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The Himalayan Exchange

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An exclusive community service, cultural exchange, learning and fun-based student exchange program conducted in needy areas of Nepal.

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Live with the families in local style, exchange your cultures, have fun as you explore the country and gather life-long memories and learning.

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Typically a month or 6 weeks long program which includes both mission and tourism activities but can be modified as per your requirements.

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As community service, you can organize awareness campaigns, school classes, medical camp, do internship in related field etc.

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As you live authentic local Nepali life, share your food, sing and dance along, discuss technologies, and exchange ideas with locales.

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Spend your weekends in Pokhara, Bandipur, Chitwan, Kathmandu etc.- places known for natural beauty, glorious history, ancient cultures and civilization.

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The first two batches (Parbat, 2017, Gorkha 2018) with students from Telecom ParisTech, Edhec Business School, and ITECH Lyon provided computer lessons to underprivileged students.

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The 2019 batches from Audencia Business School and Telecom ParisTech taught in local schools, raised environmental awareness, helped the local farmers and set up a library in Rasuwa.

Overview

INTRODUCTION

The Himalayan Exchange is an exclusive cultural exchange, community service, learning and fun-based exchange program. Conducted by Global Fellowship Nepal (GFN) for international students, it is organized in typical villages and needy areas of Nepal.

As the participants live with the families in local style, they also exchange their culture with the villagers, have fun as they explore beautiful country Nepal during the weekends and gather life-long memories and learning. It is typically a month or six weeks long program which includes both mission and tourism activities but it can be modified as per the requirement of the students and universities.

 

SAMPLE PROGRAM STRUCTURE*

Day 1: Arrival at TIA, Kathmandu, check in at hotel and welcome dinner
Day 2: Kathmandu city tour and preparation for the village
Day 3: Departure to the village
Day 4 – 27: Teaching/ cultural exchange activities/ outing**
Day 28: Return Back to Kathmandu
Day 29: Free day for shopping/ roaming around Kathmandu by self
Day 30: Departure from TIA, Kathmandu

*Please me advised that this is a sample only and based on 30 days long program. The duration, schedule and activities may change as per your institution’s requirements. ** There are three outings under the standard plan- Kalinchowk Mountain View Point, Bhote Koshi River Side and Chitwan National Park (for the year 2020).

 

ACTIVITIES DURING THE PROGRAM

Community Service: The activities are designed on the basis of your interest and skills, the needs in the villages and the nature of its sustainability. The first two batches of the program provided computer science classes in schools in the villages to both the students and the teachers. Apart from this, mini community projects like cleaning campaigns, awareness activities, distribution of stationary materials, etc were as well organized.

Cultural Exchange: You observe and experience a rather happy life amid limited resources in the villages located in the lap of the Himalayas. You experience an entirely unique and authentic village life along with novelty in food, language customs, music, culture, and traditions. In the meantime, you are encouraged to prepare dishes, perform music and dance and discuss new ideas native to you with the students, teachers and villagers.

Adventure and Fun: You do not want you to miss out the reasons that bring around a million tourists to Nepal every year. That’s why, we tour to the cities such as beautiful and exotic Pokhara; classic Bandipur; wild Chitwan besides sightseeing historic and religious Kathmandu. What’s more?The host villages demonstrate that beauty themselves and we often go for hikes to local hill stations on off days.

 

DIFFERENT BATCHES OF THE HIMALAYAN EXCHANGE:

So far, GFN has organized two batches of The Himalayan Exchange. The first batch (2017) was organized for the students of Telecom ParisTech, France through which they provided computer science lessons to underprivileged students of a couple of community schools in Parbat, Nepal.
 
The second batch (2018) had students from students from Edhec Business School and ITECH apart from Telecom ParisTech – all from France. The second batch continued the similar mission as the first batch in Gorkha, Nepal. The following video by alumnus Soline Hayes gives you some of the glimpses from the program.

The third and fourth batches (2019) involving 20+ students from institutions like Audencia Business School and Telecom Paristech was organized in Rasuwa, Nepal. The participants not only continued teaching in the local schools but also supported the local farmers, provided music lessons and setup a beautiful library.

