In 1991, Myths and Mountains and its founder, Dr. Antonia Neubauer, designed and implemented a unique sustainable development model, READ Global (www.readglobal.org), that has changed how many people and organizations today are working with communities. READ’s goal was to use library community centers combined with local businesses and training to help make rural villages viable places to live. This model has impacted the lives of 2.1 million villagers, seeded 117 for-profit enterprises to sustain READ Centers and serves 241 villages throughout Nepal, Bhutan and India. Moreover, the success of the READ model has led many organizations to rethink how they operate overseas and redefine what “sustainability” actually means.
In 2006, READ Nepal won the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s $1,000,000 Access to Learning Award, and, in 2007, received an expansion grant from the Foundation, enabling it to expand into other countries and hire an Executive Director and staff. Since then, READ has received many additional grants and awards from many diverse organizations. READ operates today as a separate 501c3 based in San Francisco; however MM still supports the organization in numerous ways.
PURPOSE
Dr. Neubauer and her MM team generated a model of Community Library Resource Centers (READ Centers), combining education, enterprise and community development as a catalyst for rural development.
Initially, READ staff spends time educating communities about the model, participation required and long-term goals of a READ Center; villages must write a proposal, donate land, contribute 10-20% of the cost and participate in every step of the process. Villagers must believe a library community center makes sense for their village and are willing to be a part of the process from the beginning. READ also provides relevant training – how to manage a business, how to run a library – and involves everyone in the community. Each Center is its own NGO and is owned by the village; these centers help turn dying villages into vital places for people to live.
The company has seen community empowerment radically transformed in READ villages, given a new concrete definition to the term “sustainability” and put the concept of libraries as a catalyst for community development on everybody’s mind.
EDUCATION AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
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In order to receive necessary support and become a self-sustaining center, every READ Center is paired with a for-profit enterprise, eg. furniture factory, ambulance service or cable television service, which generates local jobs and creates a viable business that fully supports librarian salaries, electricity, repairs, etc.
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When establishing the READ model, MM made sure READ Centers were extensions of their communities, using vernacular architecture and traditional design to house materials and services that support the most important needs of that community. The for-profit business setup as a sustaining enterprise to support each READ Center utilizes local skills and resources that support and promote cultural traditions, instead of forcing villagers to give up their traditions for a business they know nothing about. For example, in Rajasthan, where plastic bags have been banned, villagers skilled in sewing and embroidery were hired by Bharti Walmart to make the cloth bags they needed. In Jomsom, villagers operate a catering service with local foods.
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Centers boast at least 3,000-5,000 books in the local language from pre-school to adult, resource materials, computers, women’s sections, a children’s room, cultural section and meeting room.
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READ and other organizations provide workshops on women’s empowerment, literacy, health, entrepreneurship, microcredit, etc. Training is provided for librarians and management committees.
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All paid in-country staff and volunteers are locals. In villages, READ Centers are independent NGOs, only hiring locals as part of the team. READ has provided numerous local jobs and much income over the years.
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At present READ has built 80 Centers (59 in Nepal, 7 in Bhutan and 17 in India), provided 2.1 million villagers with access to these centers, started 104 “for profit” businesses and served 237 villages. Equally important, one can visit the very first center that READ and MM established in 1991. Since the centers have businesses that render them sustainable and belong to the village, they do not fail.
MYTHS AND MOUNTAINS READ EFFORTS TODAY
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Today, READ Global is a separate 501c3, with its own strict evaluation program. Dr. Neubauer remains a board member to oversee results and also tracks MM’s corporate efforts:
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Every packet sent to MM clients includes material about READ.
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MM holds yearly local READ fundraisers in the U.S. to educate communities about READ.
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MM counts the number of travelers who become READ donors, the amount of money raised and time spent on READ issues, either as part of the board or fundraising
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MM tracks the awards and grants received in response to its efforts (i.e. 2006 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award, 2013 Wharton School’s Lipman Family Prize)
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On many trips to Bhutan, Nepal and India, guests have the opportunity to visit READ Centers and be hosted by local community members. Visits inspire and inform travelers about READ.
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Neubauer leads yearly READ trips in Nepal, Bhutan and India that include a donation to the program and teaches local guides about the program.
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Myths and Mountains representatives speak at many travel conferences, shows and meetings from Sister Cities to CREST on the subject of travel philanthropy, sustainability and eco-tourism. Myths and Mountains works with local guides and tour operators to design itineraries that include meaningful visits to key I/NGOs in countries they visit. There is a huge synergy across organizations MM has worked with, including the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT), Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), CREST and Educational Travel Community (ETC). These organizations help spread the word about READ to their supporters, increasing its reach and prevalence within the larger tourism community. This was especially helpful during the 2015 earthquakes, as many groups disseminated information about READ’s efforts to help communities and how people across the globe could donate to READ’s cause. MM keeps its partner organizations informed about READ’s progress in and importance to rural communities; partners are also informed about upcoming fundraisers and READ trips, both of which promote understanding, appreciation and connection to READ’s mission. All of MM’s suppliers and guides in READ countries have been taught about READ and can easily educate clients
A typical READ village is Tukche in the Lower Mustang Area of Nepal. READ opened the Thak Community Library Center in 1995, using a furniture factory as a sustaining project. Income from the factory, among other things, has helped to rebuild the nunnery in Muktinath, built homes, helped construct local buildings and many other things. Profits from the factory not only supported the library and provided jobs, but helped fund a pre-school teacher, provide scholarships to students, build a bridge over the Kali Gandhaki River to shorten the route to school for students, build dormitories for boarding school students and a local community center. Additionally, the town has put $35,000 in the bank to earn interest for other projects.
The READ libraries function today as a community that watches out and cares for each other. In the spring of 2015, as many know, Nepal was hit by a series of earthquakes. READ was on the ground as a first responder. Of the 59 libraries in Nepal, 7 were seriously damaged and 7 were partially damaged. During the early days of the quakes, when there was little or no communication, the centers from undamaged villages banded together to survey the READ communities to assess needs after the disaster, held fundraisers for damaged READ communities, conducted blood banks, took tents, medicines, food, seed and other goods to remote villages that had not been reached by aid or other workers.
Since the early days of the quake, READ, since it operates locally in Nepal, remains on the ground continuing to rebuild damaged communities, creating safe centers for children, providing places for people to sleep while locals are rebuilding, devising makeshift school space for students, among other things.
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