Runa Chaudhary – Founder and Board of Director

Runa Chaudhary is a founder and board of directors. She is an emerging and aspiring entrepreneur. She runs Tharu Ethnic Resort and Food Hub, an ethnic resort in Chitwan National Park. After graduating from Lancaster University UK in political economy, she started her business in hospitality areas. Besides that, she runs Tharu Community Women’s Hand which has been a hub for women’s learning center for entrepreneurs. She believes in hard work, innovative local ideas, and creative work. She is also promoting local foods in the tourism industry.

Sanjaya Mahato: Co-founder

Sanjaya Mahato is an entrepreneur as well as an educational professional. He is a co-founder of Tharu Community Women’s Hand and founder of Tharu Ethnic Resort and Food Hub and Jankole Tharu Community Homestay. He has been working with Tharu Indigenous people to engage them in cultural tourism. He believes that collective entrepreneurship can only help for communal economic upliftment. To support cultural tourism Mr. Mahato has been pushing Tharu women to use their indigenous knowledge to make traditional baskets to support their livelihood along with homestay business. Mr. Mahato is a visiting faculty at Kathmandu University, School of Public Policy and Management.  He also works for evidence-based policy-making processes in the Nepali Parliament. He is also an expert in ethnic tharu food and traditional housing design which are both climate-friendly and help promote local materials.