"Kanooni Bodh", loosely translating into "knowledge or understanding (bodh) of the law (kanoon)", is a project on which the cohort worked collectively.
Through this project, we aimed to equip laypersons with legal knowledge that is useful in daily life by assessing their specific needs in collaboration with local governmental bodies.

Since 2016, the Nepalese government has given local bodies the power to settle disputes through mediation. The Local Judicial Committee, in particular, has this ability. For this project, we will be working with the Judicial Committee of Sunkoshi Village to assess the needs of residents, and design awareness and training sessions accordingly.

The project primarily focused on two actors- the Judicial Committee and the residents. Firstly, since the local committees are constituted by elected representatives who are not necessarily legal experts, we conducted training and informative sessions about relevant legal matters.

Secondly, we identified prevalent legal issues submitted for mediation with the committee's help, and designed awareness sessions for residents to nip the bud of legal disputes. We looked into issues of marriage and divorce, property, special needs, land encroachment, and domestic violence.

We furthered legal accessibility in the region using a need-based approach through in-person awareness programs and disseminating legal information through brochures. The project's impact was measured by observing the difference between the Judicial Committee and the residents' approach to relevant legal issues before and after the project.

The objective of the collaboration with local personnel is to provide continuity to the project even after the fellowship ends.