Research rooted in local places and values, learning as a form of inquiry, and open tools that strengthen both.
A small, independent research and education institute in Lalitpur, Nepal. We design instruments for the conditions here, build and repair them here, and publish the designs openly.
Measure, learn and publish, as one piece of work.
The air above the lowland air-quality stations. How a stone hall holds heat at 4,000 m. Where debris flows run in a valley before a town is built on it. How a student reached an answer, which an exam marks right or wrong and never sees.
Students build the instrument, wire and repair it, program it and work with what it records, and the same instrument serves a researcher. The lessons run offline, and each keeps the student's working, so a teacher can see how they reasoned.
Hardware designs under CERN-OHL, code and curriculum under MIT, and the readings, once there are any, as open data. An instrument nobody else can rebuild has not really measured anything.
→ Full data dashboard and CSV downloads
5 planned sites: the transect from Nepalgunj to Dho Tarap, and the HICS workshop in Lalitpur
Designs are published openly as they are finished; the IESH v0.1 software is public now.
HICS is looking for sponsors for stations in 50 schools: a line from Nepalgunj on the plains up to Dolpo at 4,000 m, and a set in and around the Kathmandu valley. Each station is built and run by its own students, the lessons are about what it records, and together the stations measure how Nepal's weather and air change with height.
We take expressions of interest here and arrange support directly. HICS is a Nepali company, so support is a payment to a company rather than a tax-deductible gift.
Planning estimates for the hardware, at USD 1 ≈ NPR 133: components, assembly, freight and duty. The full cost per school, with installation and training, is being worked out.