With support from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RA Engineering)  under their Engineering X programme, we at FabLab Nepal organized several FAB Trainings this month. As we’re approaching the end of 2021, with almost a year of launch of FabLab in Nepal, our team is providing workshops on different kinds of digital fabrication equipment to diverse groups of Nepal with the aim to share the knowledge and upskill the participants in the field of digital fabrication. Digital fabrication is one of the highly in-demand skill sets of the 21st century. The FabLab Nepal team organized three workshops on digital fabrication starting from basic to intermediate level training modules. What’s different from last month is that this time we had the opportunity to host the training fully in-person which allowed participants to have hands-on experience on CNC, laser cutting and 3D printing. Also since these workshops were aimed to build their basic knowledge in using the machines, it was important to host the training in-person. Pallab Shrestha, Technical Lead at FabLab Nepal along with Pradita Pradhan, Program Manager of Field Ready and Bipin Sharma, Technical Associate at FabLab Nepal, facilitated sessions in three major trainings- CNC routing, laser cutting and engraving and 3D printing.

When I first heard about Nepal Communitere designing and running a leadership coaching program for female deputy mayors of Nepal, I was super curious and excited more so, to be a part of it! Having been through the coaching process myself in 2018, I could visualize the difference coaching could make in one’s life and career so I jumped at the opportunity to work closely with Deputy Mayors on this project. Nepal turned into a federal state and with the 2017 election, the constitution reserved a quota for females to lead as either Mayor or Deputy Mayor positions in the local government structure. However, with this provision, came a big need to strengthen the capacity of these newly elected local female leaders who were chosen to fulfill this role, lacking any significant support from the government. We at Nepal Communitere in partnership with The Asia Foundation (TAF) and WomenLEAD Nepal decided to roll out this pilot coaching program for female Deputy Mayors to fill and bridge this critical gap for these leaders.

Green Coins, a technology-driven business was one of the 8 tourism enterprises in the ICIMOD Tourovation Hub. Oftentimes, businesses are categorized on the basis of what they have to offer directly in products and services and not the socio-environmental impact hidden behind it. The incubation journey with Green Coins was a unique experience for the company and the incubation team to explore the bigger picture of integrating technology to create a sustainable and resilient tourism ecosystem in Nepal.

In our mission ‘to support entrepreneurs to build successful businesses that create viable solutions, generate revenue and create jobs for a better Nepal’, we are incredibly excited to partner with the GEF-SGP team, and assist two of our I-Cube Business Business Incubation Program, Year 2 alumni – Antidote Nepal and Ecoorb Ventures in upscaling their businesses.

As part of our continued partnership with ICIMOD, the second incubation cohort at the Tourovation Hub was launched this month – Renewable Energy Solution in Agriculture (RESA) Incubation Program. It’s been an enriching experience working with the ICIMOD and SELCO Foundation teams in this journey of supporting MSMEs in the tourism sector and now in the agriculture sector. As we begin this new chapter, we are thrilled to introduce our new partner R&D Innovative Solution, who has been working for two decades to address the challenges of the farming communities of Nepal. We were able to pull together a soft launch of the program while celebrating Sunita ji’s birthday at the Hub!

After months of the second-wave lockdown, we have recently been able to open our doors this month at Nepal Communitere and Fab Lab under precautions. This month we planned and launched some hybrid Fab Lab workshops and welcomed a new member to our team!

By: Samanata Thapa Picture Courtesy: Shreyash Suwal I first dropped out from my school trek to Langtang in 2009 and in November of 2017, after having planned almost everything, I had to yet again cancel my trek to the valley. I would like to believe that it was time...