- AddressG21b, The Pier, Pier Point Road, Cairns QLD 4870 Australia
We’re a small, family run business with direct ties to Batase village in Nepal and to Cairns in Australia. Take on Nepal was founded by the husband and wife team of Som and Susan in 2013, with the express intention of creating a true village experience for western visitors to Nepal.
Volunteering is big business. So big that many of the larger volunteer companies place volunteers all over the world: in Nepal, in South America, in Africa and in Eastern Europe. These companies have reps in each country in which they operate, but apart from paid employees tend not to have direct ties to any of those countries or communities. Their operations are purely commercial, and each day a volunteer spends at one of their placements is crafted to increase revenue, not to provide life-long memories to the volunteers.
We’re different. Our small size means that we are personally invested in each volunteer who visits Batase Village. We know the village intimately—Som was born there, and spent much of his early life living there. He tended the water buffaloes just like the young villagers do today. He experienced the lack of education that charities like FHC are now doing so much to address, and he knows the conditions of the village only too well.
Everyone who works for Take on Nepal is known personally to Som and Susan. There are no faceless names, no unvetted employees. Each village the volunteers stop at on their way to and from Batase is a village that Som and Susan have visited and stayed in. Each job the volunteers will be doing in the village is a job that Susan has done, that Som has done, and that their workers have done.
It’s this intimacy that differentiates small volunteer companies from the larger multinationals. It may not suit everyone. If you like the sameness and lack of closeness that marks out large companies and the hospitality they provide, then you may be better off using one of these companies. But if you’re looking for a family oriented business; if you want to meet ordinary villagers and work alongside them in Batase; if you like the idea of being on first name terms with the guides who will accompany you from Kathmandu to Batase and back again, then Take on Nepal is the company for you.
When you email us, you’ll receive a reply from Susan or Som, or from one of their people in Nepal. If you’re in Cairns, we’d be happy to meet you first and talk to you about what you’re likely to experience in the village. How many multinational companies offer that level of comfort and service?
We only operate in Nepal and we only place volunteers in Batase. This may change over time—Batase, that is, we have no plans to place volunteers in any other country. How could we, when our knowledge and contacts are all in Nepal? And for the time being we are only placing volunteers from Australia.
View More Information About Our Why Choose Us ...
