Volunteering in Nepal

Home to the Himalayas and 29 million people, Nepal is well-known for its spectacular mountainous scenery.

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Australian Volunteer Veterinary Clinician Douglas Wilson doing a check-up on the cow of local farmer, Ishwari Prasad Dube.
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Kirtipur, an ancient city of Nepal located in the Kathmandu Valley five kilometres south-west of Kathmandu.
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Nari Blackett (right), Australian volunteer Tourism Officer with the Municipality of Kiritpur, with colleague Anuj Pradhan.
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Security Guard Chandra Bahadar Magar at Dhulikhel municipality, a partner of the Australian Volunteers Program.
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Stephen Clark (far right) is supporting sustainable tourism. He's pictured with women from the Himalayan Organic Farm stalls.
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A lunchtime snack in the restaurant of Newa Lahana Museum, Kirtipur.

Nepal became a republic in 2008 and experienced a political transition following 10 years of civil conflict, which ended in 2006.

The country faces multiple development challenges, and its infrastructure has been vulnerable to frequent natural disasters. In 2015, two devastating earthquakes struck — major setbacks to development progress. More than 8,000 people died and there was widespread destruction of infrastructure, heritage sites and agricultural land. Economic growth is expected to rebound as the country continues to recover from the earthquakes.

Australia has a long history of supporting human and economic development in Nepal. The Australian Volunteers Program aligns with the Australian Government’s Aid Investment Plan for Nepal, with a strong focus on supporting government agencies to enhance organisational capacity to deliver quality programs.

The program focuses on placing volunteers in local government bodies. The Constitution of Nepal stipulates federal, provincial and local level governance structures and provides wide ranging power and responsibilities to local elected government bodies. Local governments are responsible for the planning and implementation of local development programs and delivery of services.

The majority of volunteer assignments have historically been concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. The program is now placing volunteers away from Kathmandu Valley, in locations such as in Dharan, Dhankuta, Udayapur in Province no. 1, Sindhuli, Dhulikhel, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Hetauda and Chitwan in Province no. 3, Gorkha, Damauli, Pokhara, Waling, Kushma, Baglung in Province no. 4 and Tansen, Resunga and Musikot in Province no. 5.


Nepal Country Report 1.1 MB