Nepal: School Expansion Project
Expand educational access for Nepal's deaf community through a community-requested school infrastructure project in Kavre, then push deep into the wild Annapurna foothills—trekking the rugged Sikles Circuit to stand on the high ridges of Kori Danda and at the edge of Kahphuche, the world's lowest glacier lake.
KAVRE & ANNAPURNA RANGE, NEPAL
Kavre School for the Deaf
Project Funds Raised
Next Trip: November 1-13, 2026 | 13 Days
Embark on a transformative journey combining community-led service, high-altitude trekking, and deep cultural exchange. We begin just east of Kathmandu at the Kavre School for the Deaf, a vital institution home to 92 students. Because the campus has outgrown its walls, their kitchen and dining hall must double as an active daytime classroom. Following a blueprint explicitly requested by the school’s principal, you’ll spend three days working alongside local builders to construct a permanent kitchen and dining hall on the vacant top-floor terrace—permanently freeing up the lower room to become a dedicated classroom where these children can focus and thrive.
With the dust of the build on your boots, fly west to Pokhara to tackle the wild Sikles Circuit. Skipping the commercial tourist crowds, this rugged route winds through ancient rhododendron forests and historic Gurung villages. You will walk exposed alpine ridgelines to Kori Danda (3,800m), ascend to a spectacular Thulagi Glacier overlook (4,100m), and drop into the valley floor to stand at the edge of Kahphuche—the world’s lowest glacier lake, shimmering beneath the towering ice walls of the Annapurna range.
“Words cannot describe what this experience has meant to me and the impact it’s had on my life. I’ve fallen in love with Nepal, it’s people, and it’s beauty.
— Rob W, Nepal Participant
Where Action Meets Awareness
Partnering with the Kavre School for the Deaf to Clear a Path for Education
Mission
This journey invites us to engage in mutual contribution and purposeful, grit-tested exploration. At Kavre School for the Deaf, you will work directly alongside local builders to construct a permanent kitchen and dining facility on the campus’s vacant top-floor terrace. This community-led initiative fulfills a long-held vision of the school's principal: by moving the daily dining shuffle to the top floor, your hands-on work will permanently free up the lower multi-use room to become a quiet, dedicated classroom where deaf children can focus, learn, and thrive.
Beyond the school construction site, our collective footprint ripples down the trail. Any additional funding directly supports remote community schools along our trekking route, ensuring that children living in the isolated high-altitude villages of the Madi Valley receive essential educational supplies and sustainable learning resources.
This isn't a passive holiday—it is a collective movement to champion educational equity, connect deeply with Nepal's living mountain subcultures, and experience the grounding power of service-led travel.
Background
Located in the rolling green hills just east of Kathmandu, the Kavre School for the Deaf stands as a vital educational sanctuary for Nepal's deaf community. Established in 1995, it provides language, skills, and a tight-knit family for children who are too often marginalized by mainstream schooling. Rather than imposing outside ideas, Trek Relief acts as a conduit for the community's self-defined priorities. Our focus is entirely on expanding the school's physical capacity, breaking structural bottlenecks so their faculty can focus entirely on reaching and supporting more students.
Our journey then shifts west into the remote Annapurna foothills near Pokhara, where we traverse the rugged landscapes of the Sikles Circuit. This raw, uncrowded trail loops through historic Gurung villages, tracks along the breathtaking alpine ridgelines of Kori Danda, and drops down to Kahphuche—the world’s lowest glacier lake, nestled silently beneath the towering ice walls of the Annapurna range.
Upcoming Trip Details
Nepal: Kavre School for the Deaf - Expansion Project
KAVRE & ANNAPURNA RANGE, NEPAL
November 1-13, 2026 | 13 Days
General Itinerary
Nov 1 — Arrive in Kathmandu (1,340m): Step into the beautiful, rhythmic chaos of the capital. Meet your crew at 5:00 PM for an open-book briefing, safety overview, and welcome dinner.
