Beyond the Roastery: A Tour of Naya Gaun

Season’s greetings!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Varsha and Jug at Black Kite Coffee! Joy to the world! The Saviour has come!

As we approach another new year and reflect on what has been, we thought it would be helpful to ‘show you around’ our local area a little, so that you can get some idea of the people we see most days, all of them precious in God’s eyes.

The first thing you need to know is that our roastery is to be found near a ‘chowk,’ in a suburb of Pokhara called Naya Gaun (literally ‘New Town’). A chowk is the Nepali word for ‘junction’ and is the way in which you navigate around cities: 

‘Take me to Taxi Chowk’

‘Taxi chowk?’

‘Hajur (yes), you know, the one in Naya Gaun with all the taxis!’

‘Oh yes, Taxi Chowk!’

Taxi Chowk is a busy junction; down the road is Green Pastures Hospital, an international collaboration between a Nepali NGO (International Nepal Fellowship) and foreign donors. The hospital was built on an area of land that, for many years, was a leprosy enclave for those rejected by society and later cared for by the missionaries who then started the very same hospital.

Back to the chowk.

Meet Dumbar. 

Dumbar has operated a ‘Nepali khaja (snacks)’ cafe on the chowk for many years. After serving in Afghanistan, first of all in a canteen and later as a dog handler in a bomb disposal unit, he reinvested his earnings in a new family business that is now popular with Nepalis and foreigners alike. Dumbar can be heard laughing at his own jokes most days, always ready to greet people with a smile, a loud ‘Ahooo’ and to share his Buddhist view on life. We sometimes buy his snacks in the evening when we are open late!

Tilak. 

Tilak became a Christian in his twenties after taking a possessed woman to church and seeing her healed. A talented singer and musician involved in the local music scene, he has been running his own small ‘jir (barbeque) house’ for many years. He often visits us for a morning Americano.

Nabin.

Our Hindu next door neighbour who runs his own gold shop, Nabin’s surname is Sunar - literally, goldsmith. Sunars in Nepal are sometimes considered Dalits or low caste, but are equally acknowledged as skilled, upwardly mobile craftspeople. Despite the current high gold price which has impacted his sales, we hope that he stays our neighbour for many years.

Our first trainee of 2026!

Lastly, we hope to introduce you to our first female trainee of 2026 very soon. Watch this space!

This month’s photographs:

• Me (Varsha) and my husband (Jug) at our roastery and cafe

• Dumbar and his wife in their khaja house

• Tilak at his nightly barbeque stand

• Views of Taxi Chowk in the day and evening (with a clear view of the Himalayas)

• Black Kite Coffee with customers and the gold shop next door.

• Nabin at his gold shop

• A Canadian friend with Sherpas from the high Himalayas who have come down for the winter.

• A local old man who sits and watches life go by every day