Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community. I had been to Nepal before and this time I was keen on making a difference, hence I decided to volunteer. Initial research showed IVHQ's reputation and experience in the travel and volunteering industry. I gained as much information as I could about the program and activities, their connections with the UN's community impact goals for Nepal, fees, and other details. My Program Manager was extremely responsive, answered all questions satisfactorily and provided all necessary information. The local team were also extremely helpful and approachable. Overall the experience was extraordinary and I would love to do it again.
Construction and Renovation Volunteer Project in Nepal
Purpose
Improve infrastructure for the community
Start dates
Programs start every first and third Monday of the month
Duration
Choose from 1-12 weeks
Volunteer hours
Up to 5 hours a day
Age
Volunteers aged 16+ and families
Accommodation
Homestay
Who is going?
Group video calls
Once you have secured your place, join regular video calls to meet your Program Manager and other volunteers before your trip.
This program is ideal for:
Fit and active volunteers who are willing to get their hands dirty and get involved in a number of different tasks according to local priorities. You’ll be working with qualified local staff so no experience is required. You will need to bring or buy workboots and gloves suitable for physical labour.
Project details
Interested in building a better future as a Construction and Renovation volunteer in Nepal? International Volunteer HQ’s Construction and Renovation project enables volunteers to assist with a wide range of building and maintenance activities in locations around Nepal. Volunteers gain experience in construction and renovation while providing help with improvements and upgrades to local infrastructure and facilities that will make a tangible, lasting impact on the community.
What to expect and how you'll make an impact
In Nepal, many community services and infrastructure projects tend to be under-resourced and difficult to complete on a limited budget. Volunteers can provide vital help to get these projects finished so the community can make use of them as quickly as possible.
As a Construction and Renovation volunteers you will help with projects in schools, community learning centres, childcare centres, other educational facilities and on infrastructure projects in the areas in and around Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Volunteer tasks can include:
- Building
- Renovating
- Painting
- Restoration
- Carpentry
- Landscaping
- Stone paving
Please keep in mind that there are two major festivals in Nepal and during these times there won’t be volunteer work available; but accommodation and all other services of the program will be available. The dates impacted are:
- 10th to 15th of October 2024 (Dashain Festival)
- 31st of October to 4th of November 2024 (Tihar Festival)
- 29th of September to 4th of October 2025 (Dashain Festival)
- 20th to 24th of October 2025 (Tihar Festival)
To note: if you are looking to join this project for a 1 week duration, it is important to be aware that there is a 2 day orientation and if your placement is based outside of Kathmandu, you will travel to your placement location on Tuesday after the orientation. As such, your volunteer placement would run from Wednesday - Friday.
Why do Construction and Renovation volunteering in Nepal with IVHQ?
As a volunteer builder or labourer in Nepal you’ll be adding value to the local community, while also developing personally and professionally by:
- Improving and upgrading local infrastructure and facilities
- Contributing to local initiatives that support the community
- Developing your communication skills
- Gaining construction and renovation experience
- Immersing yourself in Nepali culture
- Adventuring in the Himalayan region
Volunteer requirements
- Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to participate in this program
- Volunteers aged 16 or 17 on their program start date are required to provide IVHQ with parental consent in order to participate on the program, and may be asked to provide additional document to the local team.
- All volunteers aged 13+ are required to provide a criminal background check to IVHQ prior to departure. Those aged 13-17, if unable to obtain a criminal background check, can provide two character reference letters instead
- All volunteers are required to have adequate volunteer travel insurance
- All volunteers must speak fluent English.
Are you eligible to volunteer?
Submit a free application so we can confirm your eligibility and check availability for your preferred dates.
Not sure which program to join?
Get personalized recommendations >
Who is going?
Group video calls
Once you have secured your place, join regular video calls to meet your Program Manager and other volunteers before your trip.
Nepal photo gallery
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IVHQ Childcare project
IVHQ Elephant Conservation project
IVHQ volunteers in Nepal
IVHQ Medical Elective project
IVHQ Construction and Renovation project
IVHQ Childcare project
IVHQ Elephant Conservation project
IVHQ volunteers in Nepal
Typical volunteer classroom
IVHQ Construction and Renovation project
IVHQ Childcare project
IVHQ Teaching English project
IVHQ Childcare project
IVHQ Elephant Conservation project
IVHQ Construction and Renovation project
IVHQ Medical Elective project
IVHQ Teaching English project
IVHQ Elephant Conservation project
IVHQ Construction and Renovation project
Exploring Kathmandu during an IVHQ weekend
Exploring Chitwan during an IVHQ weekend
Exploring Chitwan during an IVHQ weekend
Exploring Chitwan during an IVHQ weekend
What recent volunteers said about their IVHQ experience
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Manan Thakkar
10 Oct 2024
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Brittany Pantin
15 Feb 2024
The volunteer program was better than expected and I had high expectations haha! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming! The school I was placed at was a close walk from the homestay and the teachers and principals were very helpful, so helpful in fact the principal helped paint the walls in a full dress suit!! Everything from start to finish was amazing and made me definitely want to come back to Nepal!