Nov 2 — Overland to Kavre District: We head east out of the valley into the terraced green hills of Kavre. Arrive at the school, meet the faculty, and establish our basecamp.
Nov 3 — Service Day: Building the Terrace: Roll up your sleeves. Work alongside local builders and teachers to move raw materials up to the open-air terrace. In the evening, the students introduce us to the fundamentals of visual language.
Nov 4 — Finalizing the Build: The final push. We team up for one last high-energy day of masonry and layout alongside the local crew, completing our structural footprint and handing the new terrace space back to the school faculty.
Nov 5 — Fly to Pokhara & Jeep to Sikles (1,980m): A stunning morning flight along the Himalayan spine brings us to Pokhara. From there, 4x4 jeeps carry us deep into the hills to Sikles, a pristine, historic Gurung village.
Nov 6 — Trek Sikles to Tasa (2,500m): The circuit begins. A steep, grit-testing climb through ancient rhododendron forests as we leave civilization behind.
Nov 7 — Trek Tasa to Kori Danda (3,800m): Epic ridge walking. The terrain becomes dramatic and exposed, rewarding your effort with panoramic views of the Annapurna and Manaslu massifs.
Nov 8 — Thulagi Glacier Outlook (4,100m): An intentional acclimatization hike takes us to a spectacular vantage point overlooking the fracturing ice fields of the Thulagi Glacier.
Nov 9 — Kori Danda to Hugol Goth (3,800m): We trace down the main ridgeline, tracking through remote alpine meadows and seasonal herding routes.
Nov 10 — Kahphuche Glacier Lake Day Trip (2,450m): Descend to the edge of Kahphuche, the lowest-altitude glacier lake on earth. Watch avalanches calve silently off towering ice walls into the emerald waters before trekking back to Hugol Goth.
Nov 11 — Hugol Goth back to Sikles (2,500m): A long, challenging descent through changing ecosystems that will test your focus and knees before welcoming us back to the stone alleys of Sikles.
Nov 12 — Chipli Village Cultural Trek (2,000m): An unhurried day dedicated to cultural richness, exploring traditional life in neighboring Chipli village.
Nov 13 — Return to Pokhara (822m): A brief final morning trek to the road head, where jeeps transfer us back to Pokhara for hot showers and a celebratory farewell dinner.
Note: Our official program ends in Pokhara. Participants are responsible for arranging their own transport back to Kathmandu, or you can choose to extend your stay to explore the beautiful lakeside town on your own time.
-
ASAP: Please let us know your intent to join us by signing up below. We need a minimum of 5 participants to run the trip.
September 1: Donate/raise the initial deposit of $500.
October 1: Donate/raise the remaining minimum contribution of $3000.
-
Sign up for Nepal commitment-free to chat with our Trip Leader to learn more.
Fundraising Goal for Nepal: $3,500
Team members must fundraise or donate a minimum of $3,500 in order to participate in this expedition. This total goal is completely open-book and split directly to cover the on-the-ground project development at Kavre and your comprehensive trip logistics across Nepal.
The numbers below are projected costs based on a group size of 10.
Charitable Contribution: $1,765
Covers the raw building materials (brick, cement, steel), local engineering oversight, and direct construction logistics to build the top-floor kitchen and dining facility at the Kavre School for the Deaf, alongside Trek Relief's essential operational costs and grassroots community support.
Trip Fees: $1,735
Covers all private mountain transport, a one-way domestic flight to Pokhara, traditional teahouse lodging, all meals on the trail, local guiding crews, and field logistics required to make our collective journey through the Sikles Circuit safe, smooth, and impactful.
