Earlier this month our trustee, Dr Craig Hutton, was in Nepal to attend a conference in Kathmandu. While there, Craig took the opportunity to join our Nepal based Co-Director, Richard Allen, on a field visit to Kavre with our NGO partners Eco Himal and students from Tribhuvan University.
As we relaunch our higher education programme in 2018, we are focusing on supporting Nepali and UK students to study sustainable development and climate change adaptation in the field. This programme will be run as a collaboration between Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu), Eco Himal Nepal (one of our partners NGOs) and Southampton University.
Kavre lies around three hours east of Kathmandu, yet feels very remote, especially towards the top of the hills away from the main roads. It is very dry and still struggling to recover from the 2015 earthquakes that destroyed hundreds of homes, buildings and roads.
The earthquakes also affected many of the springs that families rely on for drinking, irrigation and cooking. Climate Change is exacerbating these problems.
By studying Kavre, its post earthquake recovery and its adaptation to climate change, two Nepali and two UK students will make a valuable contribution to understandings of these issues. Their findings will also inform any future projects work TGT and Eco Himal partner up on to deliver.
Visiting Kavre - a photo essay
Prior to Craig and Richard's recent visit, Morgan visited Kavre in November 2017. Images from both trips make up this photo essay.
A view of the Himalaya's from Kavre. (March 2018)
Kavre is very dry, this school playing field is one of the highest in the district. (November 2017)
Crops here are rain fed. The monsoon season is now shorter and more unpredictable, presenting huge challenges for farmers. (November 2017)
Chemical pesticide use, to protect crops from insects, is common in Kavre. For the individual farmer, in the short term it makes sense, longer term it could be catastrophic to local ecological systems. (March 2018)
The earthquake caused a lot of damage in Kavre, here we can see a crack in the wall of the school, straight through the Nepali national anthem. (November 2017)
Slowly, schools are under reconstruction. Until they are finished students cram into the classrooms that weren't completely destroyed. These have been deemed safe enough for use, in many cases only just. (November 2017)
Dr. Craig Hutton and Tribhuvan University student, Amrit in discussion at one of the schools that is being rebuilt. (March 2018)
The rebuilding process, for homes and schools has been very slow, nearly three years on from the earthquakes, building work is only just beginning for some. (March 2018)
Many families are still living in what should have been temporary shelters. Due to the altitude these homes get very cold in winter, this is putting a lot of strain on the surrounding woodlands as trees are chopped down for fuel. (November 2017)
Eco Himal Nepal are working in Kavre and will help to co-ordinate the Higher Education programme in June 2018. Here, from left to right are Narayan, Anisha, Laxmi (who works in Kavre full time) and Keshab. (March 2018)
Tribhuvan University have selected two MSc students, Sarasati and Amrit who will study the impact of the earthquakes on societal structures in Kavre. They will also act as interpreters to support two MSc students from Southampton University. Together they will spend much of June 2018 in Kavre studying for their dissertations. (March 2018)
We believe education to be a vital in enabling Nepal to adapt to the impacts of climate change and become more resilient to any future earthquakes.
As climate change deepens, we will need a growing number of professionals with the skills and knowledge to enable adaptation across the whole Himalaya's. They will come from Nepal and the wider world. Our higher education programme makes a valuable contribution to this training effort.
The Glacier Trust, with your help, can build the capacity of the next generation of adaptation specialists in Nepal.
Our programme supports Nepali students to carry out in-depth field research, which they might otherwise not be able to afford. In 2018 students from Tribhuvan University will be collaborating with students from Southampton University in a process of shared and reciprocal learning. If you would like to support our work in this area, please make donation to The Glacier Trust today.