Spending the last few weeks by the Indian Ocean in Goa I had some time to reflect on the last year and where I want to get to with Shanti Treks in the long run. I want Shanti Treks not to be just work. I want it to be a reflection of my life, an embodiment of my values, a journey of meaningful growth, and a deeply fullfilling pursuit. I want Shanti Treks to be a great part of my life that I immerse in, create impact through, and turn into a legacy.

In the midst of last year my biggest goal was to stay on top of things and in hindsight I feel like it was a wild ride on a young horse that after a few initial bucks I somehow got under control. By now I am at a point where everything seems possible, all obstacles coming up appear manageable and life is just a joyful ride with an abundance of opportunities. 

Yet I did not get here on my own and the beauty is because I did not have to. One of my most valuable findings of last year is that asking for help is not a sign of failure but receiving support from people that love and believe in me is actually a beautiful feeling. For the longest time I believed I have to be strong and cannot show weakness and thinking about it now, I cannot even pin down why I thought that. I was ashamed to say that I had only a few bookings by the end of 2023 and that I had to cancel trips because no one was booking them. During last year I learned that being vulnerable means opening up for receiving love, care and support, and being cared for is a very good feeling.

One strong pillar in my life has always been my family. I am very thankful that I always enjoyed an absolute freedom of choice in my career and an unquestioned acceptance of my private life. This might sound normal but having spent a lot of time in India and Nepal I am very aware that many people, and especially women, do not experience such a free choice or acceptance. They often do not even have a choice with whom they spend their life with. Parents make these decisions for them and that is their life path set in stone.

The United Nations describe “Women Empowerment” as the process of giving women the power to make decisions and participate in society equally and understand it as a fundamental human right. Some claim the term has been overused by now, but I believe the opposite is true – we have not used it enough and we certainly have not empowered women enough. To me there is nothing more uplifting than seeing young women looking beyond the horizon, pushing boundaries, and going against the norm. So it was only a matter of time until I would come across a project supporting women empowerment that I would want to get involved with. And by coincidence that happened in Nepal just before Christmas.

A friend of mine suggested that I should visit the Akasha Academy during my time in Kathmandu. I had a few free days after my Shanti Trek around the Manaslu (read more about it here) and Surya, my Nepalese friend and guide that I organise all my treks in Nepal with, and I went to visit the academy. I did not even find the time to inform myself about the project in advance, hence was completely clueless about what to expect. I also remember not being very enthusiastic about the visit either, but my friend was pretty insistent to visit the project, and I somehow felt I should go. Over the years I learned to follow such intuition, and it was right to do so. The moment I stepped into Akasha’s Artisan Bakery where I met the project’s team, I felt a warm and positive energy. It felt  like meeting old friends.

The Akasha Academy is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and headquartered in Munich. It has another base in Kathmandu, where it offers a 10-month vocational training and orientation program for young Nepalese women. The program's goal is to educate, enable, and empower by helping participants to discover their abilities, find their own path in life, understand current challenges, and contribute to positive change in their surroundings. With Shanti Treks, I aim to sponsor interested participants to obtain the official trekking guide license for Nepal. This contains a 45-day training program led by the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), which is the government’s official body.

During our first visit Surya and I got to know the team, learned about the Traineeship Program, met some of the students and walked around the premises. The first seed was planted. Afterwards I reflected on this first encounter with Surya, he shared my views and we both agreed that we want to get involved. Already whilst listening to Tabea, the program coordinator,  on our walking tour around the premises an idea started forming in my head to find young women interested in becoming a trekking guide and train them in collaboration with the Akasha’s Traineeship.

A week later I met with the senior staff of the organisation again and presented my idea. We brainstormed how to make such a trekking traineeship possible and agreed on a framework. During my trek in the Everest Region (read about it here) Surya and I received an invitation from Akasha Academy to introduce our program to the current students of the Traineeship at an event at their premises. Hence, I rushed down the mountain and came a few days earlier to Kathmandu to not miss this opportunity. It was a beautiful afternoon full of young Nepalese women performing traditional dances. I loved feeling all this powerful positive energy at the event and even got a little emotional while talking to the young women about our plans. I remember standing in front of them and looking in such curious and expectant faces. And I especially remember how great that felt. We were delighted to speak to two women afterwards that showed immediate interest to learn more about our program.

Looking ahead Surya, I and interested trainees will go trekking together in the Annapurna region in March. Surya is showing me a new route for our Shanti Trek in Spring 2026 and we will use the trekking days with the trainees to find a good fit for our internship program. For the trainees it is the chance to get into the mountains, live their passion and see if this career path may be something they want to pursue. The selected interns will start their 45-day training course with TAAN in July.

After the succesful completion of the training, the interns will join us on our Shanti Trek in November (more info here), as part of their obligatory internship of the trekking guide training. It will be a great opportunity for them to improve their English skills, learn how to organise a trek and guide a group as well as interact with guests and understand cultural differences. In return, they will give our guests a fascinating insight what it means to grow up and live as woman in Nepal.

It is almost scary how things sometimes align just perfectly. With Shanti Treks I always wanted and still  have the vision to empower women in finding their path and truly following their dreams and ambitions just like I do. And here I stumble into the Artsan Bakery and find the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. Sometimes the stars align as simply as that.