In Nepal’s high Himalayas, a year of work must be done in two months

In Taplejung’s highest settlements, villagers have just two snow-free months to build trails, bridges and drainage systems before winter brings life to a halt.

For the first time in over two months, Nupu Sherpa of Olangchunggola in Taplejung finally found a rare moment of leisure on Saturday to chat with his neighbours. His days typically begin before dawn, feeding yaks and chauris and attending to household chores before spending the rest of the day building local drainage systems and footpaths. This fiscal year, his village received a modest budget allocation of Rs900,000 from the local ward office to complete these essential infrastructure projects.