KATHMANDU, Aug 9: UNDP has announced the winners of the 14th Equator Prize, recognizing ten Indigenous peoples and local communities from ten countries including Nepal on the occasion of the International Day of World’s Indigenous People. Nepal’s Tergar Charity Nepal (TCN) has won the prestigious prize.

Tergar Charity Nepal (TCN) is a locally-driven organization focused on improving food security and livelihood in the remote Himalayan community of Samagaun, northern Nepal. They promote crop diversification and sustainable crop management while implementing bioclimatic passive solar greenhouses for enhanced food security. The TCN also promotes women empowerment through raising awareness and providing guidance around menstrual health and hygiene in Samagaun.

They also offer a literacy class to promote education and income generation for women in the community. In partnership with a Canadian luxury tea company, the TCN has shown a strong motivation to empower women, as they have successfully developed a value chain project, resulting in increased income for Samagaun women. They pick and process rose hips for the production of tea sold in Northern America. Building upon this success, the TCN expanded the project in 2022, constructing 32 additional greenhouses in Samagaun and 15 in the neighboring village of Samdo.

Other winning countries are Brazil, Burundi, Bolivia, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Liberia, Philippines, and Zambia, who were selected from a pool of over 500 nominations from 108 countries. The Equator Prize winners will receive their awards with a cash prize of US$ 15,000 on November 7 at UNDP’s Nature for Life Hub, ahead of COP28 in Dubai.

 
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