Helping Sarala and Prakash rebuild after the Nepal floods
Two of the guides who lead our Nepal treks lost their family home and farmland in the August floods. Here is their story, and how you can help.
by Chris on 3rd September 2026
Chris is the CEO of The Adventure People and has over 20 years experience in the travel industry.
If you have trekked in Nepal with us, there is a fair chance you were looked after by one of our guides. They are the people who set the pace on the first morning, who know which lodge has the best dal bhat, and who notice when you have gone quiet on a long climb. Two of them, Sarala Nepal and Prakash Khatiwada, lost almost everything in the floods that hit northern Nepal at the end of August. We are asking for your help to support them, and we will pass on every penny.
What happened
On 26 August a glacial collapse near the Nepal–Tibet border sent a wall of water down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. Within hours, villages, roads, bridges and farmland along the valleys had gone. Hundreds of people lost their lives, thousands are still missing, and tens of thousands have been left without homes or a way to earn a living. Many communities are still cut off.
Our friends at Icicles are safe, and their office in Kathmandu is running as normal. But a few days after the flood they learned how badly two of their own guides had been affected.
Sarala
Sarala’s home was her family’s ancestral house. Her parents lived there all year round. After her father retired, the two of them supported themselves by farming the land around it. Sarala and her brothers and sisters work away for much of the year, but at festival time they all came home, and the house filled up with three generations of family.
The flood took the house completely. It was worth far more to the family than the bricks and timber. It was the place they all came back to.
Prakash
Prakash’s family are small farmers on land that has been theirs for generations. They used to grow rice. Because Prakash is away guiding for long stretches and the heavy work was too much for the rest of the family, last year they switched to bananas: less back-breaking, and still enough to bring in some income alongside what Prakash earns on the trail.
The flood did not just damage the farm. It swept the whole thing away and left a deep ravine where the fields used to be. Prakash’s family and home are safe, and Indira at Icicles tells us he has stayed remarkably positive. But the land that fed his family, and half of their income, is simply gone.
Why this matters more than it might sound
In Nepal, families are closely tied to their ancestral land and most live in a joint-family system, where children take responsibility for their parents and for the wider household. Losing an ancestral home or farm does not affect one person. It affects everyone who depends on it, across generations. That is why we wanted to do something for Sarala and Prakash specifically, rather than simply add our voice to the general relief effort.
How the appeal works
- Donations are made through our JustGiving page.
- 100% of what is raised, less any platform fees, goes to Sarala and Prakash. The Adventure People keeps nothing.
- Our partners in Nepal will hand the money over and confirm to us that it has been received. We will publish the final total here, along with any message the guides would like to share.
This is a personal appeal for two named people, not an official flood-relief fund. If you would rather support the wider relief effort in Nepal, the Nepali government has asked that donations go to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
If you have trekked with Sarala or Prakash
We would love to hear from you. A few words about your trip, or a photo from the trail, would mean a great deal to them right now, and with your permission we will pass it on. Email us at chris@theadventurepeople.com.
Thank you, from all of us at The Adventure People, Sarala and Prakash.
Chris Roche, CEO, The Adventure People
