Maybe you remember me ranting about this before but it’s on my mind again lately. Nepal has tremendous opportunity and potential to be a vital economic and cultural figure in the region of southern Asia. The Kathmandu Valley has a remarkable heritage as being a trade center between Tibet and India, and it is a unique mix among the religious and intellectual philosophies or ancient cultures. Nepal does host a vibrant tourism industry and they have a lot of magic to share with the outside world, but it seems there is little else the people of Nepal have been able to pull together for their economy. They have gotten down subsistence farming pretty well, but that’s a system that can’t support the population levels and the modern social issues at the heart of Nepal. It has been a great benefit mutually to Nepal to get revenue and international exposure from the outside world and it is an intriguing experience for westerners to travel through the mysterious land. The mystic ways of the Nepalese have long allured the imagination of many adventurous travelers, but to be honest it seems like the charm could wear off. It has gotten much easier to travel to and access the wonders of the fabled land and now just about anyone crazy enough can make the excursion. Maybe after a while the Nepal experience will lose its novelty and, just like the Middle-Eastern countries when they run out of oil, won’t have much to fall back on for revenue and a national identity.

Nepal has a great deal of resources to start building a more substantial and meaningful economy. As it stands now about the only option for finding work is getting in on the tourism industry. As far as I know there isn’t much else in the way of a organized production. Of course there are farms and other forms of labor, and if you’re lucky enough to own a shop selling souvenirs and sodas you can scrape by. There are no factories or other major service organizations for providing good jobs. There just isn’t the same kind of infrastructure built up that one in the West can relate to, and with the instability in the government there is no foundation for setting any new trends. I’m aware of a few benevolent souls who have stepped in to develop enterprise in the country, Like Ellie, who has a small consulting firm going with Nepalese computer programmers. This is the right idea, and with more of those there might be some momentum, but as I understand it the way of things in Kathmandu really deter attempts like that to do some good. Face it, the Nepalese are in no condition right now to pull themselves out of the rut they’re in, and a little more outside investment in capital and mentoring would open the outlook for Nepal a bit. Countries like Russia, Japan and Sweden have already held out a hand of support by providing some construction and other support, especially in the Sherpa villages in the Himalays, but a real show of faith and support from some large entities would ignite a spark that could turn the country around. As it stands Nepal is teetering on chaos because poverty has left them with no options.