Chhaya Namchu

Chhaya has been working on gender, livelihoods, climate action, and policy advocacy spanning national and international platforms, including Urban20 under Group of Twenty (G20), where she developed gender-responsive urban frameworks.

She worked at the United Nations (UN) Women in India, facilitating the partnership with National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, India’s policy think tank, under the Global Mission LiFE initiative.

She also worked with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India on Urban 20 and in strategising the design and plan for the establishment of the Centre for Sustainable Urban Livelihoods under the ministry.

Prior to this role, she facilitated closed-door discussions with Indian Members of Parliament on youth unemployment, livelihoods, carbon markets, and climate policies. She has also previously worked with ICIMOD (2016-2018), conducting research on gendered climate vulnerability, transboundary water governance, and climate adaptation. Much of her work is inspired by her life and Lepcha heritage, which is deeply embedded in nature and community. She has worked with Indigenous tribal communities in the eastern Himalayas, designing livelihood diversification models, microeconomic plans, and traditional knowledge-based solutions.

Chhaya has experience using storytelling as an effective tool to engage with Indigenous communities, including her own.

She has contributed to projects with the Living Water Museum and Oxfam International, where she documented the stories of 26 women leaders and water champions across the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween River basins.

She has completed master’s degree in Women’s Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.