KTK-BELT studio

ABOUT US

KTK-BELT, INC. is a non-profit organization that is tax-exempt in the United States under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3). KTK-BELT, INC. was registered in the state of New York on August 7, 2014, and possesses the Employment Identification Number (EIN) 47-2166334. It maintains offices in New York and Nepal and complies with laws in both jurisdictions.

OUR MISSION

KTK-BELT’s mission is to catalyze new models of biodiversity conservation and environmental learning in eastern Nepal. It works with teachers, farmers, youth, and women to create a ‘Vertical University’ that will span from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Sanctuary (67 m.) to Kanchenjunga (8,586 m.), the third tallest peak in the world. The idea is to give a framework to local farmers to become ‘professors’ of the Vertical University, to share their indigenous knowledge while also physically conserving threatened species and landscapes.

OUR APPROACH

KTK-BELT works in concert with nonprofit cooperatives called ‘Learning Grounds.’ Each Learning Grounds, governed by a diverse local Board and monitored by the Social Welfare Council (SWC) of the Nepal Government, owns its own biodiversity-rich conservation land base, which it holds in perpetuity in order to prevent ecosystem fragmentation and deforestation. Youth Fellows and BELT Farmers, trained and supported by KTK-BELT staff, run and administer the Learning Grounds and build capacity across the 8,000-meter vertical gradient through peer-to-peer, upstream-downstream collaboration.