Passive Solar Classrooms for Himalayan Children

1. Research and design integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers for Dho and Tokyo villages in Dho Tarap valley. These centers will provide maternity and child care, day care services, and early childhood education enabling holistic development of 80-100 children/center from 0-8 years of age.  
2.  Do on-site research and workshops with community members, teachers, and students, with the help of a team of architects and researchers. This helped us analyze the community proposed sites for the ECD centers in the two villages, get feedback on our proposed ECD center design, scout for locally available sustainable building materials, and do lab-testing of the soil from different parts of the valley. The site-visit also enabled us to finalize the scope of this GlobalGiving project, as the local stakeholders decided on the need for a temporary solution to ECD classrooms and services at Crystal Mountain School (where all early childhood classes are currently run) because the building housing this classes is being demolished this year due to safety concerns of the building; it was heavily damaged in the 2015 earthquakes, and has been subsequently affected by irregular weather patterns including increased rainfall. 
3. Most recently (Jan - Feb 2023), we have finished a concept design of the prototype ECD classrooms to be built near the CMS campus (so that after the full ECD centers are built in the villages, these can be used as classrooms for higher grades). Our aim is to raise more funds until we meet our total target of $55,000 to fund the construction of these classrooms. See the attached image for what the classrooms might look like. We are currently planning for 4 classrooms which will serve the immediate needs of the community, while also allowing our team to prove the effectiveness of our design and research by building on a smaller scale before we work on the ECD centers based in each village.  
4. Other related projects: The past few months have been quite busy for our team. Apart from the ECD project, we are currently working on other infrastructure related projects at CMS. Recently, we completed the design of a residential block for 60 boys and 120 girls, fully equipped with study areas, warm showers, and multipurpose dining hall along with rooms that were co-designed by students from Grade 9-10 along with our chief sustainability adviser and architect, Nistha Nakarmi. We are likewise in the process of designing a multipurpose hall for CMS, that will house libraries, labs, and an indoor hall suitable for the harsh winters. We are excited to share more exciting news, along with details of these projects, in the coming future! 

1. Finalize design and costing of prototype ECD classrooms. You can find a concept design on the attached image. (April 2023)
2. Push for fundraising campaign. (April-June 2023)
3. Build prototype ECD classrooms (May-July 2023)
4. Start classes in the new prototype. Demolish the unsafe building where classes are currently being held. (July 2023 - Oct 2024)
5. Finalize integrated ECD centers design for Tokyu and Dho sites based on findings from prototype construction. Seek financial support for construction of ECD centers in Dho and Tokyu villages from provincial/federal government and/or other donors. (2023-24)
6. Begin construction of ECD centers in Tokyu and Dho villages. (2024-)

1. Donate again to kickstart the new round of fundraising for this project. Any amount helps us build traffic to our fundraising page. Our main project page is: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/passive-solar-earth-classrooms-for-dolpo-children
2. Share among your network of friends and family. 
3. Write to us at ecd@visiondolpo.org . We would love to hear from you, including any suggestions you may have. 

Best Regards,

Vision Dolpo team