Nepali Girls Rippin It Up

UPDATES FROM INKA

2010-03-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

22 January - Planning for a trip to India

Making a plan to go to India next december to paddle the Subansari river in Arunanchal Pradesh, India. - Maybe the most scenic river in the Himalayas. Not many people have paddled it and not many people will as a dammed will be built soon. We will be paddling with Indias most professional rafting operator Aquaterra Expeditions-so it will be a great work experience for our river girls. JOIN US!!! The more of you who join, the more of our girls will get the chance to go!

14 December - Training camp and Himalayan Challenge 2009

Had a fantastic Himalayan Whitewater Challenge! 6 girls competing. Susmita, Sita, Anu, Kamala Magar from Bhote Koshi, Ritu from Upper Trisuli and Goma, Susmitas younger sister. Susmita won the overall competition again this time! Before the competition we had five days of training, with our lovely coach Ashley Courtney from Canada!

17 October - Susmita in the newspaper

Things going well, girls keeping busy and doing well on the high water rivers! Yesterday, big article about Susmita in Nepals newspaper Nepali Times: http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2009/10/17/Nation/16398

30 sep - New girls getting employed

Back in Nepal, and as usualy things are happening! 3 of our "spring girls" - meaning girls learning kayaking last season, have been employed. Ritu is now working for Equator Expeditions and brought a friend, Lakshmi there as well. Rupa and Goma started working for new company Rapid Runner based in Pokhara where they are now doing trips training to be safety kayakers and kayak instructors. Meena is also working for Rapid Runner as a raft guide. Today they are all on the river - it looks like we are going to have a busy season!

4 sep - Susmitas competition in the world championships

Susmita did really well in the competition. She looked super relaxed and surfed the wave nicely! She didnt make points to continue at the competition, but she has developed her freestyle skills and knowledge, she has lots of fun and a great experience! CHECK OUT THE PICTURES!!! Big thanks to ICF (International Canoe Federation) for sponsoring her to come to the competition!

3 sep -The big day!

Today is the big day! Susmita is happy and not too nervous as she did really well training late last night in the dark! She is competing at 13.24, keep your fingers crossed!

27 aug - Susmita arrives in Switzerland

Susmita has arrived to Switzerland for world championships. She is very nervous, especially as because of health and family issues she has not been able to kayak for a while. But no hopes from my side that she will get great results other that learning a lot and having fun!!!

24 aug - Sponsorship with SILVA/span>

Silva Sweden, developer of gps compasses binoculars heightmeters etc. are now sponsoring me and the girls with headlamps and Gerber Crucials - a handy multi-tool with pliers and knife good for the river: http://www.silva.se/en/

23 aug - Sweden season finished

Just finished the last kayak clinic at Kajaktiv for the season. Thanks all my students who bought my photos to help finance the club!

12 aug - Square Rock helping out wiht a kayak

Square Rock and Jackson Kayaks are sorting out a small freestyle boat for Susmita for the worlds!!! Thanks to Lluis Rabaneda who is making it all happen!

11 aug - HRG movie trailer on facebook

Check out the movie TRAILER on facebook group: Himalayan River Girls - the movie project!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 Aug - Susmita ready for worlds!

Susmita is going to the worlds! She is picking up her visa tomorrow, ready for her first trip to a foreign country. She will be competing in freestyle in Switzerland and slalom in Spain.

6 July 2009 - Thanks Jill Marie and Aquabound!

Paddles from Aquabound are finally out of customs!!! Thanks Jill Marie Stokes for all your help!

2 July 2009 - World chamionchips???

Working on getting at least one Nepali girl to come to Europe and attend to world championships slalom and freestyle in September. The Nepal Rafting & Canoeing Association are finally on to it!!! So keep your fingers crossed it will happen!

25 June 2009 - Come to see us!

For anyone coming to Nepal this fall season, our club is set up in Pokhara. Do come by and visit, and let us know if you would like to teach / learn kayaking. We are also hoping to get some more gear donated and if you need to rent a kayak let us know!

23 June 2009 - Rupa turns down MTB offer

I got an email from Rupa today, one of our young new stars in Pokhara. She has been offered to learn mountainbiking with Nepals MTB champion, and she asked me how to say no as she prefer only to do kayaking! :) :) :)

17 June 2009 - Susmita forced to give up her job as a kayaker

I have some sad news. Our star kayaker Susmita is no longer allowed to work as a kayaker as she got back with her husband who has decided that she should stay at home. Her employer Paddle Nepal are really sad about this as she was just starting a fantastic career doing a very good job as a safety kayaker. The club is now closed for the monsoon season, but some rafting trips still go on, and some of our girls are still out there paddling, and the rest are looking forward to getting going again in September starting a hopefully busy fall season, where we are hoping to get some more girls employments! Until then, I hope to get some fund raising going and some volunteers together to do more professional training!

26 May 2009 - Monsoon time

I am now back in Sweden for summer season work here. Club still goes on, new girls training for one more month until monsoon hits the rivers too hard. Thanks mum and thanks Jeff! for your kind donations to help with club rent!

17 May 2009 - Back from girls trip

Training trip on Seti was fantastic, with all 6 new girls kayaking! Unfortunately we could not afford to do any more training all together this season other than on the lake, but local companies are helping out, so they all get to go on the river frequently. Ritu and Guma paddling lower Seti again with Cross River and pro-instructor Kundan Lama!

12 May 2009 - Girls trip on the Seti

Tomorrow we are off on a 3-day training trip on the lower Seti with Paddle Nepal. All 6 new girls, plus Sambhavi, Hassila and Pasang!!! Wish us luck! Mona says hi to everyone! She is now in Manali in India to work in a rafting office in Nepals off season.

9 May 2009 - Anu starts working for Ultimate Descents Nepal

Anu finally got a job working on the river! She started training with Ultimate Descents and is today off KAYAKINGI!!! Sambhavi and Hassila is now here in Pokhara working at the Paddle Nepal office and helping to look after the club house and the new girls! They went rafting on Upper Seti yesterday. Rupa came back from lower Seti yesterday, rolling in the rapids, got stuck in a hole, no swimming! Loved it!

8 May 2009 - Goma in the newspaper

Article today in Kantipur, Nepals biggest newspaper about the new girls training on the lake. And picture of Guma! Thanks Ashok and Heidi who were teaching them that day!!!

6 May 2009 - Need help with funding!

I am desperately looking for fundings for the club. We need help for club house rent, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know!!! Have just recruited two more girls. Ritu from upper Trisuli and Kaji from upper Seti! Started teaching them on the lake yesterday with Jenny from Holland who is doing a great job helping out this season! Susmitas sister Goma came back from kayaking the lower Seti yesterday, no swimming! She is just amazing! Rupa is off today on a kayak clinic on the Seti with Adrenaline Rush! Rest of the girls going on the lake

5 May 2009 - Susmita paddling Kali Gandaki

Back from 3 days paddling Kali Gandaki with Paddle Nepal. Big water after big rain. One very nervous Susmita did amazingly well!!!

27 April 2009 - Paddling Trisuli with Anu

Back to Pokhara after picking up a box of KAVU clothes. And tried to pick up paddles sent from Jill Marie Stokes. Paddles still in cargo - Nepali customs are not my best friends. On the way back stopped by Trisuli and had an awsome paddle with Anu (Himalayan River Girl), Andy Beegan and the Royal Beach boys. Anus last day at Royal Beach as she has decided to look for work training to be a river guide. She is doing awsome, flipped a few times, but her roll is solid! The new girls in Pokhara are doing well. Sometimes joining rafting trips with Lotus Waves who are being very supportive, and yesterday we did some hard training on the lake. All girls rolling, bracing, loving it!

25 April 2009 - Radha bungee jumping

News from adventurous Radha who did a bungee jump!!! And she is keeping busy, today off to kayak lower Bhote Koshi

17 April 2009 - What a day of good news

Got up at 5 this morning to send off new girls Goma and Shanti (Susmita and Minas sisters) on a two day rafting trip on the Seti with Lotus waves. Their very first day on the river. AND Simon Eriksson went on the lake with new girl Anita and got her to roll! AND! Susmita came along with her son in her kayak!!!! AND! Sita just called me from Fishling having kayaked the Trisuli today safety kayaking for Equator!:)

16 April 2009 - Susmita safety kayaking on Trisuli

Susmita came back today with a big smile after her first safety kayaking job on the Trisuli!!! :)

14 April 2009 - New girl on the river

This morning Rupa, one of our new girls, joined a kayak clinic with Adrenaline Rush on the Trisuli with Kamala Chepang .She has ben doing amazingy well on the lake and even teaches other girls how to roll after ten days.

