Bengal Tiger Conservation in Nepal: Tiger Track Lodge

Proceeds will go to Tiger Track Nepal for completion of the Tiger Track Lodge.

*Scroll to bottom for December 2024 updates*

The Tiger Track Lodge is a rammed earth conservation center and ecolodge now under construction by our partners Sustainable Future Nepal for wildlife conservationist Hemanta Acharya of Tiger Track in association with Manoj Gautam and Dakshina Khadka of Burhan Camps. Home to a Community-Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU), the small lodge is located just outside of Bardiya National Park, a conservation area in Nepal’s lowland Terai region that is home to many endangered species of wildlife including the one-horned rhinoceros, Indian elephant, Gangetic dolphin, and – most famously – the Bengal Tiger.

View of the dining hall interior, Building Bureau

A scale model of the rammed earth bar, Building Bureau

The site is a north-south oriented plot of land with narrow frontage along the road to Bardiya National Park’s western entrance. The Lodge is within the Khata Corridor, a 15-mile long swath of protected land along the Girwa River that connects Bardiya in Nepal to the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India.

Construction of the reception and dining hall, June 2023

Floor plan of the reception area and dining hall, Building Bureau

The existing lodge has no reception or administrative areas and only five guest rooms. New structures, durably built from rammed earth, will provide a reception and office area to receive guests, staff accommodations, a kitchen and pantry, and a twenty-seat dining hall and bar. The existing block of guest rooms will remain and two new guest cottages will be added beyond to double the lodge’s capacity. The rammed earth walls, due to their natural thermal mass, will ensure passive thermal stability despite the typical hot and humid temperatures of the Terai. For the new roofs, Tiger Track has collected and reclaimed traditional wood rafters and terracotta tiles from nearby demolished farmhouses. Construction began in January 2023 and is expected to conclude by September, 2023.

Team portrait on site | Tiger Track, Burhan Wilderness Camps,

Sustainable Future Nepal, and Building Bureau

Floor plan of the cottage accommodations, Building Bureau

Section through the cottage, Building Bureau

December 2024 Update

With the enclosure and first fix of the plumbing and electrical installations completed, progress is being made to complete the doors and windows, largely from reclaimed wooden rafters. Once this is complete, bar and kitchen casework, final plumbing and electrical fixes, and landscaping remains.

For more information and images, visit the Tiger Track Lodge webpage.

Organizer Tyler Survant is a co-founder of Building Bureau, a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States with a mission to further the social impact of public organizations and civic institutions through architecture. Building Bureau will act as a fiscal intermediary; all funds raised through GoFundMe will go directly to Tiger Track Nepal for completion of construction. Depending on your particular tax situation, your donation may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.