While the people of Bridim are expert farmers and benefit from a deep culture and community warmth, it does not solve the serious problems of poverty, lack of health care and education. There are a number of ways in which clients of Dolma who participate in these holidays help the local community. The Dolma model of empowerment rather than pure charity provides the best chance to increase the standard of living while retaining important aspects of the culture.

The areas where visitors help can be broken down into two areas:

• Direct employment and purchases
• Development fund

Staff working for Dolma get paid higher than the Nepalese going rate. They will often receive training and have learned to support this very specific type of adventure. It is only fair that communities that work to support visitors, retain a fair portion of the benefit. This has seldom been the case with the development of trekking tourism in Nepal so far. A single adventure may employ up to 40 villagers in the following roles:

• Supporting guides and translators

  • Local young people with an education, many of whom are struggling to find work in Kathmandu, are able to return and earn a good salary in their local community.
• Porters and Cooks

  • All porters and cooks are sourced locally and trained to support visitors. Note, only the head chef is currently brought in from outside due to the need for experience and training in catering for groups.
• First aid

  • Dolma is establishing a health programme whereby local first aid workers will receive additional training from visiting UK health workers. Dolma has also invested in medicines capable of easing most common ailments. Of course, this is necessary for the visitors, but these resources are also available for use by the whole village community.
• Purchasing of crafts

  • On the final day in Bridim, you will have the chance to purchase some of the fine Tibetan crafts made locally, such as beautiful rugs, belts, clothes, musical instruments, etc. By purchasing these items, you are not only ensuring that the money goes straight to local families, but you are also supporting these traditional crafts, the demand for which is unfortunately declining.
    

The Dolma Development Fund (DDF) was established with a view to investing a portion of company profits into sustainable development of the local community. This development work is targeted at three distinct areas:

• Education
  Investment here is targeted at both direct sponsorship of children for private education, and enhancements to facilities in local schools. Sponsorship is provided for a minimum of the full 10 years of junior and high school education on the Nepali curriculum, with an option for continuing to tertiary education. The name of the company, Dolma, comes from the first girl to be sponsored by the company. She was 10 when she started and was almost too old to begin the national curriculum at a quality school. Her story can be found here .
• Health Care
  In addition to the direct impact of a local first aider and medicine box, DDF also pays for more serious operations off-site, usually in Kathmandu. This involves transport costs as well as treatment.
• Cultural Sponsorship
  DDF also invests in cultural and artistic sponsorship, providing work for local craft experts whose unique skills may otherwise lie fallow because of a lack of demand and a lack of money to invest in public spaces.

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