I’m currently on the Everest trek and my guide is very knowledgeable and friendly. I’m so grateful to have him as a guide and looking forward to the rest of my trip!
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Daniel Page
14 Feb 2024
The home stay was terrific love the family and accommodation! Being able to help others along with getting immersed in another culture is just amazing.
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Jack Mehmet
11 Oct 2023
The main impact I feel is a total recalibration of many of the scales I use to judge success and stress in life. I am far more grateful for the society/country/time I have been lucky enough to be born into by mere chance, but also better recognise which aspects of my home life are not as important as I thought so am able to let go of unnecessary/meaningless worries.
The best single piece of advice I can give is to approach the experience with zero preconceptions/expectations, good or bad, even down to things about the other volunteers who are likely coming from similarly developed countries to you. Challenges are certain, from the climate/heat, physicality of the work, personalities of others, insect bites, lack of sleep, etc. but approaching them one at a time with a positive "see the path not the obstacles" mentality is key to enjoying the experience. For me there were some genuinely hard days, but that's good, it's essentially the point, there's no other way to truly understand and realise that this is someone else's life and day to day reality, they don't get to go home in a few weeks like you do, so you can make it.
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Aaron Downey
07 Dec 2022
Only good comments about IVHQ, the step by step guide helped me prepare for my first solo trip and eased my nerves somewhat! I was travelling solo and outside of Europe for the first time so I was super nervous, but IVHQ were always there to check in on me and make sure I was prepared for the amazing experience that lay ahead.
The local team were very helpful in making sure I had a comfortable experience - the whole team were there to help me settle in, arrange trips, arrange my amazing homestay, and just genuine amazing people. My host family were also amazing, they made me feel at home from the moment I was picked up at the bus station in Pokhara - anything I needed help with, they would always be there to offer support. The house was so clean, breakfast and dinner every day was so tasty! It was a great way to truly get a feel for the Nepali culture. My Nepali family made me feel like I was back home!
Volunteering really opened my eyes, the staff and workers in the community were so amazing, so helpful and so appreciative! I loved everything about it! My favourite moment was the whole Nepali Journey! From meeting super amazing Nepalese people, to learning their culture, to meeting other volunteers and even making a best friend for life, to helping out at the local community school, and just embracing such a beautiful country with special views! But if I had to pick one moment I am grateful for, it was the appreciation the principal and school teachers showed for us - the principal offered to take my friend and I out for dinner one evening after school and she even invited us to her house the next day for dinner, where we ate dinner, met her family and just had such a Nepalese style experience. It was so so wholesome and one day I will come back to Nepal to make even more amazing memories!!!
How I live back home is so different to how people live in Nepal. It was defiantly a culture shock but a good culture shock - I loved everything about Nepal, from meeting the local people, to learning their way of living, to tasting their food and to just having fun. The children at the local school were just always happy, friendly, chatty and so interested in my background. I will 110% come back to Nepal again one day, soon I hope!! Can't wait for the next part of my volunteering journey!
I was so hesitant myself at the start but then I just went ahead and booked it! It was my first time leaving Europe and first time travelling solo but I had the most amazing time of my life. I have gained so much experience and loved the local culture. You will meet very like minded people who are also solo travelling and volunteering. You will make friends for life just like I did. So just go for it, the journey never ends!!
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Via Visser
10 May 2022
This was an amazing program that became an impactful learning experience for me. The labor can be hard and strenuous sometimes due to the general lack of machinery with construction sites in Nepal; however, it gave me a new perspective and mindset afterward. My homestay was very welcoming and clean, the first thing they said to me on my arrival was that I was now one of their family members and to make myself completely at home. If you choose this Construction program in Nepal, my advice is this: come with a good attitude and a willingness to work hard. You'll build a great community with those around you and leave with life-long memories. Goodluck!
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To read all reviews, visit our reviews page.
Academic course credit
Academic course credit
Gain course credit from your college or university and meet your academic requirements when completing a volunteer abroad program with International Volunteer HQ!
Learn about course creditLocation
Location
Land-locked in the middle of South Asia, Nepal is known for its astonishing alpine scenery and breathtaking mountainscapes. But this diverse country offers much more than its remarkable natural environment. Among Nepal’s 28 million people, there are more than 100 different ethnic groups speaking as many languages and following a large number of religious and cultural traditions. It also faces the challenges associated with a history of civil war, natural disasters, political corruption and a lack of resources and infrastructure to support its population.
