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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Glad to hear from you /women win. I also found women win is an interesting program for women. I was trying to connect with your organization during my visit to Netherlands in last April. I talked with Astrid Aafjes and we tried our best to meet but unfortunately didn't work. I hope this time we will manage to connect each other.
Of course you can fly to Nepal. It will be our great pleasure to show around on our project. At the moment Female Trekking Guide training is going on, will last until end of this month.
I visited the site you have suggested and I found we are alreay enter there. Do we have to do anything more for that.
Lucky,
Expansion of your training program is a wonderful goal and will help reach more women in Nepal. I am excited to hear about the branch office in West Nepal. Perhaps in the future, EWN can offer a longer basic training course as I know many of the girls have requested. You are doing a great work and I look forward to working with you and EWN in April!
Lorraine
Yes, it is exciting even for us to have an office in Jumla for the close relation with local people. We can explore areas and can provide more technical support to promote tourism. The local women are ideal for this program to have training and to be a trekking guide. Their challenges to live in the isolated mountains is turning into an opportunity. Women from rural areas are more physically fit than urban women and they are acclimatized to high altitude. They need support in accademic areas like conversational english, health education, environment, geography, different culture and religion etc. Now a day EWN is providing rock and ice climbing training as an advance training for such women. On you trek in April, there will be some women in your group from west Nepal.
Hi Lucky
I love your initiative! I want to visit you right now!!
There is another entrant from Chile who created the Patagonia School for Guides (www.escueladeguias.cl). They prepare people for success in joining the outdoor tourism industry and in Wildlife Protected Areas.
Thank you very much for your advise to contact Francisco Vio the director. I like to connect, how can I contact? I visited your web site it is very impressive and pretty similar to our work. We are providing training and employment in trekking adventure. Our future plan is to start an adventure training centre for women.
I like to keep in touch with your organization to learn more about nature based adventure. I hope you may know, Nepal is rich in natural resources for tourism products. I believe guides and other staff must be educated to protect their resources. Therefore, the training is essential to raise awareness of their valuable resources.
Thank you Pato for Francisco's email address. patagonia is a well know company and sure the adventure school might be a great school to collaborate in future.
I spent 2 1/2 years in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer (teaching school in a small village in the eastern district of Dhankuta). Your program sounds like a great way to empower Nepali women!
I have two questions: During my time n Nepal I experienced a fairly strong stigma attached to women traveling without family members, especially male family members. I would think this would present difficulties for women being professional tour guides. Has this been a problem for the women in your program?
My second question is, can I direct Nepali friends to your program as a potential source of training/employment? How do you choose program participants?
Glad to hear that you were a Peace Corps volunteer in Dhankuta, Nepal. I also have been there; isn’t a beautiful hill station? We also had few PC volunteer for English classes, first aid and environment classes. We missed that opportunity.
Regarding to be a trekking guide was a great challenge at the beginning when we stated. It took several years to convince society and surrounding. We worked ourselves and show our community see we can do and always offer women to join and take advantage to learn global prospective and earn foreign currency. No need to go out from the country for the employment. Now-a-day it is an acceptable job for women in Nepal.
You could tell your friend about our program and they can contact us either by telephone or by email. We will give them all information they require for the participation.
We just require, physically fit and Education back ground is open from the level to school drop out to all higher education. The difference is women who are from the lower education back ground takes a while to be a guide but for the women who have conversational skill can promote immediate. We give preference for socially and geographically disadvantaged women. They all should be willing to learn skill and to work.
I hope the above information will give you ideas of our program. If you want more information you can write me back again.
Ive just looked at the photos and it looks amazing. I think this is such a good idea. and should be encoruaged and promoted in other countries. It looks like a really great job you are doing training people and sounds like a great way to get these women into sport as well. Id love to come on one of those treck :)
Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing how your project is going
Thank you for your response. You are always welcome for any trek you choose will guide by our trainee. We are enjoying our work by seeing our girls’ improvement. They are gaining confident and living their own. It is really amazing how our girls like this profession.