12 april 2009 - Kamala training with Adrenaline Rush!

Kamala Chepang has just finished her first trainee rafting trip with Adrenaline Rush on the Trisuli!

6 april 2009 - Trisuli girls are on to it!

Visited Anu in Royal Beach who is lucky to have UK kayak coach Andy Beegan at the camp this season. Also visited 3 girls in Fishling, who after seeing the Nepali girls in the rodeo started paddling with their brothers. Had a meeting with Adrenaline Rush in Kuringath and looks like Kamala will be on the river with them soon!

5 april 2009 - UD-Radha introducing her sister

Met Radha in Kathmandu who introduced us to her sister who is 15 and wants to start kayaking! Radha is very busy kayaking this season with Ultimate Desents!

4 april 2009 - Paddling with Bhote Koshi girls

Paddling on the lower Bhote Koshi wirh Sita, Mona and Kamala. Stefan Erdman came along to get more material for his documentary.

3 april 2009 - Joshs film doing good in NZ

Good news from Josh in N.Z. He is travelling the country showing his documentary about the Himalayan River Girls. Sounds like succcess!!!

2 april 2009 - Club house is going on!

We have found a club house in Pokhara. Susmita and Mina are currently living there when not busy on the river and training 3 new girls on the lake! One of them in Susmitas younger sister, Guma!

Anita Sapkota who trained with us last year is now working in the sales office in Namaste Adventure / Paddle Nepal Office, but looking forward to going kayaking on her free time!

20 March 2009 - Girls are doing good and getting employed

Things are going very well here in Nepal. I have just been paddling on the lower Bhote Koshi with the girls around Equators Sukute Beach, Sita, Mona, Kamala and Sushila. They are all doing good, and their kayaking is improving. Sita now starts safety kayaking on the lower Bhote Koshi. Also, Radha came by the camp one day doing a trip with Ultimate Descents, her employer, and it was great to see her kayaking! She is really happy with her job and is off on a Karnali trip kayaking on the 22nd. Pasang is also working with U.D. and is training canyoning at the Borderlands. Sambhavi has asked to go trekking, and is currently on the way to Everest Base Camp with a Far Away Adventures group. Hassila has today been offered work for Adrenalin Rush and Kamala Chepang will also be doing training with them on the Trisuli when she is free from school.

10 March 2009 - Articles start coming out

The last few days articles about our project have started coming out. Kajaktivs magalog, Outside (Sweden), Utemagasinet and Utsidan.se Check out: utsidan.se andUtemagasinet

9 March 2009 - Back with the girls

Finally I am back in Nepal, and it has been great catching up with some of the girls so far. Radha is shining with happiness and loves her work as a trainee guide with Ultimate Descents. Tomorrow I am heading out to the Bhote Koshi to paddle with Sita who is kayak training with Equator Expeditions new boys. We will work on Sitas roll that is not working that great at the moment. And Mona (who is now managing the camp out there) and I will be doing more brainstorming for the future, we now have an idea to do a "Save the Karnali kayak expedition" next year and more...

19 Feb 2009 - Susmita and younger sister with Paddle Nepal

Susmita, who won Jackson kayak in the Peak UK White Water Challenge in november is getting best use out of it possible, getting more girls in Nepal into kayaking! She has now started teaching her own younger sister paddling on the lake in Pokhara. She has also quit Kathmandu based Equator Expeditions for Pokhara based rafting and kayaking company Paddle Nepal. Her sister also started working for them helping out in their lovely café at the office! Susmita just came back from working on a three day trip on the lower Seti, and the reports from new employer Paddle Nepal were excellent!

Exciting News

2009-02-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

HERE ARE SOME UPDATES FROM INKA'S WEBSITE ABOUT HOW THE GIRLS ARE GOING

19 Feb 2009 - Susmita and younger sister with Paddle Nepal

10 Feb 2009 - Radha and Pasang starts working for Ultimate Descents Nepal

The spring season in Nepal is now starting. Two of the girls from our training program just started working for the Kathmandu-based rafting company Ultimate Decsents as trainee river guides. Radha Tamang is currently on a Karnali-trip! Congratulations!

28 Jan 2009 - Nepali girls on the board of Himalayan River Guide Association

Good news from Kathmandu: The Himalayan River Guide Association had their Annual Genera Meeting yesterday. Six of the newly trained girls attended the meeting and Pasang and Sambhavi, two of the girls, also got elected into the board. I found it very good news as it means the girls are really involved in the guide association which will help in their own future as well as helping the guide association who is doing a lot of great work for developing the situation for Nepali River Guides. It was with HRGAN we organised the raft guide training program for the Himalayan River Girls.

Here are a couple of cool pictures taken at the Himalayan White-water Challenge

Sita claiming her prize at the Himalayan White-water Challenge.
Christie Glysmer

Susmita and the boat she won for coming first in the Nepali Womens Category of the Himalayan White-water Challenge.
Photo taken by Christie Glysmer

Thanks Carve

2009-02-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

On behalf of the Himalayan River Girls, a huge Thank-you goes out to Carve Designs who donated some swimwear to the girls. They loved wearing the items underneath their thermals and dry-tops on the river.

Check out their website at http://www.carvedesigns.com/

Thanks Carve

And then there were four . . . . . . . . . . . .

2008-12-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in the past few weeks and it has been amazing. Now, everyone other than Hester, Malaika, Kelly and myself have gone home. We have a few more days in Nepal before heading out to Thailand. So here is an update of what the Nepali Girls have been up to for the last while.

After the Himalayan Whitewater Challenge the Nepali Girls spent 5 days on the Trisuli river learning heaps about rafting from Churmani and Kali (two Nepali raft guides). The girls practiced guiding the rafts and oar boat and worked hard for 5 days.

Emi Earle, competing in her first freestyle event at the Himalayan Whitewater Challange, and ripping it up Bruno, Whitney, Malaika, Emi, Hester and Hayley ready to pull some big air .Susmita with her brand new Jackson Kayak, won at the Himalayan Whitewater Challange
Following this they spent 3 days doing a WRT course (Whitewater Rescue Training) where they excelled. They had one day theory and then 2 days on the Bhote Koshi river, where they where based at Sukute beach. There were 40 other male students completing this course and the women were split up into groups with the men. The girls worked so hard and spent hours and hours swimming rapids, learning knots and learning about safety on the river. 7am till 5pm in cold water - lucky they had plenty of nice gear to keep them warm.

From the WRT course the girls were back to the Trisuli River for more raft guide training.Hasilla and Sita flipping the raft
Some of the girls climbing back in

We met back up with the girls on the 16th of November at the Seti River. This was the last trip for the girls before they completed their five week training programme.

Anna White, Hayley Segal, Malaika Davies, Hester Hilbink, Anna Bruno, Malin Strand and myself along with Josh Neilson who continued filming where part of the Lower Seti trip.
Malaika, Anu, Hasila, Rama, Sophie, Sam Bhavi, Anna and Hester.

Seeing the girls again after a couple of weeks was amazing. They were looking so strong and happy. We arrived in the morning and after a catching up, we began to get ready for the river.

It was great to see all the Nepali girls working hard and packing the rafts. They were loading up, tying fancy knots and just looking like they knew what they were on about.

The girls using their new skills to tie on all the gear, including their dry bags donated by Bivouac Kamala and Susmita pumping up the raft

So we left camp and began the final trip. Hasila, Kamala and Sam Bovhi were in kayaks and we worked hard on eddy turns all day with the girls taking turns in kayaks. They were looking great on the rafts and in the kayaks. Even when they swam, they swam with confidence and knew what they needed to do. Hasila went from not being able to keep herself afloat 5 weeks ago to swimming down big rapids with so much power.

3 days on the Lower Seti, working hard on their kayaking and rafting skills and we were all so proud. These girls have come so so far in 5 weeks it's unbelievable, we are all so proud of them and what they have achieved.The last day on the river was so special, we pushed off from camp with Sita and Susmita guiding the paddle rafts and Radha guiding the oar raft. All looking so happy and confident. We made our way to the finish and after some lunch at a little rolling practice, we were on the bus for a 6 hour bus ride back to Kathmandu.

