Empowering Women of Nepal Expedition – Anna Fleming
“In February I went on a 4-week expedition to Nepal to meet, interview and explore with trailblazing women who are transforming society and mountain culture in the Himalaya. In 1994, Lucky and her sisters Nikki and Dicky Chhetri established 3 Sisters Trekking Company the first ever female-led adventure trekking company in Nepal. In the patriarchal society of Nepal, women did not work as mountain guides: they were considered ‘impure’ because they menstruate and were not allowed in the mountains. Meanwhile, female trekkers were experiencing difficulties with male Nepali guides who expected ‘certain things’ from western women.
Lucky and her sisters have changed all this. Since 1994, they have trained 2000+
Nepali women to work as mountain guides through Empowering Women of Nepal.
Lucky invited me to Nepal in February 2025 for a month, to observe their training
programme with a new cohort of Nepali girls and women, to interview them and go on an adventurous trek together into the Himalaya. The expedition was a great
success. I gained a deep immersive understanding of their work in action and now,
having returned to Scotland, I will share these insights and experiences widely
through my own work as a writer and mountain professional”.
Full report and photographs see www.theneilmackenzietrust.com/anna-fleming/
Preparations for Supporters’ Day
We are looking forward to seeing you for our 3rd Supporters’ Open Day on 23rd August at Farr Hall IV26AX. The event is free to anyone who has donated to the Trust this year, and is open to all. If you haven’t already, we will ask you for a small donation when you arrive. It is a chance to get together, meet others and enjoy a day with friends old and new. You are welcome to join in all or just part of the day.
Morning Activities will include climbing/bouldering, paddleboarding, guided walks, childrens’ yoga and a stonoga (centipede).
Afternoon will include a chance to talk to us and recipients about the Trust over refreshments. There will be short talks by grant recipients, and a bouncy castle. There will also be opportunities to spend some cash, in aid of the Trust!
The day will culminate in an early evening Barbeque.
We are also looking for previous grant recipients to give a 5-10 minute talk (or just talk informally to supporters), helpers to assist with activities (including children’s), make, serve and clear up refreshments, fundraising tables, BBQ, etc. If you can help, please get in touch: theneilmackenzietrust@dr.com
Can you help? We are in contact with an Australian family travelling the world by bike. They are on Arran at the moment, heading for the Outer Hebrides then Inverness, Edinburgh and Newcastle. They are looking for hosts, and would like to meet schools, outdoor groups including, for example, D of E, guides, scouts, etc. If you can help, there is more information on P3 below. Also: www. swagfamily.au
News
Thanks to all our supporters and sponsors. Special thanks, this month, go to Duncan Grant and Elliott who raised £1,405 for us by completing 50k Ultra X on the south side of Loch Ness on 4th May. Also thanks to Hawco and The Inverness Car Company for their donations.
Grant news: The following recent applications were successful: VOC Neil Mackenzie Adventure Grant – annual award to member/s of the University of British Columbia Varsity Outdoor Club. 2025 grant has been awarded to a group of members to go for a ski trek in the Monarch and Ha-iltzuk icefields, in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Educational Expedition Grant: Kirsty Dinning will receive a grant for a research expedition to Ecuador. Expedition Grants: Schoolgirl Anna Lafferty has a grant to go trekking in the Hardanger Plateau in Norway. A group of nine climbers from the Highlands, has been awarded a grant towards establishing new rock climbing routes in Kyrgyzstan. Small expedition grants have been awarded to two groups of students from UHI Fort William.
More dates for your 2025 diary:
19th July: Come and see us at the Highland Gathering, Corriegarth Estate, Gorthleck, near Inverness. 12 – 4pm.
29th November: St Andrew’s Eve ceilidh, Farr Hall IV2 6AX to celebrate 10 years of the Trust. Look out for tickets from July. We will be looking for helpers – so let us know if you are coming and what you can do to help.
Skills training reports: Anne-Maelle Penot and Daniel King from Edinburgh University Sailing Club completed their RYA Day Skipper training in Largs, in February.
“The aim of the course was to become competent in skippering a small yacht. This included: preparation for sea, deck work, navigation, pilotage, meteorology, rules of the road, maintenance and repair work, engines, victualling, emergency situations, yacht handling under power, yacht handling under sail, passage making and night cruising.” Daniel “The weather was typical for February; it was cold, and clouds obstructed the sky for most of the week. A few snowflakes greeted us on Monday morning, leaving the mountains of Arran beautifully dusted in white. The wind ranged from moderate to strong, culminating in a final-day gale that kept us docked on Friday. Going for a Day Skipper course in February was certainly a bold choice, but it prepared us for the toughest Scottish conditions. I dare say we did pretty well and thrived despite the cold and wet weather.” A-M “The week was over and with it I had gained my RYA Day Skipper certificate. This allows me to charter small yachts. ………The course has also taught me new knowledge of handling the boat and sailing generally. I hope to be able to pass these on back to the Edinburgh University Sailing Club (EUSC). Whether this be the West Coast Cruise later in the year or through weekend sailing sessions…….. I see that this course lays a basis for gaining further experience sailing. I enjoy sailing for the experience itself, being on the water allows a new perspective and you tune in to the weather, wind and waves around you. …………..By the end of the week we had sailed around 144nm, including 7h of night sailing, over 4 days.” D I had a great time both learning how to be a skipper and living for a week with a fantastic group of people. I am very grateful to the [Neil] Mackenzie Trust for supporting me in this journey and I am looking forward to skippering a yacht for the first time this summer – putting what I have learnt into practice. My goal is to follow Nick’s mantra (“The moment you become a Day Skipper, you become a teacher.”) and keep sharing the sailing knowledge and passion!” A-M For full reports see www.theneilmackenzietrust.com
G’day! We are a family of 5 from Australia (mum Nicola, dad Andrew, Hope 11, Wilfy 9 and Jeannie 2.5) and we’re travelling the world by bike.
We have been on the road now around 15 months cycling through New Zealand, South America and now the UK. As teachers we school the children along the way and they have a great time meeting other people and exploring the world slowly. We often sleep in tents, but also love the hospitality we’ve received along the road staying with locals, eating together, sharing stories and learning about the places we travel through.
We also communicate the adventure to schools and programs across the world for free via our website www.swagfamily.au – along the way we also visit classrooms to share our love of adventure.
If you would like to know more about us you can check out the adventure on Facebook and Instagram via @swagfamilyhughes or the whole story via www.Patreon.com/swagfamily
We are looking for places to stay, people to connect with and schools/programs to visit along the way so… If you would like to host us or know someone along our route that might be interested please get in touch via Nicola@swagfamily.au
Route:
We’re currently on the Isle of Arran and heading to the Outer Hebridides, back to Inverness and down to Edinburgh/Newcastle for around mid June.
Thanks,
Nicola Hughes
www.swagfamily.au
https://www.patreon.com/swagfamily
FB/IG: @swagfamilyhughes
The Neil Mackenzie Trust 