The Government of Nepal is now transitioned into a federal structure. The demarcation of seven provinces encompasses the induction of many new local governments and city development projects envisioned to support the decentralization of country governance. This recent development presents immense potential to create linkages between multiple stakeholders, especially between citizens and governmental agencies to promote better accountability in processes and projects. At the grassroots level, constructive and continuous engagement can inspire active citizens and authorities to work together for collective gains. Development of localities and places, although mostly instigated by the state, should appropriately account for the diverse perspectives and issues that essentially become the context within which such efforts transpire (often in ignorance of that context).
Need Analysis
Need analysis decides which needs to have the highest priority. It is the difference between the way things are and the way they should be. It determines the facts about the current situation and identify areas for potential improvement. It identifies needs by gathering information. It defines the needs and makes a plan to address them.
StoryCamp
The story camp, with the help of youth leaders will identify such candidates and train them in telling the stories in the most effective manner. The story camp will be conducted to all kinds of stakeholders working in the rural municipality. The participants will be oriented on the methods of better storytelling with the available resources and technologies.
MapUp Camp
Besides, the participants will also be oriented on the mapping up the available resources in the community, such as local business shops, local entrepreneurs and local product available in the community.
Dream Camp
The local communities, Youths and community leaders will together assess what the place was like 10 years earlier and what they want the place to look like after 10 years. The workshop will also link the communities with potential actors that can support in the development of the place. Participants will also collect related stories.
Build Camp
Build Camp is a training series focused on local engineers, developers, local government and leaders to help them plan the structure of their cities. We will facilitate on the design process and make a business plan of that. And the idea will be to collaborate with city planning team.
To mark the birth anniversary of the Buddha, people travel to Lumbini for special worship and rituals each year on the full moon day of Baishak to offer their devotion.
Lumbini: Birthplace of Buddha
Mayadevi Temple is the most sacred site in the Lumbini Garden where archaeologists have identified the exact spot where Lord Buddha was born. Inscriptions on the Ashoka Pillar nearby also refer to the spot as his birthplace. The birth took place in the beautiful Sal grove, which is now the focal point of the Lumbini Garden.
Kudan Stupa
The ancient site of Nyigrodharama, now known as Kudan, is another important historical site in the story of Buddha. It is about 6 kilometres from his childhood home at Tilaurakot. Kudan is believed to be the place where Buddha first met with his father, King Suddhodhana after he achieved enlightenment.
Following Buddha’s Path
As a child, Siddhartha the Buddha was troubled by some of the same thoughts that children today have. They wonder about birth and death. They wonder why they get sick and why grandfather died. They wonder why their wishes do not come true. Children also wonder about happiness and beauty in nature. Because the Buddha knew what was in the hearts of children and humankind, he taught everyone how to live a happy and peaceful life. Buddhism is not learning about strange beliefs from faraway lands. It is about looking at and thinking about our own lives. It shows us how to understand ourselves and how to cope with our daily problems.
Bagmati Promenade, a historical and cultural walk along the riverbank of the Bagmati from Thapathali to Teku Dovan, has been designed and conceptualised by StoryCycle and the British Council in collaboration with people living and working in the vicinity and/ or having a special affinity to the river.
Bagmati Promenade: Thapathali-Teku
A heritage walk designed by Storycycle with the British Council Nepal in collaboration with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward 11 and 12 people living and working in the vicinity and/or having a special affinity.
A heritage walk conducted on 27th July inaugurated by Bidya Sundar Shakya, mayor of Kathmandu was the mega event. The parallel walks were held under themes like Safeguarding Bagmati by Hiralal Tandukar, Storytelling by Sanjib Chaudhary, Philosophy by Chief Priest(Mahant) Pushpa Raj, Heritage and Heritage Mobility by Alok Siddhi Tuladhar and Shriju Pradhan, Environment by Saurav Dhakal, Architecture by Angela Tamrakar, Mapping by Sushil Dhakal and Water system by Samita Kapali.
