- AddressG21b, The Pier, Pier Point Road, Cairns QLD 4870 Australia
The team members listed below have all been a part of the Take on Nepal team for a long time, we are proud to have supported all team members for many years, we have encouraged and supported their education and have provided a training and other opportunities. Our team stay with us because we ensure great working conditions, above award pay and generous tipping.
We recognise that our team are our greatest asset, they mean the world to us and they are the reason for our successful treks and our very high return rate. You will notice that the surname Tamang is prevalent, this is because the Tamang people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nepal, some of our staff members are related but most are not!
Phulmaya is an inspiration to everyone who knows her. Phulmaya started school at the age of 12, her parents did not want her to attend school as they viewed her role tending to the family farm as more important. Her older brother Som on a visit to his village insisted that his sister attend school or he would not return to the village. Phulmaya was one of the only girls at the school but through encouragement and support she excelled and recently graduated university with a Bachelor of Social Work, she also holds a Diploma of Pharmacy.
Phulmaya is a competent and strong leader, she is knowledgeable and professional. Phulmaya has been one of our lead trekking guides for over 7 years and was one of the very first female guides on the Everest Trails.
Bijay is the person responsible for welcoming you to Nepal and to making sure your arrival and departure is smooth and easy. He is the person to turn to with any issues you may be having! Bijay is also FHC’s hostel manager in Nepal. He manages the every-day functions of our charity hostel on the ground in Batase village. This includes managing the hostel where over 40 disadvantaged boys and girls are boarded and given access to quality education at the local school.
Bijay is an inspiration to everyone who meets him. At the age of 12 Bijay came to FHC hostel and Som Tamang founder of Take on Nepal stepped in to provide support to Bijay and his 2 younger sibling on their education journeys.
Dinesh is a character! He’s funny, energetic and loves the moutains. Dinesh is full of knowledge about the Himalayas and is passionate about sharing his knowledge. Dinesh is an excellent trekking guide and is very experienced leading large groups and also individuals.
Dinesh has climbed multiple peaks in the Himalayas and has a 100% success rate in guiding our summit climbs. If you’re interested in summiting Island Peak, Mera Peak or Labouche, Dinesh will be your person!
Whether you are trekking a trail or summiting a peak you can be assured that with Dinesh by your side you will be well supported. As with all of our team members, Dinesh has wisdom and a sense of responsibility that is beyond his years. Dinesh is a fantastic leader with a true love for his job.
Geljen is from the Everest region, he has over 20 years of experience leading groups in the Himalayas. Geljen is a competent and professional guide, he is patient, kind and caring. Geljen truly loves what he does and we are so grateful to have someone of his strength and calibre on our team. We consistently receive amazing feedback about Geljen and it’s well deserved. We know Geljen always puts the safety of well being of trekkers before anything else, he shares his knowledge of the mountains and is a fun and happy person to be around.
Geljen is a father to two young children and during the off season in Nepal he receives sponsorship to work in Austria.
We are so proud of Samjhana, what she has achieved is outstanding. As with all of our young female guides, Samjhana had a difficult childhood, Samjhana is one of 6 children, her parents are poor subsistence farmers. Samjhana was not encouraged to go to school and she spent much of her childhood working on the family farm and looking after her siblings.
Samjhana is a tower of strength, she provides an enormous amount of encouragement and support to all trekkers. Samjhana is a calm and reassuring person, she will help you to believe in yourself and with Samjhana by your side you will feel safe and supported.
We are so proud of the person Samjhana has become, she is one of our key team members. I hope you get to meet her!
Nurbu has been with Take on Nepal for over 9 years. We absolutely love Nurbu’s smile! Nurbu is from the Everest region and has worked with Take on Nepal as both a porter and a cook, we are always grateful for Nurbu’s calm and beautiful presence, he works hard but loves what he does. The Take on Nepal team are all equals, unlike other trekking companies our porters are treated the same as all staff members, without our incredible porters we can’t do what we do!
Nurbu is always described as a gentle, kind person who brings a happy energy to the group. Nurbu has a wife and 2 sons who live in Kathmandu, his work as a porter supports his childrens education. You will never forget Nurbu’s beautiful smile!
Alisha is a shining star! bright and happy personality will bring so much joy to your experience in Nepal. Alisha has completed training at the Khumbu EBC region and is a very experienced and professional trekking guide. It’s impossible not to be impressed by Alisha and her guiding skills.
Alisha is from the remote village of Batase, at a very young age she was left without any Alisha loves being in the mountains, and it shows! she can talk for hours and anything, she has a curiosity about the world, she also loves sharing information about her life and the mountains! You will be amazed and inspired by this young leader.
From a young age Sukuman has interacted with volunteers and trekkers visiting Batase village and through this he become a proficient English speaker. Sukuman is responsible, kind and happy, he’s a joy to be around. Sukuman is working his way up to becoming a lead guide and we have no doubt that in the near future he will be leading groups in the Himalayas. We’re proud of Sukuman’s achievements and we look forward to supporting his journey.
Sukuman was an FHC student, he lived at the hostel in Batase from the age of 13, he completed his primary and high school education in Batase before continuing his further education with the support of FHC in Kathmandu. Sukuman’s older sister works at the FHC hostel, with her daughter she escaped and abusive relationship to the safety of the hostel.
Sukuman is a trainee guide, this requires him to work as a porter at times and at other times he works alongside one of our lead guides.
Lhakpa recently joined the Take on Nepal team as a porter, we are certain it won’t be long before Lhakpa will be one of our guides! Lhakpa is young, energetic and is working very hard to improve his English. Lhakpa is a trail runner, he came an impressive 5th place in the Everest Marathon. When you trek in the Everest region you will understand just how impressive this feat is! Lhakpa’s home village is a couple of days trekking below Lukla, he’s from the Everest region and loves the mountains, he’s full of knowledge and is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge with trekkers.
