Passive Solar Classrooms for Himalayan Children

Dear supporters,

On October 2, 2022, our design, engineering and sustainability team is heading to Dho Tarap valley for a community site visit to finalize location of the first ECD center in Tokyu village, and conduct research on local building materials and techniques. With over 5 days of bus and jeep rides and a further 4 day walk up to Dho Tarap valley, this has been a challenging part of our project to manage logistics and utilize the 3 week window in October that our engineering and design team have carved out of their busy schedules in Kathmandu.  

Our primary goals in this trip are:

• Gather all required information for the final engineering design of the ECD center and final cost analysis for construction
• Engage with local community members for co-design of the center and incorporate local ideas and building techniques
• Draw an initial plan for the full infrastructure of Crystal Mountain School (in addition to the ECD center, for which a final plan will be prepared)

Some of the activities we will be engaging in are:

• Workshops with community members in Dho and Tokyu villages
• Workshops with ECD teachers and staff at Crystal Mountain School
• Workshops with students at Crystal Mountain School, including Minecraft games and physical model building where students will imagine their future campus and also the ECD centers in Dho and Tokyu villages
• Video and photo documentation of the journey with the help of a photographer/film-maker who is going on the trip

This trip is one of the most vital phases of the ECD project we are undertaking. And it has only been possible to spend so much time and resources planning this trip for deep research and community work with your generous support. We are extremely grateful. 

Consider donating to help us continue our work. We are in need of resources to fund further research, and parts of this local site visit trip. 

Best Regards,

Vision Dolpo Team

Dear supporters,

With your generous support, we have been able to raise over $16,000 so far. This has enabled us to fund the architectural design and initial engineering analysis of the first Early Childhood Development center. We are very proud of the designs that have been prepared. You can find more details about the design on our website: https://visiondolpo.org/early-childhood-development/, and also on the updated project document on our GlobalGiving page: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/passive-solar-earth-classrooms-for-dolpo-children/.

The next steps include finalizing the design after a site visit in Dho Tarap with a group of engineers, sustainability experts, and architects scheduled for Sept-Oct 2022. Our team will run community workshops to get further input on the initial design, bring soil and other materials for lab testing in Kathmandu, and then complete a final drawing for the ECD center with detailed engineering and structural analysis and design updates based on community feedback. Our deadline for getting this final design is Dec 2022.

Our initial estimates for the construction of one ECD center cross $240,000 for Phase 1 (just the southern block of the center which can be immediately put to use to run classes and essential services), and $500,000 for both southern and northern blocks. We are now starting to approach donors (mainly embassies based in Kathmandu) to help us fund construction of either just Phase 1 or the entire ECD center. 

As informed in our previous report, our strategy for crowdfunding has now shifted from the actual construction of the ECD center to ensuring the costs for research, design, and program administration costs. Additionally, we are planning to use about $20,000 (out of the total target of $55,000 on GlobalGiving currently) to start sourcing wood and stone locally. This will enable us to begin construction right away once funding is ensured for construction. 

We are now requesting our supporters to help us cover the costs of programs until Dec 2022. For the site visit lab research and community programs, we are in need of about $3000. We require about $6000 to pay for detailed structural and engineering analysis of the campus. 

In total, we are trying to raise $9000 by end of October. And at least $2000 by end of August to ensure we can follow our current calendar of programs. We would like to request you to help us achieve this target. You can contribute more yourself, share the project with your friends and colleagues, and help us share our mission and vision. We are also eager to get your feedback and suggestions, also regarding any potential sources of funding we may look into for the construction costs. 

We have been so fortunate to have your support to enable this innovative and potentially revolutionary project, not just for Dolpo but for the entire Nepal Himalayas. With your continued support, we are sure we can successfully complete this ambitious project. 

On behalf of the whole Vision Dolpo team and our students,

Pawan Dhakal,
Project Lead, ECD program
Vision Dolpo
(pawan@visiondolpo.org)

Links:

• Main Project Page

Dear supporters,

Thanks to your generous support, we have so far raised $13,622 from 86 donors since we first started this campaign in Sep 2021 as part of the GlobalGiving accelerator program. Out of the raised amount, $11,896 has been disbursed in two installments by GlobalGiving to our local organizational bank account in Kathmandu.

This is a short report on our progress so far and the steps ahead for the successful completion of this project. 

Almost $3,000 has been spent so far on initial program research on early childhood education and on locally adapted passive solar design, site identification, and travel and on-site community research. The primary output of this phase of the project is a detailed project report with clear working modalities (including engagement of local community and local government) and an initial early childhood campus design that will incorporate the holist childhood development frameworks under the National Strategy for Early Childhood Development, developed by the National Planning Commission, Nepal. 

The project report and its details (including an initial estimate for the total construction and operation cost of the pilot early childhood center) are currently being finalized and will be shared publicly (on our website and on GlobalGiving) in the coming two weeks.

Please be on the lookout for an email from us with such a report.

We are grateful to all our supporters who have donated time, energy and resources to make this campaign a success.  We have a long way to go before we meet our updated campaign goals (more updates on the upcoming detailed project report) and our larger project goals. But with your support and encouragement, we are confident that we will successfully spur on the development of ECD centers in remote regions like Dolpo via this pilot project. 

Best Regards,

Early Childhood Development Team,
Vision Dolpo

Dear Supporters,

We would like to thank you again for your generous donations and support for an essential project for our youngest students at the school.

With your support, we have graduated from the GlobalGiving Accelerator Program ranking 47 out of 632 participating organizations, and raising $8,095 in just about 2 months from 75 different donors. The first disbursement ($6,635) has been sent to our local bank account in Nepal by GlobalGiving, allowing us to start this important project

This report is meant to define the larger vision of the project, highlight some of the work that is currently being done, and outline the program calendar for the project (see attached file). 

This project is an essential step in our vision of building sustainable and warm infrastructure for Crystal Mountain School to enable running of classes even through the winters, and promoting sustainable building practices to build economic and climate resiliency in the region. The passive solar classrooms built during this project will not only serve 50 of our students directly, but also provide valuable experience and research data for future classrooms and other school infrastructure. As well as serve as a great site for local community members to experience and learn about the effectiveness of passive solar technology in reducing fuel costs and keeping indoor temperatures warm throughout the winter nights.    

The funds raised so far (about 54% of the total target) has enabled us to start researching and designing passive solar classrooms, with help from sustainable building experts in Nepal and Ladakh. We are also beginning research on effective interior design for young students, and looking for ways to enhance their learning experience through mindful design practices. 

This winter, we are doing some initial on-site research to identify and gather local building materials, and record daily temperature variation data from existing (but not effective during winter nights) passive solar classrooms. 

Since construction during winters is also difficult and we are still trying to meet our funding target of $15,000, the tentative plan is to start construction in March 2022. 

Meanwhile, we would like to request you to continue supporting this project. You can either directly contribute again by going to our project page (also accessible via our website visiondolpo.org), or share our project with your friends and family. Sharing your reasons for supporting this project can sometimes be more meaningful and effective in highlighting the cause.

We will provide regular updates throughout the duration of this project (see attached calendar). Thank you again for your support. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or comments.    

Best,

Vision Dolpo

visiondolpo.org

Links:

• Our Website
• Project Page