This paper provides part of the analytical foundation of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Climate report and reflects part of a collaborative effort to advance understanding of the environment and development challenges facing Asia and the Pacific.
This case study explores how Indigenous and lower-caste women in Nawalpur and Sindhupalchok districts envisioned a way to transform their lives while enhancing and conserving the natural environment. Their vision focused on the sustainable cultivation, harvesting, and use of non-timber forest products from their local forests, maintaining ecological integrity while generating reliable income to support themselves and their families.
Overall the paper finds that local people, particularly Indigenous women, may possess the homegrown knowledge and skills necessary for scalable, sustainable solutions, and that addressing structural barriers to entrepreneurship and leadership among Indigenous and marginalized women may be key to unlocking appropriate technological and market solutions.
Empowering communities and targeted efforts are essential to inspire marginalized women’s confidence and business acumen, ensuring that institutional structures and societal attitudes fully recognize women’s rights and enable their exercise at multiple levels.
Authors: Mairi Dupar and Kanchan Lama
Source: ADB
