Empowering Women of Nepal run inspiring 'mobile trainings' in this remote region, giving women basic training to become more 'self-supporting' and promoting ecotourism in the communities.
I wrote about the first day of school on my old blog. What followed over the course of that week inspired me so much I decided to make a documentary film about the women. I wanted to investigate further what their lives are like on a daily basis and to study the positive impacts that the training had.
I returned to California in the summer of 2010 and approached my dear friend and film maker, Sophie Dia Pegrum who enthusiastically joined the project and together we started Shakti Pictures.
I returned to Asia and spent the early part of 2011 travelling around South India while working on laying some of the administrative foundations of the company, preparing to launch the fundraising campaign and applying for grants.
In February 2011, I returned to Nepal to study Nepali and volunteer with EWN. In May I went to again participate in the training in Jumla and make the necessary preparations for our return in November 2011 when Sophie joined me and we spent nearly four weeks shooting the first section of the film.
The project will be ongoing as we intend to return throughout the following year to observe the changes that have occurred in the lives of our women and in the region itself at this interesting and tumultuous time in Nepali politics.
