गाउँ फर्किने अभियान
After two decades of empty houses, the people of Thumka came back. This is what happened next.
Chapter 1
The village empties
गाउँ रित्तियो
Like hundreds of hill villages in Nepal, Thumka lost its young people to Kathmandu and to work abroad. One by one, families locked their doors and left.
Chapter 2
The forest moves in
झाडीले ढाक्यो
Without anyone to keep them, paths disappeared, terraces went wild and the stone houses their grandparents built vanished behind bushes and creepers.
Chapter 3
We come back
हामी फर्कियौं
Two decades later, people from Thumka came back with a plan: clear the village, rebuild it the old way, and give people a reason to stay and to visit.
Chapter 4
Stone by stone
ढुङ्गामाथि ढुङ्गा
Paths are re-laid by hand. Walls go back up in stone and mud. Timber balconies are carved and fitted. The whole thing is filmed and shared as it happens.
Chapter 5
The doors open
ढोका खुल्यो
Thumka Trail is the result: a homestay, a working farm and a set of village trails, run by the families whose village it has always been.
As it happened
Every date here comes from the photos and drone flights taken on the day.
Jestha 2082
3 June 2025
Clearing the old terraces
Terraces that had gone back to scrub are cleared and dug, ready for planting.
Asar 10–11, 2082
24–25 June 2025
Coffee comes up the hill
Coffee saplings are loaded, brought up the hill and planted along the terraces.
Bhadau 23, 2082
8 September 2025
Into the old houses
The starting phase: clearing the houses of the bushes and creepers that had swallowed them.
Falgun 2082
17 February 2026
The renovation begins
Work starts on bringing the first house back to life.
Chaitra 2082
March 2026
New windows in old walls
New timber window frames are fitted into the stone walls by hand.
Baisakh 2083
1 May 2026
The balcony takes shape
A long timber balcony is framed along the front of the house.
Jestha 2083
19 May 2026
A finished balcony and new walls
The balcony is done and new stone walls are laid by hand, while the clouds roll through.
Jestha 2083
31 May 2026
Evening over the new courtyard
The courtyard is cleared, the houses around it are coming back, and the work goes on.
दुई दशकपछि थुम्कामा खुसी55 seconds over Thumka
Follow the rebuild
New videos from the village every week, on the channels where hundreds of thousands of people already follow along.
अब तपाईंको पालो