Repair as revolution: turning e-waste into skills, jobs and a different way of thinking

Nepal: How Doko Recyclers is building a repair economy and mindset

What if the most revolutionary thing you could do for the planet was fix something instead of throwing it away?

In Nepal, that revolution is already underway.

In Kathmandu, Doko Recyclers – Nepal’s leading e-waste management company – and the Repair Revolution Workshop & Training (RRWT) programme have processed an average of 250 kilograms of e-waste per day since 2021, recovering 80–90% of materials. But the real innovation lies in what happens before recycling: repair. RRWT trains youth, students and waste workers to fix electronics rather than discard them, thus building a pipeline of green skills that connects informal workers to formal employment, and grassroots action to national policy.

“Reusing and repairing are revolutionary acts, because they break the consumption cycle. They ask people to slow down, be present, and take control of what they already have, instead of constantly chasing something new.” 

Ashma Basnyat, Co-founder, Doko Recyclers

The European Training Foundation (ETF) is delighted to count this initiative as one of the finalists for the Green Skills Award 2026. Read on to find out why.

RRWT operates on multiple levels. At the community level, it offers hands-on repair workshops where participants learn to fix common household electronics – kettles, heaters, multiplug extensions – shifting the perception of e-waste from trash to repairable resources. At the vocational level, Doko co-developed Nepal’s first e-waste processor curriculum, which is certified by Nepal’s Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). This curriculum covers 390 course hours, and embeds repair and circular economy skills into the national TVET system.