You are right, people are working on many different works in different parts of the world and now getting a common platform to share their experiences through this competition isn’t it. I hope it can help to realize the possibilities of potential resources to the other ends. There are so many issues which need to be address through many different ways like sports. is also one of this. It is healthy and be wealthy.
You are always welcome for trekking in Nepal our trainees will guide you around. We are enjoying our work by seeing our girls’ improvement. They are gaining confident and living their own. It is really amazing how our girls like this profession.
You are right, people are working on many different works in different parts of the world and now getting a common platform to share their experiences through this competition isn’t it. I hope it can help to realize the possibilities of potential resources to the other ends. There are so many issues which need to be address through many different ways like sports. is also one of this. It is healthy and be wealthy.
Hi, Lucky
I love you entry…! I admire that not only are you giving these women a way of live and a chance to earn a living, your providing them with life long skills and the opportunity to pass their knowledge on to others whilst showing them your beautiful surroundings..! Brilliant..!
By training more women to trek you can go a long way to changing the view that this is a mans job, and like you said make the females feel more comfortable whilst trekking..! Hopefully this will do wonders to the tourist trade in the area.
Well done for already making a difference to the lives of the 600 women you mentioned, I can see with the right funding and hard work you will help many more..!
How has this been perceived by males so far? Are people in the area supportive of this movement?
All the best with your entry, good luck]
Sian Bentley
Nike Select, London
As you said, it is a lesson for their life, they are getting platform to learn skills and gaining knowledge about their life. They got chance to choose where they want to go. They realized their capacities. They are enjoying their life, have seen many opportunities beside their home and community.
It was a male dominated profession with the time it has change. Now a day male guides are cooperating women to work rather discourage women in the field. Before everybody was sympathetic towards women to work on this area but now they are proud to see women leading groups. Male members come and ask the trainings for their female counterpart of their family. It has changed a lot. Our guides are role models for the all Nepalese women.
Hi Lucky,
Great to see that you are a finalist for the Game Changers. You certainly deserve it.
As a past trekker with 3 Sisters, I can't say enough about the integrity and quality of your organization. I had the most rewarding trekking experience by being in the company of a woman guide and porter. I have trekked and hiked in various places around the world but always led by men. This was such a different and wonderful experience.
The woman were intelligent, willing to share their stories about life in Nepal and of course very fit. They certainly made some difficult and tiring situations much more rewarding.
I'm hoping to be back trekking in Nepal and Tibet, soon. Maybe 2010.
Good luck to you, I hope that you win. I voted for you and have shared your story with friends and family.
In our country, Nepal, Women participation in the tourism industry is very minimum. You have intiate this action to bring a change in our Nepali Society.
I like you have a motivate for empowering the women of Nepal. Very good Intiative. Hat's off for you.
Just a few days ago I was thinking about our great trekking tour around the Annapurnas in 2007 - you know what? That journey also changed my life a little bit :o)
Good luck to the Three Sisters. Without their assistance in training Sita to be a guide I would not have climbed to Annapurna base camp. I will be grateful to Sita and the 3 sisters all my life for that achievement.
Comments
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
Dear Renata,
Glad to hear from you /women win. I also found women win is an interesting program for women. I was trying to connect with your organization during my visit to Netherlands in last April. I talked with Astrid Aafjes and we tried our best to meet but unfortunately didn't work. I hope this time we will manage to connect each other.
Of course you can fly to Nepal. It will be our great pleasure to show around on our project. At the moment Female Trekking Guide training is going on, will last until end of this month.
I visited the site you have suggested and I found we are alreay enter there. Do we have to do anything more for that.
I look forward to hearing from you again.
Lucky
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
Lucky,
Expansion of your training program is a wonderful goal and will help reach more women in Nepal. I am excited to hear about the branch office in West Nepal. Perhaps in the future, EWN can offer a longer basic training course as I know many of the girls have requested. You are doing a great work and I look forward to working with you and EWN in April!
