From cleaning rivers in Karnali to presenting at the European Union — this is the story of DigoPath: a youth-led movement that turns climate anxiety into community resilience, one sustainable step at a time.
Every chapter of DigoPath grew from the one before. Here is the story — told honestly, in sequence.
Everything started with a simple question: why is our river full of plastic? Sagar organised youth volunteers to clean Karnali's waterways — but quickly realised cleanup alone wasn't enough. The movement needed roots, not just brooms. This was the seed of DigoPath.
The movement expanded beyond cleanup. Sagar taught students how to repurpose waste tyres and old materials into planters and green spaces — transforming school grounds and turning environmental education into hands-on creative practice.
Taking students deep into Karnali's forests, Sagar led immersive biodiversity programmes — teaching young people to identify native species, understand ecosystem relationships, and reconnect with the natural world their communities depend on.
In Bethanchok Rural Municipality, Kavre — an area devastated by landslides and floods — Sagar saw that climate impacts weren't only physical. Fear, displacement, and crop loss were creating deep psychological wounds. Project Resilient Minds was born: combining psychosocial support with practical green skills to help youth turn climate worry into action.
Partnered with Wageningen University, NFP, and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Green Miracle introduced moringa as a climate-smart nutrition solution for Nepali communities. With Dr. John Pummel as mentor, the project shows how a single underused plant can transform food security and generate community-led economic opportunity.
Project Resilient Minds was presented at Europe Day 2025 in Nepal, handed to high-level officials including the Deputy Speaker of Nepal's Parliament. Sagar joined the EU Global Gateway Youth Sounding Board and has brought DigoPath's model to national and international audiences — proving that voices from Nepal's mountains belong at every table.
Each project targets a distinct dimension of climate vulnerability — together they form an integrated approach to community resilience.
The movement that started everything. Youth-led river cleanups, environmental awareness campaigns, and community waste action across Karnali. The Clean & Green Movement trained a generation of young environmental stewards and established the culture of hands-on action that defines DigoPath today. Activities include river cleaning drives, upcycled-tyre garden installations at schools, nature education walks, and biodiversity trail programmes.
Addressing the mental health dimensions of climate vulnerability among youth in Bethanchok, Kavre. Combines psychosocial support with practical green skills — helping young people transform climate anxiety into local, positive action.
One Tree. Better Nutrition. Stronger Climate Resilience. Partnered with Wageningen University and Welt Hunger Hilfe to promote moringa as a climate-smart nutrition solution in Nepal — linking food security, livelihoods, and ecological restoration.
An EU-funded initiative supporting pollinator conservation and sustainable beekeeping as a tool for biodiversity restoration and rural livelihoods. Working with local farming communities to integrate beekeeping with ecological land management.
Grounding grassroots action in science. Sagar's work at Nepal Technology Innovation Centre (NTIC) bridges field-level community programmes with research and data — providing evidence for policy advocacy and strengthening the scientific credibility of DigoPath's approach.
Click any photo to see the full story behind it.
Clean & Green Movement, Karnali
Students creating planters from waste tyres
Teaching students to reuse waste materials
Nature education in Karnali's forests
Ecological restoration with school children
One Tree, Better Nutrition · Wageningen Partnership
Presenting to EU delegation & Deputy Speaker, Nepal
Bee Green team — Global Gateway, Nepal
Nepal Technology & Innovation Centre
Sagar's work has been recognised by national and international organisations — and continues to open doors for Karnali's voices in global climate conversations.
Recognised as a national climate champion in Nepal's Glocal 2021 awards — acknowledging outstanding youth leadership in climate action.
Selected as a member of the EU Global Gateway Youth Sounding Board (Nepal) — contributing youth perspectives to European-Nepali development policy discussions.
Presented Project Resilient Minds at Europe Day 2025, with the project being formally handed over to Nepal's Deputy Speaker of Parliament and EU ambassadors.
Selected for collaboration with Wageningen University (Netherlands) and Welt Hunger Hilfe for the Green Miracle moringa nutrition and climate resilience project.
Researcher and presenter at NTIC — sharing DigoPath's findings with government officials, NGOs, and international organisations to build policy-level support.
DigoPath's weekly programme has run without interruption since founding — a milestone recognised as proof of the movement's genuine community roots and sustained commitment.
I grew up in Karnali — one of Nepal's most ecologically extraordinary and climate-vulnerable regions. I didn't come to climate action through a textbook. I came through watching our rivers fill with plastic, our forests lose species, our farming communities struggle with erratic rainfall, and our young people carry the weight of anxiety with nowhere to put it.
