CEN is a non-profit organization focusing on research-based education and advocacy campaigns on issues related to sustainable energy use and environmental conservation.
“Using renewable energy for domestic use is not that popular in Kathmandu but it has a potential for curtailing waste in the city to a great degree,” he says.
For his drive, when the British Council selected 10 young climate champions from Nepal – young people who have proven that they have the drive, capacity for leadership, and ability for forward thinking on climate issues – Manjit Dhakal was selected as one of them.
He aimed at demonstrating, through his project called Initiative for Zero Waste Community, the feasibility of using gas emitted from household waste as an alternative fuel resource for cooking. With a team of four members, he planned to set up two biogas plants as a demonstration site under the bridge at Rato Pool.
“To mark the first anniversary of the Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA), which I head and which works with its secretariat at CEN, and the 9th International Youth Day at the Trolley Bus Office in Kathmandu, we got two trolley vehicles married,” says Dhakal.
In August 2009, Dhakal was part of the mush discussed trolley bus marriages that CEN conducted. The rationale was to draw the attention of the Government and the agencies concerned for the successful execution of the trolley buses, the pioneer China-donated electric vehicles of public transportation in Nepal. Two trolley buses were made bride and groom and symbolically wedded in an elaborate ritual. The trolley buses of Kathmandu have been facing continuous ups and down throughout its history of 34 years, and the trend has mostly been downhill in recent years.
“The idea was to express that, now wedded, the trolley buses would have babies, and trolley buses would once again be a popular mode of transportation in Kathmandu,” he points out. He expresses that the political will to do something in the environmental sector has pretty much been in the backburner for all the governments that have taken office, and it is precisely to combat this active apathy that NYCA conducted such an offbeat event.
CEN is also assisting Kathmandu Metropolitan City to promote composting and recycling by producing and distributing household compost bins and working with local communities to manage waste at the source.
“This may seem like an ambitious idea, given the population of the city. But if shared out among communities and encouraging their people to mange waste at the source, waste management could be highly efficient,” he says.
“I believe in youth mobilization because it has tremendous potential to bring about a breakthrough, however challenging it may be,” he says.
He and his team work closely with college and school students to motivate them to become knowledgeable and become environmentalists. To further their vision, they help students learn practical aspects of environment management and to conduct relevant research as well.
Nepali youth are taking up on environment issues, and young leaders such as Manjit Dhakal are most likely to set successful guideposts in this sector, beginning from Kathmandu.
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