Empowerment through Data: a Nepalese Community’s Path to Self-Determination

Written on 18 December 2025. Posted in News

BY MANOJ AATHPAHARIYA AND RAMA KUMARI THAPA FOR INDIGENOUS DEBATES

With support from the Indigenous Navigator Initiative, the Magar community of Dungeshwor were able to develop a community survey methodology that was respectful of their people’s culture. Once the data had been consolidated, the survey revealed a worrying situation for the Magar communities: a loss of their cultural heritage. As a result, a project was implemented, run by the community members themselves and aimed at promoting their self-determination through collective empowerment. Data collection thus became a path to self-determination.

The Indigenous Navigator Initiative has proved to be a robust tool for collecting disaggregated data on the situation of Indigenous Peoples in Nepal. This survey process, led by organizations and communities, seeks to systematically monitor the recognition and implementation of Indigenous rights. Between its first pilot test in 2014-2015 and the end of 2024, a total of 20 surveys had been conducted in various Indigenous communities. Of these, 12 have already been published, providing a valuable base of information on the status of Indigenous rights implementation in the country.

This article focuses on the Magar community of Dungeshwor and the culturally-sensitive methodology applied to conduct the community surveys. This process led to the creation of a project defined and managed by the community itself, aimed at promoting its self-determined development through collective empowerment. The project actively works to preserve their language and culture while revitalizing their traditional institutions of self-governance.

Data Collection in the Magar Communities

Numbering more than 2 million people, almost 7 percent of Nepal’s total population, the Magar Indigenous People are one of the largest in Nepal. The community survey was conducted in the community of Dungeshwor Municipality, Dailekh District (western Nepal), in close collaboration with the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) – Dailekh and the Lawyers Association for the Human Rights of Nepal’s Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP).

Founded in 1995 by Indigenous lawyers, LAHURNIP works for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous Peoples in Nepal. It undertakes to protect, promote and defend their rights, promoting the effective implementation of ILO Convention 169, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other international human rights instruments. To this end, it employs various strategies such as the tools of the Indigenous Navigator Initiative, which enable the recognition and fulfilment of these rights to be monitored.

For its part, NEFIN is an autonomous and representative organization of Nepal’s Indigenous Peoples, created in 1991. It has district branches throughout the country, including NEFIN-Dailekh, which supports the district’s Indigenous Peoples to promote and defend their rights. LAHURNIP supports NEFIN-Dailekh’s interest in monitoring the situation of Indigenous Peoples at the community level. The Indigenous Navigator Initiative aligned itself with this agenda, resulting in community surveys in two Magar communities in the district.

To kick off the data collection, LAHURNIP organized a three-day national workshop for communities interested in generating their own data. Participants included community leaders, local government representatives and NEFIN-Dailekh delegates. The objectives were to establish a common understanding of Indigenous rights and development, and to provide attendees with the necessary skills for collecting data according to the Indigenous Navigator methodology.

Community Participation in Implementing the Survey

During the workshop, thematic experts and a representative from the National Human Rights Commission trained participants in the 12 areas of Indigenous rights covered by the questionnaires. The training included concepts of human rights and fundamental freedoms, women’s rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, officials from the National Statistics Office guided the attendees on the use and quality of data when developing public policies.

Following the workshop, NEFIN-Dailekh presented a plan for conducting a survey in two Magar communities. Based on previous experiences, the focus group technique was chosen as the method. LAHURNIP recommended including between 15 and 25 diverse participants in each group, ensuring at least 33 percent female representation. During the focus groups, participants received guidance on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as recognized in the UNDRIP and an introduction to the SDGs. Community members thus became aware of their rights and learned how to monitor their compliance.

Data collection required two days of continuous work with the participants, making it difficult to retain the same people across both days. In addition, some questions were too technical for community members. To ensure active participation, different tools were used, including discussions supported by a review of the literature, which helped stimulate dialogue and data production. For example, simple questions were asked about birth certificates (a topic of interest to women), citizenship documents, land titles and traditional occupations.

It should be noted that implementing community surveys is not a linear process: it requires in-depth knowledge of the communities involved, an understanding of the context and sensitivity to the daily lives of the participants. In turn, the responses were compared with other available data sources and the results consolidated into a draft. The next step was to hold a workshop with the community to cross-check the information, and then the survey was sent to a LAHURNIP representative for review. Finally, the verified data was uploaded and published on the Indigenous Navigator portal.

