Hands-On Institute

22/06/2025

The mountain offered a hundred perspectives.
From every village, every trail, every moment, it looked slightly different.
At times, it even felt like it was watching over us.

Similar to our learning journeys: same source, different reflections.

18/06/2025

A quiet moment in rural Nepal.

No common language, but a shared cup of tea.

Simple. Genuine. Human.

16/06/2025

Our partner villages aren’t just participants. They’re our co-educators.

They help plan each program, set the priorities, and welcome students not as guests, but as family.

From choosing what projects matter most to sharing their knowledge and stories, their voice guides everything we do.

And they remind us, that respect isn't just practiced- it's felt.

14/06/2025

Nepal offers something few places can:

Ancient philosophies
Living traditions
Raw landscapes

And people with stories worth listening to.

Our students don’t just visit. They participate, reflect, and grow.

Come see why community is the new classroom.

10/06/2025

Some Journeys Stay With You.

Not because of where you went, but because of how it made you feel and what it helped you see.

At Hands-On Institute, we create immersive learning experiences in Nepal that are hard to describe and even harder to forget. You might spend a morning learning about sustainable farming from women farmers, an afternoon helping students in a solar-powered village school, or an evening making momos with a local chef and her community.

It's a way of learning that stays with you long after the trip ends.

If you’re looking for something meaningful, for yourself, your students, or your institution, this is one place where learning and life come together.

Community is the new classroom.

06/06/2025

What does community-based learning actually mean?

It means listening before leading.
It means unlearning before acting.
It means placing people before projects.

04/06/2025

At Hands-On Institute, our programs aren't built around sightseeing. They’re built around insight.

Students don’t just visit communities, they live with them. They cook, walk, and learn alongside people whose daily realities challenge their assumptions and expand their understanding.

The goal isn’t to check off places. It’s to open up new ways of thinking, about culture, power, sustainability, and self.

Because in the right environment, learning doesn’t just happen- it transforms.

02/06/2025

Every passport here carries shared intent, experience, and hope.

At Hands-On Institute, we’re proud to bring together people from across the globe, each carrying different stories, perspectives, and possibilities.

Diversity isn’t just a part of the program. It is the program.

31/05/2025

We were delighted to come across this thoughtful feature by UC Davis, reflecting on their 2023/24 Study Abroad experience in Nepal, a program we were proud to co-facilitate.

Together, 19 UC Davis students and 17 students from Nepal spent several weeks working on grassroots projects, from developing a business plan for a Dalit-led dairy cooperative, to supporting a tourism initiative in Machhapuchhre, and to creating a website for an indigenous mothers’ group. Each project was grounded in community needs and designed to foster practical learning, cultural exchange, and long term impact.

Programs like these go beyond academics. They build relationships, foster cross-cultural understanding, and challenge students to think bigger, about community, about equity, and about their own place in the world.

Grateful to UC Davis for the continued trust and partnership and to Tiffany Dobbyn, Communications Specialist at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, for capturing the story with such clarity and care.

https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/studying-nepal-students-find-adventure-friendship-and-purpose

UC Davis professors with a longstanding connection to Nepal, along with their Nepalese colleagues, lead a learning exchange program that offers students a profound immersion in the country’s vibrant culture, environment and history. Through hands-on projects designed with a small rural village, st...

28/05/2025

Every Hands-On program starts with something simple, but essential: listening.

Before any itinerary is built, we work with community advisers and trusted local partners who help us shape meaningful, respectful experiences for students and ensure every activity aligns with local priorities.
They guide what we do, how we do it, and why it matters.

From co-designing projects to identifying service areas, our programs are never “brought” to a community they’re built with them.

It’s how we stay grounded. It’s how learning becomes real.

25/05/2025

Honored to Be Recognized for What Matters Most

In 2020, our collaboration with the University of California, Davis was Highly Commended by the PIEoneer Awards in the category of Progressive Education Delivery, recognizing our joint commitment to sustainability, community impact, and meaningful global learning.

The Nepal program was led by Nancy Erbstein, associate professor in residence in the School of Education and associate vice provost of Global Education for All in Global Affairs, and Jonathan London, professor in the Department of Human Ecology/ Community and Regional Development.

Though some time has passed, this recognition continues to inspire our mission: designing immersive study abroad programs that create lasting impact for students and for communities in Nepal.

Still proud. Still committed.

To meaningful learning. To ethical partnerships. And to the work ahead.

Thank you to UC Davis (Nancy and Jonathan) and everyone who’s been part of this journey. We’re excited to share what’s next.

23/05/2025

Nepal is more than just a destination, it’s a classroom.

At Hands-On Institute, we don’t believe the most important lessons come from whiteboards or PowerPoints. They come from real places, real people, and real challenges.

Nepal brings it all together- culture, ecology, spirituality, and social complexity in one living, breathing learning environment. Here, students witness how communities adapt to climate change, how ancient wisdom informs daily life, and how connection begins not with expertise, but with humility.

Every program we design invites students to engage deeply, not just with Nepal, but with themselves.

What’s one place that reshaped the way you learn?

Let Nepal be the next.