The Heritage Route
The heritage walk was started from Thapathali Chess-Park through Akhadas, Kalmochan Ghat, Tripurasundari, Chandra Ghat, Puret Ghat, Pachali Bhairav, Teku Dovan and ended at Jagannath Temple.
Youth Engagement in Revitalizing Bagmati
Through these heritage walks, we are aiming at making the local community and commuters aware of the preservation and promotion of culture and natural heritage. These walks will also mobilise the youth, engage and integrate them into the movement for sustainable conservation with the aid of technology. Further, the walks will integrate heritage site monitoring using a geospatial method, over time, as a preventive conservation measure which helps promote the cohesion of cultural and environmental values. Such walking trails in the field of heritage emphasize the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and provide a wonderful opportunity to understand the history of cities and the cities that have changed over time.
Speaking on the occasion, Hiralal Tandukar, chairperson of ward 11 of Kathmandu Municipality, highlighted the Bagmati heritage and emphasized that the consciousness of youth towards the heritage today and they are always eager and enthusiastic to learn about the heritage.
Nepal experienced a major earthquake – with epicentre in Gorkha district’s Barpak – on April 25, 2015, which triggered the huge loss of lives and property, unprecedented in the country’s history. Almost the entire Barpak was flattened, with huge loss of lives and property.
Bir Bahadur Ghale will take us on tour and shared how the Barpak community, the epicentre of the quake, rebuilt Barpak. He explained the steps of the rebuilding process and how they are dreamt to make Barpak a sustainable town in future. Bir Bahadur Ghale is an Ashoka Fellow and energy access entrepreneur based in Barpak, the epicentre of the April 25 earthquake. He is a revered community leader of Barpak where people know him for his work of electrifying the village through a micro-hydro plant in the 1990s. Barpak has constructed several micro-hydropower plants for many communities across the country. After the earthquake, Bir Bahadur Ghale was actively engaged in relief and temporary shelter management in the village. He is now engaged in preparing a master plan for the rebuilding of Barpak.
If you would like to lead a virtual heritage tour, please email us at info@storycycle.com
Dhe is a small village located in Upper Mustang, in Mustang district. Dhe is locally known as Dewa which means a blissful land of Buddha or Sukhavanti in Sanskrit. The locals are known as Dewa. Dewa denotes both people and place. Dhe locals speak Tibetan dialect, known as Lowa which is quite different from Standard Lhasa Tibetan.
Accessibility
We start our tour from Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Dhe is not that far from Kathmandu, it is around 450-500 km away. However, getting it is not easy. First of all, we have to reach Pokhara which takes around 6 hours by land, 25 minutes by air. From Pokhara, we have to travel towards Jomsom, the capital of Mustang district. By land, it takes around 10 hours but by air, it is just 20 minutes to reach Jomsom from Pokhara. To get used to the local condition, you can stay at Jomsom or Kagbeni. There are two locals jeeps going to Upper Mustang every day, but you can also reserve your private ride which takes 7 hours from Jomsom to reach Tsarang and 1.5 hours from Tsarang to Dhe. There is also an ancient trail from Tsuksang which goes to Dhe via Tangya.
Dhe Village
Now, there are 14 families with almost 100 people living in the village. Dhe village follows Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism and there are few families with Bon heritage. Most of Upper Mustang follows the Shakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Villager’s resettlement dream depends upon the success of this apple plantation. These organic apples need a market. Collaboration with Greengrowth to take the first Harvested apples to Kathmandu.
Agriculture
They are dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry for livelihood. Seasonal trade in winter months is also very important for survival. There is only a single crop cycle in the village and agricultural produce is never enough for the villagers to last the whole year. Mostly wheat and barley are grown here. Unlike other higher settlements in the Himalayas, buckwheat doesn’t grow in Dhe. Upper Mustang region lies in rain shadow thus the landscape is mostly barren and dry. Walnuts, peaches, apricot, hazelnut, plum and other few fruit trees are cultivated in Dhe. Apple plantation is supposed to make the transition easier so they are serious about their apples.
