Working with local artists in Kathmandu

I met Kristian at the Hawthorne Hostel in Portland, just as he was heading out to India in July, 2009. Here's a link to his Zoobird page: http://www.zoobird.com/profile/KristianStieglelr

He's traveled around on a motorcycle. He spends some time working with an orphanage in Pokhara called The Love Company (http://thelovecompany.org/volunteer ) He's also got a Facebook page with lots of reflections on this adventure and photos and movies: http://www.facebook.com/kristian.stiegler

I used Google Maps to see if I could learn something about his current location, Katmandu. Click here to go to Google Maps and see some satellite photos of Kathmandu!

Kristian told me (using Facebook chat) yesterday that he's set up an online store to help the locals sell some of their artwork: masks, prayer wheels, wall hangings. Kristian's descriptions of the background of the art are worth surfing over to the site. http://stores.ebay.com/Tibetan-Arts

I've followed Kristian's adventure as he traveled through India, into Nepal and it's given relevance to the culture and politics of the region that appears in both the mainstream news and Human Rights Watch.

Be sure to shoot Kristian a message here or leave a comment. You can imagine how far away it must feel sometimes for him way out there in the mountains!