Meet Mr. Odd Hoftun, a Norwegian who came to Nepal over 40 years ago and has made himself invaluable to Nepal’s hydroelectricity development. So much so that after living here in Nepal for nearly 40 years Mr. Odd Hoftun was awarded Honorary Citizenship, in recognition of his sterling efforts. The following article will introduce you to the man and his thoughts about hydroelectricity development in Nepal through two different interviews that he gave over the last 15 months on the subject.
After seeing how much hydroelectricity helped to develop his own country Norway in just a short 20 year span, his vision was of a similar change here in Nepal citing that with access to electricity cottage industries grew in his own country. For Odd Hoftun his Nepal and hydroelectricity story began on the Mission Hospital Project in Tansen, Nepal. From here he began to develop the belief that “working closely with people, providing training and opportunity for personal development and growth, hardly fails”. Today Mr. Odd Hoftun lives in Norway, but is actively involved still in Nepal and Norway’s cooperation.
