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Volunteer in Nepal: Home Stay/Cultural Exchange
What is a fantastic way to get more out of a trip to Nepal, especially if your time is short? You will be placed with a Nepalese family as soon as you arrive in Nepal, and will live in either a small rural village or within a city.
During your home stay you will learn about all aspects of Nepali culture, lifestyle, food, and have the opportunity to attend 2 hours of language lessons in the morning and in the afternoon.
As the experience is a cultural exchange, you should try to share with your host family some knowledge of your own home culture and customs as well.
Home stay programs can be arranged for two or four weeks only, with the best time to take part being between August and December – this is the time when most large local festivals take place, providing you with a wonderfully exciting experience.
Home Stay/Cultural Exchange Program
In the Home Stay/ Cultural Exchange program volunteers will be placed with a Nepali family within the Kathmandu Valley for the duration of their stay. Volunteers will have the flexibility to decide how they spend their time and what they would most like to get involved in, however throughout their placement, volunteers will learn about all aspects of Nepali culture, lifestyle, language, food and people - an unforgettable experience.
Accommodation
During orientation, volunteers will be first staying in a guest house and later they will experience a village stay. For the actual placement, volunteers will be accommodated in a local family-stay. In most host family situations you can expect your own room and access to electricity. However, this can vary from family to family. Please be aware that during the dry season 'load shedding' is common, which means that electricity supply is turned off to each district at varying times of the day/week.
Meals and Food
During your placement two main meals per day, a snack and tea are provided. The common diet is 'daal bhat tarkaari': a mountain of rice, a soup made with lentils and a vegetable curry type dish - accompaniments may include 'roti' or 'chapati' (flat bread) and 'achaar' (pickle). When living with a host family volunteers will also be provided with filtered or boiled drinking water.
Free Time
Each program will vary in regards to how much free time volunteers will have. Generally, we suggest volunteers have one day off per week, remove themselves from their placement and take time for themselves. Volunteers can use free time to prepare for any future work or activities they may wish to plan.
Communication
There are many internet shops in the tourist district of Thamel that provide not only internet access but facilities for local and international phone calls, fax service and printing.
Most placements will also have these facilities available nearby, making it easy to stay in contact with friends and family back home.
Number of Volunteers
Usually the Nepal program has between 5 and 10 volunteers starting training together, however, it is common for volunteers who started with the program in previous months to still be at the placement when you arrive, so there could be as many as 20 volunteers in country in any one month. Please note that volunteer numbers can vary greatly depending on the season. Due to variation in volunteer numbers, we are unable to confirm the number of volunteers until closer to your placement start date.
Costs
Application Fee – US $97
Your application fee is fully transferable and will secure your place on the program, (or any other GVN program of your choice), at a placement date that is suitable to you.*
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*Your application fee provides you with access to any of GVN's volunteer programs over the next 5 years, as many times as you like without having to pay another application fee! |
Children under 18 are not required to pay the application fee when volunteering together with a parent/guardian. (Except for participants in our Youth Tour program who are required to pay a US$97 application fee.)
Program Fee – From US $44 a day*
- 2 weeks - US $1797
- 3 weeks - US $1897
- 4 weeks - US $1997
- 6 weeks - US $2247
- 8 weeks - US $2497
Placements longer than 8 weeks are available, please contact us or apply online for details.
*Based on an 8 week placement
What’s included:
| Accommodation: | Home stay, with the first two nights of orientation in a guest house. |
| Meals: | All meals are included, except the first two nights of orientation. |
| Airport pickup: | Included on arrival date and departure date. |
| Training: | In-country orientation and training. |
| Supervision: | In-country staff supervision. |
| Support: | Pre-departure personal support from your volunteer coordinator, 24/7 in-country support from partner, and 24hr emergency line. |
Additional Benefits:
- A Quality Volunteer Placement
Dedicated staff with the sole focus of facilitating the placement of volunteers, reviewing and improving programs and supporting the work of our partners. -
Program Guide
Your online resource guide that covers topics such as country information, details on your placement, travel links, visa application process, and much more! - Fundraising guide
Your Fundraising Guide and Software which provides you with proven fundraising strategies, letter generating software and other resources to help you raise up to 100% of the cost of your trip. - Personal online journal
Which help you to communicate effectively and easily with your family and friends back home. - Access to a non-profit:
Contribute to the ongoing support of the charitable + educational work of community organisations.
What’s not included:
Flights, insurance, visas, vaccinations, dinner for the first two nights.
We recommend you allow a weekly budget of up to US$ 20 for your other expenses like bottled water, personal items, beverages, and entertainment. Living in a village is relatively inexpensive compared to most western countries.
Kenya. 
Vietnam. 
Peru. 
Nepal. 
