Unnati undertakes initiatives to preserve and promote local and indigenous arts, culture, and heritage. Nepal is a country rich in diversity, across arts, culture, language, and traditions. Unnati leverages art and culture as powerful tools for education, awareness, empowerment, research, and advocacy.
The organization uses participatory community photography and videography to document the lived experiences of women from Achham, a socially, economically, and geographically remote district. These women have captured their own and their communities’ stories on menstruation, health, hygiene, and gender-based violence. They have specifically documented practices like Chhaupadi, using video storytelling as an advocacy tool.
Similarly, children from public schools and members of child clubs in Dhading district engage in arts and craft activities to build the capacities of their peers and advocate for children’s rights. These efforts, grounded in art-based methods, aim to draw multi-stakeholder attention and support evidence-based advocacy.
Youth have also been actively involved in identifying, documenting, preserving, and promoting local heritage, songs, music and other local and indigenous knowledge and practices contributing to community pride and cultural continuity.
