A JOURNEY THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES
Esta inscrição foi selecionada como finalista no desafio
Gamechangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport.
Training Nepalese women as trekking guides, leading to educational and employment opportunities never before known by rural Nepalese women.
Sobre Você
Informação de Contato
Title
Ms.
First name
Lucky
Last name
Chhetri
Your job title
Co-founder
Name of your organization
3 Sisters Adventure Trekking
Organization type
business
Annual budget/currency
$60,000 US
Localização
Project Street Address
Lakeside - Khahare
Project City
Pokhara
Project Province/State
Kaski Gandaki
Project Postal/Zip Code
pokhara
Project Country
Nepal
Sua ideia
Choose your sport: (check all that apply)
Outros
If you chose "other" for Sport, please define in 1-2 words below
Trekking
What approach does your initiative incorporate?
Capacity Building
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
1994
Paste your video code here:
If your project has a website, paste the web address here:
Plot your innovation within the discovery framework:
Barrier
Social stigmas and prohibitions
Insight
Let girls lead
This field has not been completed. (333 words or less)
Dê um nome ao seu projeto
A JOURNEY THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES
Describe Your Idea
Training Nepalese women as trekking guides, leading to educational and employment opportunities never before known by rural Nepalese women.
INOVAÇÃO
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
Training Nepalese women as trekking guides, leading to educational and employment opportunities never before known by rural Nepalese women.
How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?
We train 60-70 women per year, but there is a huge ripple effect. The trainees themselves benefit financially, socially, and in terms of their level of confidence. Their families benefit financially, and all of Nepalese society will indirectly benefit because this project is part of a movement for women's rights in Nepal. Nepal's adventure tourism industry will benefit, because after female trekkers have a more comfortable experience with us, they will keep returning and recommending us.
Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.
We actively partner with Empowering Women in Nepal, a local NGO whose goal is to improve the lives of disadvantaged women. That organization is closely involved in providing the trekking guide training for women. We also partner with similar NGO's in Jumla and Mugu. Also, we partner with Lending Promise, a U.S. NGO which provides micro-loans to women in West Nepal.
In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)
Citizen sector (non profits, NGOs) .
How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
Twice a year, women from remote rural areas embark on a journey that will change their lives. A free 6-month trekking guide apprenticeship program awaits them in Pokhara at the base of the Himalayas. The program starts with an intensive 4-week training course that teaches them technical and conversational English as well as essential skills and knowledge to work as trekking guides. In only a month, women who had no means of earning a living by themselves are started on the path to self-sufficiency. Women learn trekking skills such as map reading, trip planning and mountain first aid. They receive in depth courses on Nepal's flora, fauna, geography, culture and religion. At the end of this 4-week training course, the women start work in the apprenticeship program where they will be paid while acquiring field experience. This provides an immediate economic benefit to the women. During the quiet season for trekking, EWN offers additional training programs additional training programs.
Impacto
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact
To promote women's rights in Nepal by providing employment and education to Nepalese women, while creating an inspiring trekking experience.
What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation
Increases in: the number of enrollments and graduates each year, the numbers of Nepalese women going on from our program to higher education, the numbers of Nepalese women going on from our training to employment with other tourism companies, the numbers of Nepalese women being accepted into other non-traditional occupations in Nepal, the satisfaction of international female adventure tourists. The program has affected the economic and educational status of 600 women so far, and continues at an accelerating rate. As the women gain self-confidence and financial independence, they use the money earned to pay for university, family medical expenses, siblings’ education, starting businesses. Not only the women, but entire families and communities benefit and other women hear of the opportunities available.
Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?
We are making gradual changes in the social system of the country simply by employing and empowering women, and making that more acceptable to more people. As for changes at the policy level, the political situation has been very unstable in Nepal for much of the time that Three Sisters has been in business. Because of this we have been unable to work on such things, but we hope to in the future. In the meantime, we hope to make changes in the social system from the ground up.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?
We are expanding our training programs to raise awareness on tourism development/sanitation and health/protecting the environment. We are promoting new trekking routes in west Nepal-marketing emphasis on environmental/sustainable eco-tourism best practices. We will encourage other trekking agencies to operate treks in these undeveloped rural areas, employ trained women (not just men) and promote our example of buying supplies/hiring staff locally on treks, directly benefiting local communities.
Temas relacionados à inscrição
SUSTENTABILIDADE
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
Our trekking business is profitable/self-sustaining. Female Trekking Guide Training is fully funded by our revenue generation and individual private donations. New client business continues to grow with strong repeat business and “word of mouth”, showing that our “by women, for women” approach is extremely successful. More women staff/guides are employed each season, but there are still not enough female guides to meet demand. Tourist numbers visiting Nepal are increasing yearly, ensuring trekking guide training funding will continue as it now is.
Financing source
Annual budget
$60.000 U.S.
Annual revenue generated
$59,000
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)
100 during trekking season, 20 the rest of the year
What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?
