Contact Form

GNDR logo
  • Français
  • Español
Join GNDR Search
  • Resources
  • News
  • Network
    • Become a member
    • Community Platform
    • National and regional representatives
    • Find a member
  • Impact
    • Advocacy
    • Views from the Frontline
    • Community-based disaster risk management
    • Local leadership
    • Making displacement safer
    • Stories
    • Coherence in disaster risk management
    • Inclusive development
  • About
    • Overview
    • Strategy 2020-25
    • Annual report and accounts
    • Governance
    • Secretariat
    • Our supporters
    • Work for us
    • Contact us
  • Resources
  • News
  • Network
    • Become a member
    • Community Platform
    • National and regional representatives
    • Find a member
  • Impact
    • Advocacy
    • Views from the Frontline
    • Community-based disaster risk management
    • Local leadership
    • Making displacement safer
    • Stories
    • Coherence in disaster risk management
    • Inclusive development
  • About
    • Overview
    • Strategy 2020-25
    • Annual report and accounts
    • Governance
    • Secretariat
    • Our supporters
    • Work for us
    • Contact us

Impact

Women lead earthquake preparedness in Nepal

In Thankot, Nepal, women are taking the lead in making their homes and communities earthquake-ready.

When we wanted to reduce the risk from disasters for the Thankot community in Nepal, we decided to partner with GNDR on their Frontline programme.

The programme involved local risk profiling and the preparation of participatory action plans based on the risk profiles identified by the community. People identified earthquakes as their top threat and training in non-structural mitigation (NSM) was one of the priority actions. In simple terms, NSM is fixing things around homes to avoid getting hurt if an earthquake strikes.

Focused on the most vulnerable groups, the Frontline process was designed in such a way that it did not only facilitate women to find out their top five threats but also the potential solutions to those threats.

Leveraging previous knowledge, the women’s network of the municipality started to apply their learning in their own kitchens and bedrooms by fastening cupboards, frames, freezers, or gas cylinders, to reduce their own non-structural vulnerability. However, they did not stop there. Women started to conduct NSM works in their community and even beyond their locality. The initiative has been a step towards achieving a safer community through safer homes, safer schools and safer medical centres.

Traditionally, women in the area only do sewing and craft works. Supported and encouraged by their family members, the experience has boosted their confidence and improved their social recognition and respect as community mobilisers. They are probably the foremost skilled women’s group working on non-structural earthquake mitigation in the country. Empowered with important new technical skills they are now engaged in new income-generating activities. This has enabled them to play new leadership roles in their community as they are actively contributing to mitigating the risk of earthquakes.

The initiative has helped to translate and transfer technical information to the household level. In turn, this has led to a transformational change in this society, and credibility for working in DRR has been enhanced.

Photos: Bimala securing furniture at the Thankot Health Post in Chandragiri, a suburb of Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit:Lambert Coleman.

Become a member

Applying for membership is easy. Eligible organisations just need to complete our online application form and upload a couple of documents that confirm the organisation they work for.

If your organisation is already a GNDR member you can simply register yourself as an individual. We will then link you to your organisation and you can access all benefits.

Join GNDR

Sign up to our newsletter

Be the first to find out about upcoming webinars, member opportunities, the latest news and stories, plus jobs and new publications. Our regular e-newsletter is published quarterly and is available in English, French and Spanish.

Sign up

Our supporters

Advocacy Strategy 2020-25 Work for us Contact us

Share this:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Connect with us
  • Resources
  • News
  • Network
  • Impact
  • About
  • Sitemap

©2023 Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction. Registered Charity Number 1141471. Company Limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 07374358, Registered Office 8 Waldegrave Rd, Teddington TW11 8HT

  • Privacy policy
  • Safeguarding policy
  • Open information policy
  • Code of conduct
  • Whistleblowing policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Settings to manage your preferences.

Read our privacy policy here.

GNDR logo
Privacy Overview

We use cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies, but opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Read our privacy policy here.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie are enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Read our cookie notice here.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Analytics Cookies

These cookies allow us to analyse your use of the site to evaluate and improve our performance. They may also be used to provide a better customer experience on this site.

Read our cookie notice here.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie Notice

To find out more about the cookies we use on this site, please visit our Cookie Notice.