Voices of Adventure: Deepti Gautam and the Story of the Lapsi Tree Resort in Nepal

Earlier this year I got in touch with Deepti Gautam over LinkedIn. During our short initial chat, she told me about her project, the Lapsi Tree Resort near Kathmandu Nepal and it piqued my interest. We arranged for a date for an in-depth interview.

Deepti was a pleasure to talk to and it was obvious how passionate she is about her work. She shared about the history of the Lapsi Tree Resort and the amazing projects they do that engage local communities and international groups of travelers.

The Origins of Lapsi Tree Resort

The story of the Lapsi Tree Resort started 20 years ago. It originated from the Himalayan Volunteerism group, a highly motivated group of people working with various communities in Nepal, primarily around Kathmandu. Their work extended to 4-5 communities at a time, namely the Halede, Dandagaun, Dhoksan, and Kartike communities near Nagarkot as well as communities in Barabise and Dhumbre in Bandipur. Their work focused on community-based projects such as education for small children, women’s needs, agriculture, and social economy.

The goal of these projects was to connect international communities to work with the locals, such as international schools and social outreach organizations. These groups would become engaged in community-based activities, gain valuable experience, and help the locals. It was a true win-win situation for everyone involved.

The main challenge, however, that the organization faced was to provide proper food and lodging for international travelers. They needed to abide by international protocols and overcome risk factors when hosting volunteers.

The Lapsi Tree Resort was born out of this need to provide good food and accommodation for the visitors. But it went further than that and became a space of a familiar environment for travelers. Today the volunteers are referred to as brothers and sisters showing their role in the community as if they were family. That is where the main advantage of Lapsi Tree Resort lies: it provides an authentic Nepali atmosphere where everyone is treated like family while offering exposure to local culture for international visitors.

*The building of the* *Lapsi Tree Resort. Photo Credit: Deepti Gautam*

The accommodation is in Nagarkot, which is 25 km from Kathmandu and has 19 rooms. Besides that, it has a community forest and nature trails for hiking. From the house, visitors can witness the beautiful landscapes and sunrise of Nagarkot. The property has a small lime farm and there are several homes within the premises. In these homes, the locals hold cooking classes for the volunteers who can go and pick their own herbs and make their own food with them.

Sustainability

Among the engagement activities there is a plantation set up with the purpose of helping reforestation efforts. Lapsi Tree Resort is not 100% eco-friendly yet, but they hold the vision of becoming just that by being committed to practicing sustainability in whatever they do. For example, they have eliminated plastic bottles from the accommodation space and the restaurant and are using glass bottles instead. They also provide eco-friendly disposables for the property and guests. They source the food locally and prepare meals with local ingredients to promote local production, such as rice and millet.

Activities

The area of the Lapsi Tree Resort is almost entirely covered by trees and jungles which provide lots of great bird-watching opportunities. There are many streams and waterfalls in the area where visitors can go to listen to the sounds of nature. The mountains of Langtang range are clearly visible from the rooms as well.

The location provides many adventure activities nearby, such as zip-lining. One of the world’s longest zip lines is only a 25-minute drive from the resort and it opened in 2024.

Community projects

Lapsi Tree Resort is in association with the Himalayan Volunteerism group. They facilitate social projects within the community and mobilize the locals, especially women. One of their more recent programs is Project Upcycle, the purpose of which is to upcycle fabrics and create beautiful pieces of accessories. The idea of this project came during the pandemic. There has been a huge waste management issue in Kathmandu in recent years and Deepti saw an opportunity to address this problem while engaging the locals.

Before the pandemic, the Himalayan Volunteerism group had their own community production center. They provided trainings for the women in the community to learn how to make sweaters, hats, caps, and woolen clothes. The clothes they created then would be available for sale for the travelers that visit the area, boosting their socioeconomic status.

The idea behind the project was to empower women and help them become more innovative in whatever they do. Funds were collected through Lapsi Tree and the organizers formed a system: they made connections to clothes banks to collect materials and urged the women to bring any unused clothes from their own wardrobes as well. Then in the next step, they approached trainers and brought them to the community to help teach the women.

They brought together 30 women who were interested in the training. For the duration of the training, the group requested the use of an old school building which they received. They cleaned up the space and started educating the women. The time for the training was set out to a month and a half. The goal of the project was to use the upcycled material and create slim bags and laptop bags from them.

