Promoting Self-Reliance of Low Caste Women in Rural Nepal

Khanigaun VDC Limithana VDC Thanamola VDC Parbat Districts, Kingdom of Nepal

October 2001- February 2002

Revival of Smiles!
Low caste women who have participated in project since three years ago. Former times, they were discriminating each other. However, through participating in project activities, they mention they feel happiness when they are working for village development and living together. Now, one person has started to think about all, and all have started to think about one person.

Village Scenery
1. This is Gahate area of Khanigaun Village Development Committee (VDC) where low caste people reside. 20 years ago, the village was covered with abundant greenery. However, deforestation has taken place leaving only few trees left. Especially, there is less greenery in this photograph, since it was taken in December, dry season.
2. Narayan Bazar
The nearest local market is a 30 minute walk from the village where villagers can sell vegetables and purchase daily necessaries. The varieties of goods have increased, after a road has been opened to the village.
3. View of the Himalayas from the village
The magnificent view of the Himalaya Mountains can be seen from the village. The highest one is the famous "Machapuchure (Fishtail Mountain)". When looking up to it, the heart and soul is purified.
4. Labor for farming
In the village, the labor for farming is done by handling livestock. Rice straw after rice is harvested is a critical resource for the village. It is mainly utilized as fodder for livestock in the dry season. The photograph shows cattle trampling on threshed rice straw making it easy to preserve.
5. "Festivals (Tihar)"
Tihar, a festival which is one of the pleasures for villagers, take place in the midst of the busy harvesting season. This is the next largest festival to Dasain, and sisters give "Tika" (colored powder put on foreheads of a person as a blessing) to brothers.
6. This time, Shakuntala, wife of one of ICA Parbat staff, specially gave me tika
Food Life in village
7. "Harvesting finger-millet"
Finger-millet and corn is the major crop planted where there is no irrigation in the village. It is the women's work to harvest these crops. Low caste women who do not have farming land come to high caste peoples houses for work. They are paid 50 Rs per day.
8. "Threshing finger-millet"
Boys threshing finger-millet. Harvested finger-millet is threshed by beating with a stick in front of each house. Livestock, such are cows are used if they are kept at the house. They are made to step on the finger-millet to thresh it.
9. The threshed finger-millet is grinded to flour by a stone mortar. Villagers eat it by kneading this flour into dumplings.
10. The harvested corn is dried, and becomes a preservative food for the dry season. In the photograph, the village woman is removing the dried corn from the core.
11. "Village meals"
Meals are cooked in a typical cook stove since there is no gas in the village. However, owing to the structure of the house and stove, the ventilation is bad and smoke fills up in the house. This makes a very difficult situation for village women who cook every meal.
12. "Village snacks"
Roti (bread without yeast) is baked by using wheat flour or finger-millet flour. In the photograph, wheat is kneaded to make it.
Sustainable Agriculture training
13. Preperation for training
Meetings were held with ICA Parbat staff and Mr. Govinda Timsina, who is the Limithana VDC Chairman, before conducting trainings. He requested us to encourage full participation from the villagers in project activities. Moreover, budget was promised to be summed up from Limithana village for training. (photograph left end Mr. Govinda Timsina , Limithana VDC chairman Gobindatimushina)
14. "Training Participants of Khanigaun VDC"
15 new participants in addition to participants until last year were trained together. Participants until last year chose the new participants, who are friends and neighbors of theirs. From this time, the training was extended to high caste people and men also
15. To encourage villagers to be actively involved in training as much as possible, the junior training assistant of agriculture, residing in the village, is also asked to take a role as one of the trainers. Although he is from the high caste, he gives out training to low caste people with pleasure. (Local trainer, Mr. Hems Sarma Tiwari)
16. In this training, not only the junior training assistant of agriculture but also some villagers acted alternatively as trainers. Sustainable agriculture technologies were shared respectively based on experiences of each other.
17. During the training, participants until last year cooperated together and became key persons in the practice of farm work. This gave them confidence, which ended the training in a big success moreover than sustainable agriculture technologies.
18. Lot of practices was incorporated into the training so as not to become a one-sided lecture. In the farm work practices, we bore in mind that all members touch and feel the soil.
19. Many villagers requested orange growing be included in the training. We took them to one of the progressive farmers in the village who is already practicing orange farming. Detail methods of managing orange trees were given practically.
20. "Gesture game"
Many games are taken in to the training. Usually, village women do not have the opportunity to participate in whole day trainings. Games are indispensable to encourage and refresh minds of participants.
21. Poetry was read voluntarily from participants during the training in Limithana VDC. Importance of vegetables and nutritional balance, etc. was plainly sung.
