Shanti Rai

Shanti Rai, grew up in a small village in Nepal. Her family often migrated in search of better opportunities, which eventually led her to Kathmandu, the capital city, where she pursued higher education. Shanti was the first in her village to pursue higher education, earning a Master degree as she has done Master’s in Development studies.

While continuing her studies, Shanti gained valuable experience by volunteering with various non-profit organizations, addressing social issues related to the environment, children and women. This experience opened doors for her career in development work, allowing her to contribute to national and international organizations like Save the Children, VSO and the British Council. In these roles, she actively worked on sexual and reproductive health (SRH), disaster risk management, and promoting education for women. In 2014, Shanti had the opportunity to go trekking near the mountains, which sparked a deep interest in exploration and adventure. This experience inspired her to take a significant career break and go on a solo journey across different parts of Nepal. During this three-month journey, she discovered a passion for outdoor activities and travel. She also took various outdoor activity training, leadership courses, and first aid training, which eventually helped her transition into a career in this field.

Recognizing the potential in Nepal’s tourism sector, Shanti obtained a trekking guide license she decided to pursue a career in the travel and outdoor sector. Seeing the limited participation of women in the outdoor and travel sectors in Nepal, where tourism is a major part of the economy, she co-founded a company called Duluwa Outdoors, which is for women, by women. Through her company she promotes and design sustainable outdoor programs for other people. Through this company as outdoor educator, she also empowers female guides by providing training hands-on learning opportunities on handling various challenges in high-altitude environments and diverse terrains, partnering with different organizations to offer these outdoor leadership opportunities.