Climate Change
Due to climate change, precipitation patterns have changed and pastureland is degrading at an alarming speed. Animal husbandry is not possible due to the lack of proper pasture in Dhe. The acute shortage of water has forced villagers to abandon their fields. Climate change and environmental degradation have depleted water sources of Dhe. Extreme weather and precipitation pattern have changed the local landscape and water system. There is almost no effect of monsoon in Upper Mustang. The winter snow is expected to accumulate and melt in spring months to provide water for the irrigation. But in recent time – snow melts during winter months due to high temperature resulting in flood. The groundwater system almost has no time to charge itself. There is no snow left for spring – so most of the water sources in the region have dried. Agriculture is simply not possible right now in Dhe. There are only 9 families left with a goatherd and just one family of Dhe owns a yak herd now. Yak is expensive and a loss of a single animal can ruin the family’s yearly net income. Degrading pasture is making animal husbandry unsustainable in Dhe at the moment. A small but vital part of income is generated by selling local surplus such as Jimbu, mushroom(s), and other local products in lower areas during winter months. All forms of traditional livelihood in Dhe is affected by climate change.
Every year, the International Everest Day is observed on May 29 that is today. International Everest Day is celebrated in Nepal and other countries around the world to convey the message to the world about tourism, mountaineering expeditions and other adventure activities in Nepal.
Sixty-seven years ago, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first two people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain.
Culture
For the Sherpas, Chomolungma, as we call it, is a sacred mountain on which a goddess lives. Months before we begin an ascent, we start worshipping and asking for her forgiveness because we have to put their feet on her body. Right before the final steps to the summit, others run to take photos but I or Sherpas bow their head again and ask for her forgiveness. No matter how strong you are, how good you prepare, you have to be blessed by God to reach the summit.
Thame Village
Thame (pronounced “Ta-may”) Valley lies 20 miles west of Mount Everest, in the upper Khumbu region of Nepal. It is the heart of Sherpa country, a string of high-altitude villages stretching from the market town of Namche to the border with Tibet. Chances are that a man chosen at random has climbed Everest; certain is that every villager has lost a relative or friend to the mountaineering industry. Home to many famous Sherpa mountaineers, including Apa Sherpa, who holds the world record for summiting Everest 21 times, It was also a childhood home of Tenzing Norgay who was (with Sir Edmund Hillary) one of the first men to climb Mt. Everest. The guide who has seen the most clients summit, Everest, under his watch is Lakpa Rita Sherpa, also from Thame. Feats of human accomplishment come from here, and tragedy is also a regular visitor.
Accessibility
There are two main climbing routes on Mt Everest namely
Southeast Ridge in Nepal and,
North Ridge Tibet
Here, we are exploring the southeast Ridge in Nepal. The southeast Climbing Routes on Mount Everest route in Nepal was the one used by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, who were the first people to get to the top of Mount Everest in 1953.
Difficult points of the Southern Ridge
The Khumbu Icefall is considered one of the most dangerous points on the Everest summit route due to the unpredictability of the terrain. Avalanches are not infrequent, there are hidden crevasses, and large blocks of ice have been known to fall down directly on top of climbers.
The Death Zone of Camp 4 is not one particular area on Everest, but rather any area over 8000m, where there is really not enough oxygen for humans to breathe. At the summit of Mount Everest, most people take in around 30% of the oxygen they would at sea level. As such, a human only used to breathing at sea level could only stay on the summit a matter of minutes before collapsing. The body cannot acclimatise.
Bagmati Promenade, a part of the Our Dream City Campaign, is a heritage walk designed by StoryCycle and the British Council in collaboration with people living and working in the vicinity and/or having a special affinity to it. The walk has been conceived by combining stories from history, religion and social life, and their connection to modern society. Its interest and appeal has unified people and brought in a lot of knowledge in one place.
Walk along the Bagmati corridor from Thapathali to Teku exploring stories like history, religion and social life and their connection to modern society.
