In Mustang, one of Nepal’s most climate-vulnerable districts, Indigenous women in Jomsom are leading a quiet but impactful transformation by reviving a traditional water mill. The initiative addresses multiple challenges, including reducing women’s daily workload, conserving Indigenous knowledge, and strengthening community-based climate adaptation. Mustang’s Indigenous communities, including the Thakali, Gurung, Loba, and Magar, rely heavily on agriculture and tourism, both increasingly affected by climate change. Historically, while women have played a strong role in household decision-making, their influence in community-level planning and governance has been limited. At the same time, traditional knowledge and technologies have been declining, with women’s needs and expertise often absent from local development processes.
To address these gaps, IUCN Nepal, in partnership with Gharapjhong Rural Municipality and supported by the Government of Canada through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), implemented a project focused on strengthening Indigenous women’s leadership, decision-making, and implementation capacity. Through structured capacity-building, women identified priority needs, planned pilot activities, and led their execution. The restoration of a traditional water mill emerged as the top priority, aiming to conserve Indigenous skills, reduce the physical burden of long-distance grain grinding, and promote climate adaptation through renewable energy and water conservation. A fully women-led execution committee was formed to manage design, operation schedules, maintenance, financial oversight, and equitable access.
The restored water mill has already generated tangible benefits. Women no longer need to travel long distances for milling, saving time, money, and physical effort, while households now have reliable, year-round access to milling services for barley, buckwheat, millet, and maize. The intervention currently benefits 165 households, covering 568 people, including 313 women. Participants like Pramila Gurung have gained confidence in administrative and financial management, documentation, and engagement with local government, fostering broader participation in community planning and decision-making.
The initiative has also shifted community perceptions, recognizing women as not only household providers but also knowledge holders and capable leaders of community infrastructure projects. Women’s group member Bhuwan Sherchan emphasized that the success of the project demonstrates how collective effort and planning can enable women to lead effectively. Local leaders have praised the group’s efficiency, noting that the women completed the restoration in less than one month, compared with six months for similar male-led projects. This marks the first time in Mustang that a community infrastructure project has been entirely executed by a women-led team.
Today, the project reinforces the transmission of traditional knowledge to younger generations, highlighting the relevance of Indigenous technologies for climate adaptation, workload reduction, and cultural continuity. Recognized by local authorities and media, the initiative stands as a strong example of women-led, community-based climate action that delivers social, economic, and environmental benefits.
