Faces of the Himalayan Vegan Festival

What goes into making the biggest vegan event in the Himalayas happen

by Aditi Pokharel

More people are choosing veganism every day. The reasons behind this lifestyle shift can be different for different people. While some are doing it as a conscious choice to reduce their carbon footprints on the planet, others might have chosen it out of their love for animals. Whatever the reasons are, the end goal is the same, sharing this planet equally with all the creatures. To achieve this common goal, a group of people came together to organize the biggest ever vegan festival witnessed by the people of Nepal, The Himalayan Vegan Festival, set to happen in September 2022.

But have you ever wondered what goes behind making such a big celebration of veganism happen? Several factors come into play to bring together hundreds of vegans, vegetarians, and non-vegans to one place to share the idea of love and compassion for all living. However, one major factor is the committed individuals from different age groups, professions, and religious and ethnic backgrounds organizing this big event. Despite coming from very different walks of life, they have united to make this six-day-long event the biggest, most exciting celebration of veganism.

For over 18 years, Bishnu Prasad Neupane has been a passionate vegan, advocating for the benefits of a plant-based diet for people, animals, and the planet. He is President of Nepal Vegan Association, Vice-President of the World Vegan Organization (WVO), Nepal, and a social worker whose true passion lies in promoting various humanitarian projects in Nepal. These projects include compassionate living programs and associations with vegan advocacy campaigns and human welfare organizations such as the Manav Sewa Ashram, a human service shelter for the homeless.

While Neupane is looking forward excitedly to welcoming delegates and speakers from all over the world and celebrating the plant-based lifestyle with his fellow participants, Vegan activist and Director of Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages Himalayan Operations, Suresh P. Sharma, has already organized and led the first international vegan tour group in the country and has high hopes from the festival to make Nepal the world’s best vegan destination. Sharma is also Nepal chair of the WVO and co-founder of the Nepal Vegetarian Association and has traveled extensively in the region, leading hundreds of holistic tours.

Krishna Gurung, vegan activist and President of the Nepal Vegetarian Association, is another crucial coordinating team member of the Himalayan Vegan Festival. Hailing from an ethnic community popularly known for their meat-based cuisines, Gurung’s love for animals and commitment to a vegan lifestyle is simply remarkable. An excellent graphic designer by trade and passionate vegan activist by heart, Gurung is also a proud father of two vegan children who share their father’s dedication to promoting a vegan lifestyle in Nepal. He is also a partner in one of the first vegan restaurants in the Kathmandu Valley – Loving Heart located in Thamel. Gurung’s business partner at Loving Heart, Samu Yonjan, is another passionate vegan. A self-taught vegan chef, Yonjan’s vegan ice cream can beat any other popular non-vegan brands any day. Being a vegan food enthusiast herself, Yonjan is particularly excited for the Himalayan Vegan Festival’s cooking workshops and classes, all set to make even non-vegan people fall in love with her yummy vegan delicacies.

Another businessman by profession in the organizing committee, Vikram Singh Gurung, is a vegan and a spiritual person with immense love for animals. Gurung, a founding member of WVON and the vice-chairman of Nepal Vegan Association, hails from the Himalayan district of Mustang and mainly puts his efforts to bring awareness about the importance of a vegan lifestyle in reducing carbon footprints and preserving the environment. 

It’s not every day when you step into an office and see a Buddhist monk and a Hindu activist, wearing a sandalwood tika on his forehead, discussing how one becomes what they eat. This is the sight you can only witness at the office of the Himalayan Vegan Festival. Vikshu Ang Phuri Sherpa, Plant-based Health Advocate & Vegan Monk, has been a strict vegetarian for 22 years and recently became a raw foodist. Sharing his own life experience, Sherpa advocates the wonderful health benefits of following a plant-based diet and passionately promotes a vegetarian lifestyle to be embraced within Buddhist communities. The author of the book “Vegetarian Virtuous Food,” Sherpa promotes awareness of the benefits of plant-based diets through Buddhist teachings in communities and participates with many animal rights and vegetarian/vegan-related organizations and religious groups.

Likewise, Deepak Subedi, a Hindu vegan activist, shares his teachings on how Hindu Shantan Dharma promoted healthy living via a plant-based diet. Sharing how scientific evidence suggests the open meat market as a cause of the present COVID-19 pandemic, Subedi is hopeful to spread awareness about veganism in Shantan Hindu Dharma among today’s young generations to celebrate the Himalayan Vegan Festival.

Now you might be thinking that the festival is all about old preachers preaching about their lifestyle choice, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Many young vegan activists from Nepal make up the soul of this event. Young vegan activist Shova Bhujel has been a vegetarian for over ten years and a vegan for two years. Sharing a horrifying story from her childhood where she encountered cruelty and violence in the meat industry, animal lover Bhujel turned vegetarian but still felt she wasn’t doing enough for the voiceless animals. Even as a vegetarian, she felt that she was still participating in animal cruelty with the dairy industry. She embarked upon this journey of veganism and has never looked back. Bhujel hopes that the Himalayan Vegan Festival will help make young non-vegans aware of vegan brands such as VeganDairy Nepal that make equally delicious vegan alternatives of their favorite foods.

Like Bhujel, another young vegan activist and animal lover, Deepesh Shrestha, says that he too wants to see more non-vegan participants in the festival and share the idea of compassion and non-violence among them. A fan of vegan ice cream, Shrestha suggests people visit his favorite vegan restaurants in Kathmandu; Loving Heart and C-YA.

The Himalayan Vegan Festival will not be entirely about international delegates and vegan activists, and speakers discussing plant-based lifestyles in a conference room. Instead, it will have interactive workshops, cooking demos, and beauty and fashion features. It will also host a short film competition. The organizing committee of the festival itself isn’t devoid of creative influences. A devotee of Osho and a musician by profession, Swami Subhash Chandra, is also eagerly looking forward to the festival. Chandra has also composed and recorded a song titled “Timro Jastai” to raise compassion toward animals. He says his love for animals is why he chose to be vegan in the first place. Popular FM radio jockey and program host Rita Limbu is also a strong voice for the voiceless animals in Nepal. Vegetarian activist Limbu is the powerhouse of energy in the Himalayan Vegan Festival organizing committee. Involved in several animal welfare campaigns across the Kathmandu Valley, she holds no qualms about raising her voice against animal cruelty and, of course, making the best vegan momos. 

These people are a few voices among many who are working tirelessly to make the Himalayan Vegan Festival the most exciting Nepali and Bhutanese calendar event. The festival will take place in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal September 15-20, 2022. Initially set to take place in April, the festival was postponed due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant and the travel restrictions that followed. People from over 31 countries will be attending the festival to support the plant-based activists at the grassroots level, which would not have been possible amidst so many restrictions in mobility and gathering. 

There is no doubt about veganism making its place in the world’s various culinary cultures, be it in the east or the west. The vegan movement is gathering momentum everywhere, and there is a curiosity among people everywhere on what it brings to the table, literally. The Himalayan Vegan Festival aims to address this curiosity among non-vegans and celebrate veganism and a plant-based diet as the way forward to a better future for this planet. We can’t wait to see you there!