Thapathali Chess Park
There is a Chess park between the Thapathali Chowk and the Kalmochan Temple established 30 years ago by Bharat Dhimal from Morang District. Back then , very few people used to come to play chess but now it is producing national chess players as well.
Akhadas
Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana built “mini Kashi” for the Hindu pilgrimage visiting Nepal during Shivarati naming them as akhadas outside his once Thapathali Durbar complex which today now lies under the Thapathali bridge. There are four type of akhadas.
Udasi Akhada: Built by Jung bahadur with Badri Narayan statue being installed in temple cum sattal complex. It was renovated in 1935. The chief priest or mahant provide food and shelter to pilgrims or saints or sadhus of this sect when they visit Kathmandu.
Dashanami Akhada: Followers of Sankaracharya are known as dasnami or sanyasis namely saraswati, bharati, giri, puri, thirta, ashra, ban, aryanya, parbat and sagar. Built by Jung Bahadur and restored in 1935. Shivalaya in the center is made by Swami Shivananda Giri in 1991.
Nath Akhada: The temple contain the samadhi shrine (tomb) and gaddi (prayer seat) of Gorakhnath. Devotees come to this temple on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Bairagi Akhada: Jung Bahadur Rana built “mini Kashi” for the hindu pilgrimage visiting Nepal during Shivaratri . Bairagi akhada is sattal cum shrine complex in honor of preceptor Ramananda in a mogul style domed roof for saints and sadhus of bairagi community.
Saadhus of 4 different Akhadas.
Jung Hiranya Hem Narayan Temple
This was built by Jung Bahadur Shah in 1874 AD as part of Thapathali palace complex. The temple was also named as ‘Jange Hiranya Hem Narayan Temple after his 2 wives, which is located at Kalmochan ghat. It is rumored that he buried the elites murdered during Kot Massacre in 1846 under this temple. The temple area has been a place for mourning for the deceased of Shah and Rana families. It was severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake.
The main temple is surrounded by 6 different temples with feel of Moghul architecture with Hindu features. It is built on square base with four doorwasy and two rows of lattice windows. It has 4 legendarsy griffins on the cornice of the first storey. in front of the temple there is a lifesize stature of Jung Bahadur on a stone pillar. Bronze Garuda statue below the pillar is considered a marvelous piece of metal art of Rana period.
Kalmochan Ghat
It is situated at the confluence of the Tukucha rivulet and the Bagmati. This area is also called Kal Tirtha. Near Kalmochan Dovan, we can find the temple of Navhareshwar Mahadev which is located in the south-ern corner of a very spacious stone paved courtyard.
Huta Ram Vaidya
Nepal’s first agricultural scientist and a lifelong campaigner to save the Bagmati River. Baidya lived in Tripureshwor where he saw the gradual deterioration of his beloved Bagmati from a pristine and holy river into a cesspool carrying Kathmandu’s sewage, which spurred him to action. Of the 16 books he has written, four are about the necessity of saving the Bagmati Civilisation, a term that he coined and which is now used to describe the river which spawned Kathmandu Valley’s unique cultural and religious heritage. Baidya left behind a powerful legacy among the young citizens of the capital about the need to restore the Bagmati and it is the public awareness that he helped initiate that has led to the frequent campaigns to clean up the river and its banks.
Tripura Sundari
This is the last major temple in tiered style by Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari Devi in memory of this late husband King Rana Bahadur Shar in 1822 AD with 19 small temples and shrines in its compound. She donated 781 ropani to be supervised by Raj guthi at that time. It was later expanded with sattal and ghat by prime minister Chandra Shamsher Rana. It was renovated after 1934 earthquake in 1936. Sundarnanda Bada a poet has given a vivid description of this temple in his book “tri ratna soundarya gatha”. The temple is quite popular as a religious site during Shivaratri, Bala Chaturdashi and also during the month of Shrawan.
The temple is facing south with three tier roof made of copper sheets with attractive pinnacles. On the four corners of the lowest plint of the temple lies panchanyan dieties. There is a life size bronze sttue of Queen Tripura Sundari sitting with folded hand on a stone pillare in front of the temple with seven headed snake as umbrella. The pillar has basof a large stone tortoise with inscription composed by the court poet Pandit Bani Bilas.
