Since before the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal I have been passionately researching & exploring practical, sustainable rebuilding options in Nepal that can be earthquake resilient and easy to build by local villagers as well being affordable lovely homes. I met Nripal Adhikary almost four years ago & have followed his developments of his company/training centre ABARI and now I partnering with them to rebuild in Nepal. These last two months have been a culmination of various visits in the communities and site visits to Nripal's buildings underway to convince Neel Shahi (TEAM Nepal) & local community leaders that this is a practical, sustainable way to help rebuilding in Nepal. I am happy to say we have a green light to go ahead smile emoticon Already this last week a joint project with ABARI & Stichting Sathsathai Mundi & HandswithHands e.V. in Timal, Kavre, slowly begins ... YES!! rebuilding in Nepal, safely, sustainably and with dignity - empowering local communities - is possible heart emoticon We can certainly use some further donation to really get this practical approach underway - many hands together build (literally!!) better futures heart emoticon
You can Help donate by:
1. By sending to our HwH German Bank account
Account name: Hands with Hands e.V.
Bank: GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG
(address: Christstraße 9, 44789 Bochum, Germany)
IBAN: DE46 4306 0967 1135 8729 00
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
(receipt for tax within EU available if donations made to this account)
2. or Via PayPal, "send" funds to: kira@handswithhands.com
Video of our site visit to Rammed Earth buildings by Abari:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEFPM7knh0g 

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Imagine for a moment your house has crumbled around you & your family, as has almost every other house in your community, due to a powerful earthquake - now some months later the options for rebuilding are A) rebuild the same unsafe way; B) build according to *safe* methods involving resources not available in your community & if you can get them they are very expensive, 4-5 times more than the government grant offered; or C) being shown new skills how to use local resources (clay, bamboo, wood, stone) in safe ways and given the use of tools and technical engineered designs to properly build, not only your own home but also to help your neighbors, the local school, health post & more?

 Yup, I am supporting option C)

Not only does this empower local people & communities, it also educates about the environment, sustainability & helps evolve healthy local economies providing a dignified approach to rebuilding after such a major crisis.

I had the pleasure to witness & be a part of this natural approach towards rebuilding in Nepal the past weeks as community leaders & eco-builder (Nripal Adhikary / Abari ) came together in Sindhulpalchok with the guidance of TEAM Nepal (Neel & भारत बिरोधी) to discuss the reality of this natural resource initiative. These first steps are very positive - good mud suitable for compressed earth bricks is easily present, community open & interested plus strong support of the community elders.

 My charity, Hands with Hands, will be financially supporting this initiative - help me/us support rebuilding in Nepal - earthquake safely, with local resources, professional skills & with dignity 

You can donate by:
1. By sending to our HwH German Bank account
Account name: Hands with Hands e.V.
Bank: GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG - address: Christstraße 9, 44789 Bochum, Germany
IBAN: DE46 4306 0967 1135 8729 00
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
(receipt for tax within EU available if donations made to this account)
2. or Via PayPal, "send" funds to: kira@handswithhands.com

www.handswithhands.com

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I am super happy to see the students in Talamarang village enjoying the comforts of the Hostel that TEAM Nepal ( Neel & Bikash) have worked hard to help create. Thank you also to morethanshelters for their wonderful Domo tents that will serve as 'Home' for the months ahead. Supporting education to continue and safety of children is of primary importance to help the future of Nepal in so many ways. 

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During the earthquake many of the schools in the Sindhulpalchok district were completely destroyed, at some of the schools even the land upon which the buildings had been is split/damaged and may not be able to be built upon again. Schools that have safe ground HandswithHands has helped where we can to build temporary structures to ensure classes can resume. Together with TEAM Nepal we have created a temporary student hostel to house up to 200 students that can attend Talamarang upper secondary school that now has well built temporary classrooms to accommodate a wider intake of students. We are thankful for the collaboration with More-than-Shelters (Daniel Kerber) for these specially constructed Domo tents that are durable and long lasting. As we envision this temporary hostel will into the future become a permanent residential hostel the dome tents are designed specifically to become permanent structures into the future. There is a full-time team living on the premises to care for the children and we have built a dedicated kitchen and dining area as well as toilet and shower facilities. This creates a safe place for children to continue their studies under the supervision and care of the local teachers of Talamarang school.
(Also a big thank you to the volunteer organisation www.hands.org/volunteer that helped with setting up the tents as well as clearing significant landslide obstacles to get the truck of tents on location!)

