Senior Volunteer Opportunity

I keep seeing people come to Nepal to help and end up building a guest house for someone. Seriously? We do not believe that is a good use of our volunteers' time or talent to do what local people can do. We also know it gets quite cold in many countries throughout N. America and Europe and cold winters can be difficult for people on the other side of 55. Our winters are quite mild in the Kathmandu Valley with views of the Himalayas.

No Volunteer Fees-Pay only for food/Utilities while you are here and we feature a ½ price on food charges ($10 per day for volunteers after Mar. 1) for over 60 years old and native/fluent English speaker. Your entire stay will cost only $5 per day for the right person.

Aug. 2017-March 1, 2018

Enjoy a mild winter, interesting activities and make a difference in our village. Imagine how much money you will have saved if you do not have to pay for heating and rent.

This senior mother brought her son, grandson and daughter-in-law.
Everyone found their place in our village and had a wonderful time.

We offer:

Private room with bath

Weekly day trips to Kathmandu for site seeing by car each week.

Food prepared for you using hygienic practices and quality ingredients, either Nepali style cooking or Western style food.

24/7 Electricity, WIFI, Hot Water

Yoga sessions, art lessons and interesting village activities

We provide a healthy, enriching experience of Nepal and our sincere appreciation.

Skills needed:

Ability to use social media, take pictures and videos, upload them to social media and websites.

 Read textbooks into MP3 recording

Teach in our local, government school:

Health and Sex Education          
English/Social Studies/Science
Art Projects
A project or dream that you’d like to do

You will not be asked to do a job that a local person could also do. We support the local economy. 

You will be able to take coffee or tea up on our rooftop terrace just about any day while you are here.

Follow our work as you make your plans to join us. Contact Ama at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

My eBook is available now at https://payhip.com/b/sQu5 If you are planning a trip to Nepal you'll enjoy it. It will save you time as well as money, but more importantly, it will help you to have a better time in Nepal. Many people wonder if they can eat the street food like in Thailand or Vietnam. 

Here's my spoiler alert: Do not eat the street food in Nepal, nor should you eat at any buffet. The eBook addresses such things as this and what to do if you become ill, etc. Whether or not you get my book, please read this short, free eBook. It will help you get your time here off to a great start. http://bit.ly/2aGxcuHIf there is a problem with the download or code please let me know at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

Promotion code for discount: GR5X4BCHX2 

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's how:Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels 

What's going on in India?

One of our guests went to India. When he came back he told us about his time there. There doesn't seem to be any money in India. All the ATM machines and banks seem to have people waiting all day long to take money out.

Our guest, Michael, had to use his credit card for things. The problem with that is that there can be an extra charge for using a credit card. Most companies do not have the capability of taking credit cards, so time spent in India can easily become all about trying to get money instead of enjoying India.

If you are in India or planning to go, I'd recommend hopping on a plane to Nepal from Delhi rather than dealing with the fiasco that seems to be India.

So, jump on a flight to Kathmandu and avoid the political issues going on now in India. For once, I think Nepal is a more stable country at this time. Apparently, there is a plan to starve Pakistan out, but in the meantime they seem to be starving everyone.

Come to Nepal; come to Changunarayan. We have rooms, as does the other home stay homes and guest houses. It's really lovely here.

The weather is a bit chilly in the mornings, but we have clear skies and a sunny rooftop. It's really a mild winter here in the Kathmandu Valley.

Our website got hacked, but we are still here and ready for a few guests. +977 015141181. Or you can contact us at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com for a quick response.

My eBook is available now at https://payhip.com/b/sQu5 If you are planning a trip to Nepal you'll enjoy it. It will save you time as well as money, but more importantly, it will help you to have a better time in Nepal. Many people wonder if they can eat the street food like in Thailand or Vietnam. 