Volunteers can have a meaningful impact on Nepalese communities by providing assistance with a wide range of activities that help make life, and the future, better for local people. IVHQ has a number of volunteer projects in Nepal. Some are located on the outskirts of the capital city of Kathmandu in rural and urban areas, while others are in Chitwan 150 kilometres away, in the middle of Terrai - a flat fertile plain that borders India and stretches right across Southern Nepal. Pokhara is located in mid-western Nepal and is a popular tourist destination, renowned for its amazing mountain views.
Arrival and orientation
The program orientation begins on the first and third Monday of each month, and volunteers need to arrive in Kathmandu on the Sunday before orientation.
After you have registered for the program, please book your flights to arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) in Kathmandu. Your airport pick-up is included in your Program Fee.
When you arrive, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and transported to the volunteer accommodation in Kathmandu. Your accommodation is covered by your Program Fee and includes the night before your program orientation.
If you are travelling in Nepal prior to your volunteer program, we can arrange for you to be picked up at a prearranged destination in Kathmandu on the day before your program orientation.
Orientation is hosted by our Nepal team in Kathmandu and runs over the course of two days. Orientation begins on the morning of your chosen start date and covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Nepal – an introduction to Nepal, Nepalese customs, language training details, rules and expectations, safety, travel opportunities in Nepal, and an introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to visit local temples, sample authentic Nepali food, meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socialising.
If you are placed in Pokhara or Chitwan, you will travel to your placement location on Tuesday afternoon and you will begin work on Wednesday. If you are located in Kathmandu, you will begin work on Wednesday.
Volunteer schedule example
First Day:
On your first day of volunteering, you will be escorted to your placement by a local coordinator and introduced to the placement staff you will be working with.
Weekdays:
While a volunteer daily schedule will vary depending on the specific placement, a typical day is as follows:
| 7:30 AM | Breakfast at the homestay. |
| 8:00 AM | Volunteers leave home and travel to their placements. There is usually a tea break and a lunch break. |
| 2:00 - 5:00 PM | Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to travel back to the volunteer house, go sightseeing, or do some shopping. |
| 7:00 - 9:00 PM | Dinner at the homestay. |
Weekends:
During the weekends, volunteers have spare time and usually relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of their local town and Nepal. Known for being home to the world’s tallest mountain, Mt Everest, Nepal is an adventurer’s paradise. It has a vast selection of exceptional hikes in the Himalayas with arresting views in every direction, white-water rafting, canyon swings, paragliding and scenic flights. It also has a rich multicultural heritage and a huge collection of temples, pagodas, shrines, carvings and ancient architecture, not to mention an astonishing array of wildlife and an interesting cuisine influenced by its many ethnic groups and cultures.
Accommodation and WiFi
On arrival in Nepal, volunteers stay in a local hotel in Kathmandu for their two-day orientation.
Volunteers are then accommodated together in homestays and hosted by local families who have been approved by our program staff. We give your host family a fee for your support, food and board. It is exciting to stay with a host family, providing you with a unique opportunity to learn about the Nepalese way of life, meet local people, try traditional food and speak the local language - especially when host families in Nepal tend to have limited English.
Living is basic but comfortable and most homestays have electricity and running water, with the exception of some rural homestays which are without these conveniences during the dry season. Western toilets can be found at your home stays but please keep in mind that Squat toilets are still the norm in parts of Nepal; so you might find these at your placement and during activities, treks, etc. Volunteers can also expect low-pressure showers that are generally not heated, however, this is refreshing after a day in the heat.
You can expect to share a room with one to three other volunteers and bedrooms have single beds and bunk beds with bedding provided. It is recommended volunteers bring their own sleeping bag and mosquito nets for any trips away.
WiFi is available in most of the volunteer homestays, however those based in Chitwan should expect to walk to a nearby cafe for internet access. If you would like to keep connected during your stay, we recommend bringing an unlocked mobile phone and purchasing a local SIM card when you arrive in Nepal.
Meals
The staple meal for most Nepali families is dal bhat, which consists of lentil soup (dal), rice (bhat) and vegetables in curry (tarkari) and/or meat (masu) with a side of pickle/sauce (achar).
Food in Nepal is heavily influenced by the country’s Indian and Tibetan neighbours and includes plenty of curries, breads and potato-based dishes. Volunteers are served two meals per day at their homestay and can purchase additional food to supplement this if they wish.
Bottled water is readily available in Nepal and volunteers should budget approximately £4 per week for two litres a day. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know when you apply for the program so we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but there is a need to be flexible.