The following day the girls spent with an American women who taught them lots of First Aid skills. Then the 20th was the day the training programme came to an end. We all went to the press conference/closing ceremony which was really special for everyone.

After some really special speeches from Inka, Sita, Anita and Churmani, I was asked to say something, and I talked about how proud I was of all the Kiwi girls for there hard work, all the people who helped out with this and of course how amazed and proud we all were of the Nepali Girls for there huge efforts over the past 5 weeks.

Last year a group of Nepali Women summited Everest being the first Nepali women to ever do this. They came to the ceremony and presented the girls with their certificates, which was super cool. One of them spoke about how excited she was that more Nepali Women were developing a passion for adventure.Just after the girls received their certificates.Susmita, Sam Bhavi and Anita, so happy and proud.

The Himalayan River Girls with the Everst Summiting Girls, a very powerful group of young Nepali Women with a love for adventure

Talking to Inka we also found out that many companies wanted to employ the Women and that there were more jobs than them, so from this training programme they had job offers left, right and centre. It's great to see so much support from Nepali companies, and so good to know that when next season rolls around in February, (it's winter now) these girls will be working in the industry.

Later that evening we all had dinner together, more speeches and from the Kiwi Girls, a fish hook necklace from NZ to keep them safe on the river and representing the friendships we developed.A Hongi and a hug for Mina after she received a necklace from team Kiwi

Mailaika giving Mina a Hongi and Hug

Saying goodbye to the girls was hard, we are so happy for them, and so proud of what they achieved, they are all very special young ladies who now have endless opportunities.

Slowly everyone has left to go home, now we are four. Today we leave Kathmandu for a night in Bhaktapur and then in Nargakot before heading out to Thailand on the 27th.

NEPALI GIRLS PROFILES

Sita Thapa
Age: 22
Info: Has one son but has split from her husband. Learned to kayak with Inka last season. Has been working for Equator Expeditions for 8 months. During the training programme her kayaking skills sky rocketed and she also practiced more raft guiding, now guiding a raft she looks great.Sita surfing it up in the Himalayan White-water Challenge

Susmita
Age: 23
Info: Has one daughter has split from he husband. Learned to kayak with her husband a couple of years ago and then stopped. Spent time kayaking with Inka last season. Has also been working for Equator Expeditions. On the training programme she learned to guide a raft as well as working hard on her Kayaking skills with Malin Bergman (a swedish slalom kayaker) who taught her alot about technique.Susmita, sun-blocked up and ready to rock it!

Anita Sapkota
Age: 18
Info: Will finish school in April, has very good English and when she finishes school, would like to work in the management area of a rafting company. Chandra will help her with this in April next year.
Beautiful girls Radha and Anita ready for the river.

Sambhavi Karki
Age: 27
Info: SamBhavi had been working in a casino before the training programme. Her sister was part of the team that summited Mt Everest. When the season begins again in February she will be working for a rafting company. She hopes to keep her job at the Casino in the off-season.Sam Bhavi charging it down the Sun Koshi River

Hasila Shrestha
Age: 28
Info: Hasila also has been working in the Casino and next season will be working for a rafting company. She also hope to keep her job at the casino for the off season.Hasila, smiling as usual, with some great edging practice in the 'Method Air'

Pasang Sherpa
Age: 24
Info: Pasang has been studying at university. She has very good English and and is very clued up. She will now be working for Ultimate decents, through this job she will be able to learn a range of skills and hopes to be not only a river guide but also canyoning, trekking, and use her management skills too.Pasang showing Mila (a raft guide) how it's really done.

Rama Shrestha
Age:18
Info: Rama will complete school in April. From here she would like to get a job with a rafting company. Chandra will help her with this when she has finished school.

Rama showing off her new skills

Kamala Chepang
Age:18
Info: Kamala comes from a village by the Trisuli River. She is the first girl from her village to complete school up to the level she is at. She has returned to complete her schooling which is extremely important and during her spare time, she will be on the Trisuli River practicing her rafting and kayaking skills with a local Trisuli Raft Company. Kamala had very very little English before the training programme but 5 weeks later she made a huge improvement.

Malaika and Kamala with big smiles on the Sun Koshi.

Radha Tamang
Age: 22
Info: Radha has a natural talent for kayaking and rafting. In a kayak she looks as though she's been paddling quite a while. She went against her husbands wishes to do this training programme. When she was back in Kathmandu before the WRT course she went home and did not return. After a few days Inka managed to get hold of Radha and although she had missed the WRT course, she was able to join back in. Her husband left to go to America to study for 3 years. So now she has three years to concentrate on her rafting and kayaking. Radha re-adjusting the foot pegs in the 'Perception Phat' donated by Canoe and Kayak NZ

Mina
Age: 29
Info: The first female raft guide. Has been working in the industry a long time but has been in India. Now there are girls working in the Nepal Industry she would like to stay and work in Nepal to. So she will be working in India during the off season and Nepal in the season here.
A standard Mina photo, loud and full of energy.

Anu
Info: Joined us for the Lower Seti trip, works at Royal Beach by the Trisuli River for a rafting company. Not yet working on the river for them, but it wom't be long as her skills are really improving. On the lower Seti trip she worked on her kayaking technique and her raft guiding skills, she was looking very good in her kayak and will be some tough competition at the Himalayan White Water Challenge next year.

Anu on the Lower Seti

More Updates

2008-12-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

While the girls have been rafting up a storm and even completed a Whitewater Rescue Training course on the Bhote Koshi River, we have been hiking our way to Annapurna base-camp. It was a beautiful trip and once we got there, we were surrounded 360 degrees by huge mountains.
The Nepali Girls are really coming along and we will be joining them in 2 days time for the final 4 days of the training programme on the lower Seti River.

Josh Neilson and Anna Bruno have both been updating their blogs with photos and stories so check out http://whitewater-koa.blogspot.com/ for josh's blog or http://www.ugandosomething.blogspot.com/ for Anna Bruno's Blog, they are both great photographers and have some amazing photos on their blogs.

Soph

Huge thanks to Whitewater Nepal

2008-12-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Georgia Bhandari who is co-owner of Whitewater Nepal was our wonderful trip leader on the Sun Koshi river. She did an amazing job coordinating 38 people on the river and even went out of her way to run up to a village and catch some chickens about day 7 of the trip, so we had some freash meat. It sure was interesting seeing the raft turn up at camp an hour later than us just on dark with 5 live chickens that were soon to be a delicous chicken curry.

A massivethanks to Georgia and Whitewater Nepal for the use of two Bliss-stick kayaks during the Sun-Koshi trip, which meant less kayaks we had to hire.

Cheers, Sophie

2008-12-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Loading up at the Holy Lodge and heading to the bus
Loading up the bus for Sukute BeachAt Sukute Beach next to the Sun Kosi On the water working on skills before heading downstream
Hasilla after her first day on the river
One of the many bridges we paddled under on the Sun Kosi
Lunch stop day 3
Team USANZ (kiwi's and americans) in our hotel Hakapur the biggest rapid in the river, this is just the end of it
Some of the Nepali Girls on the raft with Sita guiding under the watchful eye of Anna Bruno
On our way to the Trisuli, only 18 hours to go
Babu, a local paragliding in to the festival in his kayak.

I'm off on a tramp now but more photos in a week or so and lots more updates.

Thanks Sophie

Lots of Updates

2008-12-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Well where do i start.................................................. since our last update time has just flown by.

Our plan was to leave for Sukute beach on the 13th of November but there was a road block as a villager had been hit by a motor bike and the village involved wanted compensation from the government. So we were delayed a day which was okay as it was great to have another day working on paddling skills and rolling in the Kathmandu police swimming pool.

Malaika showing the girls how Buoyancy Aids work.

Radha loving it. Unfortunately she gets super dizzy after rolling over a couple of times, so she couldn't work on her rolling as it made her chuck up. But above the water she was super happy.The girls working on their rafting up skills

The girls worked super hard all day and we pushed them to the max, so with red eyes and looking like drenched rats we called it quits and went for a nice feed of Dahl Baht with the Nepali Girls and Inka. All the girls came back and stayed at the Holy Lodge with us for the night as they had already left their homes for the trip and weren't super keen to return. We also meet Susmita and Sita that evening, who were also joining the training programme (2 girls Inka worked with last time she was here).