DigoPath started as a river cleanup. It became something much larger: a movement that connects ecological restoration, food security, mental health, scientific research, and youth leadership into one integrated approach to community resilience. From the banks of Karnali rivers to the halls of the European Union and Nepal's Parliament — the core belief has never changed: sustainable change must be rooted in the communities it serves.
I have been recognised as a National Climate Champion (Glocal 2021), serve on the EU Global Gateway Youth Sounding Board for Nepal, and have partnered with Wageningen University, Welt Hunger Hilfe, and the EU on active funded projects. I work at Nepal Technology Innovation Centre, and I apply everything I learn back to the communities I come from.
Whether you are a partner, funder, researcher, fellow youth leader, or simply inspired by this work — I would love to hear from you.
DigoPath is open to collaboration, speaking engagements, research partnerships, media interviews, and any opportunity that helps amplify community-rooted climate action from Nepal.
The founding initiative of DigoPath. Starting with river cleanups in Karnali, the movement grew into a comprehensive environmental education programme — teaching youth to clean rivers, create upcycled tyre planters, conduct biodiversity walks, and build a lasting relationship with the natural world. This is where Sagar's journey as a climate leader began.
Working in Bethanchok Rural Municipality, Kavre — an area devastated by climate-induced landslides and floods. Sagar recognised that the psychological toll of climate change on young people was as urgent as the physical damage. Project Resilient Minds combines psychosocial support with practical green skills, helping youth turn climate fear into confident local action. Presented at Europe Day 2025 and received by Nepal's Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
One Tree. Better Nutrition. Stronger Climate Resilience. In partnership with Wageningen University, NFP, and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Green Miracle promotes moringa as a climate-smart food security solution for Nepali communities. The project demonstrates how a single underused native tree can transform nutrition, generate local income, and build ecological resilience simultaneously. Mentored by Dr. John Pummel.
An EU-funded initiative supporting pollinator conservation and sustainable beekeeping as tools for biodiversity restoration and rural livelihoods in Nepal. The Bee Green team works directly with farming communities to integrate beekeeping practices with ecological land management — creating economic opportunity while restoring critical pollinator populations that entire ecosystems depend on.
Sagar's work at NTIC bridges grassroots community programmes with scientific research and innovation. He has presented DigoPath's findings to government officials, ambassadors, NGOs, and international partners — building the evidence base for policy advocacy and ensuring that local knowledge is grounded in rigorous scientific practice.
Youth volunteers cleaning the river in Karnali under the Clean & Green Movement. This was one of DigoPath's founding activities — the moment Sagar realised that environmental action needed to go beyond cleanup and build lasting community ownership of the natural spaces they depend on.
Students creating vertical gardens from painted waste tyres at a school campus. This activity combines environmental education with creative practice — teaching young people to see waste as resource, and turning neglected school grounds into living green spaces.
A full cohort of students displaying their upcycled tyre planters and seedlings — the result of a workshop teaching waste repurposing and ecological stewardship. DigoPath has run this programme at multiple schools across the region, leaving behind both green spaces and skilled, inspired young people.
Students deep inside Karnali's forests learning to identify native species and understand ecosystem relationships. These immersive biodiversity walks reconnect young people with their natural heritage and build the ecological literacy that underpins all of DigoPath's conservation work.
DigoPath volunteers planting native species alongside school children — teaching not just how to plant, but why each species matters and how it supports the larger ecosystem. This is the work that creates a generation of ecological stewards who will care for these trees long after the project ends.
Sagar holding the Green Miracle project banner in the Nepali hills — the backdrop of forests and terraced farmland showing exactly the landscape where the moringa nutrition and climate resilience project is being implemented. Partners include Wageningen University, NFP, Welt Hunger Hilfe, and Dr. John Pummel as project mentor.
Sagar presenting Project Resilient Minds to the EU Global Gateway team and Nepal's Deputy Speaker of Parliament at Europe Day 2025. A milestone moment — bringing Bethanchok's community story to the highest levels of national and international policy, and demonstrating that youth-led climate work from Nepal's rural communities belongs at every table of consequence.
The Bee Green / DigoPath team at the EU Global Gateway Youth Sounding Board event in Nepal. Sagar serves as a member of this board — contributing youth and community perspectives to European Union development and sustainability programming in Nepal, ensuring that local voices shape international policy.
Sagar at the NTIC research laboratory — where community-level climate action meets scientific rigour. This work has enabled him to present DigoPath's findings to government officials, international NGOs, ambassadors, and UN agencies, building the evidence base that policy-level change requires.