My monastery go farm... story and budget

In a nutshell the problems we are facing and what we need to give to the children a better life

Our school…and the new Pokhara international airport!

THE STORY:

I live in the SunCave Monastery. It is a small Tibetan Buddhist monastery from Upper Mustang, in Nepal.

The original monastery is 800 years old, half an hour from the Tibetan border.

In the past, the children in our monastic school were mainly Mustangi. So they were used to the freezing cold of the Mustang winter -25 C (-13 F). Without the heating system!

But lately, many children from other ethnic groups joined. Children from regions with mild temperatures.

That's why the monks had to build the monastic school near Pokhara where the weather is milder.

The monastery is and was very poor, so they bought a little land.

At that time, in 2014, it was enough.

Lhunpo and Karma happily eating salad :)

THE PROBLEMS:

Now, almost 10 years later, the new international airport of Pokhara has been built practically at the school's doorstep!

Where in 2014 there were only fields, now there is the airport, and houses are popping up like mushrooms all around, as far as 1 mt from our walls… the children's rooms have become not only overcrowded, we have 55 kids from 5 to 16 years old, but also dark and humid because no air circulation.

The meadows where our children used to play are disappearing one by one.

The blue roof is us, see how close the neighbors are building all around?

You have to think that the biggest part of our children come from very poor families. Some of them have no family at all. That's why they live all year round in the school. They never go out shopping, to buy ice cream, or for a short tour of the countryside. They are always here. And soon they will have only our small cemented courtyard where to play.

The children's diet is mainly carbohydrates: rice, potatoes, and bread. Watery lentils and a spoon of vegetables. Once a week very little chicken and one egg. With few vitamins and proteins, I keep curing diseases due to a poor diet.

THE SOLUTION:

There is one solution which would be good to solve all our problems: the airport, the poor food and too little space for too many people.

Exams in the courtyard. You can see the airport just behind us.

To move to the countryside and have a new school with also a vegetable garden.

This would change the life not only of the 55 children living there now, but also of the children who will attend the LNNN Monasctic school in the years to come!

The minimum land to move and have space for all we need is 6000 sqm (64583 square feet).

10.000 sqm (107639 square feet) would be better.

The land price in Nepal keeps changing. Last year it was 3 million Nepali rupees x  ropani ( =508 mq or 5468 feet), but one month ago they asked, for good land, 4 million rupees per ropani!

THE BUDGET:

6000 sqm (64583 square feet) of land last year's price would be 283,776 US $.

POSITION ON GOOGLE MAP:

See on Google map the monastery in Mustang:  https://goo.gl/maps/eEBjJyhUbzv4ZEMW8  

And the monastic school in Pokhara: https://goo.gl/maps/6ReQT74BDB8NTSmy8 

We are the Lowo Nyiphug Namdrol Norbuling Monastic School.

Exams: Legpa, 16 years old (class 8) and Pinky, 5 years old (nursery), sharing the same bench :) More than a school this is a family