Presentation of 2023 Equator Prize to Tergar Charity’s H.E.L.P (Himalayan Environment and Life Protection): Nepal government social work ministry secretary, UNDP (United Nations Development Program) Nepal Resident Representative Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé, Margot Clavier, H.E.L.P director, Navina Deshar, H.E.L.P program manager, and head teacher, Tsering Yangzom, H.E.L.P program manager and head teacher.

IN MINGYUR RINPOCHE’S REMOTE HOMETOWN of Samagaun, Nepal, a dynamic French woman born not far from the Eiffel Tower has been contemplating how to bring Himalayan yak cheese to international markets.

Meet Margot Clavier, 41, director of H.E.L.P. (Himalayan Environment and Life Protection). Her passion for serving grassroots communities and living close to nature has led her to a life far removed from the hustle and bustle of Paris.

Margot has seeded and implemented numerous innovative projects, hand in hand with community members. For instance, local rosehips are now being picked and produced as luxury tea in partnership with a Canadian luxury tea company TEALEAVES. Locals are harvesting fresh vegetables year-round thanks to the solar greenhouse project, which earned the UNDP’s Ecuador Prize 2023 for outstanding community nature-based initiatives.

The projects focus on education, training, and environmental protection, as well as the creation of income-generating opportunities. For example, in the initial rosehip project, 21 women picked rosehips at $185 per woman for two weeks of work, which is considered a substantial earning in the high mountains of Nepal.

Running such projects is no easy task in Samagaun, population 470, a remote fly-in village at 11,800 feet (3,600 m.), which takes a four-day hike to reach from the nearest road and where basic amenities like heat and running water are no guarantee, and the internet is sporadic.

Yet Margot is undeterred by challenges, with front-line experience in humanitarian aid organizations. She was in Myanmar and had to be evacuated at the time that the military cracked down on the Muslim Rohingya, and she served in the war-torn eastern part of Congo — both times working in food security.

In our interview, I admired her natural confidence and willingness to act when fear could easily deter her. I suggest her motto might be akin to Nike’s “Just Do It.”

With a smile, she quickly adapted the slogan. “How about ‘We Do’ —  everyone goes together and looks in the same direction, yeah?” she replied. “Together we go further.”

Flourishing in the Himalayas

Margot’s commitment to teamwork has been a big part of the success of the H.E.L.P. projects. Success, however, didn’t come overnight. When she first arrived in 2019, she was seen as a young French outsider, but through time and patience — and living in the village and learning Tibetan and Nepali — she found open doors and friendship. 

Soon after arriving, she started collaborating with Nubri-born Pasang Norbu Lama, H.E.L.P’s program manager and construction supervisor with a depth of experience as a teacher and humanitarian worker. She also received guidance and support from some outstanding leaders of Samagaun, including the former mayor, whose “intelligence and heart is the answer to 90% of the village problems.”

Mingyur Rinpoche entrusted her with the responsibility of helping and empowering local women from Samagaun. “He saw things I didn’t see in myself.” She felt his trust from the outset, giving her the autonomy and freedom to design projects aligned with Rinpoche’s vision.  “This condition made it possible for me to flourish.”

Margot first arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2013 to work for the Shechen Monastery’s humanitarian organization. The work involved traveling to remote Himalayan regions to monitor schools. Within a month into the job, she felt a kinship, “It was like I came home.”

The sense of belonging  — in tandem with the Buddhist teachings, which Tsoknyi Rinpoche then introduced her to — gave her a vision for her future. 

Although other humanitarian missions would take her away from Nepal in the following years, her heart remained in the Himalayas. In the Congo, when her colleagues were enjoying beers and speaking Swahili, she was learning conversational Tibetan online. When in Burma, her free time was spent taking the Joy of Living classes.

“Do good, do no harm, and tame your mind.”

It was no surprise then that when Mingyur Rinpoche offered her work in 2019, she accepted immediately. She appreciated his approach, which was deeply rooted in principles of non-violence and compassion. 

In previous work with non-profit organizations, Margot had often found outsiders imposing ideas on communities with a “we know what’s good for you” mentality. In contrast, the H.E.L.P. projects are guided by community needs: What are the needs? What is the reality of the community? What are people saying? What do they want? 

She and her team aspire for their projects to create positive impacts while avoiding negative consequences: “Do good, do no harm, and tame your mind.”

“Everything is about having a circular development model, not linear. If you have a linear economy, you have a starting point, then you have an ending point, which is money, but your starting point is destroyed.”

“It needs to be circular, meaning it needs to be local, environmental, positive for the community, and respected by the community. It’s a holistic approach where everybody wins. When everybody wins, it means the community is harmonious, empowered, and retains its identity.”