Here's my spoiler alert: Do not eat the street food in Nepal, nor should you eat at any buffet. The eBook addresses such things as this and what to do if you become ill, etc. Whether or not you get my book, please read this short, free eBook. It will help you get your time here off to a great start. http://bit.ly/2aGxcuHIf there is a problem with the download or code please let me know at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

Promotion code for discount: GR5X4BCHX2 

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's   how: 
Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels 

A Perfect Place to Intern or Volunteer: Our Ancient Village in Nepal

Doing Your Internship in Nepal, the Perfect Time and Place

Attention University Students,
Quilters, IT Specialists, Teachers, Organic Gardeners

We recently had a couple of Spanish interns who came and worked at our government school. We worked with them to design a program to keep them busy, give them some hands-on experience and help them complete their studies at university. It worked out quite well for us because Daniel and Julia connected with the students so well the kids will never forget these interns. Here are some of the reasons it worked out well for our interns:
1. The interns are welcomed and encouraged to create their own program. We can help to make it fit our village a bit, but we want your enthusiasm and creativity.
2. We are open to interns and volunteers all year long.
3. We do not have a volunteer fee. We hope you can bring a bit of funding if your project requires it, but if you want to teach at the government school or at our agency in our tutoring center or helping us with the internet you need to pay only for your food. You will have a room with your private bed and bathroom just outside the room. Although you will usually have the room to yourself, you will only share with people of the same gender when the guest house is full. 
4. We provide a much better, quality stay than any other volunteering program that we know of in Nepal. 
5. Note below that we offer a great Nepal experience and several bonus ways that we help you to get the most of your travels in Nepal.

Can you help us with any of these positions?

Our registered NGO, is in need of help in several positions, firstly, someone to teach quilting/hand-stitching. Can you teach tailoring or any special sewing projects? We’ve learned during this last earthquake disaster in 2015 that the best way to help people suffering from a disaster is to support them by purchasing their local goods. I think that applies as much to the Middle Eastern refugees as it does to the people in New Zealand who may have financial hardships after their devastating earthquakes.

We, at Kay Garnay for Nepal, are working to help uplift the women and families of our ancient village in the Kathmandu Valley. These women are hard working. We have all been effected by the devastation, some more than others and yet our village was not severely hit by comparison of many other areas.

We had a volunteer come from UK who taught them some quilting/hand-stitching skills for a week. Now the women are eager to learn more and be able to earn a bit more.

We have hopes of making a reversible, flannel, hand-tailored pajamas, but the women will need to be trained. We also want to start a line of maternity clothing using the kurta as inspiration. So, we are open to the direction you’d like to take them. If you have something you can teach within this theme we welcome you.

Other projects we need help with

IT: Website design and SOE. Our websites are up, but they need some updating and editing. We also have young people who are interested in learning computer technology.

Organic gardener: We hope to create a botanical walk in our village and we also want to help our local farmers to grow organically.

Map maker: We are developing 5 permit-free trekking routes and need someone to help put the project together.

Teaching at our local, government school: We need volunteers to English and Social Science. We also need people to read the text books into an MP3 file to create audio books. With the teachers unable to speak English well, the students lack understanding when they just read the textbooks by themselves. It’s an impossible task to learn from a text book in another language without hearing it.
Other projects that will teach and enrich our villagers.

What we offer

We offer a clean room and toilet, all the food, coffee and tea you’d like prepared for you, lovely views, peaceful surroundings, morning yoga, weekly day trips to Kathmandu for site seeing, 24/7 WIFI, electricity and hot water and a grateful group of Nepali women who need help to support their families and rebuild their lives.

We ask that you teach for 3 hours per day 5 days per week and pay $7 per day for food/utilities. If you are unable to pay this amount please let us know. We have provided scholarships for several volunteers, some from other developing nations.

Send your inquiry to: FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com
Learn about our agency: http://KayGarnay.org
Check out our lovely guest house where you will stay: http://StarViewNepal.com

My eBook is available now at https://payhip.com/b/sQu5 If you are planning a trip to Nepal you'll enjoy it. It will save you time as well as money, but more importantly, it will help you to have a better time in Nepal. Many people wonder if they can eat the street food like in Thailand or Vietnam. 

Here's my spoiler alert: Do not eat the street food in Nepal, nor should you eat at any buffet. The eBook addresses such things as this and what to do if you become ill, etc. Whether or not you get my book, please read this short, free eBook. It will help you get your time here off to a great start. http://bit.ly/2aGxcuHIf there is a problem with the download or code please let me know at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

Promotion code for discount: GR5X4BCHX2 

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's how:Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels 

Bringing Your Hobby to Nepal

As it turns out, Changunarayan is a great place to go if you have a hobby you don't want to leave at home. We've had mountain bikers come and leave us their mountain bikes so they will have something to ride when they come back to Nepal and a crafter who brought money supplies to teach a quilting class. We host volunteers quite regularly, whether for Kay Garnay for Nepal or another local NGO, such as the 'Answer' (US nonprofit agency) group who recently came to finish building a home for a nearby family. Often our guests show a desire to leave a bit of goodwill behind and we are happy to provide a platform in which to share. Our short-term guests put a chapter of a text book on MP3 audio, make a presentation for students about the environment or join us for a village clean-up day.

