About the Schools
Supporting education in the remote Upper Dolpo region of Nepal is the heart of Altitude Project’s mission.
Located on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, Upper Dolpo is one of the highest inhabited regions on Earth. The five schools we support are located at altitudes of 3,500 to 4,000 metres, and are surrounded by towering Himalayan mountains and stark highland plateaus.
Books, supplies, and educational materials are purchased in Kathmandu and transported by road as far as possible before continuing on a week-long journey by mule or yak into the mountains.
Students follow Nepal’s national curriculum while also learning their own Tibetan language, history, culture, and Buddhist traditions. This unique blend of education helps prepare children for the future while preserving the rich cultural heritage of one of the world’s most isolated communities.
The school year runs from April through October. During the long Himalayan winter, temperatures are too cold for unheated classrooms. Today, many villages have greenhouses that serve a second purpose as winter classrooms, where local teachers and lamas continue lessons in language, culture, history, and religion, ensuring that learning continues throughout the year.
These schools are far more than places of learning. They are centres of community life, preserving a remarkable Tibetan culture that has survived in relatively pure form because of Upper Dolpo’s extraordinary remoteness. Located just a day’s walk from the Tibetan border, these villages have become an important refuge for a unique language, culture, and way of life.
Education is transforming these communities. It is opening doors to new opportunities while helping ensure that the traditions, values, and identity of the Dolpopa people continue to flourish for generations to come.
A generation ago, children in Upper Dolpo had no access to education. Today, many of those same adults are attending after-school literacy classes, determined to learn to read and write for the first time. Their enthusiasm is inspiring, and their new skills are transforming not only their own lives, but the future of their families and communities.
Kunsang is from Saldang and after finishing her education in Kathmandu, returned to her village to help as a teacher. Pema is also from the Upper Dolpo.
Our work here began in the most unexpected way. During a trek through Upper Dolpo, I needed to charge my camera battery. The school was the only place in the village with electricity, and it was there that I met Pema, the school coordinator, and his wife, Kunsang, one of the teachers.
They had just learned that their German sponsors would not be able to fully fund the school for 2016, and they asked whether I might be able to help. We exchanged email addresses, and I continued on my trek without giving the request much more thought.
Then, on New Year’s Day, back home in Canada, I received a message from them wishing me good health, happiness, and a prosperous year, and gently asking once again if there was anything I could do. That was the moment I decided to try.
To my immense surprise and delight, friends, and friends of friends, responded with extraordinary kindness and generosity. In that first year, together we raised the full $13,500 needed to support the school.
That unexpected meeting in Saldang was the beginning of Altitude Project.
In 2016, we were able to provide the funding needed to keep the Saldang school operating. We also began working with other NGOs, many of them founded by trekkers, to better understand the needs of schools throughout Upper Dolpo.
Through these relationships, we learned about the schools in Komang, a day’s walk east of Saldang, and Karang, two hours to the north. Both had lost their sponsors and were struggling to continue. In 2017, we were able to offer modest support. Today, Altitude Project is the primary sponsor of Karang School, with some ancillary support from supporters in Switzerland and the United States.
In 2018, we provided a one-time grant to the school in Ku. After meeting with the school coordinator, we continued our support until 2020, when the school secured another sponsor and no longer required our help.
In February 2019, I met with representatives from Tiling and learned that their school had also lost its primary sponsor. That year, we agreed to cover the transportation of school supplies and provide food for teachers and student lunches. We are now the school’s primary sponsor. Tiling is a small village about an hour’s walk from Karang, down toward the river. Its school teaches children through Grade 3. After that, students continue their education at Karang School. Tiling School, Karang School, and the Karang Hostel in Kathmandu all operate under the Help Dolpo umbrella.
In 2020, we were asked to assist Nyisal School, located about three hours walk north of Karang. We began with a one-time grant and have continued our support. Today, Altitude Project is the school’s primary sponsor while its coordinators work to secure additional funding.
In 2021 the co-coordinator of Komang School asked for our help with a school in Muschi so students did not have to make the hazardous three hour walk to Nyisal. Together with funding from Tripod of Koma (Sweden) and Ward chairman Jigme Choeying Norbu Lama, 2 rooms and a small greenhouse were built.
The reality is that the Government of Nepal provides only about 30% of the funding these schools require. The remaining 70% must come from generous donors and partner organizations around the world, primarily in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, and now Canada.
What began with one school in Saldang has grown into a network of partnerships supporting education across Upper Dolpo. None of it would be possible without the kindness of people who believe that every child, no matter how remote their village, deserves the opportunity to learn.
“Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. We all the village are so grateful and lucky to have school in own village. Thank you for freeing us from the fear of losing children on way to other village school. We feel so lucky and happy to see children learn, play, grow near our own eye. It means a lot to us. We all the community are so Thankful to you all kind supporters. Thank you for all you do.”
– Nyima Bhuti, co-coordinator, Komang School
The Schools
We are the primary sponsor of the schools in Karang, Nyisal and Tiling. The number of villagers and students is approximate.
Karang – 500 villagers
80 students up to grade 7
Nyisal – 200 villagers
60 students up to grade 6
Tiling – 200 villagers
30 students up to grade 3
We co-sponsor Komang and Muschi Schools with Freunde Nepals (Germany) and Tripod of Koma (Sweden)
Komang – 200 villagers
35 students up to grade 6
Muschi – 64 villagers
8 students up to grade 3
We are no longer helping Freunde Nepals with the schools in Saldang and Ku.
Saldang – 480 villagers
65 students up to Class 6
Ku – 140 villagers
43 students up to Class 3
The high desert of the Upper Dolpo is beautiful in it’s own haunting way and the people have captured my heart. The people of Nepal have given me more than I could possibly ever repay. It has been a life changing experience!
I hope my photos will convey the beauty of this land and it’s people, and will inspire you to help. The need here is so great that each dollar makes a tremendous impact. Helping here can be a life changing experience, not just for the children and their communities, but for the donor too!
“Education is the right of every child. It should be free and fair, with equal access for girls and boys.”
– Article 28, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
