Support Ethan's Mindful Travel to Nepal!

Hello! My name is Ethan, and I’m a junior at Design Tech High School. I am working with nine other students to plan an educational trip to Nepal. During this 26-day trip, we plan to delve into our individual interests as a way to find meaning in our travel endeavors. Our mission is to launch a regenerative travel experience to Nepal for students at d.tech. We will practice sustainability through a homestay exchange, cultural immersion, individual curiosity projects, and experiential education. We will utilize our knowledge to educate others on mindful travel and introduce prototypes for exploring global issues. As a group, we want to raise awareness of how other travelers can do the same. This won’t only benefit us and our local communities, but will also create a positive impact on the tourism industry globally, and reduce the extensive issues that have emerged due to travel.

My mission is to mindfully travel within Nepal while learning how to implement mindful and wellness practices into my adventures. I aim to explore how travel can become a regenerative practice, and reimagine the purpose and impacts of the industry. Yes, I am planning this trip for myself to participate in a transformative experience, but my main purpose in planning this trip is to witness how mindful traveling can build a regenerative future for the travel industry at large. I want travel to be accessible as a learning tool for generations to come, and this trip will allow me to learn these strategies. This is exactly why I am leading the Nepal trip. It’s been over a year since I planted the seed for this trip, spending hundreds of hours researching how an idea like this could become a reality, finding purpose in travel, and connecting with countless people who would transform this ambitious idea into a reality. My curiosity when planning this trip centers around Eastern philosophies on wellness. When in Nepal, I want to learn about yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices where they originated from and are widely used today because I want my future to be enveloped by these transformative practices. I also want to learn about the ethics of traveling, understand Eastern practices, and share this back home. I will engage in meaningful conversations with locals to connect and exchange perspectives on wellness. I want to apply this knowledge to create more meaningful travel experiences for myself and my community.

I’m here today asking for money to support me and my friends financially so this trip can happen. I want to prove to myself that I can finance this trip making every step of this trip even more meaningful. I would be incredibly grateful for any donations, whether big or small because each dollar will make the journey more and more possible. My goal is to fundraise $5,000 in the next couple of months. It will allow me to participate in my passion for making transformational travel more available to anyone who seeks it. Additionally, it will support the growth of the regenerative travel program at d.tech, allowing many students to experience the same transformative trips my team has the privilege of taking. After over twenty months of planning, I can step into Nepal and tell myself that I made this happen from start to finish, appreciating all the time, energy, and money that has gone into making it happen. As a token of appreciation, for a donation of $20+, I'll try a vegetarian food or drink of your recommendation, record it, and share it with you. For a donation of $50+, I'll delve deeper into Nepali culture by learning and recording a traditional phrase related to mindfulness or wellness practices, reflecting the essence of my curiosity project, and share it with you. For a donation of $200+, I'll give you exclusive access to a video diary I plan to make detailing my exploration of Eastern philosophies on wellness during my time in Nepal. This video will provide insights into how these practices can support personal growth and mindful travel experiences. Any fundraising that exceeds the communal goal will be saved in the new AHIMSA (Design Tech HS) travel program this trip has initiated.

Our trip is scheduled for December and January, and I look forward to sharing the journey with you through regular updates and photos from our adventures. Thank you for your generosity and support in making this dream a reality! Please feel free to forward my GoFundMe to anyone interested in supporting the growth of regenerative travel for future travelers!