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Tripeni and Chhapakharka are Tamang villages that lie southeast of Katmandu in the Pulchowki watershed. Although not more than 20 kilometers from the Kathmandu metropolis as the crow flies, Tripeni lags far behind in development: illiteracy is high, income level low, and infrastructure minimal. The households have relied on subsistence farming for generations, and the common refrain here is: "Bhaye makai, nabhaye bhokai" (if corn grows we eat corn, if not we go hungry). However, this is beginning to change. Electricity has just come, there is one primary school (till Grade 5) in Tripeni, although no health clinic to speak of. A conspicuous absence of young adult males bespeaks of out-migration. A dirt motorable road that leaves much to desire has come to the villages over the Lakuri Pass, and this has been a blessing. Belatedly, some I/NGOs - Educate the Children (ETC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) - have started small-scale interventions in these villages, and the first stirrings of impact are being felt. While ETC has primarily focused on education and community mobilisation, ICIMOD has focused on dissemination of appropriate rural technologies. The radio team learnt of the small-scale interventions in Tripeni and Chhapakharka, and went there to learn of their impact at the household level. |
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Sanu Kanchha Tamang: "Earlier there was no road anywhere. Now we have motorable dirt road, which still needs improvement. Earlier we used to bring water from water tower down yonder. Now we have water. Electricity has finally arrived." Kanchhi Maya: "Earlier there were dense forests here. We destroyed those forests. Then we planted pine and juniper trees, and we took turns to stay guard, and thus we initiated reforestation." Reshma Tamang: "It is much easier now. For firewood, we just break branches. For fodder we do the same." Kaji Maya Tamang: "It is much better now than before." Ram Bahadur: "There was no electricity before. It arrived very recently. Now there is not a single formally educated elderly person in these hills; however, all of our grandsons and granddaughters go to school today." Uma Tamang: "I know how to write a little. I can write my name. My youth is, however, gone. I don't see clearly, my eyesight is poor. " Boy: "Bio briquettes are useful. If we make bio-briquettes then during rainy season we do not have to use wet firewood. We use dry bio briquettes instead; it's easier to cook that way. The briquettes don't give off smoke. Their use saves us money, and also forests. We don't get scolded for destroying forests, so we feel good about ourselves." Girl: "We do not destroy forests. We turn wasted biomass into coal. We also don't have to attend to cooking that much when we use coal, so this frees us to do other things." Boy: "Because bio-briquettes don't give off smoke when lit, our health is not adversely affected at all." Kanchhi Maya: "When we were young there was no school here; otherwise we would have gotten ourselves some education. We can not go to city to look for work. We are poor and illiterate. Now there is school here, so it is convenient. I was 16-17 when the first school was built here. My parents married me off when I was 10, so how could I study? No, I am not educated at all." Resma Tamang: "Chinese rayo, cauliflower, carrot, turnip, bean - I've planted these after taking some training. Earlier I used to just throw seeds into the field and expect them to germinate and grow. I was not very keen on vegetable farming then. But Educate the Children, a NGO, came, mobilized us and, especially, encouraged the womenfolk to grow vegetables. They give us seeds and we do vegetable farming. In my garden, we grow barley, bean, carrot, mustard, amriso (Thysanolaena maxima). If I see scope, I will sell amriso." |
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3. Experts' Opinion Suraj Bahadur Thapa: "Biobriquettes are made from biomass that otherwise would have gone to waste. We burn biomass to make coal and grind it into power form. We then mix the coal powder with sandy soil, and put the mixture into the key [mould] to turn it into a cylindrical shape with holes through the flat tops. We then leave it in the sun to dry. Each briquette burns for about 1 hour, it doesn't give off smoke. It has two benefits: 1) provides energy, and 2) saves forests." Govinda Raj Joshi: "Social development sector is not an area where you can see dramatic impact in 2-3 years. However, compared to the past, the women of Tripeni are more literate, more aware, and there has been a dramatic increase in the number of school going children. If you look at the agriculture scene here, everybody is getting into vegetable farming, and there has been development in water harvesting. And also the people are growing all kinds of vegetables all year round, with the health of their children and families foremost in their mind." Bal Krishna Basnet: "When I first came to Tripeni there were only 7-8 students, but nowadays they average 60-65 on weekdays. I get the sense that the villagers have set their sight on self-independence. ETC and ICIMOD have encouraged them to save money, and invest in micro-enterprises. Earlier, people would bring their goats and cattle to the school field to graze. There was less teaching in school. There were very few students. Even today, teaching is still not up to par. However, there are more kids coming to school than before." |