Chandra Ghat
The longest and largest ghat complex at Bagmati of 300 feet long with 30 big rooms also known as Purneshwar Ghat. It is now used by Zonal Police office as its barrack. Mushafir Khana is a guest house during Rana regime where foreign guest were lodged. Part of this building is controlled by District police office of Bagmati while part of it converted into Nepal eye hospital in 1973.
Purneshwor Mahadev Temple
This temple was made by King Rajendra Vikram Shah for the salvation of the queens of King Rana Bahadur Shah around 1822 AD. The guthi of this temple used feed 200 homeless/beggars daily at its premises. Destroyed in 1934 earthquake, the present temple was restored in 1945. There are about 40 families(200 people) residing in the chaughera sattal of this temple.This temple was made by King Rajendra Vikram Shah
Satyal Ghat
Tin Dewal
This temple was built by Bam Bahadur Rana in 1850 when he was acting prime minister while Jung Bahadur Rana travel for Europe. It spread in 20 ropani land which took 9 months to create in Sikhar style with terracotta bricks along with Ram mandir and hanuman ghat. There are too many shrines and temples including Panchalinga Mahadev and 3 shikhara style temple built by Major Guman Karki in 1827 on its premises.
Pachali Bhairav
Established by King Gunkamadev as a gatekeeper at the southern city entrance. In those days every door of houses, temples and dyochen were made in a triangular shape and painted with eyes and sword depicting Bhairab deity , King Amar Malla introduced 12 yearly Bhairab dance in 1440 which continued to this day.
Pachali Ghat
In a small area of 50 meter radius there are more than 80 different stone sculptures belonging to different periods of history. It’s like an open air museum of stone art which is maintained by Subba Ganesh Bhakta Mathema of Ombahal tole. A sattal constructed by Ambal Bakhu Singh in 1813 lies in the western direction with open veranda on the ground floor. There are other sattal constructed by Anirudha Dhoj Bhadra Singh, Bal bhadra and Narayan in 1795. The sattal on the right side on the way to Pachali Bhairab is constructed by Bhagiratha Devi Mulmi of Tangal tole in 1951 with a small temple of Ramchandra.
Laxmishwor Temple
This temple was built by Laxmi Devi in 1813 AD who was a concubine of King Rana Bahadur Shah. She had donated 100 ropanis of land located at Lubhu and Thimi village for the daily rituals and functions of the temple which is now under the Raj guthi. This temple is the best representative of Shah period with a 3 story temple surrounded with chaugera sattals in all directions.
Kaalo Pul(Suspension Bridge)
This is a black 400 feet long suspension bridge imported from Paris. Prime Minister Juddha Shamsher Rana opened this bridge in March 1939 to ease the life of peasants, gardeners and vegetable seller of Patan city to cross the river and for people of Kathmandu to visit “raj tirtha” on the opposite of Pachali ghat where people can take a holy bath.
Radha Krishna Temple
This is the first large monument standing near the confluence of Teku. This sikhar style terracotta temple of vaishnavite sect was made by junior mother of Prime Minister Dev Shamsher in 1937 AD.
Teku Dovan
Teku Dovan is the conglomeration of 2 sacred river of Bagmati and Bishnumati. Also known as Chintamani tirtha for the Kathmandu valley Buddhist community. There is more that 10 votive stupa or chaityas with many burning ghats or crematoriums. This area is also called Chintamani Tirtha. This the holy place of Ne muni hermit who initiated 17 days long heritage walk praising the holy water of Bagmati river holding more than 165 shrines along its river banks.
Jagannath Temple
Shikhara style temple located in the middle quadrangle surrounded by structures of carved wooden windows. The brick sanctum is surrounded by an octagonal porch with 28 large wooden pillars. The temple is made by Bhava Singh Pradhan or Tavdik Bharo and his wife Sivalaksmi in 1792AD.
