Dear Omer,

My name is Lucky, not Astrid and my entry is "Trekking is a Walking Meditation". I think you have accidentally replied to a comment Astrid made about my entry, instead of a comment she made about your entry!

Regards,
Lucky

Dear Astrid,

First of all Congratulations! I am really impressed with the work of Women Win. We viewed your website and found it very informative and well done.

As I understand it, Women Win is changing the attitudes of women through sports, similar to our work at Empowering Women of Nepal. We are also working for equal opportunities in employment. We are currently working in west Nepal, an area greatly under Maoist influence, to promote positive attitudes through tourism as an alternative to change through violence.

We are working in a male-dominated industry here, encouraging gender equality in the work force via our training and paid apprenticeship program. Women are becoming independent, self dependent, and gaining self confidence as well as going for higher education.

We are glad to know your organization is also doing such things to change women’s attitudes through sports.

You might be interested to read our new competition entry in the Geotourism Challenge - http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/5637.

Regards,
Lucky Chhetri

Thank you for your interest. Many women entering this program start out very shy, lacking confidence, have had a poor education and often speak no English. After going through the training course and apprenticeship program they become independent, self-supporting and confident women. They can express their feelings and understand the value of their own life. From a small beginning of only 7 women in the first course, we now have women waiting for a year to get on this training program. Our experienced trekking guides now want advanced training so they can become mountaineering guides. We have held rock climbing training and are currently holding our first ice-climbing training.

Batuli, from western Nepal came in 2001, was only 16. She was sent to us in order to prevent her being taken by Maoists who were very active in western Nepal, taking lots of children from their homes. She was very shy, covering her face, and if she had to talk she was almost in tears. After staying with us several years she now guides trekkers at high altitude. Her life has changed completely – she is an independent and confident woman, married with one child. She has taken a time off to look after her child, but is returning to work soon. Her 2 friends who also came for training, decided to return to their homes, but were sadly killed in the Maoist conflict.

Yes, men showed little sympathy towards women, saying that women cannot do this job, it is not a good job for women etc. Now that the women are trained and working professionally, the same men are proud to say women are doing a good job. One good example is where we are working, the whole community was against us because they thought that we were exploiting women. Now the same community asks us to train their sisters and daughters. The men now respect the women and their independence.

Thank you for your interest,
Lucky Chhetri

We do have 4-week classes in the classroom as well as on the field in every six months. Our lessons are, Conversational English, Tourism, Trekking information, Environment, Local plants, birds and animals names, local culture and religions, Western Manners and Eastern Manners, Basic Wilderness First-Aid, emergency, High Altitude sickness (AMS) Geography, History and current affairs, Women health and AIDS-STD, Women's issues and the rights, Leadership training, field trip for the real situation lesson etc.

It is working very well in the practice. We are creating atmosphere as well as providing opportunity for women to enter into a new profession with skills training and paid apprenticeship program with our business 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking. At the beginning they will work as assistant (porter), seniors will guide and teach them on their job. Even some tourists are interested to teach English and other subjects on their trek. Therefore, they are always learning and earning in the same time. Takes time to be a good guide but from the very beginning they start earning money so they will be working and improving their skill and knowledge can spent enough time to be a guide.

We are the living example and our senior guides are the role model to them. They have heard about us and when they see, our place and other women working and guiding independently in to the Himalayas speak more than we share. We always begin and close our program with the interaction program. We always give introduction of our work and ourselves. They will get chance to meet other ex trainees to hear more from them.

Women are coming for employment; the empowerment and to learn English Language. Almost all women will go through on the job training for field experience to realize their interest and capacity for their own decision. 32 % women worked with 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking company and rest are doing their own business and service with others and some of them are studying further. Some of them are aboard for education and the employment, planning for the future business.

Yes, we have high demand from tourists. At the moment 60 women working in our trekking company still it is not enough.
Yes, We 3 Sisters Adventure created this entire program and running by our own. As you may know, there were domestic violence in our country and tourism affected very badly. In that situation, we asked donor to continue our work, Again in Nepal tourism is picking up and we are financially secure for our Female Trekking Guide Training Program.
Of course, training gives technical knowledge, skill and confident to all women to performance their duty. We are sharing our knowledge to our youngsters for better service and comfort to our clients. We are fortunate to share our experiences, which turn into advantage or value added on our business.
I must thank to Ashoka for giving me title of Social Entrepreneur. In fact, I am not a businessperson but I knew I must be self-sufficent to do social work Luckily, I got chance to self sustain and involve more women in this now profession. My future is to reach unto the needy areas with lots of helping hands means with ideas, volunteers including financial all sorts of empowerment work. Physical strength is all external and temporary. If you are inner strong you can never find differences between men and women. We know it is not your answer how we are mobilizing our girls into the male dominated industry is that we are sharpening them by skill and knowledge training. They are equally fit and performing their duty and services. If they are well equipped, they are ready to take challenge. With poor brought up and opportunity, we cannot compare. Thank you for your interest. Lucky.

Trekking was a male profession; No one believed that women could be trekking guides. To work in tourism was a bad reputation. According to our culture and religion, women should be sober and should do gentle work like teacher, nurse. Women consider doing household work, taking good care of their family, animals and field.
According to our religion, Himalayas are holy even though there is no objection for women to be in the mountains. Women consider weak, sympathetically consider working inside home, and should not do the adventure or challenging work. Women should not be exposing out.
I think it is just the co incident to invent a new profession. We 3 sisters were looking for the place to fit ourselves. We put together our experiences to find out opportunities for all women from remote Nepalese women to western women then universe supported our mission and bring us all together in a common place. This is all because of our friends and family joined their hands on our work.
This is one of the very successful new professions for the Nepalese women; it was not a profession even 10 years before. Without advertisement, candidates are over booked. Women from the remote districts to the university are in the program. There are many reputed trekking companies are asking us to collaborate.

We are providing basic trekking guide training to women only and the advance training together with men. Men are working with us those we are aware on gender issues. We always train our community that we are also human being, do not worship as a goddess and neglect as an animal. Provide us opportunity to learn and do. These days both should work in and out to solve our family's social economic burden. So cooperate them to be self sufficient.

Our training program covers so many subjects like english language, first aid, culture religions, history, geography , environment and many which are useful for the day to day life and can help them to step out more. So, our training is not only inspiring to be a trekking guide but in many other things to be independent and self supportive.

We do have men involve in our program. What I believe is if there is no men, no gender issues. Our work begins with men's attitude, behaviors. When we started our project, no women guides were working and we should work with men and still we are working.

Thank you for your interest. Lucky