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In the Sindhulpalchok district the earthquake impact destroyed more than 85% of homes and schools. HandswithHands has been collaborating with communities and schools with the help of TEAM Nepal in this District for almost 15 years. Since the earthquake one of our key impact focus points has been schools and education – creating safe spaces for children to continue their education not only alleviates short-term trauma but it also contributes to the longer term health and well-being of individuals and communities.

In July we collaborated with Melamchi Valley campus, a college that offers bachelor degree in education and social sciences – essentially creating the next teachers in the district. Not only were the homes of most of the students destroyed but also their college books and materials. HandswithHands provided textbooks and notebooks for more than 200 students to continue their studies. In discussion with the college faculty in June, Kira understood the need to provide incentive for the students to continue their studies given the difficult circumstances post-earthquake. The cost of providing the essential textbooks per student was only €15 each. It may not seem much but for many of these people taking care of their basic survival given all that they have lost, textbooks simply were not high on the priority list. The provision of these textbooks has given the students motivation and hope for the future as well as a safe place to come together - that too is a healing development!

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Thankyou Sibjan Chaulagain and your continued heartfelt work in your community. It is with pleasure that I share with my friends the third temporary school building that you have helped to build. Many hands are needed to rebuild in Nepal and your efforts with Creating Smiles are doing really great work to ensure education continues even with the difficult situation post earthquake. I am a passionate and sincere believer that education makes a significant difference in the life of a child and their future. I know deeply how much education and giving back to your community has been your journey Sibjan and you are also such a wonderful teacher to many!! With your ongoing contribution in ICT in Nepal I can imagine you being a light for change - thank you bhai for all that you do .

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I have been learning new depths of patience and its accompanying vulnerabilities the last months, it is nice therefore to feel rewarded with some good news! This week our durable, sturdy Domo tents were finally released from the customs (thank you so much Neel & Bikash for all your amazing work to make this happen!) Thank you Daniel Kerber for your innovative Domo tent product! (http://www.morethanshelters.org/eng/) Our children at Bhaktapur Self-Sustaining Children Home in Sipadol village now have more space and comfort in their temporary home while we continue to take steps to rebuild/reengineer our damaged buildings that will take quite some months to accomplish given the continued aftershocks and consequent risks. A small step that took many hands – thank you all who have contributed! I also am truly thankful for the ongoing dedication of Riya, Rupak, Saroja and Amma as well as our house mothers, Jamuna, Moia & Gita for their hard work in taking care of 23 children in such difficult circumstances - I am thinking of you all every single day with so much appreciation!

I am sure I will develop further depths of patience in the months to come as I continue to collaborate with my Nepali friends in various rebuilding projects. The initial drama of the earthquake has passed, however the aftermath of rebuilding - not only homes but also infrastructure, schools, libraries and of course the economy will take time and continued support. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and helped in so many ways the last months, your contributions are continuing to be a gift in others lives .

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http://www.abari.org

http://thenationsmiles.org

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With the efforts of Sibjan & SMILES, 3 schools in Sindhuli district are now benefited by bamboo buildings that serve as temporary school rooms for children to continue their studies. Having children back in school is truly an important need – Education is a vital key for children to unlock their own potential and effectively engage in their communities, environment and society, to create healthy futures. Educating children, especially the encouragement of girls in schools, directly benefits entire future communities and the whole country of Nepal. Having no school for an extended period can mean many children will drop out of school and not return, leaving them open to exploitation and with fewer future options. Schools provide a regulated place for the children to be, especially as many of their family homes are not safe. Additionally, teachers and local community members associated with schools support children and parents to be aware of child trafficking dangers which is an increased risk post earthquake.

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Today happens to be exactly 2 months to the day after the Nepal Earthquake - I had not planned it this way but I ended up at our Bhaktapur Self-Sustaining Orphan Home at exactly the same time, sitting outside eating fruit playing with the children as we were on April 25th Saturday at same time as the quake ... this time however there was no earth shaking! The only shaking was from dancing & laughing! Our building is very damaged & we are in the process of evaluation with engineers for repairs which will take some months to undertake as we have quite extensive work to be done to ensure we are super earthquake proofed!! Meanwhile we are sorting out additional temporary shelter support to make these next months of monsoon more comfortable

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