THE BASE

Base is where you will live, eat and play during your time on program! It is communal living at its finest. Some call it rustic, others call it home. Base is typically co-ed bunk style dorm rooms with assorted common areas for eating and relaxing.

All the volunteers and staff will stay on the base which is adjacent to the site. There is a RCC building consisting of 3 rooms in which the staff and volunteers will stay. Every room will have bunk beds and every volunteer and staff will have an assigned bunk-bed. In each room there will be 12 beds available which will be used. There is enough space for tents to be set up.

KITCHEN:

Kitchen facilities will be provided in which volunteers can make their own food. It will be a CGI and Bamboo structure with the furniture made up of ply-wood. There will be more than one gas burner available so that more than one person can cook at the same time. If someone wants to make any food then they can buy the materials required from the market and cook food on base. Tea and coffee are available at any time and breakfast is available for volunteers on the workdays. Volunteers can make their breakfast in this kitchen too. Also, if anyone wants to try making something new or cook something for friends then this is the best place to do so. Inside the kitchen there will be a separate space which can be used as personal food storage space for all volunteers. Everyone will put their food to store in a box or a carton and can store there.

COMMUNAL SPACE:

The communal Space will be an open CGI structure consisting of benches and whiteboards. This is a place where volunteers can hang out, talk or just sit by oneself having a cup of tea and read some book. This is also the place where the volunteer meetings and other events will be carried out. Volunteer meetings will be done 5 days a week in the presence of all of the volunteers in which we talk about how the day has been both on site and base and what will plan for the upcoming day. All the relevant information that needs to be shared with everyone will be given during this meeting. If there are some suggestions then also this is a good place to say. Finally, there is a Wellness room where volunteers can also have time to themselves to relax, do yoga, have quiet time, etc.

SHOWER AND TOILET:

Shower and Toilet facilities will be separate from the main building. There will be a three/four chambered CGI structure for Shower and another ¾ chambered CGI structure for toilet. Dry toilet will be available on base and a urinal will also be available nearby the toilet. The shower will be tap and a bucket system. The water can be filled in the bucket and a mug can be used to pour water, or a tap can be used directly to shower. These structures will be made inside the base area.

LAUNDRY:

The laundry facility will be available on base. Self-laundry is an efficient way in which there will be tap and detergent available and we can wash our clothes by hand. A laundry person is available on base who will take a certain amount for each cloth and wash the clothes provided. While giving the clothes to the laundry person, we should always provide money beforehand based on the rate sheet and check for any important things in the pocket of the clothes to be given. Volunteers must wash their own socks and underwear.

We provide WiFi in communal areas on base from Thursday evening to Sunday morning; but it typically is not available in the sleeping areas. Where WiFi is available, it can be slow at times depending on the amount of people online.

If you would like data while you are traveling in Kathmandu or Sindhuli, you can purchase a local SIM card once arriving in Kathmandu airport. The recommended company is NCELL. NCELL allows data plans to be increased using an app and is the preferred choice of cell phone carriers in the area. The phone data does not work well in the Hariharpurgadhi municipality.

There will be power sockets in the rooms available for you to charge your electronics. However, we can not guarantee there will be a socket close to your bed. We recommend bringing portable battery packs for additional power.

Staff can provide a laptop or phone if you need to contact a family member. Laptops and phones will also be available to anyone in isolation. If you regularly need a computer or phone for personal use we recommend bringing your own.

In Nepal the power plugs and sockets are of type C, D and M. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz. If necessary, please ensure you purchase a power adapter to charge your electrical items.

We provide three meals a day, six days per week (working days).

• Breakfast: Oats, Peanut Butter, Jam, Bread, Eggs, Tea and Coffee

• Lunch: Traditional Nepali food i.e. Dal Bhat

• Dinner: It will be a menu that rotates with each day of the week

There will be no meal provided on your day off, so staff and volunteers need to budget accordingly to prepare their own meals, or pay local shops for meals. Vegetarian diets can be accommodated but vegans and those with specific dietary requirements will need to supplement what we can provide with items they bring or source and purchase themselves. Most meals will be traditional Nepali foods like rice, lentils, vegetables and salads. You will be able to store personal food items on the shelves but there may not be any refrigerated personal space.