All of us at the Kathmandu Police Pool

Early the next morning we were up packing gear, putting it on Rickshaws (3 wheeler bikes with big carriages) and making our way to the bus that was taking us to Sukute Beach.

Hester, Hayley and Anna sorting gear for the trip.

We made it almost all the way and then about 15km out from our destination we hit the road block, so we grabbed everything we could carry and started walked. 4-5km later we were on the other side of the road block and a truck had come to take us the last few km to Sukute Beach.

We were super eager to get an afternoon of paddling in with the girls so after meeting Mona (the Nepali Woman who worked with Inka to make this happen) we had a quick lunch, set up camp on the beach, dug a toilet hole and then decided to go back and walk through the road block again to get kayaks so we could get on the water.

Pasang begged a few of the locals to please let us through and told them the project story but they wouldn't budge so off we walked. We got to the bus and heard they were going to unblock the road so after an hour and a half the bus was moving and it raced through the road block to Sukute Beach with half of us on the roof. The boats were coming loose and we were on top of them and the bus was gunning it so it was pretty exciting and super scary at the same time.

Emi, Malaika and Hessie waiting on the roof for the road to be unblocked.

It was almost dark by the time we got back so no paddling for the day but we had a great evening by the fire and some amazing Nepali food cooked by the girls.

Next day we were on the water with the girls working on paddling straight, then moving on to sweep strokes then edging and carving, and then eddy turns. The girls were looking great. Some also spent a bit of time in the pool working on rolling. We also had two 15 year old local girls Comola and Susilla join us. They have been doing some kayaking with Mona and we helped them with rolling for the day.

We had another great evening around the fire and the Nepali Girls really came out of their shells showing us how to dance Nepali Style. It was a great evening of bonding and heaps of giggles.

2008-12-03T00:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a breakdown of whats been happening for the last couple of weeks, if your not into reading then some lovely photos are following and I'll try and get some more up once we are back from our walk.

16th, the day of our departure down the Sun Kosi.

We were up early on the river with the girls having our last eddy turn session before the rest of the crew turned up.

At 12:00 two buses arrived packed full of the crew and it was all go from there. We meet the crew of girls and also had some great reunions with friends we hadn't seen for a while and then got to it. Our aim was to be on the river at 2:00 which didn't leave us long to have lunch, pack and load the rafts.

A quick team chat and some yummy lunch, then it was boat sorting time. I ended up in a pyrhana prozone which was an interesting boat, but actually got quite attached to it by the end of the trip.

All packed and ready to go we had a few speeches and blessings, and a super special moment between Inka and Mona, the two Women who are behind this whole project. Then 38 people departed Sukute Beach for 10 days on the Sun Kosi River.

The first couple of days the Nepali Girls stayed in the raft learning about how water works and getting comfortable with the river. On the afternoon of the second day we got to camp at four and had a great little kayak session with the Nepali girls.

Then on day three Radha and Sam Bovhi got in kayaks for their first whitewater kayaking experience. They did so well and even paddled a couple of grade three rapids, Radha went into a hole and calmly surfed out of it looking nothing like a beginner. After lunch we swapped over and Rama and Anita got into kayaks for the afternoon. The following day Pasang, Hasilla and Camola got in kayaks and had a great day. Camola stayed in the kayak all day and did do well, she was exhausted when we rocked up to camp at 5:30 but was absolutely loving it.

The next few days the girls were back in the raft as the river got a bit too challenging for them, but they had heaps of fun rafting. We got to paddle some super exciting rapids including the famous Hakapur which definitely got the adrenalin going.

Emi Earle and Kelly Blayney were in kayaks most of these days too. They sure didn't look like beginners as they charged down the massive wave trains, dodging the huge holes and powering across the big eddy lines. We were extremely proud of these two girls who were looking super solid.

After a few days of bigger rapids such as dead mans eddy, rhino rock and the jungle corridoor, the Nepali Girls were back in the kayaks. All seven of them were on the water and the ratios were great. One Nepali girl with two instructors. It was a big day on the river for all the girls and they did extremely well.

The following day all the girls were back in the raft and Sita was keen to guide, so with Anna Bruno helping her out, she guided the girls for the morning. We got to camp after only a couple of hours and got to chill out in the sun for our second to last day on the river.

The 25th was our last day on the river and all the Nepali Girls were in Kayaks except Sita, who again guided the raft. The Girls did so well in the kayaks and we had a nice big wave train to finish off with.

So arriving at the finish we had only an 18 hour bus ride to go ............................................

The bus drove us through the night to the Trisuli River, where the festival was held. We arrived early in the morning, set up camp then had a day to chill out and recover from the long night on the bus.

The 27th we decided to take the girls down the Trisuli run where the competition would be held. We had heard from lots of people it was grade two run with a couple harder rapids. Malin and Lena set off with Sita and Susmita to practice the slalom course as these two had been kayaking longer than the other 7 Nepali Girls. Once on the river we discovered it was definitely not an easy grade two so the Nepali Girls got off the river and a few off us carried on paddling down, pleased the Nepali Girls weren't with us as it would have been a long long day of walking around lots of rapids.

Because the Trisuli was harder than expected, only Sita and Susmita could enter the kayaking part of the competition. But Anita, Hasilla, Rama, Radha, Camola, Sam-Bovhi and Pasang entered in the raft race with Mina (a Nepali Women who has been working in India) guiding them.

It was a fantastic event and for the first time ever Nepali Women competed. There were three Nepali Women (Sita, Susmita and Anu) and 17 International Women, the most to ever compete in the Himalayan Whitewater Challenge. Sita walked away with a paddle, drytop and helmet and Susmita ended up winning a paddle, a drytop, a helmet and .............................. a brand new kayak.

So after a fantastic weekend of kayaking and fun we said goodbye to the Nepali Girls for a few weeks and got on the bus to Kathmandu.

Right now they are on the Trisuli River with Churmani and Manish who are working them hard with their rafting skills. We will see them in a couple of weeks and some of us will join them for the last week of their rafting and kayaking on the Lower Seti River.

Most of the Kiwi crew are now heading out for 8 days to the Annapurna Basecamp.

Thanks for reading - There will be updates on the rafting in a couple of weeks and hopefully some more photos in just over a week.

Cheers, Soph

Swedish girls raking it in

2008-11-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

We have had some fantasitc news from the Swedish girls. Malin works as an Architect for FISKARHEDENVILLAN, one of Swedens largest house companies. And FISKARHEDENVILLAN have donated $1300 USD. For more info check out www.fiskarhedenvilla.se. Lina another Swedish girl, has also had a donation of about $1040 USD from the company she works for called XLENT
"XLENT Strategy is a Nordic strategy consulting firm helping companies achieve market impact through pragmatic strategy development and excellence in realization. More info can be found at w
www.xlent.se/strategy."

So fantastic news and a huge huge help for the Himalayan river girls.

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

So i'm sitting in our room in kathmandu, hooked up to wireless, with a full belly of Dahlbart. Go back 24 hours and we'd just arrived, with everything we had planned on bringing. Auckland airport was exciting and we managed to get all our gear on the plane including our kayaks packed full of stuff that were super heavy weighing in around "10kgs" each. All the gear turned up at Kathmandu airport which was amazing as we had seven kayaks packed full of gear plus another 12 pieces of luggage, so couldn't believe it was all there.

It's great to catch up with Inka again and to introduce her to the rest of the Kiwi crew. She has done such and amazing job here, most of the girls couldn't even swim a week or two ago, now they are looking really confident in the water and in the kayaks.

Today we have been at the pool with 7 of the Nepali girls working on basic paddling and rolling, it was great to meet them all.They are a great bunch of girls and it's so exciting to see how far they have come already and how far they will go in the next few months.

We got back from the pool and Emi had just arrived at the backpackers, she had come overland from India so it was so awesome to catch up with her, and we all went out for a fantastic feed of dhalbart and some local wine.

Tomorrow we are off to Sukute beach so will be out of contact for a week or 3, the river sounds awesome, and i can't wait to meet the rest of the crew.

