I came in to Nepal Communitere towards the end of 2018, when the first year of I-Cube was coming to a close and all of the startups and the I-Cube team were getting ready for the big Demo-day. I was the Communications Officer at Communitere for 9 months, and I have much to appreciate about the community that I have found there.
While at Communitere, I was in charge of creating the monthly newsletter, revamping the website, keeping a database of contacts, and writing blogs about various Nepal Communitere related things such as startups, the staff, coworkers and community members there, and their events. Throughout my time at Communitere, I was guided by all of the people there, and was given advice and support, while also allowing me to work independently.
Something I came to observe at Communitere was that they truly mean it when they say that the place is a home for entrepreneurs, activists, and artists. During my time here, I got to interact with various entrepreneurs who were either part of Communitere’s I-Cube business incubation program or had attended one of the many talks and events on entrepreneurship held there or liked being involved in the community. People who were part of Communitere or were in the periphery as supporters genuinely do have the belief that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in one that was vital to the country’s economic growth.
The murals on the walls, and the massive American Arts Incubator that was held at Communitere show that Artists who want to express themselves can do so at Communitere. Dristi, a civilian movement for better air quality in Kathmandu, also has it’s weekly gathering at Communitere, and members of the organization are active in the movement as well.
Communitere gave me the opportunity to meet people from all three of these groups and more, especially at my own time. I’m currently an undergraduate student at a liberal arts school in the US, and I had taken a gap year after my second year of college to pursue various interests. Communitere gave me the opportunity to connect with different groups of people in Kathmandu, and explore the types of opportunities young people have and can make for themselves while in Nepal. Because I was doing various things, I worked part time and Communitere gave me flexibility and freedom to choose my own hours, which I appreciated a lot.
I especially enjoyed writing the blogs for the newsletter. So many of them involved interviewing people who have been involved with Nepal Communitere at various capacities, whether they had organized one event at our venue or had been working at Communitere for many years now. Conversing with them, in most cases about what they’re really excited about, was exciting for me and I learned so much from them, and was also very inspired by their motivations and interests.
If you’re interested in anything to do with entrepreneurship, arts, and activism, or just want to find a community in Kathmandu made up of a group of really interesting and kind people with a range of interests that they are wholeheartedly pursuing, I highly recommend you check Nepal Communitere out!
