Kashmir’s youth look beyond tourism for sustainable livelihoods

Srinagar: The Civic Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), in collaboration with the Watson Institute and Western Union Foundation, held a regional roundtable in Srinagar to develop a youth leadership fellowship focused on sustainable livelihoods, community-led enterprises and local economic development in Kashmir.

The consultation brought together civil society representatives, academics, journalists, activists, artists, historians and young people from Srinagar, Bandipora and Kupwara to contribute ideas for the proposed CIVIC Youth Leadership Fellowship.

The one-year initiative aims to equip young Kashmiris with participatory leadership skills, conflict mediation techniques and practical tools to address community challenges. It will focus on developing self-sustaining, locally rooted enterprises rather than relying solely on temporary grants or tourism-based economic models.

Sajad Rasool, director of CRDF and a fellow at the Watson Institute, said the initiative seeks to connect youth leadership with economic opportunities while protecting Kashmir’s environmental and cultural heritage.

“Young Kashmiris need permanent, community-rooted institutions,” Rasool said, adding that the fellowship aims to help young people build sustainable livelihoods while protecting water bodies, forests and other natural resources and preserving local languages, oral histories and traditional crafts.

During the three-hour session, participants conducted asset-mapping exercises to identify ways of converting local resources, cultural heritage and community knowledge into economic opportunities.

The discussions highlighted challenges including environmental degradation, the loss of traditional architecture, biomass burning and the declining use of local languages.

Participants identified four priority areas for youth-led enterprises and capacity-building initiatives: sustainable value chains and agriculture, environmental and waste management solutions, cultural and artisanal heritage, and skills development.

According to CRDF, the proposed fellowship will also explore a community-governed reinvestment model under which revenue generated by youth-led micro-enterprises would support local development priorities and help fund stipends for future fellowship cohorts.

The recommendations, governance proposals and resource maps developed during the consultation will inform the curriculum of the fellowship’s inaugural cohort, the organisation said.

CRDF is a Kashmir-based non-profit organisation working on youth leadership, civic engagement and grassroots economic innovation in underserved communities.