“Our main goal is to give back to the community. Sherpa is an ethnic group, in Nepal we have more than 150 different ethnic groups with different cultures and languages,” says Pema.
Nurbu taught himself how to cook after coming to America, because in Nepal only women are allowed to do so. When Pema and Nurbu have the opportunity to travel home, they spend their time with the marginalized populations of Nepal. One one of their many trips, Pema says, “We stumbled upon this group of people known as Musuhar Caste in the village of Tilhi, they are very poor and have to catch mice for protein.”
Shortly after opening in Sisters, the Sherpa’s joined Ten Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Central Oregon that improves the lives of children, young women, and communities in Nepal. Founded in 2005 by Sisters-based teachers Rand Runco and Mark LaMont, after spending a summer in Nepal with eight of their friends delivering medical stretchers to remote villages.
Nurbu and Perma later handed off the Himalayan Bites food truck to relative Tenzin Sherpa, who strengthened the connection to the local beer scene by relocating it to popular craft beer destination and food truck pod “On Tap” on the east side of Bend.
