In February 2022, I returned to Kathmandu and Lumsa to see the new project begin. We met with the official technical engineers of the Salleri commune. The technical data from both coincided and they gave us the go-ahead to start. That same afternoon, we all went to the place where it was to be built, and after measuring the land and marking it with a string tied to wooden wedges driven into the ground with the help of a stone, the only excavator for miles around, got to work digging one-meter-deep holes for the foundations that will be earthquake-proof.
We measured and remeasured, counted and recounted, doors, windows, sockets, bathrooms, locks, lights, beds, tables and chairs. A whole accounting against the clock because I was only there for five days. With Choomsona, the electrician, we spent two days counting and measuring all the material we needed. It’s unbelievable what you learn when you go to places and do unusual things. Different sockets and switches, single or double, single with switch or double without…. A whole world. We had to go over it five times to calculate what we needed for the entire Lodge, the bathrooms, the rooms, the entrance…,.
We did the same with Jangmbu, the technical carpenter, with the doors and windows.
With Mingmar, we decided overnight that we had to return to Kathmandu by jeep to be able to do the shopping. Another race against the clock. In one day we visited two electrical stores and a center where they sell all kinds of materials and clothes for the house. This last store was chaos. God forbid, it was easier to find a needle in a haystack than a blanket in the middle of duvet covers. But all positive. We solved the electrical part and left the household part for the next trip.
After all the shopping, we took a helicopter to return to the village so as not to waste any more time, since going and returning from Lumsa to Kathmandu represents a whole day by jeep, and a whole day, it is 10-12 hours starting at 04:00 in the morning.
