Jubing, Solukhumbu

From Kharikhola village one can only guess the proximity of Mt. Everest.
Though slopes are generally steeper than they look on this picture, the area is still good for growing potatoes, maize, wheat and vegetables. Other goods can be bought from porters (male and female) who frequent the main trail between the district headquarters Salleri and Lukla in the north.

A house showing signs of the increasing Maoist presence in the southern parts of the district.
Young insurgents walk from house to house asking for food, money and sometimes rakshi. They are also looking for new recruits, often by blackmailing local families. The passing-through tourists are sometimes asked for "donations" in exchange for an "official" receipt.

A Maoist message.
The rebels make a point of not tolerating "bad" habits like smoking, gambling, etc. Thus Kharikhola is declared a non-smoking village!

Sita Maya Rai, 31, lives in Paiya with her husband and her daughter Janukala, 2. Sita Maya runs a very small restaurant and helps her husband to produce handmade paper which he sells in Kathmandu.
Currently the family lives in a very small rented house, but they want to build their own place as soon as they have got enough money.

Suk Maya Tamang, 24, and her husband Lok are taking a sun bath in front of their tourist restaurant in Paiya.
The couple has moved to the place shortly after their marriage 5 years ago, when Lok quit his job as a porter. Smiling, Suk Maya, the mother of 2 small children, says that she is the boss in the house!

A new resident to Paiya, Dolma Sherpa, 22 (here with her son Jiring Nangel), is about to open a new hotel. Like many other Sherpa men, her husband Phunuru is on Mt. Everest at the time, so Dolma has to manage everything on her own. The whole family is in the hotel business, and sometimes one of her sisters or one of her parents come from closeby Kharikhola to help her.

Suffering from a heart disease, Tirta Kumari Kami, 32, still tries to help her husband Chiri with the farming as much as she can.
Tirta Kumari would love to move to Kathmandu to provide a better education for her 4 children. But due to the high expenses they have to pay for her treatment, the family has not managed to save enough money yet.

Kamala Kami (right), 20, shares a small house with her husband, her 2 children Laxmi, 5, and Navin, 2, and her parents in-law in Sikkle.
The men are both black- and silversmiths following the caste tradition. The women are busy doing the house- and fieldwork as well as looking after the children and the animals, so Kamala has no time to think about her future.

Though Sarita BK, 22, has been to school for 2 years, she cannot write more than her name. She feels very unhappy about her education. When she still lived with her parents, she had too much work to do at home and in the fields to attend school regurarly. She says she would like to take evening classes now, but she has not heard of any opportunities in her village.

Mani Maya Rana (right), 60, lives next to her oldest son's house in Sikkle. Most of her children are already married and have moved to other places: Her daughters have moved to Kharikhola, Paiya and Singapore, and her youngest son studies in Kathmandu.
Supported by her oldest son and the youngest daughter who is still unmarried, Mani Maya currently makes a living from farming only.

Sukuri Maya Rana (left), 15, has just finished today's classes. The youngest daughter of Mani Maya Rana (picture 10) is in 5th grade now. After SLC in a couple of years, she wants to study English in the district headquarters Salleri or in Kathmandu. Up to now, she has only travelled as far as Lukla, but she would love to visit other places!

Dolma Rai, 25, runs a small momo restaurant in Kharikhola, helped by a cousin and a nephew.
Born in Baku VDC, her parents died when she was only 10 years old. After living in her uncle's house for some years, Dolma moved to Khumjung VDC in the north and made her own money working in a restaurant and later doing fieldwork in Namche Bazaar. Dolma is sure that Kharikhola will not be the last place for her; she would love to find a job in the capital or abroad.

Lemi Sherpa (right), 30, is doing fieldwork helped by her children and a friend.
After their marriage more than 10 years ago Lemi and her husband Pasang Kami had their own hotel in Kathmandu. When business conditions turned bad, they moved back to Jubing to work in their own land. Lemi still prefers the easy life in Kathmandu, and she is confident that she will convince her husband to go back soon.

Phulamu Sherpa does not know her age. She lives up the hill from Kharikhola with very few neighbours, running a small farm.
Phulamu hardly ever leaves her farm where she is in charge of the fieldwork and the animals while her husband Sangbu makes money as a porter and sometimes from trekking. Phulamu's biggest dream is going on a holiday to Lukla, but so far she has not got enough money.

Phuli Sherpa, 18, is the oldest of 3 children and still lives with her parents and her grandmother in Bupsa.
As she had too much work at home, she decided to leave school 2 years ago. Nevertheless, she likes studying and is currently participating in classes about nutrition.
Phuli tells us that she is engaged to Dolma Sherpa's (picture 6) younger brother and is planning to get married in about 6 months time.

Like many other Rai families in Bupsa, Sarmila Rai, 21, and her husband As Kumar, 26, have converted to Christianity some years ago.
Sarmila, who would like to work as a primary school teacher in Bupsa, says she is very keen on learning about other cultures. Especially when she has a lot of work to do, she dreams of travelling to foreign countries like Japan or America.

Gita Sherpa, 27, is enjoying her lunch break together with her daughter Mingma Suri,1.
Gita makes her own money as a teacher in Paiya's primary school, while her husband Phunuru usually works as a trekking guide and spends 2 months a year in Kathmandu. The couple was engaged for 4 years as Gita insisted on finishing her studies before getting married!

The Photographs