The Vertical University was born from the simple precept that in a mountainous country like Nepal, where there is exceptional diversity from the tropical plains to the alpine Himalayas, conventional education paradigms make little sense. There is a pressing need for low-cost, low-tech, and eld-based educational opportunities embedded in local communities, supporting organic or sustainable farming methods. The idea is that one day, a Nepali student could walk up the mountain across 118 different forest types, and learn from local farmers about the deep physical and biological diversity of the landscape.