KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 21

The Himalayan Vegan Festival-2022 has been scheduled to be held in April.

Kathmandu and Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, have been chosen as venues for organising the festival which is said to be the first and historic of its kind in the region.

The festival to be organised by the World Vegan Organisation aims to promote 'ethical living' with a vegan lifestyle and create public awareness about it, said World Vegan Organisation Nepal Chair Suresh Prasad Sharma. The festival will be held in Kathmandu from April 15-17 followed by April 18-20 in Thimphu.

As Sharma shared, it is not mandatory to be a vegan or a vegetarian to be eligible for participating in the event. Anyone else wishing to be part of the festival is heartily welcomed to the event, he said. The entry is free.

According to the Himalayan Vegan Organising Committee, over 100 international vegan speakers, distinguished guests and personalities are expected to join the festival.

The festival will feature vegan food stalls and consumer products. Likewise, live band music and dance, demonstrations by international and local vegan chefs, film exhibition, free cookery training, fitness and fashion workshop, training in preparation of plant-based milk and mock meat are among the highlights of the festival.

Highlighting the significance of the festival, rights activist, journalist and vegan Prakash Ajaat said practice and promotion of vegan lifestyle was necessary for good treatment of all living beings in the planet. Defining the vegan movement from the rights based approach, he argued,' The planet is for all, not just for humans. Animals too deserve to be loved and cared for. They need good treatment. A version of this article appears in the print on September 22 2021, of The Himalayan Times.