Sonam Yangzom

Sonam Yangzom is a first-generation learner, a Pestalozzi Scholar, and a development professional from an agro-pastoralist family in Pin Valley, Spiti. She holds a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Anthropology (minor in Environmental Studies) from Ashoka University, where she researched social inequity and traditional dry toilets. She has led forest restoration, circular economy, and waste management initiatives across the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

Her work spans grassroots organizations such as Goonj, research collaborations with international universities including the University of Minnesota and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and media collaborations with BBC Radio. Currently, as Assistant Project Manager at Waste Warriors Society, she co-leads the Dharamshala team, working across samaaj, sarkaar, and bazaar to catalyze systemic change in waste management in the IHR.  Across her work, Sonam seeks to bridge indigenous knowledge, public systems, and community-led action to build more equitable and ecologically resilient futures. Coming from the Bodh tribe of Spiti Valley, her indigenous background drives her passion for circularity and sustainable living in sync with nature.

Her NYCC project (Project Ri-Tsang) is rooted in love, respect and belonging to one’s homeland. Through it, Sonam aims to address the issue of waste mismanagement in Spiti Valley with necessary institutional and individual capacity building and liaisoning across stakeholders. She aims to build and nurture a climate conscious youth collective that will work at the intersection of policy, indigenous knowledge systems and grassroot data to devise contextually relevant systemic solutions of solid waste management in eco-fragile Spiti Valley.