Blog
Gearing up for Nepal fieldwork: Preparing for participatory research with indigenous children
Later this month, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Nabin Maharjan will be heading to Nepal to begin one of many case studies on children and young peoples’ experiences and views on youth climate justice!
The growing events such as flash flooding, landslides, storms, and extreme heat in the hilly and mountain regions indicate Nepal’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. According to recent reports on the global climate risk index1 and Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI)2, Nepal was ranked 4th in most affected countries and Nepalis children are at high risk due to climate related disasters. Despite the high susceptibility of climate related impacts on Nepali children including indigenous children, only a limited number of children focused studies3 have been conducted. Therefore, the Youth Climate Justice (YCJ) team designed country specific participatory research to capture how indigenous children are dealing or experiencing with the pervading climate crisis. In Nepal, YCJ is partnering with Jyapu Samaj-Yala to conduct a Participatory Action Research (PAR) from October 2024 to February 2025 with 30 indigenous children (aged 8-17).
The word "Jyapu" refers to the indigenous farmers of Kathmandu Valley living for centuries in Nepal. They are primarily known for their agricultural expertise and their deep connection to the land. Jyapu Samaj -Yala is a community-based organisation established in 1994 with a vision to preserve and promote indigenous knowledge and practices, and cultural heritage of Jyapu community. Being a member of Jyapu community, this research with Jyapu Samaj holds a special significance for postdoctoral researcher Nabin in terms of reconnecting with cultural heritage and indigenous practices, and learning about young indigenous people’s climate justice related initiatives in the time of climate crisis.
For the field work in Nepal, a series of participatory intergenerational workshops will be conducted with children and adults using creative works such as photography/art and an exhibition to explore their views and experiences related to youth climate justice. Each workshop will include a specific topic related to human rights/children’s rights, climate change or creative participatory activities such Art and Photography and Critical reflection activities. In addition, the last workshop will be an exhibition which will focus on intergenerational interaction with adults showcasing indigenous children’s creative works/findings related to climate justice. The participatory workshops of YCJ in Nepal will not only provide a new space for indigenous children and youth to work for co-producing new knowledge on climate justice with YCJ team, but also helps YCJ to generate new insights into the nature of children’s rights in the times of climate crisis.
1 Eckstein, D., Hutfils, M.L., and Winges M. (2019). Global Climate Risk Index 2019 https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/germanwatch.org/files/Global%20Climate%20Risk%20Index%202019_2.pdf
2 UNICEF. (2021). The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children's Climate Risk Index. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/media/105376/file/UNICEF-climate-crisis-child-rights-crisis.pdf
3 CDCC. (2023). A Report On Impacts Of Climate Crisis And Environmental Degradation On Children And Youths In Nepal https://www.unicef.org/nepal/media/21471/file/CDCCFinalreport.pdf