From Incline Village to Nepal: Helping a Remote Himalayan Village Thrive
January 29, 2025 | Member Submitted
Submitted and Written by local residents Helen & Eric Durfee, 1/25/2025
Longtime Incline Village residents Helen and Eric Durfee are dedicated board members of the Basa Village Foundation USA, regularly traveling to Nepal to support the remote village of Basa. From donating ski jackets to funding education, supplies and keeping power on through hydroelectic projects, the Basa Village foundation helps improve the lives of the people of Basa.
Basa is a remote village in Nepal, off the beaten path, in the foothills of the Himalayas, south of Mt Everest. It consists of 63 households primarily engaged in subsistence farming. Jeff Rasley, after many trips to Nepal, founded the Basa Village Foundation USA (https://bvfusa.org) in 2008, to improve the way of life for the people of Basa. I’ve been on the board since 2001. Some of the projects that BVFUSA has completed include providing safe drinking water in the village, building a school and funding three of the five teachers, providing school supplies and computers, a small hydroelectric project for lights in the homes, rebuilding the school after the 2015 earthquake, clean burning stoves in the homes, among other projects.
Last year we funded an animal husbandry project to build up a local co-op herd of goats and pigs. Having a staff to care for, and protect, the animals will provide jobs and the selling of goat milk, yogurt, cheese, and young animals themselves will provide income for the village. This project entailed building sheds, pens, and fences, leasing land, and the purchase of twenty five pigs and twenty five goats.
We work closely with our sister foundation, Basa Foundation-Nepal, which is headed up by Niru Rai. Niru is from Basa and now lives in Kathmandu. Niru started and owns Adventure Geo Treks (https://www.adventuregeotreks.com) and hires his guides, porters, drivers, cooks and staff from Basa. Together, we define a need, determine a solution, create a budget; then BVFUSA funds the project, monitors the progress, and evaluates the success of the project after completion. Basa Foundation-Nepal oversees the project, provides the volunteer labor, and gets the materials to Basa, mostly by oxen, donkey, and on men’s backs.
Education is crucial for the 85 students in the K-5 school. The Nepali government pays for the Nepali language and math teachers; BVFUSA pays for the English, science, and the social studies & computer science teachers. The five year funding that BVFUSA previously established ran out in 2024. The teachers are now working without pay and will move on if new funding is not forthcoming. Many, or most, of the young people of Basa will have to leave for places where they can find employment so having some education is essential. Knowing some English is important if they end up working in a tourist based business. One of the projects we are funding immediately is for the teacher’s salaries to keep the students learning.
The second project is to expand the animal husbandry project that we started last year. Unfortunately, nineteen of the pigs died of swine flu and need to be replaced, along with adding to the number of goats and pigs. We will continue to pay the salaries of the staff working the farm and have also increased the budget to provide for veterinarian visits as needed and medicine. We expect the farm to be self sustaining in two to three years.
This is a brief explanation of what the Basa Foundation is and what we do. You can get more information by going to our website (https://www.bvfusa.org). Helen and I have been to Basa and met many of the families there. We found the people to be very kind, supportive, and hard working. They are most appreciative of everything the foundation has done.
Please consider contributing to our fundraiser for the school and farm projects. If you would like to donate, you can donate via our website directly at https://bvfusa.org/donate. If you prefer to donate by check, please make it out to BVFUSA and mail it to our corporate treasurer, BVFUSA, C/O David Culp, 2322 E. 66th St, Indianapolis, IN 46220. As a registered 501©(3) organization any contributions are tax-deductible.
If you managed to read all the way here, thank you, and thank you for your consideration. All donations make a difference, no matter the size, and are appreciated. Don’t hesitate to call, text, or email me if you have any questions.
Best to you in 2025,
Eric Durfee
775-813-3040
