The community hamlet of Malagiri is situated on a lush wooded mountainside and valley in the foothills of the Himalayas. The steeply terraced land allows local people to survive by growing crops and selling any surplus, owning a few goats and maybe a buffalo. Some of the young men also get work in Arabic countries and send some of their earnings home to help their families. Because of the local poverty and lack of education the community could be especially vulnerable to human trafficking with false promises of work in cities and other countries.

A narrow road cuts across the steep hillside under a sky which is white with mist. Above the road is wooded, below there are many narrow, farmed terraces.
Malagiri Terraces
The family are poorly dressed. Their home is built from piled stone, wood and a metal roof. A distant view of hills and farm buildings is obscured by low clouds.
Meeting a local family
A woman is seated cross-legged on the earth floor tending an open fire pit which has a simple metal trivet for supporting a cooking pot.
Tending an open fire

Malagiri 2007. School founders with the help of a Buddhist monk who spoke the local language conversed with the extended family living at this farmhouse near the road. Homes were very basic, cooking was done by burning a few sticks of wood on the bare earth floor with no chimney.

Life is hard in Malagiri with difficult challenges regularly appearing. During the earth quake of 2015 and the months of aftershocks many homes in Malagiri were so dangerously damaged they needed demolishing and rebuilding. Electricity is supplied to most homes in the community which has truly changed daily life for families, making housework and study in the evenings easier. See ‘House 1’ which was built after the 2015 earthquake according to government regulations and a design by a government engineer.

Local parents wearing masks carry sacks from a truck parked in the school grounds.
Covid supplies on the move in 2021.
Harvested cauliflowers are on the ground beside the front of a one story home which has a slopped corrugated roof. The farmer has trimmed the leaves away from one cauliflower ready to pack it.
‘House 1’ The farmer beside her home, preparing cauliflowers to be sold.
A man baths a baby in the fresh air beside a two story home with a windowed loft.
An old-style Nepali house that miraculously survived the earthquake.

As travel had been forbidden and trade was not possible during the Covid pandemic in 2021, the school governors (JCO) arranged for essential supplies of rice, oil, soap and other items to be delivered to the school for local children and their families.

The harvest of September 2025 is a good one in Malagiri with farmers growing cabbages, cauliflower, radishes and coriander for sale. Now everyone hopes that they will receive a good price for the lovely fresh vegetables.

Three young farmers are working on a sloping hill planted with cabbages. Nearby is a tall new metal pole for the simple wire that brings electricity to Malagiri homes. In the distance high up the hill are tall trees and homes.
Harvesting cabbages
A group of farming families work together beside bowls of water, sacks for packing and a heap of freshly harvested radish.
Washing and preparing white radish.

In 2024 the villagers had some good news: thanks to funding raised by Trinity most families received a cooking stove with a chimney. Now the homes are less smoky with more fuel efficient cooking and some families have fashioned a stove surround to raise the height and make sweeping easier.

The metal wood-burning stove is installed on the floor without any surround added, therefore any ash can spill out.
Wood-burning stove
A women stands pouring water from a plastic jug into a large cooking pot atop her stove. The stove is raised and encased by a smoothly finished unfired clay base, with a bowl shaped depression to catch spilling ash. An attached chimney takes most of the smoke from the room.
Cooking at home

Malagiri can be cold and damp and there is no heating in the houses for comfort or to dry washing. Water is usually accessed via a hose outside the building.

Animals are housed in the home, divided from the family by a barrier wall. Sometimes children take the goats to forage on the hills and buffalos are often fastened to a post beside the home.

A women carrying various leafy branches walks up a path beside bare terraced fields, her goats following beside her.
Carrying fodder
A young boy strokes the family goats in the animal area of the home. Light comes to the dark windowless space from an open doorway. The walls are constructed from carefully matched local stones.
Boy with family goats

Weather can be extreme in Malagiri, the heavy monsoon rains often causing landslides and washing away sections of road. In September 2024 we received this message from Head teacher Gautam,

“I wanted to inform you that while the school premises remain unaffected, due to recent landslides and floods, the power supply has been disrupted, which has made it difficult to stay in contact. Additionally, the roads are currently being repaired, and there is a safety risk for children commuting to school.
For these reasons, the school will remain closed for three days to ensure the safety of the students. We will keep you updated on any further developments”

The view looking up at four flights of the steeply terraced school steps as the water cascades down.
Rain pouring down the school steps.
The image feels dark and cold with sky obscured by low grey cloud. Terraced hills appear to be striped by the bands of snow on level ground.
Changes in weather patterns brought an unusual fall of snow.
A boy crouches on the edge of a badly damaged road and looks down the steep drop.
Badly damaged road
A digger approaches the landslide that is blocking the road to the school. Beyond the landslide half the width of the road has collapsed.
Digger tending to landslide