Major FAQ-Nepal

Room and Food

Where do I stay during one-week language program? Where Do I stay during volunteering program?
What do I eat? What about shower and restrooms? Do you accommodate special diet?

IFRE manages living accommodations, meals and supervision for volunteers for the entirety of a volunteers’ stay in Nepal. Most volunteers placed in Kathmandu projects stay at our homebase – a permanent home set aside for international volunteers and manned with a local staff. Our homebase provides a same-gender shared room and shared bathroom with running hot water and a “western” style toilet. Volunteers will have the ability to do laundry at the homebase.

Volunteers receive three prepared meals per day. We do not accommodate special diets beyond vegetarians or diabetics. Our cooks prepare breakfasts, lunches and dinners of Nepali foods (similar to Indian food, including wheat bread, rice, curry, dahl, chapatti and pickles) for volunteers. If volunteers will be out of the house during lunch hour, they can request a lunch "to go”. If traditional Nepali fare does not appeal to volunteers, they are welcome to buy personal food and prepare it.

Our safe and secure Kathmandu homebase is located in a beautiful area of Kalanki, nearly 5 km away from Thamel, a popular tourist hub of Nepal. Most of our volunteers’ projects are located within 2-5 miles of the homebase. Therefore, volunteers can simply walk to their projects or take a local taxi. Most necessary services for travelers are located within 2 km of the homebase: internet cafés, restaurants and grocery stores. Our homebase is located in the heart of city and provides easy access to volunteer to all parts of Kathmandu. It is a perfect situation for volunteers to live safely and comfortably while making many new friends and sharing experiences every day. Most of volunteers project in Nepal (Kathmandu) are located within 2-10 km of our homebase so you may walk or ride a local bus to your project. In the evening volunteers return to the homebase, to relax, eat dinner, explore local areas or share the day’s experiences with fellow volunteers and staff.

Occasionally, depending on volunteer traffic, available projects or distance to a volunteer’s assigned project, we may also place our volunteers with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and are experienced with hosting international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Another viable option is an at-orphanage stay. Many orphanages in Kathmandu have special rooms set aside to house international volunteers. Volunteers who have stayed with a host family or at an orphanage describe an enriched experience as a result of having done so. Once you have applied for program placement, you will find the specific details of your accommodations in your personal placement documents for your project.