Typical volunteer bedroom during orientation
Typical volunteer bedroom during orientation
Typical volunteer dining area during orientation
Typical volunteer bathroom during orientation
Typical volunteer bathroom during orientation
Typical homestay in Kathmandu
Typical volunteer kitchen in Kathmandu
Typical volunteer bedroom in Kathmandu
Typical volunteer living room in Kathmandu
Volunteer homestay hosts in Kathmandu
Typical homestay in Chitwan
Typical volunteer dining room in Chitwan
Volunteer homestay host in Chitwan
Typical volunteer bedroom in Chitwan
Volunteer host cooking dinner in Chitwan
Volunteers enjoying dinner in Chitwan
Typical homestay in Pohkara
Typical view from volunteer house in Pohkara
Typical volunteer bedroom in Pohkara
Typical volunteer living room in Pohkara
Volunteer homestay host in Pohkara
Typical volunteer bedroom in Pohkara
Volunteers enjoying dinner in Pohkara
Typical volunteer breakfast
Typical volunteer lunch
Typical volunteer lunch
Typical volunteer Dinner
Typical volunteer Dinner
Pricing
Secure your place for just US$299 (approximately £251), pay your Program Fee later.
Spots are limited. For a Registration Fee of just US$299 (approximately £251) you secure your spot and unlock all our preparation and training tools.
You don't need to worry about paying your Program Fee until you get closer to your start date.
Duration |
Program FeeDue 30 days before you start, or within 48 hours if you register inside of 30 days. Covers the cost of hosting you.
|
|---|---|
| 1 week | $335 Equivalent to $48/day |
| 2 weeks | $515 Equivalent to $37/day |
| 3 weeks | $695 Equivalent to $33/day |
| 4 weeks | $875 Equivalent to $31/day |
| 5 weeks | $1,055 Equivalent to $30/day |
| 6 weeks | $1,235 Equivalent to $29/day |
| 8 weeks | $1,575 Equivalent to $28/day |
| 10 weeks | $1,915 Equivalent to $27/day |
| 12 weeks | $2,255 Equivalent to $27/day |
- All programs attract a Registration Fee of US$299 (approximately £251) in addition to the Program Fee. This covers all pre-departure support services.
- A 5% international banking fee is added at point of payment.
- Recommended spending money: Volunteers in Nepal generally find US$45 per week to be sufficient for expenses, such as lunches, transportation and local tours & activities.
- Daily breakfast and dinners
- Airport pick-up
- US$50 per week to cover the additional supervision and materials involved on the project
- Accommodation
- 24/7 in-country support
- In-country program orientation
- Pre-departure support from your Program Manager
- Personalised preparation tools, guides and check lists
- Access to IVHQ’s preferred insurance and flights partners
- Discounts on travel and tour add-ons
- Certificate of International Volunteer Service
Learn more about what's included in your IVHQ Registration Fee and Program Fee.
- Daily lunches
- Transport to and from your placement each day
- Return to the airport when your program finishes
- Flights
- Visa (if required), travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check.
- Personal spending money for snacks, laundry, public transportation, drinks and leisure activities during your free time.
Popular add-ons & experiences in Nepal
Take your volunteer experience to the next level with these popular add-ons and experiences. Explore your options below and learn how to book them once you've been accepted onto the IVHQ Nepal program.
Chitwan Jungle Safari (2 nights/3 days)
Embark on an unforgettable jungle safari to witness Nepal’s captivating wildlife in its natural habitat.
£157
Everest Base Camp Trek (14 days)
This iconic expedition is the most popular trekking route in the Himalayas and is unlike any other in the world.
£1242
Hatha Yoga and Meditation Retreat (1 week)
Reconnect with tranquility and mindfulness during a rejuvenating one-week yoga and meditation retreat, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the Western world.
£443
Check what's required to visit Nepal
Safety and support
Safety and support
IVHQ follows best practice and industry-leading health and safety procedures, which are regularly reviewed and optimized as part of the B Corporation recertification.
- All volunteers encouraged to complete our interactive pre-departure training.
- All local teams trained on best practice volunteer management & First Aid.
- All IVHQ programs are required to adhere to IVHQ's Risk Management Policy.
- All volunteers have access to 24/7 in-country support from our local team.
Essential country information
Essential country information
| Capital | Kathmandu |
| Population | 28 million |
| Languages | Nepali |
| Currency | Rupee (NRs.) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:45 |
Weather and climate: The climate in Nepal varies largely due to the variations in geography across the country. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons with dry weather and moderate temperatures. The Kathmandu Valley and other areas of high altitude experience summer temperatures of up to 28°C (82.4°F) and in winter, temperatures range between 2°C (35.6°F) and 20°C (68°F). The summer temperatures in Chitwan can reach up to 35°C (95°F) and in winter they range between 7°C (44.6°F) and a mild 23°C (73.4°F). The climate in Pokhara is similar to that of the Kathmandu Valley, with slightly warmer temperatures.
Apply to check if you're eligible!