Also we heard some really exciting news, Inka has been awarded the Golden Paddle which is an award in Sweden for the Whitewater event of the year. This has been awarded to her for setting up the 'Himalayan River Girls', so that is really cool news, and just shows all the effort, time and energy Inka has put into making this happen. It's amazing to see her here in full swing, she doesn't stop, just working so hard and had been for the last 6 months.

Cheers Soph

AND WE"RE OFF

2008-11-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

We'll its been a busy last few days packing and repacking and then packing some more and hoping for the best when we got to the airport check in- it was touch and go for a bit but Singapore airlines was fantastic and not too many items of gear were sacrificed. The amount of gear we have received and purchased is phenomenal.
At the moment Hayley and I are in Singapore eagerly awaiting to meet the rest of the crew who flew from Auckland early this morning with not just two heavy boats laden with gear but five, so hope all went well at their end.
On behalf of the Kiwi team we would like to say a huge thank you to all our sponsors, whether it was new or second hand gear, money, discounts, baggage allowance and even advice.This project would not have possible without the help and support of you all.
Onwards to Kathmandu!
Keep reading the blog as we will update as much as we can.
Hester

Thanks Paddlerzone

2008-11-07T01:51:00.000-08:00

We popped into Paddlerzone and Dana kindly donated four tie downs and a bunch of nose plugs. It is great to have the tie downs to help cart the boats to and from the rivers. We are sure the girls will come across some rapids where the nose plugs will come in handy and for all times spent under the water perfecting their rolls.

Thanks Paddlerzone for your contribution and support.

Macpac keeping us warm

2008-11-05T01:54:00.000-08:00

Macpac have made a sweet donation to the project, donating two tents which will be left to the Himalayan River Girls. Huge thanks to Macpac for their help with the project, to check out the Macpac website follow the link http://www.macpac.co.nz/

NAME CHANGE and SWEDES working hard

2008-11-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

We heard from Inka the other day that the name Nepali Girls Kayak Club has been changed to the Himalayan River Girls. This has a nicer ring to it and also includes the girls who dont kayak but do raft. So Himalayan River Girls it is

We also heard from the Swedish girls who have been working hard to rasie more funds for the trip. They have been at a flee market in Uppsala, Sweden and managed to make some good money from it. Check out the links for more cool pics

http://www.upk.se/?p=61

http://picasaweb.google.se/UppsalaPaddlarklubb/200810LoppisVaksalatorg#

I can make out the words Nepal, thats about it.

2008-11-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

Gear and Money update
After tearing my hair out a few times trying to be an accountant I think I have finally figured out how much we raised and what we spent it on so here it is.

Raffle - $2520
Sausage Sizzle by Western Heights Highschool year ten girls - $196
Edgecumbe Lions Club - $500
Methven Lions Club - $500
Emi Earle's Beanie knitting - $290
Donations: $600
- John Hooker
- Mike Ward
- John and Meagan Ward
- Greg and Hillary Turnbull
- Graham and Vivienne Campion
- Terry and Stephen Leggart
- Bronie Clayton

This is a total of $4606
so where did the money go ............................................................. read on to find out.

We have purchased the following items with the funds we have raised

- 4 Kayaks (Mini-mystic, method air, method, RPM)
- 3 x leader B.A's
- 3 x Hydraulics mumblies
- 7 x Day two neoprene wetsuit shorts
- 2 x kokotat semi dry tops
- 2 x rasdex semi dry tops
- 10 x nose plugs
- 3 x rescuebelt/towline/cowstail/biner
- 1 x second hand hydraulics race pro and 1 x second hand bomber dry tops (thanks to Ryan Hunt for the great deal on these two)
- 6 x sets of airbags
- 12 x river knives

We have a few hundred left, which we will give to Inka to put into the Himalayan River Girls fund for other expenses that may pop up for the Nepali girls

So if you have any questions about any of that, feel free to ask away. Thanks for keeping updated, Soph and the kiwi crew.

2008-11-05T00:19:00.000-08:00

KEEN are keen as!!!

KEEN footwear are a company that make awesome shoes as well as having an awesome philosophy. They are committed to and support many social and environmental causes as well as being a company that actually care about the world we live in.

They are making a fantastic contribution towards this project by gifting a pair of KEEN footwear to every girl involved with the training programme. That's 34 pairs of KEEN shoes going to girls from Nepal, Sweden, the U.S.A, Wales, Australia and good old NZ. It's super exciting that we all get to sport the styley shoes during our adventure. A huge thanks goes out to KEEN for there amazing gift and help with this project.

Check out there very cool website at
http://www.keenfootwear.co.nz/

LOTS OF SUPPORT FROM NZ COMPANIES

2008-11-03T23:40:00.000-08:00

Canoe and Kayak have been a huge help with this project, as was posted earlier in the blog they have donated 2 perception phats and all the gear to go with them. But also they have given us an amazing deal on a Method Air as well as a great prices on any other gear that needs to be purchased for the Nepali Girls.

Big Thanks to Mission Kayaking who have given us a fantastic discount on some styley B.A's here is a pic of what they look like.

Hydraulics have also given us a discount on some mumblies (3/4 fleece paddling pants), which will be great for keeping the girls nice and warm.

Hastings Great Outdoors have given us an awesome deal on 12 river knives to help keep everyone safe on the river .................. but mainly to cut tomatoes.

2008-11-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

Girls can pee standing up too
Shewee are a company that makes a device for women that makes peeing in the outdoors a breeze. We are lucky enough to have had some 'shewee's' donated for the trip to Nepal and are we all excited and intrigued into seeing how these 'shewee's' work.

Thank you very much Shewee for your donation, to check out the Shewee website go to http://www.shewee.co.nz/

2008-11-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

RAFFLE RESULTS
We have one week left till we head over to Nepal, yesterday the raffle was drawn and 5 lucky people won some awesome prizes. Thank you so much to everyone who helped out by buying tickets. Also a huge thanks to all who helped sell tickets.

We made a total of $2500 from the raffle, which is being used to purchase gear for the Nepali Girls.

An update will follow this week with what gear has been purchased and how the final preps are going.

Once again a huge thank you to all involved with this raffle, here are the results.

1st place: Jenny Neilson from Twyford - 2 nights accommodation at a beach front Bach in Ohope, thanks to the Lelievre family

2nd place: Daniel Bowie from Waipukurau - 2 nights accommodation at a lake front Bach in Taupo, thanks to the White family

3rd place: Brent Whibley from Rotorua - A trip for 2 white-water rafting down the Tongariro River, thanks to Garth at Tongariro River Rafting.

4th place: Steven from Rotorua - A trip for 2 White-water rafting down the Kaituna River, thanks to Noel at Wet n Wild Rafting.

5th place: Stefan Bennett from Rotorua - A double pass for the movies and rock-climbing, thanks to The Wall and The Basement Cinema' Rotorua.

More exciting news from Inka

2008-10-30T04:32:00.001-07:00

Inka and Equators 2 first female river guide-trainees.

Here is an update on how things are going in Nepal for Inka

"I have now selected seven new girls to take part in the training program. Radha Tamang 23, Anita Sapkota 18, Sambhavi Karki 23, Hasila Shrestha 27, Pasang Sherpa 25, Rama Shrestha 18 and Kamala Chepang 17. At the selection I took the girls to a swimmingpool in Kathmandu to check their swimming skills and comfort with / love for water. Some of the girls selected are already good swimmers and speak very good English and some still need to practise swimming and work hard to get strong physically. After the selection day we spent a few days in a swimmingpool in Kathmandu to practise swimming and to learn the basics of kayaking. We had a few really fun days with western women teaching and supporting. One of the days Nepali TV came to interview us! Next we are starting on the river on the 11 November. Together with Sita, Susmita and Mona we now have 10 girls to jpin the training program. And from the 16th November 22 western female kayakers are joining us as we paddle down the Sun Kosi. Everything is going very well with equipment as we are getting lots of gear donated.

Cecelia from Sweden training the new girls how to swim

Two rafting companies have offered to employ ladies after the training program. All we really need now is some more help to finance the training. Keep your fingers crossed for us!"

Hassila is still learning to swim, but is a natural in the kayak.

These girls have a couple of weeks before the training programme starts to work on swimming and basic kayak skills, this will prepare them for the Sun-Kosi and the formal beginning of the training programme on the 16th of November.

