Green Village in Sekha

Why has Cunina started this project?

Building the Green Village is the first step to realizing the Cunina Eco Skill Center. When the entire center is completed, children in Sekha will be able to complete kindergarten, primary education, secondary education and higher education.

Sekha is situated next to the mountainside of the Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world. More and more mountaineers want to go through Sekha to reach the top of the Himalayas. But the area is not fit for mountain tourism and the villagers have no experience in this field. Cunina seizes the opportunity to combine economy and education.

Cunina is building a total of eight houses in the Green Village. Only tourists will be able to stay in these houses. Here, the students of the hospitality training can put their knowledge into practice and complete their internship by helping the visitors of the Green Village. After their internship, they will be ready for a job in the tourism sector.

The second step is to invest in an agricultural training, because the Nepalese mountain people eat almost the same thing every day. The students will learn how to grow vegetables that are hard to find in the region. These vegetables will be used in meals for the tourists and those that remain will be sold at the local market. 

This way, the project will become self-sufficient. Cunina will use the money earned from the tourist residences and the agricultural training to invest in the quality of the education at the Cunina Boarding School.

What has Cunina done in the past?

The land for Green Village was purchased in April 2015. It is situated on the mountainside, which is entirely made out of terraces, behind the current Cunina Boarding School in Sekha. After drawing the plans, the fences were built. The actual construction started in the beginning of January 2017.

What will Cunina do in the future?

The first four houses will be finished in the summer of 2017. From then on, we are starting the construction of the next four. While these houses are being constructed, we are also preparing the theoretical hospitality training in the skill center in Khandbari. We will start offering the agricultural training at a later stage. 

 

We work together with the local community and use local materials to support the local economy and create jobs.

Fact sheet of Green Village

Start of the project: April 2015

Money already spent: €280,000

Number of students: 50 every year

Result in January 2017:

• Purchase of land
• Drawing of the plans
• Building of fences
• Starting the construction of the carcass of the building

Op de planning:

• Finishing the construction of the carcass of the building
• Provision of utilities
• Furnishing and decoration of the buildings

Why does Cunina operate in Nepal?

30% of the Nepalese population does not know how to read or write, even though primary education is free and compulsory for children aged six to eleven. Only half of the children in Nepal go to school.

The quality of public schools is bad and private schools are too expensive for many families. This is one of the reasons why children that do go to school often drop out early.