Volunteer!

Welcome to the volunteer page!
KRMEF is located in a small village in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, and is dedicated to striving towards a healthy, vibrant and inclusive village model.

The Foundation was founded in 2008 but has already had volunteers from 26 countries, who have helped shape this project and the community it supports. Volunteers stay a few days or many months and help in daily tasks, work on current projects and are also free to take up their own initiatives. For those interested in volunteering with this foundation, we have provided practical details as well as an insight to what it is like as a KRMEF volunteer.

Where is KRMEF and how to I get there?
KRMEF is in the Kathmandu Valley, 7kms South of the city, right at the bottom of beautiful green hills, and with a view of the our village Kahare. There is public transport coming directly to Kahare: The bus leaves from Ratna park bus stand – take the DAKSHINKALI bus, route number 22 direct to Kahare. There is also taxi options from the city.

What are the work hours and what work do volunteers do?
In Nepal people start the work day at 9:30am, and finish at 5pm. Here at the foundation we do the same, and take an hour for lunch at 1pm. The day off in the week is Saturday, where most Nepali people go to temple, and meet with family. Volunteers are free to explore the valley, the temples and the city.

The new community centre (made from natural building methods) is mostly complete. The remaining work is carpentry; building windows and door (the chairs, tables and bookshelves are complete) lead by a local Nepali carpenter. There will be other natural building projects coming up in the future. There are always numerous garden and outdoor jobs, weeding, planting etc.

There are all together 10 local women (both here and in the village) who work with jewellery and craft for sale, making cloth bags, bead necklaces and earring’s as well as working with soap nuts (black seeds that are used in the jewelley).

One job that happens daily is the making of briquettes, which is a made from shredded paper sawdust and cow manure which get presses and hung to dry for an alternative fuel source.

There is often work in the office for administration, funding and proposal writing, etc. Volunteers are also welcome to initiate creative and practical projects with the help of the team, which will support the ongoing project.

What are the volunteer facilities like?
Volunteers stay on the second floor in the central house. There are 3 large rooms, dining and lounge, and a big (western) bathroom. There is also another house next door with rooms if the house full. Three wonderful meals are provided each day (except Saturday, the Nepali holiday) where volunteers do their own cooking.

Learning Nepali – A number of people working here have good conversational English, but some local workers have little. Volunteers here have the opportunity of having short language classes each morning to be able to get some understanding of the language (or at least some useful words).

Current Projects -
Our primary focus is building the Ankuran orphanage. Our other programs are listed on the program page and are all still running. Stay tuned for updates!

*What are the costs? (and exchange rate)
The current exchange rates (approximate) are:
1USD : 86NRP or 1EUR : 110NRP or 1GBP : 138NRP

Volunteer Program Fees :

KRMEF strives to keep costs low while providing you with a professional service to fully prepare you for volunteering in Nepal.

Less than one week:
US$ 20/day

One week:
US$ 140

Two Weeks:
US$ 250

Three weeks:
US$ 350

Four weeks (a month):
US$ 400

For each additional month:
US$ 350

What you are paying for?

The program fees are used to provide a professional and welcoming volunteer service program and helps the sustainable development of the local community.

Services included in program fees:

· Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information.
· Pickup from the airport to KRMEF.
· Accommodation in KRMEF Eco-guest House.
· Free wireless internet in Eco-guest House and our office.
· 3 organic meals a day.
· Orientation.
· Hiking and sightseeing in Kathmandu Valley. (for volunteers staying for more than one week)
· Support in booking any further travel in Nepal
· 24 hrs availability of KRMEF staff for emergencies.
· Certificates of appreciation/completion.

What is not included?

Apart from the program fees, other costs that are to be met by the volunteers are:

· Airfare/travel to Nepal
· Visa and Visa extension fee ( Tourist Visa fee: 15 days-US$25 ; 30 days -US$40; 90 days -US$100; Per additional day- US$2; maximum 150 days per year)
· Local Transportation
· Any personal expenses
· Any other donations

To apply to KRMEF Volunteer Program, please download the “Volunteer Application Form” and “Volunteer Consent Agreement” and send them to: “apply-volunteer(at)krmef(dot)org”

Program fees and other donations are payable by Paypal or on arrival at KRMEF.

To apply to KRMEF Volunteer Program, please download the ‘KRMEF Volunteer Application Form’ and ‘Volunteer Consent Agreement’.