Kathmandu

Situated in the lap of Chandragiri hills at the southwestern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, the Kathmandu ashram is where it all began. From two children, 1 cow and one building to 200 children, two guest houses, a full school and 50 cows, the community has ballooned into a living dream of Integral Yoga. Home to nearly one hectare of organic fields providing 85% of the Ashram’s produce consumption, the Ashram continues its origins as a center for  sustainable agriculture, spirituality and education.

The Sri Matri Aurobindo Vidyalaya hosts classes for 150 students born from all over Nepal from class 1-10. The children come to the Ashram if their families cannot support them, and if the families and kids like the communities, the children stay and join this community. The origins of the school have always been situated within the broader scope of Integral Yoga. Aurobindo said “All Life is Yoga,” and at the Ashram all life is also education. 

The school has come a long way from its origins on the mud floor of their first building, but their core values have stayed the same. Fundamental to the school is the understanding that students and teachers learn from each other, and that work in the classroom is just as important as work on the farm, in the cowshed, kitchen and anywhere else. Walking through the Ashram, you see kids pursuing passions for engineering, fashion, biology and more through managing irrigation systems, sewing classical dance costumes and working in the Ashram’s Ayurvedic hospital.