22. 3-4 male participants also joined each training. Women's kitchen gardens have extended greatly by the men coming to be interested in vegetable growing. (Photograph central Mr. Bion Regmi, junior technical assistant of agriculture)
23. "Cooking snacks for training"
Snacks are provided during training. A lot of instant foods were served last year. However, to make eating vegetables a part of food life, we advised that one vegetable dish be prepared every day.
24. Training closing ceremony
In the training closing ceremony, congratulatory addresses were given from Limithana VDC chairman, vice chairman etc., and a small dance was done by some participants.
Follow up
25. "Thanamoula VDC"
Follow-up in the village is indispensable. We visit each participantŐs home to see the management situation of the kitchen garden, whether the seeds distributed at the training have germinated or not etc.
26. "Limithana VDC"
Mr. Ananda Poudel, the local junior technical agriculture assistant of agriculture also joined follow-ups. After discussing with villagers about the problems of the management situation of vegetables, we explained implication methods how to deal with it. In the photograph, Mr. Ananda Poudel is explaining methods of exterminating pests from eggplants.
27. "Khanigaun VDC"
Kitchen gardens have been extended at each household. Before participating in the training Ms. Kesha did not grow vegetables at all. However, 3 years ago she started a small kitchen garden. This year, the area of her kitchen garden has become even twice or more. She has made fencing around the kitchen garden to prevent livestock from invading.
28. "Limithana VDC"
A villager, who came to grow vegetables, after participating in last years training. She is from low caste and does not have a lot of farming land. With cooperation with neighbors, she is managing a kitchen garden.
29. "Thanamoula VDC"
After his mother participated in last years training, he became interested in vegetable growing. Now he grows vegetables and sells it to the nearby town. Kitchen gardens in the villages have been extended by participation of men.
30. "A progressive farmer in Limithana VDC"
Ten years ago he was a school teacher. However, he could not make his living so he decided to do farming. Now he supports himself by selling vegetables and eating crops which he grows on his land.
Indigenous Agriculture Techniques
31. Villagers who do not own land have planted eggplants in the flower bed of the house.
32. Since there is always lack of water in the village, collection and utilization of wastewater to kitchen gardens is promoted
33. "Hotbed nursery"
A hotbed nursery is an effective technology since the temperature during day and night is low at the project area. This has been introduced three years ago and was practiced at a villager's house this year.
Workshop and Research
34. "Evaluation workshop and attitude survey"
This was conducted on 5-7 families at each time during follow-ups. The attitude survey was made in a way that villagers think mainly about the changes in the village and how they want to build the future.
35. Trainings are mainly organized for low caste women. However, opinions from men are also asked. Although some of them show understanding towards women, the general understanding is still very little.
36. During the training evaluation workshop, corn and beans which are familiar to villagers were used, since many villagers are not able to read and write. Corn was put on each topics and the ranking was done.
Eco-club
37. In the eco-club training both, sociological and agricultural/environmental approaches were taken to enable participants to think about the ideal way of the village. As a new activity "Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)" was introduced newly this year.
38. Beauty of PRA was fully implicated, not only planning on the desk, but getting practically involved in the process. Participants conducted a transect walk around the village, observing and hearing from villagers. Five resource, material, economical, social, natural and persons were paid high attention during research.
39. "Map making"
Participants made a village map based on the materials by discovered during the transect walk. Afterwards, participants discussed what is necessary for the village and what they can do to achieve it.
40. "Group presentations"
The group leader from each group presented what the group had discussed while making the map. All groups mentioned that there are many resources in the village. Moreover, they are not utilized properly, so they want to use it effectively.
41. All the members of ecoculb cooperated to make compost. With full of the participation of sll members, Mr. Govinda Prasad, teacher of Limithana High School, led the position.
42. Farm work sessions took plade at the demonstration farm, which was made in the play ground of Limithana High School. This is our time! Boys spearhead the work with joy.
Demonstrtion Farm
43. This year, a demonstration farm and nurcery for Agroforestry seedlings were in grown together with eco-club members, at the play ground of Limithana High school. A new school building the Maoist (Communist groups) have scribbled on, can be seen the upper side of the field.
Irrigation tank
44. "Irrigation tank set up
Their taps are very far form where the majority of low caste people reside the village. Low caste women need to spend hours to fetch water every day. To answer the needs irrigation tanks and pipes were set in the area where low caste peopleŐs residence.
45. "Biogas"
Firewood is used as a fuel for the dish in the village, sarcastically this leads to deforestation. The use of Bio-gas, made from cow manure, is effected an alternative to firewood.

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