About the Foundation

a) South Asia Foundation-Nepal

South Asia Foundation-Nepal (SAF-Nepal) is a registered, non-profit development organization committed to working with communities at the grassroots while also shaping policies that support sustainable development. Its goal is to make development more inclusive and to strengthen regional cooperation across South Asia.

Founded in 2012 in Kathmandu in the presence of Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal’s first President, SAF-Nepal has since worked in over 20 districts across the country. Its projects have ranged from supporting artisans and dairy farmers with hands-on training, marketing opportunities, entrepreneurship development and financial guidance, to helping them form cooperatives and self-help groups. After the devastating 2015 earthquake, the Foundation also played an active role in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

SAF-Nepal works in close collaboration with the South Asia Foundation https://www.southasiafoundation.net/(established in 1991 in Varanasi, India) to build people-to-people connections across the region through dialogues, workshops, joint initiatives and cultural exchanges.

b) The South Asia Foundation (SAF)

The South Asia Foundation (SAF) is a non-political, not-for-profit development organization working across the South Asian region to empower marginalized communities and create sustainable livelihoods-especially for women and socially most challenged communities. With its registered office in Varanasi, India, and headquarters in New Delhi, SAF partners with policymakers to shape effective interventions and advocates strongly for deeper regional cooperation. Over the years, it has launched several development initiatives across India and beyond, helping create employment opportunities and driving grassroots change through collaboration, hands-on training, building and enhancing capacity and shared learning.

c) Mission

Together, both the organisations promote grassroots development projects that encourage local participation and youth engagement-whether by strengthening artisan and farmer-led models of sustainable development or by creating vibrant spaces for regional collaboration and learning.

SAF and SAF-Nepal’s Mission

  • Women empowerment
  • Promoting arts and crafts and cultural exchange programmes
  • Policy intervention to enhance the livelihood of the target beneficiaries
  • Employment generation in dairy and farming sectors through cooperatives
  • Conflict resolution and building international relations and strengthening regional cooperation

Women Empowerment

As part of its larger mission, South Asia Foundation-Nepal established the South Asia Centre for Peace Research and Sustainable Development (SACPRSD) on October 02, 2024, in collaboration with Lumbini Buddhist University (LBU). The SACPRSD, LBU (as it is called) announced the PGD Programme on January 26, 2025 at Lumbini Buddhist University.

The Foundation believes that Gautam Buddha is the symbol of the South Asian face of global peace and human integrity. Inspired by his teachings, the Centre envisions Lumbini as a vibrant and globally connected space for peace research— an open space for learning, dialogue, and reflection. It seeks to demonstrate how Buddha’s teachings continue to resonate powerfully in the contemporary world and to share his message as a path toward a more harmonious and compassionate future.

Carrying forward this legacy, the Centre explores how Buddha’s message of peaceful coexistence, compassion, and human integrity can guide today’s world towards peacebuilding and sustainable development. But it’s not only about ideas; it’s about action oriented learning process. SACPRSD, LBU offers opportunities for students and young researchers to engage in entrepreneurship development, to study models of economic cooperation and financial inclusion, and to connect with peers across borders to strengthen larger regional connectivity.