Lhakpa is single and has one younger sister whom he adores. We love Lhakpa’s hair style and also his dancing, Lhakpa will regularly break out in dance when he hears music, this will bring joy to your heart!
All of our porters are very special people, they go above and beyond what is expected of them. Most days after they have dropped your bags to your trekking lodge they will return to meet you on the trek to offer support
Indra works with the team as a porter, he has been with Take on Nepal for nearly 10 years and is a much valued and cared for team member. Indra is strong and calm, he works hard and is dependable. Indra as with all our porters after dropping the bags at the lodge will return to assist our trekkers, he will carry daypacks and walk alongside our trekkers offering a steady and gentle support. Indra is quiet and gentle, everyone feels calm in his company. Indra has often been described as being intuitive, he instinctively knows how people are feeling and offers support based on this understanding.
Indra is a Dad to two young daughters, Indra uses his hard earned income as a porter to educate his daughters, he’s a family man. We’re very thankful to have Indra as an integral part of the Take on Nepal team.
Suntali has trekked to Base Camp a few times as a trainee guide/porter. Our female trainee guides carry one duffel bag and walk alongside our group members, this is to build their confidence and knowledge. Suntali is young and is eager to learn, we see so much potential in Suntali and look forward to watching her grow and gain the skills and knowledge required to step into a leadership role.
Suntali was supported though FHC, she received sponsorship through Cairns based group “Women in Media” to study Journalism. Suntali is committed to becoming a guide and has shown us that she will be a great leader.
Anil one of our leading guides, he is a beautiful person to be around, his calm and gentle nature bring joy to everyone who meets him.
Anil is from Batase village, he has 5 siblings. Anil’s Mum left the village due to her struggles with post natal depression, Anil’s Dad was not able to cope alone. Anil and his siblings moved to the FHC Batase hostel where they were then cared for and provided an education. Anil has developed into a confident young leader committed to humanitarian work in his home village.
Anil loves his work and as trekking guide and it shows, he has led groups on the popular trails but also off the beaten track. We often hear how trekkers feel safe and comfortable with Anil, he is a very experienced and passionate guide. You will love his smile!
Bimmaya was still at school when she successfully applied to Take On Nepal for a chance to train as a trekking guide. Her first trek, as a guide-in-training, was with the Women’s Everest Base Camp Trek in September 2018, when she proved herself capable and well-suited to the work. Previously, Bimmaya had shown exceptional talent as a long-distance runner, in the Run for Recovery events organised to lift morale and bring hope to young people in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake. To further encourage Bimmaya, Som found sponsorship for her to compete in the Tenzing Hilary Everest Marathon in May 2017 – a 42km run from Everest Base Camp to Namche, which Bimmaya completed in around five hours. She is an inspirational young woman and a valuable role model for others. She is delighted to work for Take On Nepal as a guide on various trails in the Himalayas and the Langtang Ranges. Bimalaya has just had a baby but aims to return to the Himalayan Trails within the next year.
Tokmaya is one of a team of local women who cook for the FHC hostel children. Her daily routine involves rising early and cutting grass to feed the buffalo, milking the buffalo, preparing a breakfast of chapati, beaten rice and milk tea for the children, helping with farmwork, catering for volunteers and visitors and checking on their amenities, preparing dinner for the 46 hostel residents. This is a new direction in life for Tokmaya. She had married at 21 and moved away from Batase to live with her husband’s family in a village 2 hours’ walk away. The marriage produced two wonderful children, but was very unhappy for Tokmaya. She endured years of domestic violence, before finally fleeing with her children to Kathmandu. Som supported her while she hid, even from her own family, for three years. When her husband had re-married and it was deemed safe, she and her children moved back to Batase, her home village. Now she is paid by Take On Nepal to look after the Volunteers quarters and cook for volunteers and visitors. Depending on numbers, many meals can be shared with the hostel children; if volunteer numbers are high, other available TON staff can cook for them. All who visit Batase, take away a lasting memory of Tokmaya’s warm welcome and kind hospitality.
Batase is a village of contradictions. Many of the locals have little experience with cars, most have never seen an aeroplane, but all are familiar with the workings of mobile phones.
It’s a village of mud houses with no chimneys, where families share their homes with goats and chickens. At the same time, those families have children working in modern cities in the Middle East or starting families in Australia.
As with much of rural Nepal, it’s a male dominated environment, with women often relegated to the role of child rearing when not working in the fields harvesting crops or taking care of livestock.
Every visit by a westerner expands the horizons of the young people of the village. Exposure to young volunteers in particular often opens their eyes to possibilities they hadn’t even considered—one of the reasons Take On Nepal is so eager to take guide and support visitors to Nepal.
There are no hotels in Batase Village, no five star resorts or modern backpacker hostels, no cable TV and very little internet access. Here you will live like a local and experience the real Nepal.
There is a reason that village families share their homes with their goats and chickens, and it’s not a love of animals. The Bengal Tiger roams the mountains around the village, and while they haven’t taken a bite out of a villager or a visitor in recent memory, they have been known to take a wayward goat or chicken. You’re unlikely to see one during your stay, but you never know.
The Red Panda is another mainstay of the local wildlife, popular with eager foreigners sporting large cameras, and largely ignored by the villagers who call the Lower Himalayas home. The countryside surrounding Batase Village is rich with plant and animal life that you won’t have seen outside a Richard Attenborough documentary, and we encourage all visitors to experience it to the full.