CPIT helping us out!

2008-10-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

All of the kiwi team have studied through the Christchurch Polytech gaining qualifications in the Bachelor of Adventure Recreation and Outdoor Education, and Diploma in Adventure Instruction and Guiding. CPIT was the hub for meeting each other and developing our outdoor skills, especially kayaking. Through Steve Chapman, CPIT have once again shown their support of us by donating pre loved kayaking goods for the Nepali ladies.

Check out the link for Outdoor Programmes held at CPIT.
http://www.cpit.ac.nz/subjects/adventure_recreation

Once again thank you to Steve Chapman and CPIT for your support.

Heaps of updates

2008-10-29T03:48:00.000-07:00

I got an email from Inka the other day, things are going great in Nepal. She has all the women selected for the training programme, and one of them Susmita is paddling down the Sun Kosi River, where we will be doing the training programme, at this very moment. It is still quite high water but she should be fine as she has been doing very well. When it comes to the training programme she will be able to take on more of a leadership role, and support the other women.

Here is a photo of Susmita surfing and looking great in that kayak.

Singapore Airlines a huge help
So we have less than 2 weeks to go before we head to the airport and try to squeeze as much in as possible. Thanks to Singapore Airlines we will be able to fit in heaps more gear as they have given us an extra 15kg's each free of charge which means we can now take 35kgs each. Without this we would be struggling to get the gear over to the Nepali girls. So a huge thanks to Singapore airlines with the extra luggage allowance totaling 105kg's .......................................Awesome

KAVU donating clothes
Kavu make awesome clothing and have donated a bunch of clothes to the Nepali Girls, check out their website http://www.kavu.com/

Raffle
The raffle is going fantastic, we will be drawing it this weekend and will post the winners on the blog next week. We have had so much support, Thanks so much to everyone who has purchased tickets. The Okere falls store out by the Kaituna River had a beer fest all last week so with lots of kayakers drinking high percentage German beer, many tickets were sold, and I managed to keep hold of the tickets and money all night while have a little German beer too.

All the Fundraising info will be posted next week with how much we raised and where the money has gone. We will also give you a final gear update before we leave (including what other girls overseas have managed to pull together)

Thanks for keeping updated

Soph

Two bits of exciting news.

2008-10-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

Josh Neilson who is a great friend of us all, has decided to come on the trip to Nepal and make a film about this project. Josh is a fantastic movie maker and has just won a years supply of red bull and a red bull fridge from a competition he entered a film in, which you can view by checking out http://www.redbullreellife.co.nz/screening-room/josh-neilson-subsistence/voting.
documented this
So that is super cool that we will have someone from NZ documenting this trip and making what i'm sure will be an awesome movie, and you will all be able to view it next year when Josh has finished the editing.

From left to right, Susmiita styling it up, Sita showing some new skills and Mona excited about learning how to kayak

Some other really cool news i heard from Inka is posted below:
She wrote this on the 8th of September,

"Sita and Susmita have just started working for Equator Expeditions as trainee river guides. I went kayaking with them on the weekend and they are doing good! They are really happy as they finally, or should I say already!! can support themselves economically kayaking! They are also working hard at the river resort "Sukute Beach" cleaning and cooking and have a lot to learn still to become guides."

and this on the 4th of October

"Mona now also started working as a trainee guide for Equator Expeditions, so 3 girls are already training and working helping teaching tourists kayaking. HRGAN, the Himalayan River Guide Association have found 9 more girls to join the river guide training in Nov / Dec."

So great news, we have 12 girls for the training programme and three of them already training with companies so when they have finished the training programme they will be straight into jobs.

Thanks for keeping updated, Sophie

North Island Donations

2008-10-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

My grandfather Frog is a bit of a legend and anyone who knows him, knows that he is still definitely young at heart. He has been a member of the Edgecumbe lions for years and years and my mum even remembers doing a presentation for them when she was about 16. A few weeks ago I went home to Edgecumbe and did a presentation for the local Lions club, they were impressed by this project and have generously donated $500 towards it. Thanks very much to all the Edgecumbe Lions members for your support and I look forwards to presenting to you again when i return.

Also a huge thanks to the following people for their very generous donations, this money will be a huge help towards equipment for the Nepali Girls .

- Mike Ward
- John and Meagan Ward
- John Hooker

Thanks so much, Sophie

AQUA BOUND

2008-10-11T01:09:00.000-07:00

Jill-Marie, a lovely Canadian girl myself and a few other Kiwi's had the pleasure of meeting in Uganda has been doing some awesome stuff over her side of the world. She was planning on coming to Nepal but won't make the trip this time. But that hasn't stopped her from doing her part in this project and she has been hard at work looking for sponsors and raising funds.

So with all her work she managed to get Aqua Bound (a paddle company) to donate 6 paddles, she has also had a few other bits and pieces donated as well as some funding which is going to try and buy a kayak and get it shipped over to Nepal.

Thanks heaps Aqua Bound for your support with this project and Jill-Marie, we will miss you on the river, but i'm sure we'll get to paddle again soon.

Soph

TOP OF THE RANGE DRY TOPS

2008-10-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Another update from our yoga master Whitney who is off to Nepal in just under a week. She has received three dry tops from Kokatat!!! who make some of the top dry tops around. This is fantastic news as we are in need of dry tops so the girls can paddle hard without getting too cold or wet as we have got some pretty big days on the river. With the money she has raised from her yoga teaching she has purchased a bunch of warm Kokotat fleece tops and a pyrhana ammo (kayak).
Thanks heaps Kokatat and to Whitney who has put a lot of hard work into this project so far.

Thanks Outward Bound and The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre

2008-10-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

A big thanks Anakiwa Outward Bound as they have given us a whole stack of spray decks to take over with us.

Also huge thanks to The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre who have donated a Perception Whiplash which will also belong to The Nepali Girls Kayak Club and be on the river for years to come.

Thanks a bunch!

BIVOUAC COMES TO THE PARTY

2008-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Wet gear to pull on at the end of a day on the river?? NO THANKS!!

Bivouac has come to the party in the form of dry bags- $1000 worth!!!
The outdoor store committed to adventure are donating 12 small and 12 large dry bags for the Nepali women and we know they will be put to good use. But, this may not be all - we will keep you posted!

Over the years Bivouac in Christchurch has been our local outdoor store and has always taken care of recreation students in the form of discounts, employment and even an annual gear scholarship.
A special thanks to Andrew for all the support!

My home town shows their support- Yehaaaaaaaa

2008-10-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never heard of a place called Methven- it is a small town located at the foot hills of the Southern Alps, and is the ski town of Mt Hutt. The snow has been cranking this year but also cranking is the support for the Nepali women.

Methven Lions club have given a very generous donation - so a huge thank you to all its members. The Lions Club has helped many people with many different projects for many years and continues to be an extraordinary organisation.

I would also like to say a huge thank you to:

- Greg and Hillary Turnbull
- Graham and vivienne Campion
- Terry and Stephen Leggart

for their generous donations as well.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

- Hester

2 down 4 to go, thanks to Canoe and Kayak

2008-10-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

There are 6 of us from the Kiwi crew flying out from NZ, this means we can take 6 kayaks. Thanks to Canoe and Kayak, we now only need to raise enough funds for 4 kayaks, as they are donating two towards the project.

But wait there's more...................................................... not only are they donating two kayaks, but all the gear to go with them, paddles, spray decks, helmets and buoyancy aids. This is a massive contribution towards the project and means more gear for Nepali Girls to learn in.

We are extremely grateful to Canoe and Kayak for this generous donation. They have also offered great discounts on any gear we buy for the Nepali Women, so with two less boats to buy, we will hopefully have enough funding to purchase a bit more gear.

There will also be an article in the next Canoe and Kayak Magazine, which is due out in November.

Once again, a huge thanks to Canoe and Kayak for all their support with this project

Emi and her Mumma working those needles

2008-09-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Emi Earle, part of the Kiwi crew, is over in Ireland at the moment, and has been working super hard with her Mum (Anne). The duo has been crocheting beanies frantically over the last couple of weeks in an effort to raise funds toward the project. They have done a fantastic job, raising $270 by selling the beanies. Thanks to all the staff at the Belfast Adventure Centre who purchased the styley hats, and also to the crew at TIDES who will now be sporting the brightly coloured beanies.
Thanks so much to Emi and Anne for all their late night crocheting. Those beanies aren't quick to make and they only had limited time. Emi is of to India in the next few days for an exciting adventure where she will make her way across the country and boarder to meet up with us on the 12th of November in Kathmandu.