 

The 2020 batches are scheduled to be organized in Baityashwor Rural Municiplality and Bhimeshwor Municipality of gorgeous Dolakha district of Nepal. We are currently in discussion with the communities and students regarding the activities to be conducted. Significant scaling up is expected in terms of participation and impact in the year 2020.

BE A PART

Let us know if you are willing to be a part of the fourth batch? Click here to apply or to check for more details. For even more information, please feel free to reach out to us.

MORE DETAILS FOR INSTITUTIONS – 2019

Travelogues

Name: Dumery Corentin
Travel Place: Gorkha
Date: July/August 2018

I wish you could see this with your own eyes. The grass was the greenest I had ever seen, the dirt was of a vivid red and there were layers of mountains covered in trees all the way up to the horizon.

Read more

Testimonials

“a fulfilling experience.”
Louis, 2017 (The Himalayan Exchange)
“I loved living in the family, the organisation of extra activities, discovering Nepali culture and education”
Margaux, 2018 (The Himalayan Exchange)
“..had an amazing and humbling experience teaching Nepalese kids, living among locals”
Kim-Anh-Nhi, 2017 (The Himalayan Exchange)
“I absolutely loved peoples’ kindness, landscapes and teaching the kids.”
Sophie, 2018 (The Himalayan Exchange)
“Cheerful and trustworthy team. I spent a month under the care of those young and motivated people who have helped me to discover Nepal and its fantastic culture. I highly recommend”
Alban, 2017 (The Himalayan Exchange)

Frequently Asked Questions

Himalayan Exchange is an exclusive cultural exchange, community service, learning and fun-based student exchange program designed and hosted by Global Fellowship Nepal (GFN) for international students and is conducted in typical villages of Nepal.
As they live with the families in local style, the participating students shall also exchange their culture with the villagers, have fun as they explore the beautiful Nepalese country during the outings and gather life-long memories and learning.
Like the first two batches, the third and the fourth batches have been specifically designed for French students as well. The fourth batch combinedly takes place from July 9th to August, 2019 (six weeks long) and July 20th to Aug 19th, 2019 (a month long) in Rasuwa district of Nepal students from multiple French institutions.
The batches will be divided into teams of four to five and each team will be placed in one of the selected villages from the list given below. As part of the mission, the participants shall primarily be (a) sharing their skills and knowledge in the local school as per the expertise, requirement and syllabus and (b) helping the local community in agriculture, sanitation and other community based activities.
For the year 2020 batches: Outing 1: Kalinchowk (2 days long hiking to a mountain view point) Outing 2: Bhote Koshi Riverside (2 days long camping and white water rafting (possibility to add bungy jumping)) Outing 3: Chitwan National Park (3 days long jungle activities and cultural exploration)
It is mandatory for all applicants to fill the form under 'count me in' section of this page. Submission of this form means agreement to the terms and conditions mentioned in the agreement paper whose link can be found in the form. Upon acceptance, you shall be sent selection email (with dates updated documents and payment deadlines) and are required to fill up and sign the paper and send to GFN.
For 2020, the total registration fee for each intern charged by GFN for the program is 1675 Euros for 6 weeks long option and 1375 Euros for a month long option with all 3 outings. Thus, if an intern does not want to join any of the outings, the fee is set as 1150 Euros for six weeks long option and 850 Euros for a month long option. The price of each outing is mentioned below: Kalinchowk Mountain View Point: 150 Euros, BhoteKoshi Riverside: 175 Euros, Chitwan National Park: 200 Euros.
A fixed date is mentioned when the application opens. Late applicants who are accepted are required to pay the 30% of total registration fee within 2 weeks of you receiving selection email and the remaining amount should be paid before the program begins.
The amount you pay covers all the activities related costs, accommodation, meals, local travels, kitbag, supervision, language translation and other administrative fees. Furthermore, one of our objectives is to generate employment for local families and therefore we pay the host families a decent amount of money which adds to their living standard. Additionally, we often invest in buying stationary and sports items for local schools and contribute to the needy local organizations like Mothers' Groups.
A lot of our details is contained in the registration form and agreement paper. If you do not find them, please feel free to email us at info@fellowshipnepal.com/ globalfellowship.nepal@gmail.com.

Count Me In

Registration form for the 2020 batches is given below. More specific details shall be updated in the form and be emailed to you. 

Do get in touch with us if you would like us to make special arrangements for your institution beforehand.

 

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