It was a challenging project initially as the women were already overloaded with housework and caring for their families and farms. Initially, they were aiming to hold the trainings for 3 hours a day and help the women individually at their respective levels. Deepti and the team also had to calculate that some days the women would not be available. Eventually, the course time needed to be extended, but both the trainers and the women worked very hard to complete the course.

The Himalayan Volunteerism group brought 8 sewing machines that the women could use for their work. Even after the completion of the training, volunteers made regular visits to help the women with their continued work. They helped them by giving certain tasks to the women that they could keep working on and stick to the project. Besides this, Deepti and the team met the women twice a month in group meetings to listen to the challenges they face and offer support. The project has been successful and is still running. The group has been able to build a market as well where women can sell their crafts. The success of this project is motivating the group to look at the prospect of starting new ones.

The Structure of the Volunteer Program

The volunteer program is usually open for groups of students in grades 10-12, but sometimes as young as grade 5. Anyone older than 5 years old can participate in the program accompanied by their teachers. The duration of the program varies, but it usually goes between one or two weeks. There are various programs available, such as wildlife and community conservation activities.

Volunteers arrive at Kathmandu airport and sightseeing is usually included with a planned itinerary. The groups would visit world heritage sights in Kathmandu on the first day and then spend the first night in the capital. They would also visit Bauda, an ancient pagoda and Buddhist site near the airport. Then they would head to the Monkey temple and try some local food.

The protocol doesn’t always allow for street food experiences as certain safety standards have to be met. That is why the group provides clean drinking water and safe food. Besides that, they also provide ID cards with unique numbers and a local SIM. The groups usually travel with their teachers and the logistics are entirely organized by the team in Nepal.

Upon arrival at the hotel in Kathmandu, there is an orientation session to give a clear idea of the itinerary of the trip and general information. The next day the group travels directly to Lapsi Tree Resort in Nagarkot. The program there has different elements, such as yoga and meditation sessions, breakfast, and walks in the village. The volunteers can choose to go and work in the upcycling projects, the schools, or local monasteries. Usually, one group chooses one project to work on for the duration of their visit.

The walk to the education center from the accommodation is about 45 minutes long. Then at 1 o’clock lunch is given at the hotel and the program resumes at 4-4:30 PM. After the volunteering activities, the group returns to Lapsi Tree for reflection time on what they did during the day and makes plans to incorporate their learnings the following day. In the evening they have dinner and enjoy some relaxation time with local music or dance performances and karaoke.

Besides this, the volunteers can visit plantations, participate in cooking classes, and visit local host families. This way they can get a personal sense of how locals spend their days in the villages and what life is like for them on a daily basis.

Future Plans

The goal of Lapsi Tree Resort is to be innovative. They want to keep up with the trends while at the same time working with the communities and trying not to put too much pressure on them. They understand that they can’t just change things haphazardly but go with the local’s level of understanding and move at their pace. The work is very integrated which means that the community comes first and their main objective is to grow organically and slowly.

Deepti tells me that there are new projects on the horizon already. One of them is aimed at the Daman community in Nagarkot, situated at about 1100 to 2000 feet above sea level. Deepti’s goal is to promote these areas as tourist destinations, supporting them in setting up tourism practices so that they can thrive. The main problem of these communities is that too many people leave which results in them losing their customs and traditions. Deepti believes that if tourism could be brought to the area, it would motivate locals to stay and preserve their traditions. There are fascinating marriage rituals, singing practices, celebrations, and festivals that are facing the threat of being lost as locals need to move on to survive.

One such tradition is the Sonam Losar, a New Year celebration during which locals dress in traditional costumes. Unfortunately, these practices are not done regularly anymore, but Deepti sees the potential of tourism reviving these traditions. Locals could showcase their culture to travelers in the form of art performances and provide the community with living opportunities. She would love to do the same with her own women’s group as well, to showcase their culture to the travelers. The women themselves recognize the value and want to participate in upholding the traditions.

My chat with Deepti was very enlightening and I can’t wait to follow her journey and see how her projects develop in the future. Make sure to check out the website of the Lapsi Tree Resort and if Deepti’s story inspired you, get in touch for your next adventure in Nepal. Supporting businesses such as the Lapsi Tree Resort can bring empowerment to local communities and support sustainability efforts in the travel industry.