High in the hills above Kathmandu, on a plot of land that until recently held little more than possibility, something extraordinary is beginning to rise.
The Tergar School Yolmo campus, a vision years in the making, is no longer just a dream sketched on paper. It is now something you can walk through. The first concrete has already been poured. Each layer tested, each material checked, not just for strength, but for trust. The results have been reassuring: strong, reliable, ready to carry what comes next. Eight concrete foundation pads have been dug into the earth. A new road has been carved through the hillside. Steel is being cut and welded in a workshop in Kathmandu, ready to be carried up and raised into walls and ceilings.
The journey here was not without its obstacles. Political shifts and changing local conditions tested the patience of everyone involved. Permits were hard-won. Timelines were revised. But for the small, determined team on site, none of this was entirely unexpected. Building in remote Himalayan terrain demands a particular kind of resilience.
In February, Lama Tsering Dendup led a Riwo Sangchö puja on the land — offerings, chants, and a symbolic ground-breaking on an auspicious Earth-Water Day. The ritual invoked stability, adaptability, and harmony. Not just for the buildings themselves, but for the generations of children who will one day walk through these doors.
Those children, from communities scattered across the Himalayan region, are the reason all this matters. The school is envisioned not only as a place of academic learning, but as a space where awareness, love, compassion, wisdom, and joy can be cultivated from a young age.
The steel frame for the medical block is due to be installed on site from late April through May. The floor heights for the Monk Blocks and the Gompa — the meditation hall that will sit at the spiritual heart of the campus — are close to being finalized.
When those dimensions are confirmed, the full shape of what is being built will finally come into view.
Monsoon season will arrive before long, bringing the possibility of blocked roads and interrupted supply chains. The team is already preparing ahead of time, with materials stored in advance and plans in place to keep work moving as reliably as possible.
As construction continues, Yolmo School is steadily moving from foundation to form. The coming months will bring visible changes as structures begin to rise, and the campus takes clearer shape. We will keep sharing these milestones with you as this shared vision continues to unfold.
