The power of the pencil: Narinder Sagoo visits LP4Y in Nepal

Foster + Partners’ Art Director, Narinder Sagoo MBE, recently visited ‘Life Project 4 Youth’ centres in Nepal and ran two drawing workshops for the young women who use them.  

LP4Y is a worldwide movement – made up of 17 organisations across 14 countries – focused on a shared goal: the social and professional inclusion of excluded young adults from extreme poverty. The project supports young adults in their search for stable jobs and decent living conditions.  

As an ambassador for the charity, Narinder shares sketchbook pages, photographs, and thoughts from his time in Nepal.

Last month, I flew 4489 miles from London to Kathmandu – with a bag full of Foster + Partners’ sketchbooks and pencils for the young women who use LP4Y’s centres in Nepal. Although somewhat apprehensive about spending a week away from my daughters, I was excited to experience a new place, meet new people, and learn more about the charity’s transformative work. 

LP4Y opens doors to those most excluded from society. In Nepal, the centre helps young women – between the age of 17 to 24 – to develop their independence by learning new skills and gaining employment. 

I was welcomed warmly by the wonderful LP4Y team and the inspiring young people, who visit the centre in Kathmandu. The centre has an ‘ecosystem’ team, who act as mentors to the young women; a learning and development team, who help them prepare for interviews and assist with job searches; an office team, who enable the day-today running of the centre; and a communications team, who help spread the word about the project. I was also lucky enough to meet and spend time with Laure and John Delaporte, who founded the charity in 2009 and have created a lifeline for these young women.  

My sketches of the Kathmandu centre, with inspirational quotes written on the walls. 

As part of my visit, I led a two-hour drawing workshop for the young women who visit the centre. The workshop was designed to build their confidence – and encourage them to use sketching as a tool for their personal and professional development. Initially, participants were asked to sit in pairs and sketch one another, whilst discussing their plans for the future. The next step was to depict their friend’s aspirations alongside their portrait. It was wonderful to hear about their dreams and ambitions – and see the young women embracing this mode of communicating through drawing.

My sketches of Kathmandu, including Durbar Square and the Swoyambhu Mahachaitya temple. For me, drawing has always been a form of mindfulness in the midst of a busy city.

The second part of my trip was spent at the LP4Y Green Village, on the hilly outskirts of Kathmandu. This centre is made up of an amazing collection of existing and new buildings – made from rammed earth – which were designed by a local architect. The young women live and work together in the village for three months – maintaining the sustainable development, growing their own food, making their own furniture, and running a restaurant. They are developing transferable skills that they will have for life.

My second drawing workshop at the Green Village also centred on visualising and discussing ambitions for the future through drawing. This time the young women had the opportunity to stand up and present their sketches at the end of the session, which they did with great enthusiasm.

A diary entry about my visit to the Green Village – written as I travelled back to London for Vaisakhi – and a sketch of the village in plan.

I have loved drawing since childhood, for the fact that it allows us to imagine all sorts of possibilities for ourselves and others. Young people’s lives can be complex – and it’s my belief that by expressing themselves through drawing it allows them to envisage their futures with hope and clarity.

Thank you to Solus, who sponsored Narinder’s trip to Nepal.