Photo Documentary – Karmidanda – Nepalese Mountain Village

The photo story below chronicles the people and lifestyle of the the small mountain village of Karmidanda, in Nepal. In late 2012 I had the privilege of being invited to stay with the Neupane family. The father, Jhabraj, is an English teacher at the village school and often has westerners to stay for cultural exchange and to house volunteers for the village – a service he does for the good of the community. Although he’s very humble and won’t outright admit it, he’s effectively the village elder and the locals come to him for advice and guidance.

During my two week stay I observed the lifestyle of the villagers, who were friendly and welcoming. Karmidanda is in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains with views into deep valleys – after some hard travels I took it easy and settled into their pace of life. Like many Nepalese settlements outside of the cities, it is a very poor farming village. But despite their daily hardships the people are some of the most cheery, generous and happy of any I’ve met on my travels. I was lucky enough to be invited to a local wedding and I also tried my hand in the fields for a few days harvesting millet. The villagers are mostly farmers and even the elderly work in the fields every day.

Tragically, the massive 2015 earthquake devastated Karmidanda and a number of people were killed.  Much of the village was destroyed or damaged beyond repair including the Neupane’s house. Since then Karmidanda has struggled even more than usual, most still live in makeshift homes, although life seems to be slowly returning to normal. Its a testament to the people’s strength of spirit and community that they have pulled together to weather this hard time. I would like to return one day and properly photograph this wonderful community – and I will forever be grateful to Jhabraj and his family for allowing me a glimpse into the real lives of the villagers of Nepal. At a later date I may write this period in more detail. Under the gallery you can also find links to detailed blog posts I wrote at the time fully chronicling my village experience. Click on an image to see it enlarged.

More photos, and detailed blog stories for this visit:

Arriving in Karmidanda
School Visit
Farm Life
I help out with farming
Corn crop
Visit to town
Making butter
Wedding Day
Food Poisoning!
Village Tales
Back to Kathmandu