Pokhara Sub-metropolitan is the second largest and one of the most rapidly growing cities in the nation. Unfortunately, the western segment of Nepal on which this city is situated also lies on the Main Himalayan Thrust fault that has not ruptured for the past 500 years. Moreover, this region suffers from landslides, floods and lightning strikes that claim hundreds of lives each year. Due to its susceptibility to such natural events and the presence of a highly dense population, Western Nepal is now considered as one of the most natural disaster prone regions in the world. The 2C project aims to build a resilient Pokhara and a prepared Western Nepal in the face of disaster by creating, expanding and leveraging the power of an open tech and information ecosystem.

Immediately after the earthquake, many people were desperate for help while volunteers and organizations were scrambling to find out how to help effectively. The post-earthquake response was scattered and disorganized. In response, KLL developed QuakeMap.org: an online portal that connected earthquake survivors to relief efforts by bridging the information gap through means of telephone calls, sms, web, mobile app, emails and social media reports. 2,200 reports from QuakeMap.org were used as first source of information by volunteer groups and response organizations including the Nepal Army.

While traditional mapping agencies target mapping needs of big organizations and expert users, everyday needs of map data for small organizations and citizens at large remain unmet. Moreover, conventional way of map making do not leverage the local knowledge of people about their own surroundings. Kathmandu Living Labs is leading a digital movement to create a free, wiki-style map of Nepal which is free to view, edit, download and even reuse.

Despite being predominantly an agricultural country, most of Nepal’s youth aged 10 to 24 - a staggering 33% of the total population - refrain from agriculture as their preferred profession in countrysides. Two major issues are widely reported to exist - lack of access to information on agriculture; and lack of visibility of their agro-products and access to market. Kathmandu Living Labs aimed to create a scalable model of involving local students, teachers, small farmers’ cooperatives in understanding, observing, mapping and showcasing their agricultural products and processes with an aim to develop their technical know-how and passion towards agriculture.

The government sector in Nepal is criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability, and low citizen engagement. In this project with Kathmandu Municipality Ward 7, KLL helped revamp local governance using crowd-sourced mapping, open data and mobile technology. For example, this platform enables Ward 7 citizens to publicly view ward level development programs and projects on an open, interactive map, and it empowers citizens to report their grievances such as potholes and illegal dumping of garbage: drawing the Ward office’s attention for action.