In 2010, we set out to help 49 kids get a better education. Sixteen years later, we’ve built 13 schools and put digital lessons in front of thousands of students.
We’ve learned that a classroom alone isn’t enough. Kids need clean water, a safe toilet, books, light and good teachers too. So we build all of it.
schools built, from the hills of Kavre to the plains of Dhanusha.
students learning in new classrooms.
model schools in the Digital Classroom Project, across five municipalities in Bagmati Province.
years working in Nepal, with a Nepali-led team.
We started out naive about how Nepal works. Sixteen years, an earthquake and thirteen schools later, here’s what changed.
Kids can’t learn if they’re sick, hungry or in the dark. So every school comes with the systems that cut illness, raise attendance and help teachers teach.
Clean water. Tested at every school, purified with Smart Paani.
Toilets & hygiene. Private toilets keep girls in school through puberty.
Library. Lively spaces, with Books for Change.
Computer lab. Offline digital library; teachers trained by OLE Nepal.
Furniture. Flat-packed desks that travel cheaply to the far corners of Nepal.
Teacher training. Comes with every school we build.
Clean water. Tested at every school, purified with Smart Paani.
Toilets & hygiene. Private toilets keep girls in school through puberty.
Library. Lively spaces, with Books for Change.
Computer lab. Offline digital library; teachers trained by OLE Nepal.
Furniture. Flat-packed desks that travel cheaply to the far corners of Nepal.
Teacher training. Comes with every school we build.
Nepal is on the front line of climate change. We build with local earth and minimal concrete: lower emissions, lower transport costs to remote villages, and donors’ money goes further.
less CO₂ for earth brick than fired clay brick
lower wall cost than fired brick
Nepal earthquake: no major damage to earth-brick buildings
Earth doesn’t burn. Pest-proof and quiet, too.
Figures are directional and vary by soil, region and method. Sources: Build Up Nepal field data; Nouri et al.; Pacheco-Torgal & Jalali; Auroville Earth Institute.
Architects, engineers, builders, funders and educators from Nepal and around the world. Credited by what they did, and for how long.
Acts of Kindness Collective
2016–now
e-Education
2018–now
Fundación Heres
2018–now
The Nepal Initiative
2020–21
Asian Friendship Network
2015–18
Jacobs|Chang Architects
2024–25
Kamara
2021–23
MESH Architecture
2019–21
Cycle Architecture, Marissa Feddema
2018
Sam Pepper / Mathew Streeter
2018
SHoP Architects
2015–17
Office of Structural Design
2015–23
Build Up Nepal
2020–now
Rammed Earth Solutions
2025–now
Sustainable Futures
2018–22
Arch Himalayan
2015–18
Smart Paani · water
2013–now
OLE Nepal · computer labs
2018–now
Books for Change · libraries
2018–now
MPOWERD · solar lights
2016–20
Bookmandu · libraries
2016–17
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