Friends of Chepel

Within the ceremony with representatives from the local government and the members of the newly founded Health Post committee (with most of them from Chepel) the foundation stone was laid down for the Health Post in Chepel. Right after this symbolic act excavation for the ground plate started. This is again a project in which Karma and team performed super efficient and pushed the start of the construction within only 3 weeks after the last official approval namely from the so called “Social Welfare Council” was received. For the Health Post, all materials and trades when possible will be assigned to locals. This supports local economic strength and saves both time and costs.

Chepel is a small village with about 400 inhabitants at an altitude of approx. 2300 m in the district Solukhumbu east of the capital Kathmandu. When I first visited Chepel in 2012 it was a one-day jeep ride and thereafter a five-days hike over 3 passes to get there. Now, the “street”  goes closer to Chepel, however, it is still a very exhausting and long trip. Since Chepel completely lies aside of any tourist route, there are no real tourist lodges around and a trip to Chepel is really like a trip into the very and still natural heart of Nepal.

A center like we know it does not exist in Chepel. The village looks more like 70 houses dropped from 2 km height with corn and potato fields around each house.

The middle picture below is taken from a place which is on the same altitude than Chepel and around 6 walking hours away. Chepel is behind the 4th mountain on the right side. All in the back the Himalaya range of mountains with over 6000 m can be seen, behind these the 8000 m high summits would appear. To get to Chepel from the place of the picture you need to go down 1200 m of altitude, cross the 250 m long hanging bridge, and then 1200 m up again on the other side of the Dudh Khosi. There it goes on in the typical “Nepali straight” style – meaning up and down and up and down and…