Donation items recommended for your nepal trek (clothing, ...)

The following donation items are recommended to bring to nepal (clothing, office supplies, school supplies, ...), when joining the Rhododendron Nepal Trek.

Project Duffle

In 1998, Dr. Tel-Oren traveled in Nepal with the first trek of CCODER’s community based tourism. The group was informed that certain goods are very hard for the remote villages to obtain (yet easy and inexpensive for Americans to give away), and therefore each trekker who was inspired to give traveled with an extra bag filled with donations for CCODER offices, the schools, community projects, and the villagers.

There are many other villages in need within the CCODER system besides the ones we will be visiting, and the items we carry with us can be distributed by CCODER staff members during the year. Once you see the reality of Nepalese life, you will be glad you made the effort. In fact, you will wish you had brought a larger bag.

Note: Red is a very popular color for clothing among Hindu people. Culturally, it is not appropriate to try to convert the Nepalese into Westerners, so please refer to our italicized comments below. Also, try to adhere to ecological principles (avoid plastic wraps, non-biodegradable containers, multiple small packages, glass bottles, etc.).

Donation Items to bring to Nepal

Office Supplies:

CCODER and staff in the field (approx.100 people) always need office supplies such as pens, notebooks, post-it notes, paper clips, small calculators, White-Out, staplers and extra staples (nothing heavy).

School Supplies:

• Soccer balls with pumps (deflated for the trip to save space)
• Jump ropes
• Books for grades 1-6 (children are learning English) It is desirable to avoid culturally charged topics such as Sesame Street, Disney, etc.
• Science books, astronomy, math, history, travel and picture books.
• Teacher’s resource books (paperbacks weigh less)
• Musical instruments/music books
• Art supplies
• Dictionaries

For Villagers:

Note: Jackets and sweaters are good choices because they can be combined with traditional attire.

Girls of All Ages

• Hair ribbons and barrettes
• Socks - ankle and knee
• Flip-flops/"Mary Jane’s"
• Hairbrushes
• Jackets and cardigans (try to avoid logos)

   Boys of All Ages (Nepalese boys commonly wear pants, shorts, and shirts rather than jeans and       tee-shirts.)

• Shirts
• Sweater vests, washable knits
• Shorts and long pants
• Socks
• Flip-flops
• Jackets and sweaters (try to avoid logos)

Women (Women tend to wear the traditional sari and not Western clothes. They do, however, wear Western style cardigans over their saris.)

• Sewing supplies, including regular and embroidery/crewel thread, needles and hoops for
  

  embroidery, scissors

• Knitting needles/yarn
• Safety pins of all sizes
• Cardigan and blazers
• Flip-flops
• Nail polish is a real treat.

Men

• Sweater vests (conservative)
• Medium weight jackets, ski type okay
• Flip-flops
• Scarves
• Shirts
• Socks
• Pocketknives of all sizes

Hygiene (Try not to not bring anything that they will run out of quickly and not be able to replace easily.)

• Hair brushes/combs
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Band-Aids / bandages / medical tape
• Tweezers
• Files/emery boards/nail clippers
• Scissors and gauze