'No more reports' - less typing, more doing

So says the pragmatic ARTHA BEED in the Nepali Times.

Nepal has received billions of dollars in donor assistance in the past five decades, but when one looks around, apart from introducing workshop-seminar habits, paid junkets, cocktail receptions, report-generating and SUV driving habits, the impact vis-a-vis the costs has been minimal. One may sound cynical, but it is difficult to pinpoint 10 successful interventions that have really altered Nepal's future.

For full article, see: http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2008/11/21/EconomicSense/15399

Everest trek? Try somewhere different perhaps

BILLI BIERLING in the Nepali Times. if you have ever tried the trek to Everest base camp or Kala Patar you'll know that it is not quite the wilderness you might have expected. In October this year over 9200 people passed through the gates of the Sagarmatha National Park - all of them sharing, for some of the way at least, the same narrow footpath. If bumping, queueing and occasional bouts of path rage are not for you then try a different area. And there are many other less crowded areas to visit: try the Langtang trek - a bit easier, much less crowded; the Annapurna circuit - a great fitness adventure into lower Mustang and past the holy pilgrimage site of Muktinath; Dolpo - see the film 'Himalaya' for a taster; Kanchenjunga - wild and remote; or, for the really adventurous, 'The Great Himalayan Trail'. Read on here: http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2008/11/25/Nation/15405

Prix Pictet photography award

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2008/oct/31/climatechange-water?picture=335632135

Suni Hundal: Nepal needs a helping hand, not charity

Suni Hundal on the train to Lucknow, originally uploaded by rpb1001.

Suni, self-made journalist / blogger. Travelled with him from Delhi to Kathmandu. In his few short days here, staying with a friend of his who is up to her elbows in the aid scene, he wrote this on aid and Nepal. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/04/nepal.internationalaidanddevelopment Is this what I am getting into? Read more of Sunny at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/sunnyhundal

Waste, or extretia, or fertilizer?

Maggie Black seems to be one of the most eloquent writers on the issue of Eco-sanitation. That is, containing and managing human 'waste' at source and not contaminating a huge amount of fresh water with it, at great cost. If you are new to this subject, or have never thought about the principle of what you are doing when you flush, then read the links below. http://www.newint.org/features/2008/08/01/keynote-toilets/ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JQP/is_2003_March/ai_99232390/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1