One unusual hobby you wouldn't expect to see someone bring to Nepal is HAM radio and all the apparatus that goes with it. This was the second time we had the pleasure of hosting this group of HAM radio enthusiasts. Janusz and three friends came from Poland for a couple weeks and enjoyed the vastness of Nepal's air waves from the prospective of the Star View Guest House.

This being their second trip to Nepal with the HAM radios, one would wonder why the need to bring all this equipment so far away. Due to the location of the guest house, a person can pick up many signals without interference. There are few people in Nepal that have HAM radios, which is also helpful to get a signal. But sitting at the edge of the Kathmandu Valley the signal can literally go all the way around the world!

There is one other reason the Star View Guest House and Changunarayan makes such a great location for HAM radio enthusiasts, bikers, quilters or just about any other quirky way you want to experience Nepal; we love to accommodate our guests, whatever their needs are. We've handled peanut allergies and a host of other issues quite successfully over the past 2 years and we actually enjoy having such unique experiences along with our guests.

Stephenie teaching the village women a stitch for the hand quilting class. 

If you are looking for an enriching time during your travels to Nepal please consider bringing your talents to Changunarayan. We are happy to host you or find a home-stay here in the village.

Coming to Nepal? Be sure to get all the newest info at http://WhatAboutNepal.org It's your one stop for everything Nepal. If your question isn't answered already just drop us a line and we'll help you with anything about Nepal; visa questions, trekking questions, budget questions, medical questions, housing questions, safety questions and everything else.

Follow along with us

Twitter:   @FrugalTravelsNe
               @KayGarnay4Nepal
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels
Like our pages:
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       http://TraditionalArtofNepal.com

Our Volunteer Family

We've had a busy week at Kay Garnay for Nepal and Star View Guest House. We even had to shift people around and even had to refer guests to friends in the village with home-stay accommodations. It’s great to see tourists coming and going and supporting Nepal‘s economy. Particularly after a disaster, the people need to move forward with a good tourist season and export businesses. If you wonder how you could help Nepal recover from the earthquakes of 2015, we hope you’ll use your consumer power to help. You can enjoy our thangkas from our on-line store or another website that promotes Nepali products. http://TraditionalArtofNepal.com

We are so pleased to have Mark Goddard, Donor/Volunteer, and his family at the guest house for the week. Mark and his family came from England to help Nepal. Mark’s mother, Stephanie, has many years of quilting experience and brought supplies to teach quilting.

We do things a bit differently at Kay Garnay. When we find a person, or in this case a family, who wants to come to Nepal to help we take care to design something that will both enrich the village and enrich our guests‘ experience. In this case we were able to enlist the entire family, including Claire, Mark’s wife, who enjoyed supporting the activities.

First, we had a lovely, quilting workshop. About 20 women showed up on the first day. The women are really excited about learning new skills. We went to Kathmandu where Stephanie bought some fabric, needles, and instruments for the training. Not only are the women busy with the rice harvest, but they managed their time for the quilting class and even more women came on the following days. There are many directions the women can go from here to help themselves economically. Skilled women are in high demand in the handcrafted, export industries. We will continue to work with the women, by providing the work space and creating outlets for their work.

Nepali kids love sports and they have the great passion for football. Even on the rough ground of the make-shift football field, one can see enthusiasm and their determination to kick the ball to the goal post.

Mark and his son, Tom, brought footballs and football Jerseys for the kids. We went to two schools for the distribution. Having their own jersey made the kids feel like real players for the game. We had a small competition between schools on the big grounds at the bottom of the hill. We are yet to distribute more jerseys to the kids at the Happy Kids Recreation Center in Bhaktapur.

