KTM - DBX

I am sitting on seat 20D surrounded by Nepalis and Indians who are also flying to Dubai, many of which I am quite certain are going to or back to the UAE for work. As I spend the last minutes in this country, thousands of memories and snippets from the past 5 months and from past visits are flashing by, but in particular I am thinking about Udav and our boys and men who have been working with us Conscious Impact for several months to since the project's beginning. These are folks who would otherwise not be regularly employed staying in their home village with their families, or would otherwise move to Kathmandu for work, or equally likely too find work aboard in the Gulf States/Malaysia/Indonesia/etc. but leave their family behind. It makes me feel good knowing that our project has not only begun the reconstruction of a local school, an orphanage, a couple community buildings, and now houses too, but also have provided these guys the ability to stay in their home village with their families while earning a livelihood. Udav's house is near completion as I type this. These very bricks that he proudly helped make, cure, move, and place into his new, socially and environmentally responsible, earthquake-safe home will be a story to be told for decades to follow. I'm proud and honored to have been a part of it as this team, this community, this family as this chapter comes to an end. To be continued - Conscious Impact Season 3! #ComeToNepal

Udav catching one of hundreds of bricks from a volunteer as we load the truck for his home.

This morning...

This morning as I woke up I suddenly had a flashback of what a friend said to me after an eye-gazing session a couple weeks back. She said that she saw sadness in one eye and kid-like joy in the other. I was a bit taken back at that moment and never told her until today how true that observation was. I suppose I could have been too surprised to know even how to respond. She was right - I'm and have been emotionally vulnerable, and at times even unstable and haven't had the appropriate channels to let it out and then let it heal. It all feels a bit choked up inside, like a clogged pipe with murky waters stuck in a sink. I thought a long trek amongst some of the highest mountains in the world could bring about clarity and peace. While it did bring me some of that, more moments were filled with emotional rollercoaster rides of what-if's, self-blame, and loneliness. It hasn't really been mentally healthy. As I emerged out of the mountains, I found myself back at the Conscious Impact camp with familiar and new faces, loving people, energies, and meaningful work. I thought that would be healing for me to restart afresh. It has been, yet I've still been struggling with emotional up's and down's as I merge back on the highway of rebuilding work at this village devastated by the earthquakes 2 years ago. That said, it hasn't stopped me from having moments of bliss, joy, and unbound wonder for the world and its people as I used my pair of legs to get this body up to 5400+ meters several times and as I surrounded myself with folks from all over the globe with the same intentions of serving others and lending a helping hand. So what my friend said to me was absolutely correct, and it's crazy - she saw something in my eyes in those 10 minutes that perhaps I didn't even know was (and still is) the most succinct, accurate analysis of my state of mind these past couple months.

Education Program Update Blog & Video

Always a pleasure working with the amazing Alyson Noele Sagala who I met through Conscious Impact last year. Last week I went to the local secondary school with Alyson and two other volunteers/friends, Allie Seymour and Lilly Foster, and together they facilitated a women's reproductive health class alongside Shakya Jenisha, a Teach for Nepal fellow. Photos by yours truly and words and Alyson's.
Link to blog: https://www.consciousimpact.org/new-blog/2017/5/2/education-update-252017-sexual-reproduction-and-health

Also! Fresh video update of the same day. As is the case usually, Alyson describes it best:
"Though news from across the ocean is as disheartening as ever, I am reminded of the good we are still capable of putting out in the world to counteract ugliness, no matter the context.
Last Friday we did a sexual reproductive health and menstruation education workshop for the members of the Girls Empowerment Program. I'm even more excited about the follow up meeting we had just this morning with even more girls in attendance. But for now, take a gander at this video that documents what we did last week, engaging this bright group of girls with invaluable education in a fun, supportive, and safe environment."
Shout out to Lilly Foster, Allie Seymour, and Shakya Jenisha in making this possible, enlightening curious young minds here where we've lived and worked. I always enjoy documenting a meaningful and empowering event and cause. Thank you! #ComeToNepal

CNN.com feature!

387 days ago, I left the US to return to Nepal to work and live with the Conscious Impact team in the rural village of Takure several hours outside Kathmandu. Today is the 2-year anniversary of the 2015 earthquake that shook Nepal and claimed the lives of around 9000 Nepalis and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. Last year I was also in Takure. I remember being with over 30 international volunteers working to produce locally and sustainably-produced bricks to rebuild one of the local primary schools. Now, over 70,000 bricks later -- a primary school, an orphanage, an office building for the local women's microfinance cooperative, a community center, an elder's center, and several family homes are either completed or currently in the works. 
This evening we gathered in commemorating of the earthquake that brought us together, and to celebrate how far we've come together and to fuel our journey ahead. This evening we are proud to present a feature on CNN.com, titled "Rebuilding a Nepali village, one block at a time." Deep, deep gratitude to the hundreds of volunteers and hundreds more supporters worldwide in making our rebuilding story happen and continue to unfold. I'll always have Orion Haas and Allen Gula to thank for their vision of Conscious Impact and the wonderful humans they have magnetized to this space over the years. I must also thank Alyson Noele Sagala and Sunita Pandey in helping me with the interviews and in gathering all of the information to make this article happen, and of course last but not least gratitude goes out to Phillip Ngo in connecting us to Bijan Hosseini at CNN in materializing this piece. I am absolutely humbled to have my photos and a project-community I have so much love for be featured on a major news channel. Namaste!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/asia/nepal-earthquake-takure/index.html

Day 19, April 8

Day 19, April 8. 5 am wake up to hike up Gokyo Ri to catch the sunrise. The mercury was well below zero and the windchill made it feel like minus 8 or so. About half way up the mountain, I caught sight of several yaks that were grazing along the steep hillside as the golden morning light thawed the slightly icy ground. I strategically walked above the yak and followed it for a good 20-30 minutes and snatched this shot of a black yak with Gokyo Lake and the town in the background. One of my favorite captures from the whole 3 passes/Everest basecamp trek.

Featured at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Friends and family, I am tremendously excited to announce my first museum exhibition feature at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel. The exhibition, titled "3.5 Square Meters: Constructive Response to Natural Disasters," will open to the public in under 3 days on March 23 at 6pm, and remain so until the first week of September. This multi-month exhibition will showcase (as you can likely imagine by now) Conscious Impact and our collaborative work since August 2015 in the village of Takure in the Sindhupalchowk region of Nepal. Plus... our very own bricks are there! The team and I have been working with the exhibition curator since last autumn to put together something that we feel is indicative of the immensely intimate and important work that we've been doing with the local community members heavily affected by the April and May 2015 earthquakes. 
Many many thanks to Neta Kind-Lerer for the connection to the museum for this opportunity to go from idea to manifestation. The whole team is extremely excited and grateful for the international exposure and whatever this may bring. Onwards! #ComeToNepal #RebuildTakure

Trek Prep

Trek prep! #gearnerd #mostoftheweightiscameragear