Our Staff
UK STAFF
Martin West Martin has spent most of his career in banking, and latterly in business consultancy, specialising in human resource management. He was encouraged to consider becoming involved with CAN and CAT by his wife , Sheila, a trustee of Community Action Nepal, and by Jeff Frew who led Martin’s first trek in Nepal. He says “Working with Doug and Jeff and the teams in the UK and Nepal is hugely enjoyable. I’m fortunate in having the opportunity to put into practice what I’ve learnt throughout my career in an environment, which is completely different but very rewarding. We are all determined to maintain Doug’s philosophy of fair treatment for our staff, great experiences for our customers and contributing as much as we can to Community Action Nepal’s project work. |
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Jeff Frew Jeff has worked for over 25 years in the charity and community development sector and brings a wealth of work experience to our sustainable initiatives in Nepal. He is a qualified horticulturalist and keen environmentalist, and manages with his wife Jenny and daughter Ailsa an organic smallholding in the wild lands of Lesmahagow in Scotland. Since his mid-life crisis he now plays in a rock n' roll band as he thought this much safer than a Harley Davidson. He believes in cyclical analysis in that to have a good adventure and survive requires good judgment. Good judgment comes from experience and experience of course is the result of poor judgment!! His interests are humour, humans and hummous. |
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Captain Tek Captain Limbu Tek, a former Gurkha officer with the British Army, was with us in our Kathmandu office in the early nineties when we first took up the cause of improving the lives of our staff who had helped us climb Nepalese mountains.He is now working in the UK office having taken advantage of the Government’s special dispensation to Gurkha officers to live and work in the UK, and brings a wealth of 'local' knowledge to our travel operation. Many of our earlier clients will recall Captain, as we call him, with great affection. You are welcome to renew your contact by ringing the office. |
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Ian Wall Ian was a member of the CAN Trustee Board, a qualified International Mountain Leader, an instructor at the National Mountaineering Centre in North Wales, Training Officer for the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team as well as instructing in many education authority outdoor centres in the UK. He is a retired teacher from Ulverston in Cumbria and has been a life-long climber with many years experience of climbing in the Alps and Norway as well as in the UK.Ian has now made Nepal his home where he has lead mountain treks in the Nepal Himalaya as well as in Ladakh, Tibet and Africa. He shares his time equally between looking after our trekking office in Kathmandu and running Community Action Nepal. He frequently travels through the Himalaya visiting CAN projects and generally maintaining the logistics required for both organisations. |
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Jude Hartley Working part-time as our book-keeper, Jude is a life-long Cumbrian. Her work in the outdoors industry led to a passion for walking and climbing, and she is currently studying ecology, inspired by her spellbinding visits to Iceland. Having climbed extensively in the Alps, she has also trekked in New Zealand and Nepal.Her future plans for travel include Norway and Greenland, though her first love will always be Iceland. |
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Sheila West Sheila is a regular visitor to Nepal, and has trekked to a number of the Community Action Nepal project sites in the middle hill regions of the country. She was a social worker by profession but is taking a break from this at present to enable her to concentrate on the work of both Community Action Treks and Community Action Nepal, as she is keen to help the trekking company do well to increase the contributions to the various projects in Nepal.Her interest in Nepal was first kindled by her experiences as a participant of a charity trek run by CAT. She is currently concentrating her efforts on the promotion side of the work, particularly working with charity groups to enable as many people as possible to have the multiple benefits of fundraising for their chosen cause as well enabling them to experience the magic of the country whilst giving something back to the environment in which they are trekking. |
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Andy Norris Having first trekked in Nepal in 1982, Andy has over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, and has led many adventure holidays and treks in Nepal and India, plus Iceland, Greenland and Spitzbergen. He was also a climbing instructor with the military. Past work has ranged from professional photography to building Daleks for Doctor Who. More recently he was employed as a business adviser. He has now resumed professional design and photography, and works part time with Community Action Treks, assisting with their publicity and still trekking. |
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NEPAL STAFF
Mahesh Kumar Sewa, is in charge of Operations at our Kathmandu Office, although born in Far East Nepal his education was undertaken through Christian Missionary Schools in Darjeeling, India. Married with 3 children he is the son of an ex Sergeant in the British Gurkhas. He speaks fluent English and German and has gained a wealth of experience in the industry from flight reservations, staff and logistic movements to trek leader.
Mila Shreshtha, our Company Secretary/Accountant, was born in Patan, Kathmandu, has a degree in Zoology and is currently studying Sociology. She has worked in the trekking industry since 1998 and is fluent in English, Nepali, Hindi and of course her mother-tongue, Newar. Being a very reliable and competent worker she has risen to her present position on her own merit. Her knowledge and efficiency ensures that everything runs smoothly in Nepal and is of great assistance to UK staff.
Krishna Bahadur Bhararti, our Office Manager was born in the middle east of Nepal and is married with 4 children. Krishna has worked in the trekking industry for almost 13 years and speaks Nepali and English.
As well as leading some of our treks the much sought after Tej Tamang is also our Operations Manager. We have the ever popular Onchuk, Prem amd Kipa to name but a few. Our very talented field staff include Ang Phurba who has climbed Everest and made the fourth ascent of Kangchenjnga, Sherap Janbhu Sherpa who has climbed seven of the 14, 8000m summits, including K2 twice – the only climber in the world to do so. Amongst our talented and hard working porters we have Kumar Limbu who holds the record for the Everest Base Camp/Kathmandu ‘marathon’.
Just as dedicated and hard working (as Ang Phurba and Sherap) are Sirdars Karna Gurung, a degree student and higher secondary school teacher, Dhan Bahadur Tamang who is fluent in English, a brilliant organiser and a great man in a crisis. Pasang Tamang is energetic and with excellent English and Amrit KC, a college student being supported through his studies by a group of CAN supporters. Our cooks are renowned for their on trek cuisine. The quality of their cooking, certainly has been enhanced by catering lecturer and expedition climber, Pat Green, who gave them two weeks’ practical tuition. He came away saying he had learned as much from them as he taught them. Cooks include Prem Tamang, Kipa Sherpa and Shere Magar to name but a few. As you will have read our staff are drawn from most of Nepal’s main ethnic groups – this is a CAT policy.