“Panauti is a bit further out of Kathmandu than we were planning”, I commented to my husband as we bumped along the potholed village laneways of Nepal. We decided to have a look anyway as Rabindra Puri, award winning Nepali architect, is known for his unique ability to combine traditional Nepali styled houses with modern conveniences in his restorations (which reuse and recycle as many materials as possible) and we had always dreamt of living in one of his creations.

The driver pulled up in a small square with a Hindu shrine surrounded by a huge garbage pile. “Welcome to MatanChhen”, I followed Rabindra’s finger past the rubbish pile, past the seemingly half-finished houses, past the goats tied up to the electricity pole as my confidence that this was a good idea faltered. But then I glimpse my first sight of MatanChhen, a gorgeous 4 storey traditional Newari wooden carved building. I felt like I was home.

We felt our way through the dark shops in the bottom, our nostrils overwhelmed by the mouldy smell of wet bricks, and climbed the wooden stairs to explore the 4 one-bedroom apartments in the building. The first floor was dark and incomplete, the second floor brighter and we got a sense for Rabindra’s skill in restorations with the attention to detail – the brass sinks, the traditional nooks for Buddha statues, the deliciously carved wooden beams, doors and windows. By the time we reached the third floor, I had almost moved in. The balcony, added from the original by Rabindra to enable its occupants to enjoy the river and field filled view, was immediately a place I know I would spend a lot of time. We settled on the terrace rooftop with a beer to soak up the sunset and discuss rent. We had been living out of a guest house in touristy Thamel on and off for the last 5 years running our development organisation, Mitrataa Foundation, and had decided it was time to rent a base.