Our Mission
We encourage social responsibility and creative-mindedness while educating and inspiring our students and their families to achieve greater independence and transform their lives.
Our Campus
Located in the village of Udhin Dhunga, Tanahun District in the Gandaki Zone eight hours west of Kathmandu, Maya Universe Academy rests among the foothills of the majestic Annapurna range. The campus offers a landscape of diverse educational environments to support the school’s innovative curriculum. Acres of pristine woodland border a nature conservancy our students explore more »
Community Outreach
Local economy We barter education for our material needs. Though the villagers are low in cash, they have much to offer. Frequent gifts consist of fruit trees, vegetables, chickens and goats. Their love and support has enabled our bigger goals. The families of the students have agreed to provide work-exchange to the school about more »
Our Mission
We embrace social responsibility and creative-mindfulness to educate and inspire our students and their families to build community, gain greater independence, and transform their lives. Vision We are a holistic, community-supported primary school devoted to bettering the lives of our students, their families, and the community. Guiding Principles: We believe in the right of every child to receive a free education. We provide an innovative and diverse curriculum that evolves to achieve the best possible outcomes for each student. We treat every student and family with respect and equality. We provide our faculty, staff, and volunteers with support, guidance, and respect to enable our students’ success. We are dedicated to positive leadership and partnership with those providing education and other social welfare programs in Nepal and beyond. We are excellent stewards of our resources – human, financial, social, and environmental. Educational Philosophy Maya Universe Academy...
Blog
Milestone III: Solar Concentrator
Adjusting the bending deviceJust three days ago I left the Maya School and Nepal to return back to Switzerland and ultimately go back to the College of the Atlantic in the US — one month left until graduation! Holding a finished mirrorA lot of exciting things have happened on the solar concentrator front that I can share in pictures now, and later in practical building plans. Even though we have not finished the construction of the concentrator we have gotten far enough to prove the...
Day 88: Fixing the First Mirror
In the following video the first mirror is adjusted and attached to the solar concentrator frame. Read More
Milestone II: Biomass Heater and Steam Engine
Project Description Letter in Nepali For the last week I worked on getting the shipment from TinyTech delivered. Instead of the 10 days I was told initially, the shipment reached the border only after more than 40 days. At the border we tried to work out a cut in import duty, which could come to anywhere between 5 to 35%, so it is worth the work. I also met with different ministers and government offices, and by now I am clear about many pathways to duty-free imports into Nepal, none of...
Day 62: Project Updates
Today we checked on the progress of the steam engine coming from India. It has been dispatched on March 18th. This already is quite the delay, for many reasons. First, my payment was lost between banks because instead of stating the name of the business, I stated the name of my business partner himself. A 24 hour express transaction turned into a week-long whereabout. Then the money reached. But after the people at TinyTech had a thorough look at the steam engine, they found that it had...
TED.com hosts Manjil Rana in London
Please tune in to TED.com this Sunday, March 18 to view Manjil’s TEDx talk live! The lecture is being held at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London at 11am. To view the live stream search TEDx SOAS. What follows are some of the ideas we brainstormed while putting the talk together. The theme of the symposium is “Knowledge is Power.” It is paramount that we as a global community break away from the current convention of esoteric, for-profit education and...
Day 44: Completing Milestone I
Dear followers, we have completed milestone 1 of the OpenPower Nepal project. Two days ago, my brother from Switzerland joined me in Kathmandu. The same day we went by Muni’s place, the engineer who develops solar PV systems for rural Nepal. With the help of my brother and other volunteers of the Maya School, we dismantled a solar tracker, loaded it in our jeep, and crossed the Kathmandu valley to spend the night at Manjil’s father’s place. The next day we travelled back...
MUA on Kantipur TV
Manjil Rana and Suvas Rana on Kantipur Television in the Call Kantipur show. Read More
Day 37: Human Ecology Essay
My path to becoming a human ecologist is coming to an end. Through it, I have realized the disempowering consequences of extreme specialization and globalization. I have thus examined the underlying reasons for these phenomena, and what can be done to change them. I believe by sharing information, rather than restricting its flow, we can empower humanity. Human Ecology as an educational philosophy aims at despecialization by enabling the acquisition of all types of knowledge and skills....