Lorraine
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
Dear Lorraine,
Yes, it is exciting even for us to have an office in Jumla for the close relation with local people. We can explore areas and can provide more technical support to promote tourism. The local women are ideal for this program to have training and to be a trekking guide. Their challenges to live in the isolated mountains is turning into an opportunity. Women from rural areas are more physically fit than urban women and they are acclimatized to high altitude. They need support in accademic areas like conversational english, health education, environment, geography, different culture and religion etc. Now a day EWN is providing rock and ice climbing training as an advance training for such women. On you trek in April, there will be some women in your group from west Nepal.
And we are looking forward to work with you.
With best,
Lucky
Hi Lucky
I love your initiative! I want to visit you right now!!
There is another entrant from Chile who created the Patagonia School for Guides (www.escueladeguias.cl). They prepare people for success in joining the outdoor tourism industry and in Wildlife Protected Areas.
This is the entry http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/node/15951
‘Getting Nature And People From Patagonia Closer To The World’
I suggest you to get in contact with Francisco Vio, the director.
All the best wishes!!
Patricia
Dear Patricia,
Thank you very much for your advise to contact Francisco Vio the director. I like to connect, how can I contact? I visited your web site it is very impressive and pretty similar to our work. We are providing training and employment in trekking adventure. Our future plan is to start an adventure training centre for women.
I like to keep in touch with your organization to learn more about nature based adventure. I hope you may know, Nepal is rich in natural resources for tourism products. I believe guides and other staff must be educated to protect their resources. Therefore, the training is essential to raise awareness of their valuable resources.
I hope to hear from you again.
Kind regards,
Lucky
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
Hi Lucky
Here you have his contact information: franciscovio@escueladeguias.cl
Francisco knows very well your work and he is very interested to get in contact with you.
all the best!!!
and congratulations again for your work!!
Pato
Changemakers Latinamerica
Thank you Pato for Francisco's email address. patagonia is a well know company and sure the adventure school might be a great school to collaborate in future.
We are very much Looking forward.
Lucky
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
Hi again Lucky,
We have a specific topic on the Women Win group about women and action sports (including adventure sports).
We would love to hear your opinion and thoughts. The direct link is http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/node/18777
Warm regards,
Renata
Hi Lucky,
I spent 2 1/2 years in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer (teaching school in a small village in the eastern district of Dhankuta). Your program sounds like a great way to empower Nepali women!
I have two questions: During my time n Nepal I experienced a fairly strong stigma attached to women traveling without family members, especially male family members. I would think this would present difficulties for women being professional tour guides. Has this been a problem for the women in your program?
My second question is, can I direct Nepali friends to your program as a potential source of training/employment? How do you choose program participants?
Thank you and good luck with this great project!
Best,
Kathleen
www.rownewyork.org
Hi Kathleen,
Glad to hear that you were a Peace Corps volunteer in Dhankuta, Nepal. I also have been there; isn’t a beautiful hill station? We also had few PC volunteer for English classes, first aid and environment classes. We missed that opportunity.
Regarding to be a trekking guide was a great challenge at the beginning when we stated. It took several years to convince society and surrounding. We worked ourselves and show our community see we can do and always offer women to join and take advantage to learn global prospective and earn foreign currency. No need to go out from the country for the employment. Now-a-day it is an acceptable job for women in Nepal.
You could tell your friend about our program and they can contact us either by telephone or by email. We will give them all information they require for the participation.
We just require, physically fit and Education back ground is open from the level to school drop out to all higher education. The difference is women who are from the lower education back ground takes a while to be a guide but for the women who have conversational skill can promote immediate. We give preference for socially and geographically disadvantaged women. They all should be willing to learn skill and to work.
I hope the above information will give you ideas of our program. If you want more information you can write me back again.
With best,
Lucky
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
Hi
Ive just looked at the photos and it looks amazing. I think this is such a good idea. and should be encoruaged and promoted in other countries. It looks like a really great job you are doing training people and sounds like a great way to get these women into sport as well. Id love to come on one of those treck :)
Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing how your project is going
Gemma Hillier
Nike Select
Loughborough University
Dear Gemma,
Thank you for your response. You are always welcome for any trek you choose will guide by our trainee. We are enjoying our work by seeing our girls’ improvement. They are gaining confident and living their own. It is really amazing how our girls like this profession.