-
Charitable contribution that enables the kitchen and dining hall construction at Kavre School for the Deaf and supports educational initiatives in remote villages along the trekking route
One-way domestic airfare from Kathmandu to Pokhara
All meals and accommodations during the program, including a welcome dinner in Kathmandu and a farewell dinner in Pokhara
All ground transportation related to the program itinerary during trip dates
Expert English-speaking trek guide and dedicated support from local Sherpa staff
Porters and vehicles to carry your main trekking luggage (please pack considerately)
Three cups of tea or coffee daily, with boiled and filtered drinking water provided throughout the trek
Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP)
TIMS card (Trekkers’ Information Management System)
-
International airfare to and from Nepal
Travel insurance (required for participation)
Visa fees and any costs related to visa extensions
Tips for trekking staff and local partners (optional, but appreciated)
Optional activities not listed in the core itinerary
Transportation or taxis taken during personal time in Kathmandu or Pokhara
Personal expenses such as snacks, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, laundry, or phone/internet use
Expenses due to delays (weather, flight cancellations, etc.—insurance is strongly recommended)
Anything not explicitly mentioned under “Included”
How to Fundraise & Earn Credit Towards Your Trip
We offer several ways for you to offset the cost of your trip in order to make it more accessible and achievable.
Create a Fundraiser
Start a personalized fundraiser to spread the word and raise funds towards your trip, boost the impact of our programs, and empower others to get involved and contribute.
Double Your Impact
Find out if your employer or those in your network offer corporate matching programs that double your donation. Maximize your effort and reach your fundraising goals faster.
Earn Trip Credit
Earn your way to your next adventure through programs that offer trip credit toward your trip cost such as work trade, friend referrals, alumni discounts, and more.
Project Scope
A Community-Led Initiative
At Trek Relief, we don’t impose outside solutions on local communities; we act as a conduit for their self-defined priorities. This project was directly identified and requested by the principal of the Kavre School for the Deaf to solve a critical operational bottleneck that impacts the students' daily learning environment.
The Spatial Bottleneck
The school currently serves 92 students (62 residential) and 20 staff members, but the campus has completely run out of square footage. As a result, the principal has had to utilize the primary kitchen and dining hall as an active daytime classroom. This daily logistical shuffle disrupts learning, as tables must be repeatedly cleared, cleaned, and rearranged between meals and academic lessons.
Our Structural Strategy
Following the blueprint laid out by the principal and local architectural engineers, our team is stepping in to fund and physically support the development of a vacant, underutilized open-air terrace on the school’s top floor.
Phase 1 (Logistics & Material Transport): Procuring and transporting structural materials—including brick, cement, and steel framing—up to the campus site.
Phase 2 (Hands-on Masonry): Working alongside a hired crew of local masons to mix mortar, lay brick, and build out secure walls and roofing for the new top-floor structure.
Phase 3 (Utility Routing): Outfitting the new space with dedicated plumbing, ventilation, and kitchen fixtures to establish a permanent, hygienic kitchen and dining hall.
The Long-Term Impact
By moving all dining and meal preparation exclusively to the newly constructed top floor, this project fulfills the principal's long-term vision: permanently freeing up the lower multi-use room. This space will be immediately converted into a permanent, quiet classroom dedicated entirely to specialized education, allowing the school's faculty to expand their curriculum and support more deaf children from underserved regions across Nepal.
