NAFA is an entirely volunteer-run, Australia-based international aid organisation that has supported education, health, disability, childcare and economic development projects in Nepal since it was formed in 1989.

In 2020, NAFA allocated $78,202 towards eleven ongoing education, health, disability and child care programs. NAFA also allocated $13,902 to purchase Covid-19 personal protective equipment, supplies and provide additional support e.g. food packages for six NAFA funded partners, a school and local community in Thimi, people with a disability in Pokhara and an organisation supporting front-line health workers.

Significantly, NAFA has partnered with three like-minded philanthropists, who have contributed $62,691 in support of NAFA projects in Nepal that focussed on the development and sustainability of an agricultural cooperative supporting farmers in five remote villages.

 

 

 

Deb Setterlund is NAFA’s Research & Evaluation Officer and she recently completed an evaluation of NAFA’s agricultural sustainability program, compared to baseline findings from a 2011 survey of villagers’ incomes. In 2011 half the villagers in the Tawal area earned no cash income, while the other half earned meagre levels of cash income from the sale of bamboo baskets, which left them well below the then poverty line. The 2025 evaluation shows that all villagers now earn some cash income, with over half the villagers in the Tawal area transitioning to small scale profit farming and around 30% making combined family incomes above the Nepal minimum wage.

This appeal focuses on two key recommendations from the income survey research:

• Continuing NAFA’s focus on raising the incomes of the poorest families

• Increasing the number of products that families will have to sell

The local women’s group has identified 15 of the poorest families in three villages. The families are mostly headed by widowed or divorced women or by young women whose husbands are unemployed. The women’s group recommended an allocation of AUD$400 for each family to be spent on animals and/or a crop product, depending on their individual circumstances. This amount will enable the women to purchase more than one animal and pay for associated costs such as transport, animal shelter if needed, and initial feed. NAFA members visiting the Tawal area in January 2026 will meet with the women concerned and track their progress over time. As there are many other families whose incomes are very low, others can be added to the list for assistance depending on funds available.

The aim of the campaign is to provide each family with sufficient animals or plants to create a sustainable source of income through breeding or crop growing.

• $30 will buy 10 avocado Plants ready for planting

• $50 will buy 100 coffee saplings

• $120 will buy a young pig for breeding

• $175 will buy a young goat for breeding

• $400 will provide a basic but sustainable uplift for a family below the poverty line

If you would like to contribute to NAFA’s 2025 Christmas Appeal by making a donation please follow the links below:

• Credit Card Donations via our GiveNow Link

• Donate via Bank Transfer

Thank you for your continued support. We hope you have a great holiday season and wish you a happy and healthy year ahead.

Kind Regards,
Rod Setterlund OAM
NAFA President