We no longer feel that we have any barriers. Since the political situation in Nepal has stabilised, the number of tourists are increasing each year so that the trekking business is doing well to support our female trekking training program. But the women are looking for the advance training like Rock and Ice climbing training. Therefore, we require huge fund and equipment to gather for this training program. Now we are finding donors and taking part on different competitions like this.
What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?
To have right partners with ethical value who trust our (women) ability and support many women to be independent, self sufficient and decision making women.
A História
What stage is your project?
Ongoing project .
What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.
In 1993 I and my sisters were running a restaurant and lodge in Pokhara. A group of young female trekkers from Australia and Denmark came to us and told us of difficulties with male guides—drunkenness, sexual advances, and an uncomfortable atmosphere. Later in the guesthouse I saw those guides pushing the young women to trek even though they were not feeling well. They went out anyway, under pressure from the guides, and later came back ill, crying, and frightened. I thought, how can this situation be changed? I had been trained in India as a mountaineer, so I had some idea of how the situation could be improved for those women. Years earlier, during a field visit to the far west, I had seen the harsh lifestyles of the women there. With their husbands and brothers gone to India, women were abandoned in the dry, uncultivated landscape of western Nepal. I dreamed of working to support them. It occurred to my sisters and me that training female guides would not only help the female trekkers, but provide employment for those Nepalese women.
Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative
Working for an NGO (1986-87), I was assigned to work in western Nepal and was shocked to see how miserable and destitute the rural women’s lives were. I longed to do something to support them. Later I attended the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute’s program which changed my life. Running a guesthouse in Pokhara with my sisters, solo women travelers complained of harassment from male guides and porters. They asked me to guide them in the Himalayas and 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking was born.
(Optional) To be eligible for an additional prize, please select age range
27 or older
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Comentários
I think this idea is so cool. I just returned from Bhutan and one of the major issues related to trekking and tourism was the supply of guides available to take tourists around compared to the very high demand of tourists who want to visit.
Female tour guides do not seek out this type of profession and it's an arduous process to go through the necessary training and education to be a guider. We talked to several guiders and found that women do not seek out formal training in this industry because it's a tough life, i.e., altitude trekking, setting up campsites, dealing with difficult or limited sleeping arrangements, etc.
Initially, was this an additional barrier you had to overcome? I know Nepal is advanced in the trekking arena and historically, I'm curious about how females became introduced or interested in this profession.
Stephani
Nike
Hi Stephani,
Glad you visit Bhutan and talked about women guides. I agree with your experiences and the answers of local people. In this part of the world lack of opportunities, education and socio - cultural barriers women are left behind from the possible carrier development. On top women are consider a delicate creature without providing opportunity to experience their interest and the capacities.
The women ourselves should realize the lack and to be a role model to present in our society and motivate other with education and skill needed to enter into a related field. Knowledge to raise awareness and skill are the most important to motivate women to involve in the potential areas. Our program is pioneer in this field to influence women to enter into adventure tourism and to develop their life.
Lucky Chhetri
steiner
Best of luck. I voted for you. I hope you can see it.
Dr. Dalia Steiner
WICO Founder and Int. President
www.wicohome.org
www.wicointernational.org
On Face Book under: Dalia Steiner
XOXO
Dear Dr. Dalia,
Thank you for your valuable vote. Each of your votes is countable. This is called networking. I think, being a human being we should able to help each other that is the human being nature.
I will inform you the result of this competition.
Best regards,
Lucky
steinr
You are welcome. I'm still looking for a president for WICO Nepal. Do you have any good idea about it.
Love
Dalia
Hi Lucky Chhetri,
Thanks for the comments - you should connect with the entry that was posted yesterday: Women In Adventure Sports Country. They have some interesting partnerships they've developed in India with the Park agencies to address ecology and the demand in eco-tourism, particularly by female tourists. I think you'd both benefit from knowledge sharing about trying to work with female trekkers in your regions.
Thanks!
Stephani
Nike
Stephani,
Thank you for recommending such a great intiatative project for women in India. Which is a need of the areas and there are lots of potential. I am very happy with their initiation and would like to connect with them and I will contact to them. We are in the same belt and can share and learn from each other.
Thank you once again.
With best,
Lucky
Hi Lucky Chhetri,
Here is the link to the project Stephani mentioned.
http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/node/14125
Best of luck!
ziba
Hi Lucky,
Can I just take a flight to Nepal now? Please! I love your idea and the way the project overcomes cultural estherotypes and generate income to local women.
I think Women Win would be very interesting on knowing more about your work. Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund that supports sport and physical activities as instruments for social change and women’s empowerment.
Women Win will also use the competition to find a fellow between the ages of 15 and 65 years old that positively change the lives of women and girls in their community through sports.
Please join the group http://sportforchange.changemakers.com/en-us/group/womenwin
Good luck!
Empowering Women of Nepal ~ EWN
Post box # 284
Lakeside, Khahare
Pokhara-6
Ph. # 977 61 462231 / 462066
Fax # 977 61 461749
Email: ewn@3sistersadventure.com
website: www.3sistersadventure.com/ewn
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