Whether you've specialised knowledge in health, education, social services, plumbing, basic English or other strengths, we're fully experienced in putting people in touch with contacts in Nepal who could benefit from your skills. We can assist you in spending your holiday in Nepal in a way which will genuinely help Nepalis. We do not levy the usual 'Administration fee' (which can be as high as £500 to £1000 we gather). Instead all we ask is for a donation which fairly reflects your means. We also ask you to do two other things. The first is that if you are at College or University or have an equivalent opportunity that you write an article describing your experiences and submit it for publication (simply to spread the word). The second is that if you ever hear anyone say they would like to raise funds for a charity but do not know which, you mention the Mountain Trust.

We are unable to subsidise the costs of Volunteers (or Interns) but we do give comprehensive advice (without charge) on such things as flights, visas, internal transport, medical questions, clothing requirements, accommodation and food costs etc. and we can arrange logistics whilst you are there. If travelling to Nepal, we do insist that you have full medical insurance cover since whilst we are here to assist as far as we reasonably can, we cannot accept liability for anyone neglecting to take out their own insurance cover prior to travelling. We aim to ensure that any Volunteers in the field, Interns in the UK or elsewhere have an enriching experience as a result of their joining with the Trust to reduce global inequalities.

We have experience in twinning specialist and mainstream schools in Nepal and the UK and have organised many trips on which skilled and professional volunteers from the West have found an opportunity to spend most of their holidays helping Nepalis learn - and forging valuable relationships in the process.

In late 2008 we took two medical students, two film students, an engineering student, a politics student and others with backgrounds in sound engineering, education and health. For further details, please read the Latest Report . We believe that Western volunteers learn at least as much about the East as they teach through voluntary work - and we certainly see the process as a two-way, rather than one-way learning experience.

Please get in touch with us if we might be able to help or give free advice. We even have specialised western style accommodation built in the styx of Nepal - specifically for Western volunteers. To give you a flavour of the experience, here are the lyrics to a song about each member of the team working in Nepal in August and September 2008 - played ably by Alexandros and rapped by Narayan. Click here.

Volunteering is not all work, rewarding as that is - or about seeing a culture unseen by tourists. It's about meeting other volunteers who are similarly self-selecting as well as enjoying time off swimming, rafting, trekking (and for some, shopping).

Here is a copy of one article written by Richard Boyd on the transition between conflict and peace. (Richard is an Engineering undergraduate at Cambridge and joined the Mountain Trust as a volunteer (looking into the high incidence of Kidney Stones in Nepal). He wrote this piece for the Globalist Magazine in the UK). Click Here.

Here are just a few examples of Interns recently working in Nepal with the Trust (or about to):

Richard Boyd (Cambridge, Engineering) Researching the high incidence of kidney stones in Nepal.
Rhiannon Evans (Cambridge, Medical) Health, hygeine and family planning education in schools and river beds in Nepal.
Dana Khoriati (Cambridge, Medical) Health, hygeine and family planning education in schools and river beds in Nepal.
Alexandros Papathanasiou (Anglia Ruskin, Film) Filming two documentaries - one on the Mountain Trust and one about our radio education programme.
Narayan O'Haloran (CRC, Film) Filming two documentaries - one on the Mountain Trust and one about our radio education programme.
Nick Beall (Southampton, Politics) Survey questionnaire design and piloting to monitor feedback on our radio education programme.
Rosie Crawley (Brunel, Social Anthropology) Gathering primary data on SLC pass rates by district and school and by gender across the radio broadcasting area.

Matthew Rigby [late 2009] Role to be decided.

We have had the support of a team of MBA graduate students at the Judge Business School, Cambridge.

Whilst the examples given on this page reflect our recent work, please do not assume that because your particular skills and experience have not been mentioned that you are not eligible to help. We believe everyone can help - it is simply a matter of identifying which skills / experiences / strengths you have that will make the greatest use in Nepal and create a rewarding experience for you. More often than not, we would need to hear from you by email or phone to advise on a series of options which might suit your strengths, interests and Nepali needs most closely.

Existing Interns:

Sam Palmer (Film Studies graduate) Editing footage taked in 2008.
Yen-Chung Chen (MPhil, Sociology, Cambridge) SPSS analysis of Roisie's data.

We currently have vacancies for the following Mountain Trust Internships:

Research Internships:

We are looking for anyone interested in doing some background research on previous attempts at radio education world wide (prior to our Radio Guru project) . There have been sporadic and differently intended trials in at least eight countries (Australia, India, China, Nepal [teacher training], Kenya and elsewhere in Africa and Latin America). A review of their strengths and pitfalls and a synopsis of the existing findings insofar as they relate to the Nepali experiment would be warmly welcomed and if robust, presented to the Minister for Education. Whilst there is no stipend available with this internship, there is some space and IT access available at the Humanitarian Centre, Cambridge. This work could be done elsewhere of course. There will be a few perks - such as an invite to the Mountain Trust annual cocktail party and of course a useful reference if all goes well.

Media Internships:

We have recently won the support of a very erudite and well read journalist (Justin Wintle) who writes for the FT & Times mainly on SE Asia and has contacts in the BBC. We are looking for an able writer to be briefed on some quite transporting human interest / political etc stories on Nepal to the local, regional and national media in the UK, possibly Nepal. If a person with these talents wishes to visit Nepal and train existing journalists, this can be arranged. In exceptional cases, we may be able to arrange for an unpaid internship with one of the English speaking national Nepali newspapers or other media outlets.

Newsletter Internships:

We need a volunteer who can monitor updates on our website & facebook sites, be copied into emails containing developments, elicit contributions from key players and edit these into a regular newsletter of approx 8 pages three times a year going out via email & links to web pages to around 600 supporters worldwide.

Language Internships:

To translate the Mountain Trust website into other tongues (Italian & French are in process but we could use proof readers for these). We are promised Bulgarian, Macedonian, Dutch & Greek in the longer term. We will arrange the Nepali translation.

Fundraising Internships:

From small scale through commercial to Department for International Development / other larger funding agency applications / speculative approaches to major funding agencies

FM Radio Internships:

One or more satellite FM radio specialists are needed to go to Nepal to draw up a technical specification and costing for establishing & running a national FM educational station in Nepal. We can introduce the person to technical people in existing national FM stations there and have a contact in China who can help source the most cost effective equipment.

Medical Internships:

Consultants, Surgeons, GPs, Nursing Consultants, Electives, Administrators, ICT specialists & medical undergraduates (to Nepal) for knowledge transfer.

Administrative & Organizational Internships:

In the space of ten years we have amassed a substantial archive of paperwork, photographs, certificates, news cuttings, DVDs, computer files, financial records etc. We are looking for an able and well organized volunteer to help us assemble a well thought through method of enabling us to easily find information in hard copy and digital forms (in a congenial and relaxed environment just outside Cambridge). We are also looking for someone to conduct an organizational audit. This is already under way in terms of governance, procedures and narrowing what each of the key players do to optimize the contribution of their skill sets but we’d welcome ideas on how we can press ahead most effectively from a systematic thinker viewing the structure anew.

See here for our Volunteer Agreement for people placed in Nepal.

Further details are available on request.