Summary:

Our second Basic canyoneering course was conducted from the 9th to 12th Nov 2019. We were delighted to have senior instructor Rich Carlson from Canyoning Group International join us for the course. The main goal of the course was to expose students to adventure tourism through canyoneering so that they are aware of the adventures tourism industry if they wish to pursue a future in this field. The students were able to complete the ultimate goal of canyoneering down a waterfall by themselves. Our team received a tremendous amount of support from the Annapurna Conservation area – Unit Conservation Office, Sikles in terms of the logistics for the students and our team. We Thank Roman Evarts, Sean Bardy, Lindsay Owens, Dinesh Lama, Rajip Tripati and Thakman Gurung for bringing their professional experience for the benefits of the students as volunteers.

Background:

After the successful completion of the basic canyoning course last year our visiting instructor was delighted with how the course went, he was excited about coming back again this year. That for us was yet another opportunity to organize more courses that could benefit the youth. So, this year two courses were planned for the Basic Canyoneering course and Intermediate Canyoneering Course. This Basic Canyoneering course was about covering its foundation and bringing exposure to rural youth about adventure tourism. To bring maximum value we selected the village of Sikles. It is located close to Pokhara, growing in tourism and is home to unexplored waterfalls. We got in touch with the ACAP-UCO, Sikles to helps us with students and local arrangements. Once everything was set we began the course as planned.

The Students:

We wanted to have a mix ranged of students so that they could benefit from the experience. Students were selected from Skiles and Burjung Khola, we were also delighted to have participants sent from the Mira Rai Initiative. This brought together a very interesting mix of participants that could benefit from their diverse background.

Here is the list of students that joined the course.

  • Sandhya G.C
  • Pasang Lamu Sherpa
  • Rahul Samuel
  • Narjung Gurung
  • Om Gurung
  • Kushal Shrestha
  • Mandip Acharya
  • Khendo Lama
  • Nitu Tamang
  • Lokesh Shrestha
  • Nischal Timilsina
  • Rupan Karki
  • Purnima Gurung
  • Lambutti Lama
  • Jitman Gurung
  • Lekh Bahadur Gurung
  • Chhoki Sherpa
  • Sakuntala Budha Magar
  • Dibek Tamang
  • Buddi Bahadur Gurung

Team

Here is the list of people that volunteered for this project.

  • Richard Carlson – Lead Instructor
  • Jagan Nath Timilsina – Instructors
  • Arun Pariyar – Administrative Volunteers
  • Sean Bardy – Teaching Volunteer
  • Lindsay Owens – Teaching Volunteer
  • Dinesh Lama – Teaching Volunteer
  • Rajip Tripati – Teaching Volunteer
  • Thakman Gurung – Teaching Volunteer

Expense Report:

Coming Soon

Special Thanks

  • Rich Carlson, for joining us yet again as the Lead Instructor
  • Norhex.net for donating rope bags to Freedom Social Foundation
  • Mira Rai Initiative for bringing their runners to the course to expand their reach to outdoor.
  • ACAP – UCO, Lwang for their assistance with logistical preparation and making their premise open for use during the course.

Outcome

  • 18 new students have been exposed to canyoneering.
  • Freedom Social Foundation has received rope bags as donations from NORHEX.
  • The foundation has brought exposure of canyoneering to youth in Sikles for the first time.
  • We have now trained 40+ specifically under the Basic Canyoneering Course.

Reviews and Reactions

Apart from the positive response from the locals of Sikles, we have been shown great appreciation by the Annapurna Conservation Office, Unit Conservation Office, Sikles (ACAP-UCO, Sikles) and they are very much will to support and work with Freedom Social Foundation.

Conclusion

This being our second course under canyoneering has allowed us to expand the number of students who can now opt for Intermediate canyoneering course next time. We made changes from tenting and camping in this course to a Homestay experience. This has brought a very rich exposure to students about life in a village setting and made them appreciate the peaceful way of life away from urban living.

Gallery:

Basic Canyoneering Course Sikles