About Us
We are a locally-led social benefit organization founded in 2009 by senior alumni of Crystal Mountain School. Our mission is to improve the lives of children and communities in the Dolpo region through education, healthcare, poverty eradication, sustainable energy, and cultural preservation.
Our Work
Crystal Mountain School
Crystal Mountain School (CMS) is our flagship program, serving as the first formal school in Upper Dolpo and for about a decade since its establishment in 1994, the only school in the region. CMS provides education for about 200 students (majority girls) from kindergarten to grade 10, mostly from Dho-Tarap valley. The school is community-led, founded in 1994 by Action Dolpo, and its alumni now work as nurses, health assistants, lab technicians, teachers, project managers, and local leaders in different parts of Dolpo. CMS focuses on teaching local language and histories in addition to the national curriculum.
Early Childhood Development
The Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiative aims to provide safe and engaging learning environments for young children up to 8 years of age in rural municipalities of Dolpo, including Dho Tarap. The program intends to build and operate ECD centers with locally adapted frameworks under the National Strategy for Early Childhood Development, offering day-care services for children aged 2-3 years, ECD national curriculum (and a local supplementary curriculum) for children aged 4-8 years, as well as provide nutrition, health (including maternal care), and sanitation services for the children and the community members. The program also seeks to address the challenges faced by the current ECD classrooms at Crystal Mountain School, which are inadequate from the children’s perspective, and offer a pilot ECD program in Dho-Tarap.
Dho-Tarap Health Post
The Dho-Tarap Health Post began providing basic healthcare and awareness in 2005. It was upgraded to a birthing center in 2009, fully equipped in 2012, and then shifted to a government-built facility in 2015. Two CMS alumni currently operate the health post and manage all health-related programs.
Snow Leopard Residence
Snow Leopard Residence (SLR) is a residence in Kathmandu for students who have completed their lower secondary education at Crystal Mountain School and are continuing their studies. Established in 2003, SLR provides a typical Dolpo atmosphere where students can live and learn together in a close-knit community.
Undergraduate Education Support
This program provides financial assistance to high school graduates of CMS/SLR for enrollment in undergraduate programs based on their interests. Living and tuition expenses are covered, and over 20 students are currently benefiting from this support.
News and Stories
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CMS Teaching Fellowship 2023
Teaching fellowships now open! To have an idea of the works we do and the community we are engaged with, we encourage candidates to refer to our website (visiondolpo.org) for information about Dolpo, Dho Tarap and Crystal Mountain School. You can also like or follow us on Facebook at fb.me/crystalmountainschool.…
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Field research report and project updates
Dear supporters, We are excited to provide some major updates regarding the project. It has been just more than a year now since we started this crowdfunding campaign to build warm classrooms for young children in Dho Tarap valley, Dolpo. Through your support, we have been able to conduct detailed…
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Field research trip this October
On October 2, 2022, our design, engineering and sustainability team is heading to Dho Tarap valley for a community site visit to finalize location of the first ECD center in Tokyu village, and conduct research on local building materials and techniques. With over 5 days of bus and jeep rides…
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Project updates and calendar for Aug-Sep 2022
Dear supporters, With your generous support, we have been able to raise over $16,000 so far. This has enabled us to fund the architectural design and initial engineering analysis of the first Early Childhood Development center. We are very proud of the designs that have been prepared. You can find…
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Proposed design for ECD campus
Dear supporters, We are excited to announce the completion of preliminary design of the first Early Childhood Development center in Dolpo (see attached photos or visit our program page). This center has been designed with a holistic overview of the necessary components for effective early childhood education, suited to the local…
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Passive solar research outputs and project summary
Dear supporters, Thanks to your generous support, we have so far raised $13,622 from 86 donors since we first started this campaign in Sep 2021 as part of the GlobalGiving accelerator program. Out of the raised amount, $11,896 has been disbursed in two installments by GlobalGiving to our local organizational bank…
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Vision Dolpo 