Most of the students at SMD come from the high mountains of Nepal, from villages that have no electricity, no toilets, no sanitation, no telecommunications, no hospitals, no roads and no schools. These villages are 6 to 14 days' trek from the nearest road, villages that lie above 10,000 feet (3000 m). 

SMD is a boarding school founded by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (seen below on left with the Dalai Lama and 17 Karmapa).