Our Total Impact in Nepal
US$320,541
Total Funds Raised
1
School Rebuilt & Supplied
5
Medical Centers Supported
69
Teahouses Rebuilt & Supported
91
Students Supported
7,500
Hot Meals Provided During Covid
1,460+
Pounds of Children’s Books Donated
Past Projects in Nepal
-
![A flooded river spilling over its banks next to a traditional building with a pagoda-style roof, surrounded by green trees and hills in the background.]()
Khavre, Nepal | Post-Flood Rebuild
$20,852 raised
In the aftermath of the devastating floods that impacted Nepal in 2024, Trek Relief completed a vital project to support recovery and restore a flood-damaged classroom in the remote village of Khavre, one of the hardest-hit regions. Participants then trekked to Dhaulagiri in the beautiful Annapurna Circuit region of Nepal. -
![Four Nepali women and one boy holding up their harvest, smiling in a garden surrounded by large green cabbage plants.]()
Solukhumbu, Nepal | Seeds of Hope
$65,418 raised
With a mission to empower women in the mountainous regions of Everest, we provided financial and hands-on support to build climate-resilient food systems, promote food security, and facilitate training and community development. Participants then trekked to Pikey Peak to celebrate the completion of this project. -
![A volunteer hands hot food funded by Trek Relief out to children during the Covid 19 pandemic.]()
Kathmandu, Nepal | Covid Pandemic Relief
$25,703 raised
Even as global travel came to a halt, Trek Relief’s commitment to making a difference remained strong. In 2021, our Founder, Candice Young, spearheaded an online fundraiser, personally matching donations to support the distribution of hot meals, food stocks, and medical supplies during a time of great need. -
![Destroyed stone buildings and rubble with a blue doorframe in a mountainous landscape of Langtang Valley, Nepal after the deadly earthquake.]()
Langtang Valley, Nepal | Rebuild a School
$134,281 raised
Over the course of 14 treks into the earthquake stricken valley, Trek Relief members built homes and orphanages, demolished and funded the reconstruction of a 5-classroom school. Three years later, Komin Shyamey Wangphel Secondary School stands proudly in Syabrubesi as a testament to resilience and hope. -
Everest, Nepal | Provide Medical Aid
$61,768 raised
A 2-day health camp was organized and funds were raised to equip the Salyan Primary Healthcare Center and three health posts in Solukhumbu, Nepal, with vital medical supplies—including the region's first dental chair. Participants later trekked to Everest Base Camp, marking a milestone in our journey of impact.
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
This Trek Relief Nepal program is aligned with the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
By establishing a dedicated, sanitary space for meal preparation and dining, we help improve the daily living and health standards of the 62 residential students and onsite staff who call the Kavre campus their full-time home.
Goal 4: Quality Education
By constructing a permanent, dedicated kitchen and dining sanctuary on the top-floor terrace, we are eliminating a major spatial bottleneck. This structural addition completely frees up the school’s lower multi-use room, converting it into a permanent, quiet classroom. This ensures the 92 deaf students at Kavre have an uninterrupted, focused environment to learn and communicate in their own language.
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Deaf communities in developing nations are too often left behind by mainstream educational infrastructure and societal support. Partnering with the Kavre School for the Deaf helps level the playing field, directly championing educational equity and fostering long-term socio-economic self-actualization for an underserved population.
The Mountains are Waiting. Let’s Build This.
The construction plans for the school are drawn. The peaks of the Sikles Circuit are waiting. And we have a massive mission ahead of us for Nepal 2026.
If you are ready to challenge your boundaries, work with your hands, and experience a journey that changes the way you look at the world, take the first step.
Nepal: Kavre School for the Deaf - Expansion Project
KAVRE & ANNAPURNA RANGE, NEPAL
November 1–13, 2026 | 13 Days
Sign up to reserve your spot and connect with our team to learn more—there’s no commitment when signing up.
Support Nepal from Afar
If you’re unable to join us in Nepal but still want to support this meaningful cause, you can contribute directly to our campaign to boost our impact for this project. Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to completing projects that helps communities in need.
Who You’ll Travel With
A Tight-Knit Crew of Conscious Explorers
You won’t be traveling with passive tourists looking for a checklist holiday. Trek Relief brings together an unpretentious, adventurous community of people who believe that travel should leave a trace of genuine utility behind.
Our cohorts are a diverse mix of solo travelers, outdoor enthusiasts, and changemakers from all walks of life. If you are someone who finds joy in a hard day's work, loves deep conversation over a steaming mug of teahouse chai, and smiles when mountain logistics require a little shared problem-solving—you are already part of this crew. The trail is waiting.
Stories & Updates from Nepal
Read more about the impact from past treks, news, and updates to the projects in Nepal.
