Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development

Advancing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights with Justice, Inclusion, and Safeguarding at the Core

Join Campaign

Building Resilience of Indigenous Communities for a Sustainable Future

IIAD strengthens the resilience of Indigenous communities by valuing their deep-rooted wisdom, cultural practices, and close relationship with land and ecosystems. By recognizing the community as a living classroom, it promotes intergenerational learning where elders, traditions, and local environments guide sustainable practices. Through research, documentation, and safeguards compliance, it ensures that development initiatives respect Indigenous rights, dignity, and self-determination. This integrated effort supports climate adaptation, sustainable livelihoods, and inclusive development, enabling Indigenous communities to lead their own pathways toward a resilient and sustainable future.

Indigenous Knowledge Research and Documentation

Indigenous Knowledge is the dynamic wisdom of Indigenous communities, rooted in generations of experience and cultural practice. It embraces ecology, traditions, language, governance, and spiritual values which is deeply connected to land and environment. Through research and documentation, IIAD brings the priorities of Indigenous Peoples to policymakers while creating opportunities for knowledge sharing among communities. ILK is a foundation for resilience, guiding climate adaptation, sustainable livelihoods, cultural preservation, and inclusive development.

Learn More

Community as Curriculum

We believe the most profound classroom is the community itself. Indigenous Peoples of Nepal carry millennia of living knowledge in their forests, their rituals, their governance systems, their seeds, and their stories and it is this wisdom that forms the foundation of everything we learn and teach. Rather than importing external frameworks and imposing them upon communities, we turn the conventional model of education: where the community sets the curriculum, the elders are the faculty, the land is the textbook, and every young researcher, policymaker, or advocate who walks alongside us. Through partnership and Indigenous Knowledge Centre, we create spaces where students and practitioners immerse themselves in Indigenous life and build solutions from the community priorities.

Learn More

Indigenous Peoples Safeguards Compliance

IIAD prepares safeguards compliance of program or projects to foster full respect for Indigenous Peoples’ identity, dignity, human rights, livelihood systems, and cultural uniqueness as defined by the indigenous peoples themselves so that they receive culturally appropriate social and economic benefits, are not harmed by the projects, and can participate actively in projects that affect them. IIAD embraces the principles of Indigenous Peoples’ Sustainable, Self-Determined Development (IPSSDD), a holistic framework that places Indigenous rights, knowledge, and self-determination at the center of development.

Learn More

Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development

Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development (IIAD) established in 2021, brings forward an innovative, sustainable, and institutional approach to support the indigenous people of Nepal to address indigenous affairs and solve the issues faced, through impact-driven projects and nurturing local knowledge, culture, and innovation in different districts of Nepal. Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development aims to empower indigenous people and community members through Community Development, Education and Training, Subsistence Entrepreneurship, and Research and Policy Development.

  • Developing Indigenous Peoples Safeguards Compliance
  • Deliver Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) curriculum and implementation
  • Indigenous Youth Led Research and Indigenous Peoples Policy Analysis
  • Indigenous Lab: a safe spaces for communities to vision and create their futures
  • Online Training Courses and Certifications
  • Sustainable Development Programs for Indigenous communities
Read More

Watch Video

Collaborated Partner

We are proud to work hand-in-hand with local and international partners who share our mission of empowering Indigenous communities. Together, we foster inclusive development, preserve cultural heritage, and support grassroots change across Nepal.

Thank you to our incredible collaborators who help bring our vision to life

We Take Action. To Make Better Changes

Through community development, education, and research, IIAD supports cultural preservation and self-determination.

0 +

Indigenous community members trained

0 +

Sponsored children

0 +

Sustainable enterprises supported

Supported by SEBS and Pranaya Raj Achayra
miterii
nettle design front
IMG_7466
7
IMG_0416
Climate change
NIWF - CLimachange training (2)
1017144_618082121596195_1548458914_n (1)

Our Key Priorities

Our key actions and activities focus on advancing the rights and well-being of Indigenous communities through a range of impactful initiatives. We support the development and implementation of Indigenous Peoples Safeguards Compliance and deliver comprehensive Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) curriculum and processes. Our work includes rigorous research and policy analysis on Indigenous issues, with a strong emphasis on youth-led Indigenous research. We drive sustainable development programs tailored for Indigenous communities and implement Community-Based Monitoring and Information Systems (CBMIS) to enhance local data ownership and decision-making. Through our Indigenous Lab, we provide safe and creative spaces for communities to envision and shape their futures. Additionally, we offer accessible online training courses and certifications to build capacity and empower Indigenous leaders and advocates.

One Chepang Child Sponsorship

One Chepang Child Sponsorship

Dedicated to supporting the education and well-being of children from the Chepang community, this program provides access to quality education, essential supplies, and opportunities for personal development.

Indigenous Enterprises and Green Skills

Indigenous Enterprises and Green Skills

We identify and support local villagers to establish their enterprises, creating subsistence marketplaces through social entrepreneurship and startups, leading communities towards sustainability.

Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer; FPIC

Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer; FPIC

We facilitate the FPIC process, ensuring that Indigenous communities have the right to give or withhold consent to projects that may affect them or their territories.

View More

Our Campaign

The Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development (IIAD) champions a sustainable, impact-driven approach to uplift Nepal’s Indigenous communities.

View More

Indigenous led Community Development

An initiative towards sustainable village

Take Action

Indigenous Knowledge Centres

An Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) is a community-driven hub established to protect, promote, and revitalize Indigenous knowledge systems, languages, and cultural heritage.

Take Action

Indigenous Enterprises

Promoting Indigenous Traditional skills and knowledge

Take Action

Indigenous Research

Contributing to evidence based policy advocacy through grassroot research

take Action

Become Our Volunteer

Join our mission to empower Indigenous communities. Whether it’s participating in community outreach, assisting in workshops, or helping with administrative tasks, your contribution is invaluable.

Join Volunteer

Institute for Indigenous Affairs and Development (IIAD)

Quick Links

Contact Info

  • Buddhanagar, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • +977 9860128786
  • indigenous.iiad@gmail.com

Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.                                                                                                                                                      Designed by Bizej