Tom, Mark’s 11 years old son, gave some tips to the players and they all got along so well; they were like old friends in no time at all. Almost 50 students were there to enjoy the game as an audience, which added to the excitement. Students from Champak Vidhya Pith and Dolagiri Higher Secondary School played and after the game we distributed medals and chocolates.

After the games and work were finished the Goddards went to Nagarkot to stay for a night and see the sun come up over Mt. Everest. They were rewarded with the best view of the Himalayas in over a month. We are so grateful to the Goddard family for their time and efforts to help our village. This is the same family with the exceptional youngster, Tom, who did a fund-raiser for us and brought us $1,700 earlier in the year. Thank you, Mark, Claire, Stephanie and Tom for all your kindness and hard work.

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's   how: 

Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe @KayGarnay4Nepal 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels 

Anastasia's Volunteering Experience in Changunarayan

Having a degree in International Studies and currently being a Master degree student in Local Development, I had been interested in global issues including poverty, mass migration, environmental degradation, etc. for several years. However, I realized that having an interest and theoretical background is definitely not enough if someone truly wants to make a difference. So volunteering abroad appeared to be a good way to gain some practical knowledge and experience because it gives an opportunity to go out of one’s comfort zone and challenge yourself a little bit.

I came to Nepal after finishing my summer school in Norway. Frankly speaking, deep inside I did have some worries. But later it turned out to be needless since I fell in love with Changunarayan village right from the beginning. As soon as I saw the smiley faces of villagers I forgot about all my inner fears.

Most of my worries were related to volunteering activities. It was my third volunteering experience, but still there were many ‘first times.’  Not only it was my first time staying in the village, but also it was my first time of teaching English to school kids, first time delivering a session on the importance of plastic recycling, first trial to write the small grant proposal, and even the first time writing a blog post… Despite the fact that not everything went according to my expectations that I had prior to arrival, it was still a very valuable experience for me. I have learnt many things. The only thing I regret about is that I couldn’t stay longer than one month. Maybe there still will be a chance to come back.

So, for me the journey to Nepal was a movement towards a “state of motion.” Here by “motion” I don’t mean the very dynamic and active movement that many people might think of, but the one which is gentle and soft. This gave me a chance to make a pause and take a deeper breath before my next life adventures. That’s what I would call the “art of stillness.”

During this month I could truly enjoy and appreciate many simple things. Every morning I could enjoy listening to the sounds of the ringing bell from Changunarayan temple while during the nighttime I could enjoy the cacophony of sounds of nature created by crickets, dogs and other living creatures. Sometimes during the daytime on the way from the guest house to school or bus stop I observed a serene picture of cows and goats peaceably chewing the grass, chickens crossing the bumpy roads and dogs peacefully laying on the streets. It was also a pleasure to see local kids playing football or badminton on the hilltop in front of the guest house. 

Hindu Chikens? Chickens at temple.

This kind of simple joy is comparable with meditation without any time pressure. Almost every evening I gazed out across the hills to see a beautiful formation of clouds and sunset along the valley. So I could finally reattach with nature after-life in the cities. Moreover, I got some free time to read books I wanted and started again with my meditation practices. Despite the monsoon season I was lucky to have experienced five different festivals just in four weeks. Rural lifestyle definitely has many attractive sides.

My stay at the Star View Guest House was a very pleasant experience, as well. It has a perfect location with its beautiful views across the valley. I think the name “Star View” was given to it for a good reason. I still remember the workings of my heart when from the rooftop of the guest house I saw the sky sown with myriads of stars. It is a perfect space for a personal retreat. But it was not only about the beauty of the place itself, but mostly it was about people whom I met here. 

After a few days I had a feeling that I was a part of family. I enjoyed discussions on various topics with Amanda, collaboration with Sajana and Bikash and dinners with Kamal’s family. I am truly grateful for their incredible hospitality and warmth. It was the endless pleasure having a chance to come here. Changunarayan village is a beautiful and peaceful place. I would not over-romanticize it, since there are still some flaws here, as well.

There are buildings that were not completely restored after the earthquake, people who live below the poverty line, houses without fulltime electricity, etc. But… There are things that truly impressed me more than anything else. And that is the attitude of the local people, their ability to stay peaceful and to radiate the positive vibes. I will always remember their friendly smiles and warm, ‘Namastes.’  

Anish, a local friend and guide who is like a walking history book.

