Manoj Kaphle
Hailing from Nepal and attending Cornell University as a Humphrey fellow in 2020-21, Manoj Kaphle continues to deliver impact in rural communities. With the support of Dylan Rodgers, a Cornell undergraduate in Environment and Sustainability, Kaphle secured a Department of State grant from the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF). The USD 9600 grant will be utilized to operationalize the “Bees, Trees, and Climate-Smart Communities” project.
This initiative aims to support a small community in Nepal by conserving and planting butter trees and providing expert training. Butter trees yield numerous benefits: they support local beekeepers who produce a unique honey, provide families with wood for cooking, fruits for making butter, and leaves for ceremonial use. Moreover, these trees enhance the environment by offering habitats for wildlife, preventing soil erosion, and capturing carbon. Therefore, this project focusing on bees can be a trailblazer for agroecology in the region.