Dear supporters,
We are thrilled to share the wonderful news of the successful closure of our fundraising campaign aimed at supporting the research, design, and construction of holistic Early Childhood Development centers in Dho and Taksi villages, Dho-Tarap, Dolpo.
When we embarked on this journey back in September 2021, our initial target was to raise $5,000 to fund the research and construction of two passive solar classrooms for early childhood education. With your tremendous support, we quickly surpassed our goal, raising over $7,000 from around 50 donors. This allowed us to become a permanent member on the GlobalGiving platform, opening new doors for raising funds for research-oriented projects.
Over time, as we conducted extensive research and identified the needs of the community, we raised our fundraising target to $15,000 and then finally to $55,000. Thanks to your continued support, we have raised just over $16,000, with over 95% of the funds utilized primarily in research and associated costs. This enabled us to prepare detailed designs and compelling proposals, one of which was accepted by a government entity. We are pleased to announce that we have secured a grant of approximately $150,000 (Rs. 20 million) to fund the construction of the southern wing of the ECD center in Dho village, a major milestone in our project.
This success would not have been possible without the dedication of our strong team of architects and engineers, who have volunteered their expertise and time to contribute to sustainable design and architecture. Your generous donations have amplified the impact of our efforts, making it all possible.
While we celebrate this achievement, we recognize that there is still much work ahead. Detailed designs of the ECD center need to be completed, structural analysis must be conducted, and building materials researched and identified. We also aim to construct the northern wing of the ECD center in Dho village and establish an entirely new center in Tokyu village, and eventually, in all villages in Dolpo.
Moreover, as we face the challenges posed by changing climate trends and extreme weather events, we realize the critical importance of continuous research. In light of recent events, such as the flooding in Dho-Tarap caused by extreme rain, we are committed to conducting detailed land surveys and further research on climate patterns in the high Himalayas.
Your unwavering support has been our driving force throughout this journey, and we are incredibly grateful for it. As we look to the future, we are planning to create a new project on GlobalGiving focused solely on fundraising for research related to passive solar infrastructure, changing climate patterns, and other areas. We will keep you informed about this new campaign and other exciting updates on our work.
Once again, thank you for being an invaluable part of our vision and mission. Your belief in our cause motivates us to persevere and work diligently towards creating a better future for the communities we serve.
Best Regards,
The Research Team
Passive Solar and Vernacular Architecture
Vision Dolpo
Dear supporters,
Best Regards,
Vision Dolpo team
Links:
Dear supporters,
We are excited to provide some major updates regarding the project. It has been just more than a year now since we started this crowdfunding campaign to build warm classrooms for young children in Dho Tarap valley, Dolpo. Through your support, we have been able to conduct detailed research on passive solar technology, vernacular architecture, ways of reducing costs (financial and environmental), and on the needs of the communities in Dho and Tokyu villages. We also prepared an initial campus design for an early childhood development (ECD) center, integrating maternal care, nutrition, day-care, and sanitation facilities for holistic investment in childrens’ development. Meanwhile, work on preparing a curriculum, operational guidelines, and crucially fundraising is ongoing.
On October 2, our team of designers, architects and engineers went to the valley for an on-site field survey and research on building materials and local architecture. It took us 3 days of bus and jeep rides from Kathmandu to Dunai, and then a further 9 days of walking and waiting (due to flash floods and landslides following a week-long rainfall) to get to Dho. Fortunately, we made it safely crossing the heavily damaged trails and were able to do the work we set out to do. We got feedback on our proposed design for the ECD center from community members, local government representatives, and school staff, students and local teachers. We explored different elements of the traditional architecture in the valley, documented changes in building techniques (for e.g. use of corrugated sheets to counter the increased rainfall due changing climate patterns in the region), surveyed the proposed sites for ECD centers in Tokyu and Dho villages, and research available building materials and costs.
To summarize briefly, the almost month-long field research trip– made possible by your generous support – was a great success. We had a few major “aha” moments, especially in terms of how we were going to balance affordability with leveraging local construction techniques and available human and construction resources.
Below you will find a brief summary of some of our major findings, and the next steps for this project.
Major findings of research
Next Steps and Funding Challenges
Other Tasks
How can you help?
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:
Some of the activities we will be engaging in are:
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)
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