Prince William speaks to Nepalese recovery workers

Prince William spoke with Build Up Nepal, a 2024 Earthshot Finalist, last week to learn about their work in the recovery effort following the catastrophic landslides and flash floods.

Prince William spoke with 2024 Earthshot Prize Finalist, Build Up Nepal, last Friday. The Prince had the opportunity to hear about their work as they help in the recovery effort following the catastrophic landslides and flash floods that have left thousands of people missing or dead.

During the video call last week, the Prince of Wales heard from those on the ground about the scale of the disaster and how the team behind Build Up Nepal has supported recovery efforts. Build Up Nepal, which helps people in towns and rural areas build affordable, eco-friendly, disaster-resilient homes, is preparing to deploy its model at an urgent scale to help communities recover. This includes building durable, temporary shelters, establishing temporary learning centres and rebuilding safe schools for displaced children.

The Prince spoke with Björn Soderberg, Co-founder and Managing Director of Build Up Nepal, who has lived in Nepal since 2005; Shweta Sijapati, Partnerships Manager of Build Up Nepal, who is mobilising partners in and outside of the country to help support the immediate relief work; as well as Aashish Gautam, Program Manager and Civil Engineer, Community Impact Nepal (BUN’s partner).

Alongside the devastating loss of life, around 7,500 homes as well as entire villages and towns were wiped out on 26 August. Heartbreakingly, these are the same communities affected by the 2015 earthquake.

Build Up Nepal was a Finalist for the 2024 Earthshot Prize — founded by Prince William and incubated in The Royal Foundation in 2020 for a year before becoming an independent organisation. The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental award designed to identify, back and celebrate groundbreaking leadership in environmental action.