chairs or tables, no electricity, no fridge, no air conditioning or fans. Food is basic and cooked in stoves with ingredients only sourced locally. Rice and lentils (dhal bhat) is eaten every day while in exceptional circumstances some goat meat is on offer. Today Susma (Giri’s daughter) had her birthday so we had rice pudding!! The best treat you can get after a long day working is a warm Tuborg beer(!) or biscuits from the local shop. Dhawa is not a fancy village with facilities for foreigners and such. We are isolated, with a day trip minimum to reach civilisation! Working here is a great challenge and I love it! We are now close to complete all solar works and then there will be a big party with all those involved, workers, students and the villagers! I can’t wait!

Dhawa_Over the clouds

Dhawa_Manaslu on the background

Dhawa_Village life

Dhawa_Village life2

Dhawa_Didi the best cook in the hood

Dhawa_Haircut on the go

I haven’t uploaded too many photographs; my speed here is very slow! Still, I’m happy I have managed to upload this post today…

I hope you are all doing well, wherever you are whatever you do! The summer is here and the sun is shining!  (and Greece won their first ever game on World Cup finals against Nigeria y’day!)



Got 2 go now, the technicians are calling me!



Best wishes to all



Nektarios~

Ready, set, go!

I am writing this post from our Kathmandu base (TGH). It has been a productive week both in work outputs and leisure too! We left Gorkha last week for beautiful Pokhara. Stayed in a lovely guest house; we manage to do some work while spending sometime for recovery, explorations and networking. The setting from our guest house was idyllic at the quite part of north Lakeside, overlooking the lake and the surrounding mountains. Our extremely slow internet connection plus the absence of back up generator set made our local internet café our second home! Now in KTM, met the engineers from Lotus, working on submitting the intermediate progress report to the ENVIRON Foundation as well looking for donors to obtain a projector for the school’s pc room. We are also updating a number of blogs, newsletters and website to keep people updated around the world! We have struggled with stomach disorders lately, all of us at some point went through difficult times, mainly caused by contaminated water or food. We are very careful but it is something that can happen anytime! Adding the 35oC heat, it becomes even more exhausting.. We are fine anyway, and we are delighted to have finished all work.


We are now ready to depart for the village. Tomorrow Sunday, we are travelling back to Dhawa. It will take us another couple of days (if lucky) to reach our destination. On Tuesday, the Lotus technicians arriving and we start the solar installations! I can’t wait! It will be an amazing experience getting both buildings electrified and provide the students and the local community with modern services such as lighting, telephone, email, fax (even a much needed photo studio!).


 
Pokhara_Full moon over the lake

Pokhara_Next day morning climbing the hill to Castle resort

Pokhara_Castle resort pool -yeeeaah

Pokhara_Phewa Lake

Pokhara_Ping pong tournament; attempted a set but I was outplayed quickly..

Pokhara_Popular volleyball- sportif Pokharians!

Pokhara_Breakfast and the local news

Pokhara_Autofocus at Phewa lake coming down from the Castle

KTM_My room at TGH



My next post then it will take sometime. I will be in Dhawa without electricity (until we install our own) and no internet. I will be staying at Giri’s mudhouse, waking up at 6.00 am and sleeping at 10pm., eating dhal bhat every day, showering at the local tap, working at the school. I feel so lucky I will have the chance to live with such indigenous people for the next few weeks. Be a part and play a role in their community. Amazing feeling, a unique experience!



Watch this space!

Nektarios


p.s musix I was listening while compiling this post, live radio at http://www.echoes.gr/

In action and reaction

What a week! Last Saturday we left busy Kathmandu behind to transport equipment (and ourselves) to the village. Early morning we had a meeting with Lotus for the solar equipment, the carpenter for school furniture and the truck driver. With a typical delay of two and a half hours we loaded everything and started our two day journey to Dhawa around 10am. It took around 5 hours on the ‘highway’ to reach Gorkha. The temperature at 35-40oC was only adding to the exhaustion and sometimes I wished we had a little bit of a London weather! We stayed overnight in a local guesthouse, offloaded the truck, and next day morning, equipment(plus cement and livestock food) were loaded to the 4 wheel drive truck for the special mission part of the journey.



