CURRENT PROJECTS

Namlo's Development Programs are based on building the capacity of members of the community to work together to help themselves.

Adult Literacy: Adult education is the first step towards poverty alleviation. Namlo helps provide adult literacy classes so that the communities are better prepared to develop and manage their own sustainable development projects.

Community Training: Namlo helps communities learn how to organize, plan and run profitable, self-sustaining and environmentally friendly programs that support their school and improve their quality of life.

Women's Empowerment: Educating women has a positive impact on a community's economic productivity. Namlo provides women with the tools to become effective leaders for change in their families and communities.

Income generating projects. The goal of self-sustaining schools is fundamental to how Namlo works with communities after they construct a school building. By starting cottage industries, communities can raise the funds necessary to insure that their school will be kept in good condition (repair, painting, cleaning). These funds can also be used to supplement or update supplies and learning materials, pay for an additional private teacher, make improvements, or pay for any project that the community sees as benefiting its school.

Namlo provides small grants and connects villages with other grant funding or micro-financing for income generating projects. On our recent visit to the village we found 4 volunteers willing to spend 6 months in Kathmandu learning the traditional art of dhaka weaving. Namlo will offer a grant to the women to defray their room and board expenses while at Daka Weave. On their graduation, they will return to the village and teach other women this skill, thus establishing a lucrative cottage industry.We anticipate supporting women weavers in Yarmasing by offering grant money to purchase custom looms for dhaka weaving, which they will need when they return from training and start their own weaving business. Grant money for other communities will help them to jump start their own income generating projects.

Infrastructure and health projects. Los Pinares has a primitive water system, and Barrio Nuevo lacks a water delivery system altogether. Dhuskun needs a fountain/spigot at its school so that children can wash their hands before handling books and before and after meals.

The women's group in Yarmasing, Nepal, meets to discuss their income generating projects.

How you can help with these programs:

Volunteer: Namlo seeks expert volunteers willing to consult or work directly with villages in need of community building.

We need volunteers with expertise in small business operations, fair trade, and crafts. An interest in agriculture, weaving, or other handicrafts would match current projects. Contact us for a list of income generating projects needing support.

Donate: To our community development grant fund to help jumpstart income generating projects.

Partner: We welcome partnerships with other grant funding and micro-financing agencies.

Volunteer or Partner: Namlo seeks volunteers and NGO's with expertise in potable water, engineering, renewable energy, and healthcare. Contact us for a list of needs.

Be a Travel Volunteer. Travel to villages and work directly with community members on any of our community development projects. Contact us for current projects, and for dates and costs of travel.

Women from Yarmasing will spend 6 months training at Dhaka Weave, a non-profit in Kathmandu, that teaches this dying art. They will return to the village and start a business to support themselves and the school.