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Mr. Suraj Thapa, Farm Manager cum Horticulturalist, ICIMOD Training and Demonstration Centre: "There is only one primary school in Tripeni village. It used to be in pitiful condition. Parents showed no interest in sending their kids to school, for they were needed at home and fields. "But when Educate the Children (ETC), a NGO, came to the scene, things started to happen. They renovated the school building, trained the teachers, and provided education materials to the school. Not content to promote kids' education, they also initiated non-formal education for the mothers of the school kids and other women of the village. They talked about women empowerment. Moreover, they strove to spark interests in income generating activities by offering lessons on agriculture and livestock management. In two years, the impact has been dramatic. "Education is important; once they learn to read and write, they can do simple accounting - and thus, keep track of family earnings and expenses. Moreover, when they are literate they are naturally inclined to send their kids to school. This way their village society develops. "For example, prior to Second World War, Japanese villages were not unlike Nepali villages of today. But after the Second World War, the Japanese realized that they must become independent, stand on their own two feet, and do their own thing to raise their living standard. As long as the sense of independence and self-confidence is lacking, it is difficult to embark on a path to sustainable development. "Each member of the various women's groups of Tripeni contributes a modest sum of money from their monthly savings to a seed money pool. The women's groups then make micro-credit available to their own members at 1% interest per month from the seed money pool. The small loans are used to start goat husbandry, cattle raising, vegetable farming as well as other micro-enterprises. If neighboring villages learn from the example set by Tripeni village, they too can benefit." |
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Unwanted biomass, in this case from the forest weed 'banmara' (Eupatorium adenophorum), is converted into charcoal in a charring drum and then turned into solid fuel bio-briquettes. The charcoal powder is mixed with bentonite clay at a ratio of 1:3, pressed into honeycomb-shaped moulds, and sun-dried. The bio-briquettes can be used for cooking or heating. They can be ignited easily from below using waste paper or dried leaves and twigs. Once the lower portion catches fire, the flames start coming up through the nineteen holes in the briquette; the airflow ensures smokeless burning - a pollution free and environmentally friendly source of energy. |
PFT is a method for increasing production of field crops by covering the soil between the plants with a sheet of plastic film 0.003 to 0.014 mm thick. Covering the surface of the soil increases the temperature, helps retain moisture, promotes seed germination and emergence, accelerates the growth and development of the roots and the whole plant, and leads to improved quality and higher yield of crops. |
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Particularly for marginal farmers, raising goats has significant advantages over raising cows and buffalo. Goats are docile, clean and friendly; they require smaller capital investment, which also means less risk per animal; and they multiply faster and require less feed than large animals. They can be bred for milk or meat. Local goats are less productive than improved breeds but they are hardy and suited to local conditions. The ICIMOD Demonstration and Training Centre has aimed at crossing pure bred goats (Nubian goats typically bred for milk production and Boer goats for meat) with the local breed to optimise improvements in goat performance whilst retaining the benefits of local breeds, and focused on stall feeding methods as a way of supporting natural vegetation regeneration, since goats are acute grazers if left to roam. The aim is to demonstrate how optimising breeds can improve income and other benefits with little outlay. |
Water collection reservoirs are constructed to take advantage of the site topography and the presence of perennial water sources to provide a simple and cost effective system of irrigation. They can be constructed with HDPE sheet and SILPAULIN (multi layered, cross-laminated, UV-stabilised plastic sheet) linings at suitable locations above the cropping plots. Water passes from the reservoirs through high-density polythene pipes laid out with hydrants in cropping plots. The reservoirs can also be used for fish farming. |
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Green manure is a growing crop
cover of annual plants (or other growing plant material) that is dug into
the soil to improve or restore fertility and soil texture. These plants
are generally grown on fallow land and then dug into the soil before crops
(or ornamental plants) are planted, although in some cases plants are
grown in one place and the foliage and roots dug into the soil or used as
mulch material in another. The cover crops used for green manure are
mainly legumes. The crops add over 30 tons of organic matter and 200
kilograms of nitrogen per hectare of land in a year. |
In Nepal and other countries of the Hindu-Kush region, there is quite a large market for broom grass (Thysanolaena maxima), a special grass used for making brooms for sweeping. The grass thrives best on marginal lands. As well as providing cash income when sold as brooms, it provides green forage for livestock, the roots promote soil conservation, and the dried stems can be used as stakes to support climbers.
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a. Radio script for episode 5
(Nepali PDF version) |
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primary school bio-briquette
water reservoir
composting
pepper
Bio-Briquetting 
Polythene
Film Technology (PFT)
Goat
Husbandry
Water
Collection Reservoir/Fish farming
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