You are right, people are working on many different works in different parts of the world and now getting a common platform to share their experiences through this competition isn’t it. I hope it can help to realize the possibilities of potential resources to the other ends. There are so many issues which need to be address through many different ways like sports. is also one of this. It is healthy and be wealthy.
Best,
Lucky
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
Dear Gemma,
You are always welcome for trekking in Nepal our trainees will guide you around. We are enjoying our work by seeing our girls’ improvement. They are gaining confident and living their own. It is really amazing how our girls like this profession.
You are right, people are working on many different works in different parts of the world and now getting a common platform to share their experiences through this competition isn’t it. I hope it can help to realize the possibilities of potential resources to the other ends. There are so many issues which need to be address through many different ways like sports. is also one of this. It is healthy and be wealthy.
Best,
Lucky
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
Hi, Lucky
I love you entry…! I admire that not only are you giving these women a way of live and a chance to earn a living, your providing them with life long skills and the opportunity to pass their knowledge on to others whilst showing them your beautiful surroundings..! Brilliant..!
By training more women to trek you can go a long way to changing the view that this is a mans job, and like you said make the females feel more comfortable whilst trekking..! Hopefully this will do wonders to the tourist trade in the area.
Well done for already making a difference to the lives of the 600 women you mentioned, I can see with the right funding and hard work you will help many more..!
How has this been perceived by males so far? Are people in the area supportive of this movement?
All the best with your entry, good luck]
Sian Bentley
Nike Select, London
Hi Sian Bentley,
As you said, it is a lesson for their life, they are getting platform to learn skills and gaining knowledge about their life. They got chance to choose where they want to go. They realized their capacities. They are enjoying their life, have seen many opportunities beside their home and community.
It was a male dominated profession with the time it has change. Now a day male guides are cooperating women to work rather discourage women in the field. Before everybody was sympathetic towards women to work on this area but now they are proud to see women leading groups. Male members come and ask the trainings for their female counterpart of their family. It has changed a lot. Our guides are role models for the all Nepalese women.
With best,
Lucky
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
Hi Lucky,
Great to see that you are a finalist for the Game Changers. You certainly deserve it.
As a past trekker with 3 Sisters, I can't say enough about the integrity and quality of your organization. I had the most rewarding trekking experience by being in the company of a woman guide and porter. I have trekked and hiked in various places around the world but always led by men. This was such a different and wonderful experience.
The woman were intelligent, willing to share their stories about life in Nepal and of course very fit. They certainly made some difficult and tiring situations much more rewarding.
I'm hoping to be back trekking in Nepal and Tibet, soon. Maybe 2010.
Good luck to you, I hope that you win. I voted for you and have shared your story with friends and family.
Namaste,
Patti
Hi Lucky,
In our country, Nepal, Women participation in the tourism industry is very minimum. You have intiate this action to bring a change in our Nepali Society.
I like you have a motivate for empowering the women of Nepal. Very good Intiative. Hat's off for you.
I am Nepali and I am proud of your work.
Sincerely,
Kyaron DHOJU
Bhaktapur, Nepal
Hello Lucky,
I am pleased to vote for your great project!
Just a few days ago I was thinking about our great trekking tour around the Annapurnas in 2007 - you know what? That journey also changed my life a little bit :o)
Namaste and good luck - I hope you will win.
All the best for you and the girls,
Manuela
Good luck to the Three Sisters. Without their assistance in training Sita to be a guide I would not have climbed to Annapurna base camp. I will be grateful to Sita and the 3 sisters all my life for that achievement.
Sheila
Congratulations on a highly deserved win!
With best wishes
Anna
Ashoka/Nike Gamechangers
Lucky!
Congratulations! You really deserved it! I am really happy!
Hope to visit you one day!
Renata