Climbing Kathmandu

One of my dreams is to take the Transiberian Railway one day. I was even once told by an international education “expert” that it would be a good idea to take the Transiberian Railroad to Nepal. Well, I didn’t take the Transiberia to Nepal…I had to fly via India because well, the Transiberian Railway runs from Moscow to the Sea of Japan via Mongolia and Nepal is between China, Tibet, and India…south…way south of Mongolia.

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal is a beautiful place with serene mountains and loud, dirty streets. There are meditative Buddhist stupas…

…devout Hindus performing puja, a religious ritual of gratitude…

…chaotic street markets…

…and intoxicating spices.

The food is amazing. There really aren’t large supermarkets with prepackaged meats in styrofoam or frozen dinners packed with who-knows-what. If I ordered chicken, I knew the chicken was usually coming from the family’s backyard.

Given its geographic proximity and history with neighboring countries, there are a lot of Indian influences, with curries and dal (lentils) that you eat with your right hand.

There are also a lot of Chinese and Tibetan influences with noodles and heavy meat dishes.

Being in the Himalayas, there’s even a local beer.

But not everyone gets to drink this beer or eat the food. The ten year Nepalese Civil War from 1996-2006, during which time over 12,500 were killed and over 100,000 displaced, what is left is a food insecure nation – 41% of the people lack sufficient food. 80% of children under 5 are malnourished. Issues of chronic food insecurity, high food prices, and natural disasters make Nepal a food vulnerable nation (World Food Programme).

Climate change has led to once-predictable rains and water run-off from the Himlayas to droughts and floods, wiping out topsoil and entire villages. Crop yields are decreasing, certain types of rice and vegetables are no longer growing where they once did, and even wild animals have begun to show changes in their gestation periods. The danger of glacier meltaway is real (The Guardian). Yesterday, December 3, Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal held a summit on climate change on mountain communities (Radio France), signaling greater attention on this critical issue.

Read more about how to help with the World Food Programme or think about giving a gift of animals via Heifer this Christmas to support local families to bring an end to chronic food insecurity.

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