Kathmandu to Gorkha transport




Gorkha to Dhawa 4WD transport


On the way, we passed through amazing remote villages and landscapes. The muddy road was only just suitable for using it. Riding on top of the loaded stuff made it an epic journey. It took 4 hours to do 32 kms in the jungle. At most of the journey we were doing rodeo risking falling from the truck to the sides. It was the most exhausting journey but the most enjoyable at the same time! We went through hills, gorges, villages. In fact we were the centre of attention to every local ‘high street’ we passed! Justin was filming and interviewing on the move at the top of the truck, I was taking photographs while making sure stuff remains well tighten and Dita holding us as well as paying attention to low trees for our safety. With very few stops we managed to arrive in Dhawa late afternoon.



On top of the truck while filming




Happy bus passengers




Typical Himalayan mud house




Typical Himalayan enjoyment




On the go, off the beaten track

And a short video of the special mission transport:



It was an amazing feeling, we made it! We arrived at the school’s playground and in 5 minutes we were surrounded by 20-30 villagers and many kids. They were all delighted! We start offloading the truck and all equipment was stored safely to nearby houses. Next, shower to the local tap and dhaal bhat (rice with vegetables) for dinner. This is the only food available in the village and we had it 3 times a day… Meat is expensive (buffalo or chicken) is served only once or twice a month as a treat.



Dhawa_Equipment just arrived




Dhawa_A happy headteacher(plus students and skillfull drivers)




Dhawa_Offloading truck (again)



Next day morning, the kids were waiting for us at the courtyard; when we arrived they all applauded. Giri, the head teacher gave a short speech (in Nepali and English) and we were traditionally welcomed with flowers and a red mark from flower powder on the forehead. It was a very emotional moment for me. I nearly teared, looking at the kids and all the staff school for first time, after months of hard work from London.



Dhawa_Next day morning assembly and small ceremony




Dhawa-Awarded




Dhawa-Awarded in nirvana



The next few days, I surveyed both buildings; LP inspected the building works and arranged for the carpenter and builder to be paid. We went in the jungle to see the wood poles for the transmission between the two buildings and checked the new school building. The roof is badly damaged after a big thunderstorm and almost half of it blew away! Even though we will connect this building with power too it is a setback as we would like to have both buildings ready at the same time. Nature here is sometimes fierce and possibilities for supplies and skilled workers are minimum!



Dhawa_Disastrous storm over the new school building




Dhawa_Giri explaining what happened (dodgy filming practices not using the headphones led to a new cameraman recruit...)




Dhawa_Our new cameraman recruit




Dhawa_Works undergoing




Dhawa_We love school!




Dhawa_Sumita, a Newari young girl in style



After 4 days of village life, it took us another two days (trekking and 4 buses) to leave the village to come in Pokhara where we have power and internet access so we can work. Pokhara is a beautiful, relaxed town next to Phewa lake at an altitude of 1400m. There are many shops, restaurants, internet cafes and trekking agencies to satisfy the large tourist intake most of them arriving here to continue for trekking at the Annapurna Himalayas. It is one of the most beautiful places in Nepal. We will stay for 4 days and then to Kathmandu for the last arrangements for 2 days and then to the village to start installations! Despite all difficulties the project is moving on!



On the way to Pokhara




Ticket conductors' dangerous practices



Pokhara_Phewa Lake-Never Ending Peace And Love NEPAL



I hope all of you are doing well and you are happy whatever you do wherever you are. Life is beautiful, not only in the Himalayas but everywhere in this planet. It is inside us all!


Nektarios



P.S Donations for the Dhawa school are most welcomed! LP is desperately seeking funds for fixing the new building’s roof, buying paint for the refurbished school, improve the wood work and the courtyard as well as building a stoned wall between the building and the road. Funds are also required for school equipment such as additional desks, computers and anything else a school kid has the right to access to. Please visit www.learningplanet.org.uk to see how can you help and let me know so I can give you more directions.

Thank you