Having an experience of traveling throughout different countries I accept the fact that sometimes it breaks my heart into pieces, pieces that I leave in the countries I felt attached to. And Nepal, and particularly Changunarayan village, is definitely the place where I left part of my soul. This means that someday in the future I will be willing to come back…

A note from Amanda:

Anna was a delight. I asked her to manage our new, plastic recycle project because it seemed like nothing was happening with it. She did great. She pushed us just enough, did the planning and gave a lot of thought to the project. We are just waiting for the information on budget in order to start sending the grant proposal that Anna wrote. I say she wrote it because it was her eye to detail, grant writing skills and managarial skills that made it happen. This was on top of her teaching the students at the school and helping Sajana to learn a computer program. 

All I can say about Anastasia is that the company that hires her will be the most fortunate company on the planet.

Anasatasia and Sajana on our rooftop

My eBook is available now at https://payhip.com/b/sQu5 If you are planning a trip to Nepal you'll enjoy it. It will save you time as well as money, but more importantly, it will help you to have a better time in Nepal. Many people wonder if they can eat the street food like in Thailand or Vietnam. 

Here's my spoiler alert: Do not eat the street food in Nepal, nor should you eat at any buffet. The eBook addresses such things as this and what to do if you become ill, etc. Whether or not you get my book, please read this short, free eBook. It will help you get your time here off to a great start. http://bit.ly/2aGxcuHIf there is a problem with the download or code please let me know at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

Promotion code for discount: GR5X4BCHX2 

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's how: 
Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels 

Our Book Drive and Book Rotation Library Project

As our first year comes to an end we had one more project to implement, our Book Rotation Project.  But not only are we able to share with our other, tiny libraries in the area and art projects, but we were able to start our own along with books brought by Donors in Germany. 

Granted, this is just a couple of tiny shelves, hardly a library, but it's a start. We believe children should be inspired to read, to love and be hungry for books. That only takes one book, the right book. That's how I think about helping children to read. Myself, I had a learning disability and didn't learn to read until I was about 12 years old. It was only when I fell in love with the poetry of Robert Service, the Klondike Poet of the 19th Century that I learned to read, really read.

 It is my desire to get that inspiring book into the hands of the Nepali children as soon as I can. Our book exchange takes 25 books from one library and after they are stamped with that library's stamp they are given to either the Happy Kids Recreation Center in Bhaktapur, the library in the nearby Tamang village, Tatgal Village, or the other one in Changunarayan. 

Along with the library and book exchange, we are starting an after-school homework tutor center. When we don't have volunteers our young, Nepali monitor will open a computer to show them a video on Youtube. We have been impressed by the quality, simplicity and enthusiasm in the math tutorials on youtube.  

We are also continuing to show movies on Friday nights. All of these things are coming together to help the kids build confidence and skills. We should be able to find a young student to be our monitor/tutor for only about $20 a month. This would keep the tutor/library projects going.

We have an offer for our future guests. We can give you up to 1/2 off of your room price with us, up to 2 weeks, at $1 per 3 gently used children's books you bring. Whether they are hardcover or paperback, gently used children's books are so needed here. So, if you can spend a few days in Changunarayan with us you will have a lovely room at an amazing price and enjoy this amazing, ancient village and its people. We've had people put out a call at their church or school and had great success. We can also provide you with an NGO letter so you can get free room on your airplane fare. 

Please send inquiries about our offer to FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com

Our nicest room $25 after Sept. 20. Your savings if you bring us some books: Up to $12.50  

My eBook is available now at https://payhip.com/b/sQu5 If you are planning a trip to Nepal you'll enjoy it. It will save you time as well as money, but more importantly, it will help you to have a better time in Nepal. Many people wonder if they can eat the street food like in Thailand or Vietnam. 

Here's my spoiler alert: Do not eat the street food in Nepal, nor should you eat at any buffet. The eBook addresses such things as this and what to do if you become ill, etc. Whether or not you get my book, please read this short, free eBook. It will help you get your time here off to a great start. http://bit.ly/2aGxcuHIf there is a problem with the download or code please let me know at FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com 

Promotion code for discount: GR5X4BCHX2 

If you''d like to connect on social media with me here's   how: 
Twitter: @FrugalTravelsNe 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frugal.travels