It is vaishnavite temple with stone figure of Krishna Balram and Subhadra kept in sanctum. It has 780 bighas of land in tarai region of Nepal.
A wooden palaquine kept inside the wester sattal is used once a year on the second day of Krishna Astami to celebrate khata yatra.
Saipal (7,031m) is a mountain in Bajhang district of Sudurpashchim Province in north-western Nepal. It lies in Gurans Range – a sub-range of the Himalayas range in norther-western Nepal. Mountain experts have divided Gurans range into to sub-sections – Saipal and Yoka Pahar section. These sections are divided by Seti River. While Saipal, Phirankov and Sunapani are the prominent mountains in Saipal section that lies east of Seti River, Api, Nampa and Jethi Bahurani are the prominent peaks west of Seti River. Saipal is the second largest mountain of Sudurpashchim Province and the tallest of Bajhang district. Like other regions in mid and far-west, Saipal is remote and unknown to many. Snowcapped mountains, rocky cliffs, glaciers and glacial lakes, fast-flowing rivers, beautiful waterfalls, Himalayan plateau, vast Himalayan grasslands rich in medicinal herbs like Yarsa gumba are some of the attractions of Saipal area.
Accessibility
There are four routes to access Saipal area:
Entering from Api Nampa Conservation area to the Seti River Valley and climbing northward toward Nepal-Tibet border at Urai Pass. This route includes many high passes and is recommended for only seasoned mountaineers and trekkers.
From Bajhang, fly to Dhangadhi and drive to Talkot and trek along the banks of a tributary of Seti River to the South Western Base Camp above Aulagaad River.
From Bajura, fly to Dhangadhi and drive to Kolti of Bajura. Drive along Karnali River until you reach Kawadi Khola. Then walk along the banks of Kawadi Khola to the upper reaches of Bajura district to the South Eastern Base Camp of Saipal.
Fly to Simikot, and trek to Dharapuri, Kermi, Yalbang, Chala, Karan Khola to North Eastern Base Camp.
Biodiversity
Suptropical and Temperate forest in lower areas and Subalpine and Alpine forests in higher areas.
High Himalayan grasslands rich in medicinal herbs like yarsagumba, padmachal, panch aule,
Home to endangered species like snow leopard, red panda, musk deer etc
Yarsa Harvest
Yarsagumba – the caterpillar fungus believed to be a high-value aphrodisiac – has worked wonders in several remote high Himalayan areas of Nepal where farm yield is not sufficient to feed family. People trek to high Himalayan pastureland to harvest Yarsagumba during April-June. According to locals, they earn sufficient amount to feed their family for a year. Some can even send their children to district headquarters or even Dhangadhi for higher education. But loss of forest, due to use of firewood by Yarsagumba collectors, and exploitation of Yarsagumba habitat remains a major concern.
Culture
Saipal is believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva. It may be because one can see the summit of Mount Kailash in Tibet from the top of Saipal. Many of the religious significance of palaces, temples, dances, culture are still enclosed within the far-west and unknown to many.
This unique culture and tradition is other attractions of Saipal region. Local people worship ancestral deity named Masto. They connect to Masto with the help of shamans. There are various shrines devoted to Masto god in Saipal region. Local people worship high passes as Langa Devata. Langa is the local term for high passes. Whenever they travel through high passes, they stop and worship seeking permission from the god for the success of their journey. There are many temples devoted to goddesses locally known as ‘Malika’ in the region. Chaiteli Mela is the biggest festival here. People celebrate the festival with great fanfare and rejoicing. Even COVID-19 and local administration couldn’t stop from celebrating the festival in March this year. Bajhang is also known for the local kings. Bajhangi King Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh, reformist and educationist, had good relations with Ranas – the rulers of Kathmandu. Locals respect his descendants even today and often consult with the king on different social issues and follow his directions. There is a palace Bajhangi king at Talkot which serves as the gateway to Saipal.
SOCIAL ILLS:
Chhaupadi is perhaps the biggest blemish on this beautiful region. Women are still banished to animal sheds during menstruation. This evil system is so deep-rooted that it is still in practice despite the launch of several awareness campaigns by the government and NGOs.
