Current projects of the Snowland Children Foundation
The Kakani School Project – Effective March 2017

To the Kakani School, which is part of Upper Embalam, you drive by Jeep on not very good roads approximately two hours uphill from Timbu. The school lies at an altitude of about 2100 meters above sealevel. From there, you enjoy a wonderful view into the valley below. A couple of Italian mountaneers with connections to local sherpas, have decided to participate in the reconstruction as the school war also complitely destroyed during the 2015 earthquake.
Although it is already march, we arrive in pouring rain and ice cold winds and with open mouth, looking at the work of art these Italians have created up here. The school has three classrooms and two separate toilets and lies on a small hill. It is freshly painted in a typical italian red and overshines the beautiful landscape.
The inside is likewise wonderful, the wooden floors done by the same local artist which has rebuilt and repainted the stupa next to the communal house further below.
The Eschlikon Christmas Star Singers (Sternsinger), which have collected the proud sum of CHF 10’750 in Eschlikon and Wallenwil and with which we can now not only pay the school equipement (desks, chairs etc) but also do some necessary ground work in order to stabilize the whole construction from the monsoon rains. This can be done by terrassing part of the site. We are also calculating the costs of a wall at side where the mountain is very steep in order to protect the 30 to 40 primary school-children usually playing there.
As the school equipment costs so far only ca. CHF 3’500, we have spontaneously decided using the rest of the funds availabe and to begin with this stabilizing work already now, protecting thus the school from the expected heavy monsoon rains. We trust that the Sternsinger would agree with this, all the more since we continue with our fund rising events, with the first one already on June 13 with the 6. Tibet Evening at Cinéwil, in Wil, starting at 19.00 hours.

The works go on – and we started with the earthwork to prevent another landslide during Monsun: End of Mai – beginning of June


Here, the stones are stored – all is done by hand, as expensive machines cannot be afforded


Preparatory work with nets that hold the stones together

All people from the village are helping, even women

The people of the village are filling the metalic nets stone by stone with their own hands, an unbelievable amount of hard work!

The terracing work at the steep slope of the Kakani School are advancing in breathtaking speed!

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Irene Würmli, the leader of the carol singers and friend Uschi in Nepal with Lhakpa and Urkin

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Production of new furniture for the school (benches and tables) is inspected (1)


Production of new furniture for the school (benches and tables) is inspected (2)


The production of new furniture for the school (benches and tables) is inspected (3)


The new Kakani School

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And the slope on the wide side of the schoolhouse must be terraced, so that the mountain plus house does not drive towards the valley during the next monsoon!


The most beautiful parquet floor was made by a craftsman from the village!


Even a Versitzgrube there by the toilets with year when should be emptied!


This steep slope urgently needs to be protected with a wall.