Reviving Heritage and Self-Governance through Community Action

The survey revealed a worrying situation for the Magar communities: a loss of their cultural heritage. “The survey reached 1,797 people in our community and revealed alarming findings. We discovered that our cultural and linguistic heritage, along with our customary institutions, are being lost. Centuries of colonial domination and state policies of assimilation have eroded our language, traditions and Indigenous identity. In response, we decided to start working to protect and promote our identity, language and cultural heritage,” explained local coordinator Rama Kumari Thapa.

Indigenous communities that have conducted surveys with the Indigenous Navigator can use the results to advocate for their rights locally and to design solutions to identified issues, drawing on an Indigenous Navigator small grants fund. LAHURNIP is currently supporting three communities in this process, including the Magar community in Dungeshwor Municipality. In a proposal writing workshop organized by LAHURNIP, Magar participants used the survey data to identify the key challenges facing their community.

The Magar community decided that the best way to develop a proposal and monitor the implementation of activities was to form a Project Implementation Committee, composed of community members. This committee set out the objectives and activities to be carried out and, with the support of LAHURNIP, prepared a proposal for one year of financial support, in line with the Indigenous Navigator’s requirements.

Based on the discussion of the community survey results and the findings of concern, the community decided that the grant should focus on promoting their self-determined development through collective empowerment by re-establishing the institutions of self-governance, while also preserving their language and culture.

Hope for the Community

Appointed to manage the implementation of one of these small grant-funded projects, Magar leader Thapa Magar expressed her hope for the process: “As an Indigenous woman activist in Dailekh District, I have always felt deeply connected to the struggles of my people. For years, I witnessed the gradual loss of our cultural and linguistic heritage and identity. But now things are changing for the better thanks to the Indigenous Navigator community project.”

As part of this initiative, the Magar community in Oiru village has succeeded in re-establishing the Bheja, their traditional self-governance institution. Although these institutions existed in other Magar areas, they had long since disappeared from Dungeshwor. The project not only raised awareness in the community of the rights of Indigenous Peoples but also provided them with tools and opportunities to dialogue with the local government and advocate for their own development agenda.

As part of the project, a series of community engagement activities were carried out to connect the Magar community in the rural municipality of Dungeshwor with the local authorities. As a result, in 2024, the local government allocated funds to protect Magar cultural heritage (including traditional dances, songs and costumes) and support activities aimed at preserving their language.

Data as a Pathway to Self-Determination and Cultural Revival

The experience of the Magar community in Dungeshwor demonstrates how member-led data collection, based on culturally-sensitive methodologies and guided by Indigenous rights frameworks, can effectively assess and document the challenges they are facing, such as a loss of cultural heritage. Through structured community surveys, they were able to generate valuable information that not only made their members aware of their rights but also produced reliable disaggregated data to support their advocacy work.

Crucially, the data collected became the basis for designing and implementing concrete, community-led initiatives to preserve their language, culture and governance systems. As a result, the community succeeded in establishing the Nepal Magar Sang at the local government level, which is now active and functioning independently. A Magar Women’s Organization of Nepal was also formed to promote their rights. Both organizations have implemented activities linked to ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with a strong emphasis on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and land, territory and resource rights.

Alongside this, efforts to revive and promote the Magar mother tongue have secured funding from the local government. Most significantly, the project has supported the revival of the traditional institution known as the Bheja, marking a fundamental step towards the re-establishment of traditional governance. This has undoubtedly been a significant step in exercising their right to self-determination and regaining control over their own future.

Manoj Aathpahariya belongs to the Aathpahariya Indigenous community. He holds a Master of Law degree from Nepal Law Campus, as well as a Master of Arts and a Master of Public Administration from Tribhuvan University. He has nine years of experience practising law and has served as the focal point for the Indigenous Navigator with LAHURNIP.

Rama Kumari Thapa is the local coordinator of the Small Grant Project and belongs to the Magar community. She has extensive experience in social mobilization and has worked with children. In addition, she specializes in issues such as good governance, gender violence and community-based psychosocial care.

Cover photo: Manoj Aathpahariya

Tags: Indigenous Debates