Although an appropriate old manor house just could not be found, the situation unexpectedly took a turn for the better. In 2000, the Nepal Tourism Board sought a group to plan an exhibition in the Ethnic Exhibition Hall (two rooms of 15 meters by 15 meters and 10 meters by 15 meters, plus a terrace) on the second floor of the Tourist Service Center. The Tourist Service Center is a large, attractive building newly constructed in the middle of the city in conjunction with the "Visit Nepal '98" campaign. According to the director of the Nepal Tourism Board, they wanted to create a facility where foreigners who came to the Immigration Office, which would be moving to an adjacent building, could drop in and learn about Nepal's peoples and cultures while they were waiting. The Management Committee immediately prepared plans for an exhibition in the space and received the consent of the Nepal Tourism Board. With this, the goal of opening the museum in a prime area within the city of Kathmandu was achieved.

Moreover, in the same year funding was received from the Japan Foundation Asian Center for a project directed at the museum's construction entitled "A Feasibility Study on People and Culture of Nepal for Establishing the Nepal National Ethnographic Museum." Research was then initiated on five ethnic groups (hereafter in alphabetical order): the Gurung, Magar, Sherpa, Thakali, and Tharu. Since I had been doing research on the Magar, I sat in on the meeting of the Magar group. There I introduced them to the following methodology: "Select a representative family from the survey village, take pictures of all of the domestic articles in the home, inquire about their local names and write them all up in a ledger. Then, while examining the ledger (or photo list), discuss together what should be collected and exhibited."

During my recent visit to Kathmandu, preparations for the exhibit at the Nepal Tourism Board were proceeding steadily. The Management Committee had two people that were keenly interested in culture and traditions recommended as research team members by each of the eleven ethnic associations. They then had a discussion centered on the two representatives from each ethnic association about what sort of materials and exhibition format to use to express their culture. In addition, they asked the ethnic association to collect the materials that were needed for the exhibition and either donate or loan them to the Management Committee. They thereby received the cooperation of eleven ethnic groups - the Chepang, Gurung, Magar, Limbu, Jyapu Caste of Newar, Rai, Sherpa, Sunuwar, Tamang, Thakali and Tharu - and assembled the materials. Moreover, two examples of ritual apparatus for Hinduism and Buddhism were recently donated by the Bahun caste (Brahmin) and Buddhist Lama respectively. With the aim of opening the museum in February or March of 2003, they are presently at the stage where the exhibition is being constructed by volunteers and representatives of the ethnic associations and religious groups. As such, the eight years of planning for the establishment of the museum is about to have its first stage realized this year. I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Gurung, Dr. Gaucan and Mr. Sharada Prasad Dhital of the committee's office.