The Belfast Adventure Centre crew in Ireland showing of their new winter wardrobe

Sun Salutations

2008-09-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Whitney has been saluting the sun for the past few months with the many Yoga classes she has been teaching. She leaves for Nepal in two weeks and from all the people attending her classes, she has made US$1000 towards the Nepali Girls project. With this she will be able to buy a bunch of gear that will be donated to the Nepali Girls Kayak Club. So a huge thanks to all those people who attended Whitney's Yoga-ing and to Whitney who spent many many hours of her time teaching the classes to fundraise for this project.

Here is a photo of the lovely lady herself, looking very comfy in her kayak after all that Yoga

Beach Front or Lake Front

2008-09-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

Things are going pretty well with gear although we still need 5 kayaks. Not taking all of these over would be a wasted opportunity. So with 6 weeks left to go and no kayaks so far, Anna and Myself decided to organise a raffle. With the help of Tongariro River Rafting, Wet n Wild (Kaituna), The Wall and Basement Cinema Rotorua and our Families donating the use of their batches, we have come up with a sweet raffle.

Anna has worked extremely hard on design and the making of the tickets, so all we need to do now is sell them.

They are $5 each and all the money will go directly to the purchase of kayaks for the Nepali Girls Kayak Club.

1st prize: The choice of two nights accomodation at a lake front batch in Taupo or a Beachfront batch in Ohope.

2nd prize: Whichever the first place winner didn't choose.

3rd prize: The option of a rafting trip for 2 on the Tongariro river with Tongariro River Rafting or A trip for two with Wet n Wild on the Kaituna River.

4th prize: Whichever the 3rd place winner didn't choose.

5th prize: 2 passes for The Wall (rock-climbing) in Rotorua and 2 movie passes for the Basement Cinema.

So if you are keen to buy a ticket, flick an email through to nepaligirlskayaking@gmail.com and we can sort it out.

A huge thanks to everyone who has contributed prizes to this raffle, because without your help this raffle would not be possible.

Sophie

A whole bunch of paddles and more

2008-09-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

We have just received an awesome donation from Josh Neilson and his whanau. 5 paddles that have taught Josh to kayak over the years will be passed on to the Nepali Girls Kayak Club. In the bunch of paddles, there was even a nice small and light crank shaft (perfect for a small Nepali Women)

Check out Josh's blog at http://whitewater-koa.blogspot.com/ he also having a film festival next friday the 19th in Auckland which is to raise funds for the softpower health clinic in Uganda. All the info about it is on his blog

Thanks heaps Josh

NEWS FROM AFAR

Monica Gokey from the states has received 12 spraydecks from a company called skirtworks, a small family owned business, so that will be a huge help towards stocking up the Club

Inka has also received a donation of two kayaks from KAJAKTIV which is awesome, so along with the two boats donated by her she has four.

More gear coming in

2008-09-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

Whitney Hansen, from the states has just received a donation of helmets from PRO-TEC. They have donated 12 ACE white-water helmets (pictured above), which is awesome for the Neplai Girls Kayak Club.

Monica Gokey (coming on the trip) has a sweet little donation box set up at a kayak shop called Potomac Paddle Sports in MaryLand (U.S.A). She has had heaps of donations so far including about 12 spraydecks. Here is a picture of the drop box.

North Water have donated about 11 throwbags for the trip, they will be shipped to Nepal too, which means more room to carry other gear. Very exciting.

Here is a little glimpse of the article Inka had in the Sweden Outside Magazine, she is now over in Nepal beginning the selection process for the training programme and sorting out lots of logistics.

Ferg's hooking up the goods

2008-08-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

We have some really exciting news!!!

Fergs Kayaks, who are a kayak shop and more, are going to donate to the Nepali Girls Kayak Club 2 paddles, 2 buoyancy aids and 3 spray decks, which is fantastic and really appreciated. Fergs are based in Wellington and Auckland and we wuold like to say a massive thankyou to them for helping out a great cause. I'm certain the gear will see many years of use on the rivers of Nepal. Check out their website http://www.fergskayaks.co.nz/.

News from Inka

2008-08-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

Inka is off to Nepal in just 14 days to begin preparations for the training programme.

Here is something cool off her website

"Another cool email came in today. Deepak, who was my guide the first time I was rafting in Nepal now wants his daughter to become a kayaker and is asking me to teach her! This is exactly what we have been hoping for and it shows the wonderful change of mentallity in modern Nepal! :) And of course as he was the first one to guide me on a Nepali river I will be honored!
7 August 2008" Inka Trollsas

Inka in Nepal last time, (she is the front)

A quick update

2008-08-10T02:13:00.001-07:00

A few days ago Inka received an email from a woman. She was the first Iranian woman to white-water kayak, 3 years ago. She is now part of the Iranian national womens slalom team and is hoping to come to Nepal with her 16 year old daughter to be a part of this project.

Whitney, a good friend of mine, who is from the states but spent last summer working on the Kaituna, has decided to come to Nepal. Currently she is teaching yoga classes and all the money made from them is going towards gear and funding for the Nepali Girls, so far she has made $400 which is fantastic

We have also had a new addition to the trip, Hayley Segal, a Kiwi girl, which is very exciting as she will be a great asset to this project.

A huge thanks to Hayden Bateman who is donating a spray deck and B.A, and to Steve Tudehope who is donating 2 paddle jackets a helmet and a drybag.

If anyone has gear lying around out there we will take anything, as every little peice makes a huge difference.

Thanks heaps for reading, Sophie

Also check out Inka's website by clicking on the link as she has lots of exciting updates too.

Latest Update - NZ sheep warming up the girls

2008-07-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had some very exciting news from Icebreaker. They are going to give us a bunch of seconds to take over for the Nepali girls to keep them warm on and off the river.

As you all know Icebreaker produce top quality New Zealand Merino wool products. Now that winter is well under-way we all have ours out in full-force; at work, up the mountain and on the river. We love the products Icebreaker produce and are super excited that the Nepali girls are going to get to test them out too.

This is our first major donation so far and we are very grateful to Icebreaker for helping out with this project. They've been great so far and have even offered to donate us some team wear for the trip.

Thanks heaps Icebreaker

The Kiwi Girls

How things are going so far

2008-07-24T04:59:00.001-07:00

Inka has been super busy over in Sweden with lots of planning, organising and recruiting. There are now 7 Swedish, 1 Welsh, 1 Canadian and 3 Americans as well as the 7 of us Kiwi girls heading over to Nepal.

Inka has just had an interview published in the latest Outside Magazine (Sweden) about the Nepali girls and has articles in other Swedish Magazines too.

Cumec (the New Zealand and Australian white-water kayak Magazine) will be profiling the trip in the Next issue, which works out well as it is the 'Women's Issue' so a huge thanks to Antz from Cumec for doing that.

Andy Fuller owner of 'Day Two' (New Zealand made kayaking gear) has also kindly offered us some amazing deals on gear which we will be taking him up on once we raise some funds, thanks very much Andy.

Now we are working on finding funding, equipment and someone to make the documentary, so if you're keen to help with any of these or know someone who may be then please let us know.

We have also added a link for donations on the right of the blog, so if anyone would like to donate a few dollars towards gear for the Nepali Girls that would be fantastic.

Thanks for reading and check back here soon for more updates of the project progress

Destination Nepal

2008-07-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Vision

For most women in Nepal a job in the rafting industry would be impossible as they will marry young and need to live at home looking after the family or will be committed to a less adventurous career. But for many women in Nepal this kind of work will be a good opportunity for an amazing change in their life, a way out of misery, poverty or boredom. In particular this would be a chance for those who come from difficult backgrounds having escaped from violent marriages or being widowed or homeless. For young adventurous women it might just be the dream career. Whatever their background the dream of this project is to see the Nepali women teaching tourists to kayak, to see them competing in international kayaking events and ultimately we would like to see Nepali women guiding groups of tourists on the beautiful rivers of Nepal as well as exploring rivers all over the world

Background

Nepal is one of the most famous countries in the world for white water kayaking and rafting. With the high Himalayas, guaranteed snow and rain feeding rivers in the numerous and beautiful valleys, Nepal is a perfect playground for those that love to explore a country by boat and those who just simply love the adventure of kayaking.

