Duluwa Outdoor’s second Women’s Travelship 2023 guided seven women across the Tarai, Hills, and Himalayan landscapes, fostering new friendships among women aged 22-38. The journey allowed the travelship winners to venture beyond their familiar surroundings. On Friday, the Duluwa team presented a captivating video showcasing the exploration of Barauli, Bhujung and Manang by the seven winners on the rooftop of Sattya Media Arts Collective.

The video depicted the women during their two-week journey, hiking and discovering the world around them, all while building a sense of community and friendship. As the video played on the projector, the audience—which comprised many of the participants—expressed happiness, hoots and laughter, enjoying the opportunity to relive their adventures through the showcase.

Juliana Shrestha, the co-founder of Duluwa Outdoors, outlined the travelship selection process, comprising three stages: the application form, group discussion and personal interviews. In the application, women were encouraged to express their enthusiasm for the travelship in a manner comfortable to them. Shreya Malla, one of the participants, submitted a poem titled ‘Kathmanduko Bhyaguta Ma', expressing her travel aspirations. She also recited the poem to the audience following the video showcase on December 23.

During the interviews, shortlisted participants were tasked with activities such as researching the destination to gauge their commitment to the travelship. After the selection, participants underwent comprehensive training on various topics, including first-aid, backpacking, travel photography, documentation and menstrual hygiene, to thoroughly prepare them for the trip and boost their confidence.

The on-site team from Duluwa Outdoors, accompanying the participants, encouraged them to engage with locals, learn about the places they hiked through, and hold reflection sessions after each day of travel. These sessions served as opportunities to discuss their journey and foster connections through intimate discussions.

All the women agreed that the friendship and confidence they gained during the trip were invaluable. Krisha Joshi, a participant, shared that, not being someone who easily connects with new people, she was pleased to find she could talk and bond with others on the journey. Post-trip, she is working on publishing an illustrated book detailing their adventure. Swastika Maharjan, another participant, expressed increased confidence in travelling to new places and a greater openness to future travel experiences.

After the video showcase and a brief discussion with the women, there was a light-hearted session where the mothers of the participants shared their thoughts on their children’s trip. The mothers expressed happiness and pride in their daughters’ achievements and conveyed their wishes for continued travel.

Subsequently, Shrestha announced a small exhibition on the travelship, inviting the audience to explore and support the next Travelship by purchasing merchandise displayed. She also mentioned that Duluwa Outdoors is open to collaborations to support their upcoming travelship.

The exhibition, filled with memories from the travelship, had a cosy and endearing atmosphere. Memory boards adorned with clippings of trip photographs marked different segments, like ‘Tarai’, ‘Himal’, and ‘Pahad’. A preview of Joshi’s illustrative book was also showcased.

Shrestha conveyed that the travelship held significant meaning for the Duluwa team, who invested much thought and time into making it happen. She highlighted the memorable experience of bringing together diverse backgrounds and thoughts within the team to structure the travel, considering members’ varied backgrounds and age groups.

In discussing the challenges of organising the travelship, Shrestha highlighted the difficulty in securing funding due to the high costs associated with travel. With this being the second edition of the travelship, Duluwa Outdoors also modified some of the programme criteria—the age criteria were expanded to include women from older age groups this time.

Shrestha shared that the success of this travelship was the result of extensive efforts from the Duluwa Team. “While talking about the travelship during the video showcase, I started to feel emotional because this entire event was personal. We are happy to see that this travelship was a success,” expressed Shrestha.