WHO WE ARE
Initiative Outdoor (I.O.) is a Nepal-based company that operates outdoor leadership and adventure courses for participants of all ages and all walks of life. Our programs are as much journeys of challenge into remote and rugged land as they are voyages of discovery of one's surroundings both natural and cultural, of the ins and outs of teamwork, and of one's own potential.
The aim of all I.O. courses is to assist participants in developing leadership and technical skills, to foster awareness and appreciation of the environment, and to nurture within individuals’ new attitudes, perspectives and ways of thinking and participating in the world around them.
Initiative outdoor programs are based in Nepal's incredible wilderness and consist of activities such as white-water rafting and kayaking, hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, canyoning and caving. Programs are either activity-specific or include a combination of these activities.
On I.O. expeditions participants will test their physical abilities, develop skills and come to master activities. Moreover, they will gain confidence in their own ability to work with a team to meet defined goals, and lead the team safely, courageously, and with integrity when called upon to do so. These abilities require skills of communication, cooperation, sound judgment, reflection and awareness- qualities that are carefully fostered in all I.O. programs. Such skills are ones that students take with them long after the program is over; they are Life Skills.
Initiative Outdoor is continually evolving and updating its focus to meet modern demands and technical requirements. Our motto – Learning by Experience – applies to our participants, instructors and the company itself! Every course builds on those that have gone before it, making each one the best that it can be. This joint course will be no exception. It is a program born from our experience, learning, spirit of collaboration, and our passion for international travel
RESPONSIBLE ADVENTURES
LEAVE NO TRACE (LNT) TRAINER IN NEPAL
We at I.O. believe it our responsibility to help conserve those places that we explore, enjoy and learn from our Mother Nature. Leave No Trace (LNT) is a set of guidelines devised to reduce the impact of one's activities on the environment while traveling in the outdoors. I.O. adheres to the LNT principles and enforces them on all of trips.
OUR PARTNERS
Initiative Outdoor is proud to partner with a network of trailblazers in the outdoor community. We foresee individuals who hold vision, practical leadership and teamwork skills; these are individuals who are tolerant in the face of adversity and diversity and who are aware and respectful of their environment.
I.O. CORE VALUES
Everything that I.O does is based on the following core values. These assist us in creating a safe and trusting environment in which participants can discover the outdoors, development skills and open themselves to the world around them and within them.
Both of these words invoke an element of unknown, the unusual, something exciting, even risky, which demands great effort. When we are taken out of our comfort zone we are invited to test our limits, explore and discover our strengths. We learn to adapt readily in the face of adversity, to move beyond personal apprehensions and fears and realize our full potential.
Leadership requires several qualities, namely judgement and decision-making ability, safety, communication, teamwork, and the ability to plan ahead and be prepared. Through it we are compelled to take ownership of our actions and decisions and keep the welfare of ourselves, our team-mates and surrounding in mind.
Awareness is the quality of knowing, or understanding. By awareness we refer to that quality of understanding ourselves, others and the world around us. We project those quality to the natural world in which we live. We come to appreciate its incredible wonders, and to actively become stewards of its conversation and protection.
Sangha is the sense of the community, when we come to understand and experience ourselves as part of bigger whole. In the sangha we acknowledge our interrelatedness and welcome. Honor and adapt to diversity and differences.
Through seva, or selfless service, we participate actively in the community in a position and constructive manner, with the spirit of looking beyond our personal needs.
I.O. strives to inspire participants to uncover their own potential and develop qualities essential to become creative, compassionate and balanced human beings. Those qualities are self-reliance, self-knowledge, confidence, communication, co-operation, awareness and the responsibility for self, others and the environment.
Learning becomes real when we understand through direct experience. At I.O we strive to create a safe environment in which ideas and concepts can be tested and challenged. Participants are encouraged to explore and discover first-hand the consequences, application and relevance of theories, ideas and even their own attitudes.
As Individuals who enjoy the outdoors, it is our responsibility to help conserve those places we explore and use for our own pleasure and education. LNT is a set of guidelines devised to reduce the impact of one’s activities on the environment while travelling in the outdoors. I.O adheres to the LNT principles on all courses and encourages the attitudes to be brought into our daily lives, both in the wilderness and at home.
Initiative Outdoor Vision
I.O’s aspiration is to empower people. We foresee individuals who have vision, and hold practical leadership and teamwork skills; individuals who are tolerant in the face of adversity and diversity and who are aware and respectful of their environment.
Initiative Outdoor Mission
I.O’s mission is to inspire self-discovery and personal development in people of all ages and backgrounds through adventure and challenge in the outdoors, to encourage them to achieve more than they ever thought possible and to become compassionate, responsible and active members of the world community.
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
Goethe