Volunteering opportunities

To be very honest this is not a formal NGO with a project plan and bureaucracy. Equally there is no volunteering fee paid to an overseas or Kathmandu based organisation. If you are keen to volunteer your services then some creativity is required to work out with Udaya and friends where you can help and what you want to do. Some suggestions:-

• Teaching in the school: as mentioned English language is very important in the curriculum and a volunteer with good English ability will be a great asset to the students at the school. In return you will have a great deal of fun with the students. Children on the whole are very good natured, incredibly smiley and friendly.
• Organic farming: If you have knowledge of organic farming practices you are more than welcome to come and try your own project, make suggestions and generally learn about farming in Chitwan - the seasons, climate and local crops. If you don't have farming knowledge, you are also welcome to come and get your hands dirty! It is also a lot of fun and an adventure to milk buffalo, pick pineapples and fill the bio-gas chamber with dung.
• Community project: There are many community projects on going with community groups. For instance a local women's group wishes to set up a library and knowledge sharing centre. Udaya and family wish to encourage other farmers in the area to move to organic farming. Just ask to see what else is happening at the moment and see what interests you.
• Micro-credit: This might be going a bit far but if you find a local small business opportunity, maybe you'll want to look into something like Kiva.org.
  
• Just visit: If you don't have time, just ask to see if you can visit for a few days on your way to Chitwan national park.
  

Ideally you'll be full of ideas, motivated, good humoured and used to rural life. While staying on the farm you are kindly asked to contribute towards your food and accommodation - and also to reward the untiring efforts of the family to accommodate you. In this way you are also practising eco-tourism by providing small extra income for a local family.

If you have questions, just get in touch - leave a comment below or send an email to eternal.farming [at] gmail.com.