Buddha Food System
Terraced organic farms in the hills of Nepal at golden hour

Founder

Sanjaya Mahato

Co-founder & COO — L1 / L2 network scale-up

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Sanjaya Mahato

L1 / L2 network scale-up

Co-founder & COO

Languages: Nepali, Tharu, English, basic Polish and French

Dr. Sanjaya Mahato is a political sociologist from Chitwan and the Executive Director of the Nepal Indigenous Development Society (NIDS) since 2022. He holds a PhD in Political Sociology from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and an MA from Lancaster University.

His research covers forest governance, community forest user groups, social protection, women's inclusion in local institutions and cooperatives. He has been a correspondent researcher on forest governance for the Paris School of Economics since 2018, field research coordinator for the University of Copenhagen's MSc in Global Development, and visiting faculty in the Master of Public Policy and Governance at Kathmandu University School of Management.

He has worked with the ILO in Geneva on the evaluation of social protection and public finance in Nepal, with WWF USA and the University of Wisconsin–Madison on livelihoods and forest conservation, and as a research fellow at the CNRS Centre for Himalayan Studies in Paris.

At Buddha Food System he brings what the cluster network needs: a deep understanding of how community institutions and cooperatives are governed, and the research discipline to design, survey and evaluate them.

Role
Co-founder & COO
Based in
Chitwan, Nepal
Education
PhD Political Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
Also
Executive Director, NIDS

At Buddha Food System

  1. 01

    L1 and L2 cluster network

    Builds the cooperative clusters and regional hubs, from collection points to warehouses. Suggested role, to be confirmed.

  2. 02

    Cooperative governance

    Designs how L1 cooperatives are run, how members decide and how the commission flows back to farmers.

  3. 03

    Research and evaluation

    Brings survey design, field research and data analysis (STATA, SPSS) to measure farmer income and inclusion.

  4. 04

    Institutions and partners

    Connects BFS with universities, community forest groups, indigenous organisations and public programmes.

Path

  1. 2009–2013

    MA English Literature, Tribhuvan University; Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences, Nepa School; MA Political Sociology, Lancaster University.

  2. 2016

    Research coordinator on livelihoods and forest conservation for WWF USA with the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

  3. 2016–2017

    Research fellow, CNRS Centre for Himalayan Studies, Paris.

  4. 2017–2019

    Researcher at Social Science Baha on the politics of social protection in Nepal.

  5. 2018

    PhD in Political Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Research grant from the Korea Democracy Foundation.

  6. 2018–2025

    Correspondent researcher, forest governance, Paris School of Economics.

  7. 2019–2024

    Field research coordinator, University of Copenhagen; visiting faculty, Kathmandu University School of Management.

  8. 2022–today

    Executive Director, Nepal Indigenous Development Society (NIDS).

  9. 2023

    National consultant for the ILO, Geneva, on social protection and public finance in Nepal.

  10. Today

    Co-founder of Buddha Food System, leading the L1 and L2 cluster network.

Expertise

CooperativesCommunity forest governanceSocial protectionGender and inclusionResearch designSurveys and field researchData analysis (STATA, SPSS)Public policy

Next profile

Ramesh Tamang

Agronomy & Crop Planning Lead