MISSION SAIPAL: Mission Saipal is an upcoming film by Bhojraj Bhat. The film attempts at raising awareness against Chhaupadi and other gender-based discriminations through empowerment by taking four young girls to Saipal region to the summit of Mount Saipal. I believe the film will help in promotion of tourism in Saipal region as we will be covering the untouched beauty, cultural attractions, festivals, high mountains of this region. Previously, Mr.Bhat has released Sunakali, a film about journey of young girl footballers from impoverished and socially backward Mugu district in far-western Nepal who, against all odds, go on to win a major regional tournament. It has won nearly 40 international awards and has been shown in 85 countries so far.
Our Dream City is a campaign design by StoryCycle that engage young people in the ideation, design and development of inclusive, sustainable and democratic cities spaces. It encourages youth leaders to take up an active role by using digital technologies, storytelling and the arts to engage their community and local civic processes to influence change and development practice.
In partnership with the British Council StoryCycle worked on the historic and culturally significant stretch of Bagmati River, from Thapathali to Teku, covering localities in Ward 11 and 12 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Under British Council’s 60 Years in Nepal celebrations, the project engaged young people and community leaders to produce narratives weaving together data and community responses that captured the of cultural, socio-political and historical identity of the place. Bagamati Promenade was first setting to the Our Dream City campaign.
15 youths were select through an open call process to participate in a 3-day StoryCamp and MapUp Camp which were organized in collaboration with the local government. With workshop participants, ODC produced narratives documenting the Teku-Thapali stretch and its communities. 40+ sites were added to Google Maps and stories of 30 places were created and uploaded.
A-Level Students of Little Angeles(LA) School participating in mapping and storytelling session
The mapping and narratives then were used to develop thematic tours. Bagmati Promenade tours were designed catering to the demands for curated heritage walks that are now a preferred way of experience the rich cultural history of Kathmandu Valley. More than 400 people were reached over two months of tours that were led by heritage experts, engineers, architects, government officials, sustainable mobility enthusiasts, storytellers, cultural advocates and religious leaders.
These tours were hosted with the aim of engaging wider public in discussions around current praxis of development that has not sufficiently accounted for the unique characteristics of the cities in Kathmandu Valley. It enabled those inhabiting the spaces along the site a platform to share their perspectives and concerns. The tours highlighted issues including competing visions from development projects, lack of leadership, illegal encroachment, environmental pollution, haphazard conservation approaches and other concerns. Essentially, the tours highlighted the hidden and unaccounted costs of exclusive development practices.
The event captured and shared information and stories of the various heritage structures along the pathway, highlighting the historic, cultural, architectural significance as well as the environmental impacts. It also brought along heritage enthusiasts, activists, stakeholders along with government bodies like City planning commission of Kathmandu Metropolitan City(KMC) and chairperson of ward -11 Hiralal Tuladhar who has been devoting his efforts in preserving and promotion of the heritage of Teku Thapathali stretch.
After concluding the first phase of activities, Story Cycle is currently engaging with City Planning Commission to develop additional content on the site. Longer-term goal for the project remains to influence development decision makers to create more holistic action plans that are inclusive of community concerns and youth engagement.
WoW Madhesh – Digital Storytelling Workshop
In October 2019, StoryCycle replicated the ODC workshops for groups of 10 youth in the cities of Birgunj and Janakpur. As part of the Women of the World Festival Madhesh (WOW Madhesh), the British Council support ODC to collect local data and narratives to champion gender transformative outputs. If you want more details, click here.
Virtual Heritage Tour
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic. When Nepal government instituted lockdowns nationally, ODC took on a digital delivery approach to continue engaging a range of social actors in conversations about development and heritage. The Virtual Heritage Tour series followed the lead of Bagamati Promenade’s thematic walking tours and invited experts to lead home-bound viewers through locations inaccessible during the pandemic. To learn more about this monthly series, please click here.
