From an Act of Immediate Care to a Shared Way of Life
Shanti began on the riverbanks of the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, when founder Marianne Grosspietsch encountered people suffering from advanced leprosy, cast out of society and abandoned under plastic tarpaulins.
Rather than establishing an isolated institution, Marianne and local partners built Shanti Sewa Griha (“House of Peaceful Service”) — a self-sustained village community where everyone, regardless of physical condition or background, finds health, dignity, mutual respect, and purposeful daily work.
Today, our community operates its own organic farm, school, kitchen, and rehabilitation workshops where former patients become master craftsmen, supervisors, teachers, and providers for their families.