There are currently over 100 rafting companies registered in Nepal. Fifteen years ago most of the river guides, kayak instructors and safety kayakers were western. Since then, things have changed and Nepal has a considerable and proud pool of professional river guides. The many challenging rivers in Nepal have made Nepali river guides develop very competent skills. With this, they have gained respect throughout the world

but ..........................................................................

100% of the Nepali river guides and kayak instructors are male and that is where this project comes in. It is a chance for the Nepali Women who want, to get into the white-water industry, and they will given support and training the whole way. These women will begin to path the way for other Nepali women in the near future.

Inka Trollsas - the girl behind all this

2008-07-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

Inka is a female kayaker from Sweden and since the year 2000 has been running trips to Nepal through her company ‘Faraway Adventures’, bringing kayakers and trekkers over to explore the beautiful country she considers her second home. Inka has built many strong connections with the Nepali people and culture. After a lot of hard work she has managed to set up the Nepali Girls Kayak Club and is now organising this training programme for the girls. Her dream is to see Nepali women working and having fun on the waters of Nepal and the rest of the world.

The Trip

2008-07-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

This five week training programme runs through November and December and 10 Nepali women from the Nepali Girls Kayak Club (set up by Inka) will be selected based on their interest to work as a river guide and their passion to pass on their skills to other Nepali women. These women will become role models to other women wanting to be part of the white-water industry in Nepal.

The aim of this training programme is to produce 8-10 female professional river guides to work on the rivers in the Nepali white-water industry as raft guides, safety kayakers and kayak instructors. During this 35-day programme the girls will acquire skills in:

- White-water kayaking on class III rivers

- White-water raft guiding on class III rivers

- River rescue

- First-aid

- Communication skills, including how to communicate professionally with colleagues and clients in both Nepali and English

- Cooking for large groups on the riverside

- Setting up camp with tents and shelters

- Planning and Preparation of commercial trips

- Leadership skills

- Equipment maintenance

- Kayaking competition rules and regulations

The main instructor Churamani Aryal is a certified river guide instructor from NOLS and will assess and certify the girls at the end of the programme. Two other professional river guides will be there to teach together with him as well as girls from all over world.

In the first part of the training the girls will be joined by a group of International female kayakers from all over the world. On the Sun Kosi all the women will work in teams, kayaking, cooking and setting up camp together, which will help with team-work and be a great chance for the Nepali women to practice their English skills which is an important part of working in the tourism industry in Nepali. The goal at the end of the trip is to have all the ladies competing in the Peak UK Himalayan White Water Challenge. This is a respected and prestigious International kayak competition with a lot of media coverage locally and internationally. It has taken place for more than 10 years but this year will be the first time ever Nepali women will be entering the competition.

On the second part of the programme the focus will be on developing raft-guiding and leadership skills. The team will spend a lot of time learning how to guide a raft and rescue clients on the river taking turns kayaking guiding the rafts. There will also be two full days of first-aid training with the Red Cross. This part of the programme will also include how to plan and prepare for a commercial trip, and by the end the girls will be planning, preparing and guiding a group of tourists on the lower Seti River with guidance and supervision from the instructors. The last day of the programme will be a kayaking trip on the upper Seti River where the girls will strut their stuff using the correct kayaking techniques and safety skills.

Equipment needed - Keep an eye on this to see how we go with getting all the gear needed

2008-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

12 kayaks (2 have been sponsored by Far Away adventures, 2 donated by Canoe and Kayak, 2 donated from a Swedish company Kajaktiv)

12 spray-decks (3 sponsored by Fergs Kayaks in Wellington, 12 Sponsored by Skirt works - U.S.A)

12 paddles (1 has been donated by Emily Maynard, 5 donated by the Neilson Family, 2 donated by Fergs Kayaks in Wellington)

12 paddle jackets (1 donated by Anna White, 1 donated by Sophie Hoskins)

12 pairs of kayak shorts

12 wetsuits

12 buoyancy aids (2 donated by Fergs Kayaks in Wellington)

12 helmets (12 donated by PRO-TEC)

12 sets of thermals i.e. bra’s, tops, long-johns (Some donated by icebreaker)

12 dry bags 10 litre

12 dry bags 40 litre

12 throw bags (sponsored by northwater.com)

12 river knives

12 pairs of river shoes

All the equipment donated to this project will after the training be used by the Nepali Girls Kayaking club for training purposes, expeditions and working on commercial trips when rafting companies ca not provide the girls with gear.

Itinerary

2008-07-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Main focus on: Kayaking skills, setting up camp, cooking, teamwork, communication.

November

15th- Sukute beach, upper Sun Kosi. Kayak training and preparation.

16th- Sukute beach, upper Sun Kosi. Kayak training and preparation.

17th- Sun Kosi ‘commercial’ trip with international girls kayak team.

18th- Sun Kosi as above.

19th- Sun Kosi as above.

20th- Sun Kosi as above.

21st- Sun Kosi as above.

22nd- Sun Kosi as above.

23rd- Sun Kosi as above.

24th- Sun Kosi as above.

25th- Sun Kosi. Arrive at take out. Drive overnight.

26th- Arrive as Trisuli Rive. Set up camp, dry and maintain equipment.

27th- Kayak training for event and briefing of competition rules and regulations.

28th- Slalom competition.

29th Freestyle competition.

30th- Down river race, prize giving. Interviews with media about the Nepali women.

Part 2

Main focus on: Raft guiding, rescue, first aid and leadership.

December

1st- Trisuli raft guide training.

2nd- Trisuli raft guide training.

3rd- Trisuli River rescue training.

4th- Trisuli River rescue training.

5th- Seti River raft guide training, leadership and rescue training.

6th- Seti River raft guide training, leadership and rescue training.

7th- Seti River raft guide training, leadership and rescue training.

8th- Seti River raft guide training, leadership and rescue training.

9th- First Aid course.

10th- First Aid course.

11th- Pokhara. Prepare for Kali Gandaki River trip. Food shopping and planning.

12th- Kali Gandaki River. Raft guide and rescue training on harder/bigger water.

13th- Kali Gandaki River. Raft guide and rescue training on harder/bigger water.

14th- Kali Gandaki River. Raft guide and rescue training on harder/bigger water.

15th- Pokhara. Rest day and planning for client trip.

16th- Seti. Rafting assessment for girls. Rafting and kayaking trip with clients.

17th- Seti. Rafting assessment for girls. Rafting and kayaking trip with clients.

18th- Seti. Rafting assessment for girls. Rafting and kayaking trip with clients.

19th- Kayaking on the upper Seti River. Girls kayaking skills assessed. Celebration meal and certificate giving ceremony.

Budget

2008-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Cost of the training programme: (14 November-19^th December)

Insurance for 10 girls: 150 USD

Nepali instructor salaries: 3800 USD

Food: 700 USD

Rental of rafting/camping gear: 3000 USD

Entry fee for girls in competition: 30 USD x 10 girls = 300 USD

Celebration meal and certificate giving ceremony: 125 USD

Total training programme cost: 8825 USD

Project Contacts

2008-07-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

New Zealand: The Kiwi Crew
Email: nepaligirlskayaking@gmail.com
Phone: Sophie Hoskins 027 251 3504
Website: http://www.nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com
Please call or email us if you have any idea’s, questions, sponsorship, donations or would like a copy of the proposal.

Project manager and instructor: Inka Trollsas, Far Away Adventures
Email: inka@farawayadventures.com
Phone: 46 (0)73 814 05 70 / +977 9841 347 977
Website: http://www.farawayadventures.com/nepaligirlkayakers.php

Training manager and head instructor: Churamani Aryal, Himalayan River Guide Association Nepal
Email: info@riverguide.org.np
Phone: +977 98030 104 82
The Himalayan River Guide Association Nepal (HRGAN) is a non profit organisation with an objective to support and train river guides working across Nepal.

Nepal Association of Rafting Agents: Contact person, Mahendra Sing Thapa
Email: nara@enet.com.np
Phone: +977 98510 276 20
The main purpose of NARA is to introduce and promote Nepal’s rafting industry in the national and international sector.