KOBOLD ADVENTURE

There are over 3 million people living in the Kathmandu Valley, who are served by half a dozen fire engines.

FIRE TRUCK EXPEDITION TO NEPAL

Kobold is organizing an expedition to deliver a number of fire fighting vehicles to the Kathmandu fire department. While the fire engines themselves only benefit those people who reside near the stations, the fire truck expedition holds value for all the people of Nepal: By drawing positive media attention to the Himalayan nation and by promoting it as a safe and amazing destination for tourists. 

Originally, the expedition was supposed to be a road trip for a bunch of friends. First, the actor James Gandolfini and Kobold founder Michael Kobold wanted to drive a single fire engine to Nepal and donate it to the Kathmandu fire department. There are over 3 million people living in the Kathmandu Valley, who are served by only half a dozen fire engines. Things quickly developed from there and soon the road trip turned into a public awareness campaign to alert people of a devastating earthquake that scientists predicted for Nepal. Then, in 2015, Nepal was rocked by two major earthquakes that destroyed over one million structures.

Following the earthquakes, Nepal's government asked that the expedition be turned into a tourism promotion campaign. By including over two dozen international celebrities, diplomats, explorers and mountaineers who will drive the fire engines through Nepal, the expedition aims to reach a global audience of several million, thus gaining Nepal positive international exposure.

In 2022, eleven years after it was first conceived, the fire truck expedition will depart Berlin, Germany for Kathmandu - 6,000+ miles overland via Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India.

The expedition unites a colorful cast of characters: Two award-winning National Geographic photographers, several Hollywood celebrities, adventurers, mountaineers and an international fashion model, as well as a four-person film crew documenting the adventure. 

You can learn more about the expedition and its genesis by reading Michael Kobold's book "Nepal Needs Fire Engines: How the Worlds of Hollywood, Diplomacy and Mountaineering Converged in the Himalayas for the Greatest Road Trip of All Time".