Marianne Grosspietsch (MG) founded the Shanti Leprahilfe Dortmund e.V. in July 1992. At the same time, she founded the Shanti Sewa Griha (=Peace Service Home) association in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The association's purpose is to provide assistance to those in need and especially those suffering from leprosy in Nepal. Without any reserves and 17,000.00 DM in donations from friends, she opened an outpatient station for the poor, which cared for 60–100 people every day. At the same time, she initially provided 12 patients with medical assistance, a home and a meaningful work.
The main station is in Kathmandu close to the large Pashupathinat Temple so that non-locals needing assistance can find it easily. Our external station is situated in Budhanilkantha, approx. 9 km outside Kathmandu, but still in the valley.
In the meantime, more than 1,300 men, women and children and orphans, a clinic for the poor, an outpatient station for the poor, a health post, a children's day nursery, two kindergartens and an area for physically and mentally challenged children, a state recognised school, a house for children suffering from malnutrition, a teaching kitchen, a kitchen for the poor (approx. 1,200 meals per day), approx. 12 various protective workshops and what is always more important, a large ecological agricultural project belong to the Shanti family.

The emphasis of the following is on the ecological farming.
Nepal is one of the world's most poor countries. 82% of the women and 56% of the men are illiterate. It is especially the case in the rural areas, that hardly anyone can read or write. Not only that: for many years, the country has been increasingly harassed by terrorists who call themselves Maoists (although China strongly dissociates itself from them).

Both of these facts have caused MG to place her main focus on ecological farming whereby the people receive insecticides, pesticides and manure from abroad (America, Japan, Europe) financed by the World Bank). The village elders are provided with half an hour instruction on how to handle the chemicals (according to information from the responsible person at the World Bank when MG mentioned the problem to him).
As this does not suffice and the people are obviously unable to read the instructions for use, they use the foreign magical cure according to the motto "The more, the better", they sometimes give the sick children and senior citizens some of it as after all, if something is good for the cattle and the plants, why shouldn't it also help the people? The results of this land in our clinic much too often.
A critical newspaper in Nepal already attracted attention to this two years ago: the vegetables are so contaminated that it would be designed as being poisonous according to European standards. Due to a feeling of uneasiness, numerous farmers have reserved corners on their land which they only use to cultivate vegetables for their own use. They are afraid to eat that which they offer for sale.

In addition: The Maos have sealed off Nepal's granaries in the south. No more fruit and vegetables are to be supplied to the Kathmandu valley. Farmers who cultivate or harvest their own fields risk their lives. Day-labourers who try to earn a living on the farmers´ fields are being brutally murdered.