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Mithe Kumari Moktan. Credit - Asmita Pandey.

From cowherd to conservation campaigner

65 year old Mithe Kumari Moktan, an Indigenous woman residing in Makwanpur district, is a testament to how people at the margins can rise and contribute to the community efforts if they are equipped with essential skills and knowledge, along with substantial resources. Moktan was earning a livelihood through livestock rearing and other agricultural activities which are primarily dependent on forest resources. She probably had never imagined that the conservation awareness training she received from ZSL Nepal’s pangolin project could become a turning point of her life. The training introduced her to a new perspective on conservation, which led her to conservation with a strong sense of self-confidence and community ownership. Consequently, she became a prominent voice in pangolin conservation advocacy. Her remarkable contribution to pangolin conservation was gradually recognised, and she started receiving invitations to participate in the national events and conferences related to pangolin conservation.

”Although a new experience in a leadership role was challenging, it also became an opportunity for me to help enhance the capacity of other women in the community”

This was just the beginning of her journey as a conservation campaigner. Eventually, she started leading the Alternative Livelihood Group in her community as a chairperson. ”Although a new experience in a leadership role was challenging, it also became an opportunity for me to help enhance the capacity of other women in the community,” Moktan says. She realised that she had something valuable to offer to conservation efforts at a national level when she was invited by the Divisional Forest Office, Makwanpur, to take part as a panellist in a discussion on World Pangolin Day. Moktan was asked to share the story of how she went from local community member to pangolin conservation champion demonstrating how individuals can create impact in society. She shared a stage, as one of the panellists, with the Chairperson of the Makwanpur District Coordination Committee and national pangolin experts. As an Indigenous woman from a humble background, believing in herself and gathering the courage to claim that her opinion also matters, was not an easy process. However, as she started receiving appreciation for her contribution, she overcame the self-doubts, and developed and established a new identity in the community. It is almost a surreal experience how this project drastically changed her life from solely relying on forest and farm-based activities for a livelihood to building a new identity of an empowered conservation campaigner.

Written by Asmita Pandey. For more information on this Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund Main project IWT099, led by Zoological Society of London (ZSL), please click here.