Mr. Koncho Tshering describes how his son helped build the Jarungkhashor stupa located outside Kathmandu, Nepal. Also known as Bouddha, Boudhanath, or Khasti Chaitya, it is one of the oldest stupas in the world. He says that construction and later renovations were funded by selling religious instruments and blessed earth collected from Nepal, India, and Bhutan in the Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Five years ago, a massive earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks rocked the core of Nepal. Recovery from these quakes has been a long and difficult process. This thesis will explore findings from a qualitative evaluation of Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, an NGO in Kathmandu, Nepal that implemented a residential reconstruction program in four peri-urban communities in Kathmandu Valley. These findings are a culmination of 26 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. This research highlights the processes of reconstruction and the forms of resistance that occurred through disaster governance.