Living the Change: Understanding How Communities in Nepal Adapt to Environmental Challenges

When I arrived in the hills of Okhaldhunga, Nepal, in early June 2025, the air felt lighter and fresher than in Kathmandu, even under the summer heat. The road wound through green hills scattered with banana trees and small villages, where fruits were sold by the roadside. Life seemed to move at a slower pace, shaped by the rhythm of the land and the people who live from it. Yet behind this calm atmosphere lay a fragile balance — one that environmental change is gradually transforming.

During my three months with Volunteers Initiative Nepal (VIN), I carried out field research to explore how communities perceive and adapt to these transformations. My project focused on three villages — Bhadaure, Taluwa, and Thulachhap — where agriculture is the main livelihood and migration shapes everyday life. Through 21 interviews and daily observation, I tried to capture how environmental and social factors intertwine in people’s decisions to stay, move, or adapt.

A Subtle Reality: When “Climate Change” Feels Like Everyday Life

One of the first things I discovered was that few people in these villages use the words “climate change.”
Instead, they speak of irregular rainfall, landslides, or more significant insects with the heat.
For many, these changes are part of life’s natural rhythm. Yet their impact is profound — harvests are shrinking, roads are being damaged, and children sometimes cannot reach school during the monsoon.

Environmental vulnerability here is not just physical; it is structured and situated — rooted in geography, limited resources, and social inequalities. It is in the rhythm of farming seasons, the cracks in village roads, and the daily choices families must make.

Women at the Heart of Adaptation

In almost every household I visited, one or more men were away — working in Kathmandu, India, or the Gulf countries.
As a result, women have become the main caretakers of the land. They plant, harvest, care for livestock, and manage households, often while raising children and supporting elders. This feminisation of agriculture reveals both strength and vulnerability: women are key actors in local adaptation, yet they also face significant environmental and economic challenges.

Their resilience inspired me deeply. From tending rice fields after a night of heavy rain to participating in community discussions, they embody quiet strength and determination. This resilience is shared across generations — many elders continue to work in the fields and support the women managing households, while neighbours help one another as part of everyday life. Adaptation here is not an individual effort, but a collective way of living. Empowering these women and communities means recognising and strengthening this natural solidarity.

Migration, Mobility, and Attachment

Migration is everywhere in the stories I heard. Nearly all families have someone abroad, sending remittances that pay for education, repair houses, or buy food. Migration is often seen not as escape, but as a strategy for adaptation — a way to secure stability in uncertain times.

Yet, not everyone moves. Some choose to stay because of attachment to their land, identity, and community.
Elderly people care for ancestral homes, children dream of cities, and young adults live between these worlds — connected through phones, money transfers, and memories. But immobility can also be shaped by constraints — limited financial resources, family responsibilities, or a lack of alternatives — sometimes without being consciously recognised as such. These different realities show that immobility, too, can be both active and meaningful.

What We Can Learn from Okhaldhunga

My fieldwork reminded me that vulnerability is never only environmental.
It is social, economic, and political — shaped by who has access to information, education, or safe infrastructure. Addressing climate challenges therefore requires more than technology; it demands listening to local voices and integrating their experiences into policies and projects.

VIN’s approach — combining research, community engagement, and empowerment — is essential. Creating spaces for dialogue, raising awareness about environmental risks, and supporting women’s leadership can help communities strengthen their resilience to the changes already underway.

A Human and Academic Journey

Beyond research, my time in Nepal was a personal journey.
Sharing tea under the sky, learning Nepali words, or helping in the fields reminded me that adaptation is not just a concept — it is lived every day. These encounters gave meaning to my work and showed me that science and solidarity can meet on common ground.

This experience also strengthened my conviction that bridging research and humanitarian action is vital.
As our planet transforms, understanding how people experience and respond to change can help us build more just, empathetic, and sustainable societies.

A Message to Future Volunteers and Researchers

To those considering volunteering or research with VIN: go with humility, curiosity, and an open heart.
The field will challenge you, surprise you, and teach you more than any book can.
Listening to people’s stories — their fears, their hopes, their laughter — is the first step toward meaningful action.

In the hills of Okhaldhunga, I found not only data for my Master’s thesis but also a deeper understanding of what resilience truly means: a shared effort to live, adapt, and care for one another in a changing world.