Panda Guardians are monthly donors who support sustainable livelihoods for the local communities committed to red panda conservation. Help us reach 500 monthly donors today!
Gender disparities and inequalities stifle the lives and future of indigenous women in rural Nepal. Sadly, their roles are often limited to household chores and childcare.
Thankfully, the long-term support of our monthly donors — whom we proudly call "Panda Guardians" — is helping women in Nepal establish financial independence through our Forest Guardian program and other opportunities.
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New FG, Renuka Rai, from Tyamke CF, Bhojpur district.
Ecotourism, gender equality, habitat restoration, micro-enterprises, conservation scholarships, anti-poaching networks, sustainable agriculture, and improved cookstoves are just some of the other sustainable livelihood programs supported by our incredible team of 460 Panda Guardians!
Our economic empowerment for women campaign urgently addresses rampant gender inequality in communities located in red panda habitat.
We provide opportunities to enhance the knowledge, skills, and capacity of local women that help them realize their economic potential while fostering greater resilience and prosperity. For $15 per month you can support financial freedom and gender equality for women while fostering red panda conservation!
One of these opportunities is our Forest Guardian (FG) program. Thanks to your support, we have hired and trained over 100 local people as FGs in 12 districts in Nepal, including the first FGs in our new districts: Bhojpur, Solukhumbu, and Khotang! Every year, more and more women join the FG team.
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New FG, Devi Kala Rai, from Nepal's Bhojpur district.
The Red Panda Conservation Scholarships for Education program was started in 2019 to provide financial support and necessary school supplies to students who are academically motivated but financially disadvantaged. Gifts from our monthly donors have helped 100 students receive Red Panda Conservation Scholarships in 2022! Join our team of Panda Guardians and provide a local student with a scholarship.
A student in Ilam district receiving an education scholarship award.
Panda Guardians also support our Stoves for Stewards project, which has replaced traditional open-fire stoves with improved, energy-efficient cookstoves for over 400 local stakeholders, including FGs and homestay owners. We distributed 56 improved cookstoves in 2022.
Want to provide a Forest Guardian or other conservation steward with an improved cooking stove that will protect their family's health while preserving red panda habitat? Become a montly donor today!
Local recipient of improved cookstove in eastern Nepal.
Ecotourism is another vital program that our Panda Guardians help to support. Last year, ecotrips in Nepal benefited the livelihoods of over 100 people living in red panda range! Local homestays provided food and accommodations, local nature guides led the ecotrips and tracked red pandas, and local drivers and porters provided ground transportation.
Our Plant A Red Panda Home campaign is restoring biological connectivity in Nepal, and our reforestation efforts are creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. Local people are involved and employed in all restoration activities. "Restoration Guardians" earn income planting trees and protecting the reforestation site, while "Nursery Guardians" work in our Forest Conservation Nurseries, taking care of the saplings, making nursery beds, and nursery construction. You can sponsor a Restoration Guardian for $15 a month here!
Restoration Guardians at reforestation site in Jaubari, eastern Nepal.
The trees and plants raised in these community-managed nurseries have a significant role in the improvement of habitat as well as human livelihoods. The native trees and bamboo we grow are planted in degraded forests to restore red panda habitat. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and high-value medicinal and aromatic plants, and fodder species are distributed to local people to support sustainable livelihoods and reduce pressure on forest resources.
Thanks to monthly supporters like you, last year we raised over 170,000 native tree saplings in 10 forest conservation nurseries!
Nusery Guardian working at nusery in Jaubari, eastern Nepal.
We also provided 47 polyhouses to local communities to support sustainable agriculture and livelihoods.
We are so grateful to have 460 Panda Guardians dedicated to helping the people who protect red pandas. Reaching 500 monthly donors will bolster our sustainable livelihood programs to alleviate poverty so people and pandas can thrive!
Become a Panda Guardian today and receive a free patch with a $15 monthly donation! Donate $25 a month, and we'll send you a free Panda Guardian t-shirt.
Thank you, Panda Guardians, for empowering people to protect red pandas!