News and Events

Book Your Spring 2013 Nepal Tour Now

With Sashi in residence and the addition of the energetic young monks, the gompa is buzzing with activity. More and more trekkers are stopping by to take a look around, and area residents are constantly popping in to see our progress and offer thanks and encouragement. The spring volunteers will work to finish the labrang (library), clean and restore the interiors of the two oldest temples, and begin repair of the mani wall. Sashi will be busy working his magic on new wall paintings in the holy gyalpo. In between the work, there’s plenty of time for hiking to hilltop villages and ancient temples, shopping in Marpha village, and exploring the heritage of the region in picturesque Tukuche. The weather is lovely, with vibrant green wheat fields waving in the wind.

If you’re unable to make the RWI trip dates, gather three friends and we will customize a trip especially for your group.

We encourage you to speak with a volunteer from a previous trip to hear more about his or her experience. We can provide you with contact information.

Chhairo Progress Report, 2012

What a difference a year makes! In June, the arrival of the young monks marked a momentous milestone for Chhairo Gompa. They have brought a lot of life and laughter to the temple; when not racing back and forth to school, they are being tutored in Buddhist studies by Sashi.

An enthusiastic group of fall volunteers worked to clean important temple statues and wood carvings, plaster walls and prep wood for the library floor. Spending time with Sashi is always a highlight of the volunteer experience, whether he’s opening an ancient prayer book or making charcoal drawings of Buddhist deities on the walls of the sacred gyalpo.

With the gyalpo, labrang and monks’ quarters nearly complete, we are celebrating the achievement of another major phase in the restoration work. We now turn our efforts to important cosmetic restorations, including the temple interiors and the grounds surrounding the gompa, including the ancient mani wall.

The Monks Have Moved In!

In early June, six young monks from the Upper Mustang region of Nepal became the Chhairo Gompa’s first official residents in more than 40 years. An important first step in the growth of Chhairo’s monastic community, they will live and learn alongside Sashi. Stay tuned for more information on how you can help support these young boys.

Armenia: RWI’s Latest Project

Coming soon: details on how you can participate in restoring a 150-year-old theater in Gyumri, Armenia.

Preliminary Spring 2012 Chhairo Progress Report

The progress made since last year is fantastic to see. Sashi’s quarters are gleaming, and with the addition of rugs, bedding and a rice cooker, it’s becoming home to him. The walls of the labrang/library rise higher by the day, just in time for the arrival of the young monks from the Upper Mustang area. Sashi and the volunteers are hard at work readying the gyalpo for Sashi’s wall paintings. The second Spring Group is finishing up their time at Chhairo now – stay tuned for a more complete update with photos.

Fall 2011 Chhairo Progress Report from our Group Leader

We had a great and amazing time! There was lots of satisfying work for the group -- cleaning Buddha mani stones, dusting sculptures in the gompa, kitchen duty, moving stones from the rock quarry and clearing paths on the site, hauling earth on our backs, carpentry work (sanding and planing wood beams, chiseling holes in timbers for joinery), squaring off stones for masons, making mud mortar, painting a new Chhairro Gompa sign. (The sign came out great thanks to three volunteers who worked on it even after typical work hours; Sashi helped paint the Tibetan and English text -- his artistic skills inspired all.)

We enjoyed some wonderful trips on our time off. Most of the group trekked to Muktinah, Kagbeni and Jzong for the weekend. A jeep ride up to Muktinah from Jomsom was great fun, then we split in two, with some heading to Kagbeni, 2-1/2 hours away, and others going to Jzong to check out a monastery at the top of the mountain before joining up again in Kagbeni. Another day-long jaunt included a trip to Tukuche, Sashi’s home village, where we saw several gompas as well as traditional Thakali residences. The distillery was closed for the multi-day Diwali festival, which was a bit of a disappointment to the alcohol-loving group. Other afternoon trips included Chimang and a lama dance in Dhumpha, both two-hour hikes from Chhairro. We also visited Chhairro school to play a bit of soccer with the 27 students, and see their computer lab with many donations from past volunteers.

Sashi and Dawa joined us each night for conversation, games of Uno, charades, DVD movie nights, Hindi dance lessons and brandy drinking. On our last night Sashi hosted a multi-course dinner with delicious food, strong Tukuche brandy, and fireworks in the street – a final festive celebration that went late into the night. See photos from the Fall Trip on Facebook.

Jane Han, a volunteer from our Baldan Baraivan project, recently completed a documentary on Mongolia, and sent us this video from her time there.

Tour Dates for 2013
Nepal, Spring
April 15-26
April 29- May 10

Nepal, Fall
October 7-18
October 21- November 1

Customized Tours
Groups of four or more can
plan their own trip dates.
Please contact us so we
can accommodate your requested schedule.