Over the past two years, I’ve spent a large part of my winters volunteering time with Conscious Impact. In that time I’ve seen an amazing amount of change and growth in the organization and our relationship with the Nepali village of Takure. Although I do not currently have plans to return to Nepal this year, we gladly continue to support the work Conscious Impact is doing, and for Giving Tuesday I'm asking you to do the same.
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| When I decided to volunteer with Conscious Impact, I wasn't sure what to expect. As soon as I arrived, I was welcomed into a group of some of the most compassionate, dedicated, and hard working people I've ever met. It didn't take long for me to recognize their respectful and mindful approach to working with a community in need. |
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| One of the first projects I became involved with was constructing a community greenhouse, which has since been used to grow thousands of coffee plants so that local farmers could join a coffee cooperative. |
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| While projects like coffee farming and our youth outreach program are ongoing, a lot of energy is going to need to be focused on producing Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEBs) and rebuilding homes in the coming months. |
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The Nepali government recently announced that it will reimburse families up to $3000 (USD) for their home reconstruction, but only for houses that are built by June 2018. This leaves less than seven months for building, and for many families, it's now or never if they want to rebuild.
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| Red clay bricks are currently the most popular earthquake-resistant building material, but their production accounts for about 60% of air pollution in Nepal and largely depends on child labor. Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEBs) are an environmentally and socially responsible alternative, and are even stronger than the clay bricks. |
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| As an organization, we strive to empower and collaborate with locals in everything we do. We've invested in the community by employing and training local men and women to co-create a social enterprise of sustainable and earthquake-resistant building focused on CSEB technology. |
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In order to sustain this enterprise and help create a lasting market, the CSEBs must be sold. Although CSEBs are already more affordable than standard red clay bricks, the new time constraints demand that we make this earthquake-resistant building technology even more attainable if we want to help as many families as possible.
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With support from donations (and more volunteers!) we can lower the out-of-pocket costs for families as well as employ and train more community members. This not only helps fill the immediate need of building homes, but will have lasting impacts by defining sustainable building and local employment as a new standard in the region. Just $450 (USD) is enough to finance a home for a Nepali family, which is why I am fundraising with my partner, Brian, to sponsor a neighborhood of 4 homes ($1,800) in the village of Takure.
As thanks for joining us in supporting a worthy grassroots organization, I am personally offering several gifts for donations: the first 30 people to donate $15 or more will receive a sticker with the new Conscious Impact logo, the first 15 people to donate $30 or more will receive a wall calendar, and the two highest donors will receive a hardcover photo book. All photos in the calendars and books will be personal photos from my experiences in Nepal (such as those in this blog).
There are many organizations that are absolutely deserving of your time and support. I strongly encourage you to champion the causes you are passionate about, and I also hope you will consider contributing to Conscious Impact. All I ask is that you choose to be a part of something that is adding good to the world and creating a better future for us all. Happy Giving Tuesday!
Namaste
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