Community Development – Nepal Australia Friendship Association

Queensford College helps women in the Tawal area increase their incomes

Russ — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 00:32:57 +0000

Tailor training

NAFA has been assisting Tawal since 1998 with community development projects aimed at improving the health, education and economic well-being of community members. Development projects assist all members of the community, with a particular focus on women, who play a critical role in family economies in a subsistence agricultural context.

The devastating Gorkha earthquake in April 2015 increased the importance and urgency of such initiatives. A proposal for a tailor training program came out of discussions with Tawal women in November 2015. The aim of the program was for women to gain valuable sewing skills in a group setting and enhance sustainable community economic outcomes.

The tailor training program proposal attracted the attention of Nepali director of Queensford College in Brisbane. In addition to having made a generous donation soon after the earthquake to help with immediate needs, the directors were interested to support skill training and local small business initiatives.

A generous donation from Queensford College of $6,853 helped women access a six month tailoring training and business establishment program. A master tailor was sourced through the government Dhading District woman’s skill development office. Twenty women participated in the training, sharing ten sewing machines purchased through the initiative.

Business side of tailoring workshop

A NAFA executive officer (Rod Setterlund) facilitated a workshop on business skills needed to run a small tailoring business. The workshop content was well received, generating a lot of discussion within the group. Deborah Setterlund is now working with the women to look at options for advanced training and products that could be made for markets outside the area. The women’s views and intermediate outcomes of the sewing skills project were evaluated by social work student Ms Minghan Deng and further evaluations will track longer term outcomes. Two Tawal participants already have employment as a result of the training and others are setting up sewing businesses in their villages.

Partnerships with other like minded funders are welcomed by NAFA. These partnerships have helped Tawal area villages devastated by the April 2015 earthquake get back on their feet and work towards their vision of crop diversification and improved animal husbandry.

If you would like to discuss possible partnerships with NAFA, please contact Rod Setterlund, President of NAFA via email setterlund@hotmail.com. Donations to help us complete the rebuild would also be most welcomed, go to Donations

Co-operative farming initiative helps villagers rebuild their livelihoods

Russ — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 02:34:32 +0000

Co-op Farmers attending training

In 2013, approximately 200 farming households from four villages (Tawal, Dusheni, Ladap and Tawal Besi) in the Ri VDC, Dhading district pooled their cash and ‘in-kind’ labout to purchase land and establish the Pasang Chowk Agricultural Co-operative. Their aim was to grow higher value cash crops, up-scale their animal raising, and adopt more modern and innovative farming methods. The Co-operative members built a stone wall around the land, a caretaker cottage and two sheds for chicken raising and egg production. A caretaker was employed and a community savings program established.

Trainer demonstrating planting of cardamom

The Gorkha earthquake in April 2015 destroyed all of the Co-operative physical assets and 700 chickens. Villagers then faced a massive challenge not only to rebuild their homes and community infrastructure, but also to re-establish the Cooperative in which they had invested so much energy and savings.

Following the earthquake, NAFA committed to help rebuild schools in four villages in the area and the health clinic at Tawal, as well as classrooms in five other villages elsewhere in Nepal. Earmarked donations from generous NAFA supporters allowed us to allocate $15,000 to rebuild the two chicken sheds and caretaker’s house, as well as reconnect electricity and water to the land owned by the Co-operative.

Woman with Jamuna goat

But much more was needed. NAFA has partnered with the English Family Foundation (EFF) to provide Co-operative members with the potential for a sustainable future. A generous grant of $23,106 from EFF provided the opportunity to really help the Co-operative get back on its feet. The grant was used to provide training in cardamom and coffee growing, and goat rearing. Funds were also used to purchase 20,000 cardamom plants, 700 chickens and 10 higher value Jamuna goats. Solar lights were installed in the chicken sheds and farmers gained access to locally available veterinarian services. These initiatives have made a huge difference to the morale of villagers who have lost so much. Their vision of crop diversification and improved animal husbandry through Co-operative farming is being realised.

Partnerships with like minded funders for community development projects are welcomed by NAFA. If you would like to discuss possible partnerships with NAFA, you can contact Rod Setterlund, President of NAFA via email setterlund@hotmail.com.

Donations to help us complete the rebuild would be much appreciated http://nafa.org.au/donations

English Family Foundation Grant for Pasang Chowk Agricultural Co-operative

Russ — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 17:55:49 +0000

Chicken shed destroyed

Six months after the devastation of the Gorkha earthquake, Tawal area villagers were still coming to terms with the massive loss of property and sadly, the loss of 72 loved ones. All 1,223 houses, schools, and other valuable infrastructure in the area were destroyed. The three buildings owned by the local Pasang Chowk Agricultural Co-operative: two sheds for egg laying and broiler chickens and the Co-operative’s caretaker’s cottage, were reduced to rubble.

The Co-operative operates out of Tawal the largest village in the area. It is an initiative driven entirely by the villagers themselves. In 2013, 230 farmers from four villages pooled their financial resources with the aim of working co-operatively to move from subsistence farming to high value cash crops. The hope was to provide a sustainable economic future for the their communities. NAFA had provided $2,447 for irrigation pipes to the land purchased by the fledging Cooperative. The Gorkha earthquake was a huge set back to the villagers’ hopes and efforts.

Cardamon training

Once the crisis phase of the earthquake had passed, villagers began to plan for recovery. Restoration of the Agricultural Co-operative was high on the recovery agenda, as villagers realised how important it was to keep the economic momentum going. NAFA approved a grant of $15,000 to replace the three destroyed sheds and repair the water infrastructure to the land. Co-operative members quickly completed the rebuilding of the chicken sheds and in meetings came up with new ideas for selling products as a group to get better prices. NAFA also submitted a proposal to the English Family Foundation to restore and expand the overall functioning of the Co-operative. In late March 2016 wonderful news came through – the application was successful!

Demonstrating cardamon planting to women

The funding from the grant will provide training in cardamom and coffee growing; 20,000 cardamom plants; training in goat rearing and goats to a pilot project for ten women; goat sheds; solar panels for the chicken sheds; a caretaker’s salary for one year; funding to train an Agricultural assistant; and a coffee pulping machine. Trainers will follow up at a later date to ensure proper techniques are being applied. Members were overwhelmed with excitement and appreciation regarding the grant.

Since receiving the grant, Co-operative members have organised the cardamom and goat training, involving 80 farmers (including both men and women), purchased the cardamom plants and are in the process of bringing the goats from Nuwakot district (near Kathmandu) to Tawal. Their capacity and enthusiasm is all the more remarkable when you consider the challenges they are facing on all fronts. They have gone through one monsoon season making do with sub-standard housing and classrooms, and now face another wet and land-slide prone four months.

Many families are rebuilding their homes without government assistance, and all are involved in repairing community assets such as paths between villages, water infrastructure, an emergency helicopter pad, the micro-hydro system, and the community shelter deep in the forest. Additionally much time is spent resolving complications such as how to bring 210 pieces of gabion (wire boxes) to Tawal to build a protective barrier against landslides around the proposed school site. This all takes place without respite from working the crops each day to bring food to the family.

Agricultural training

The grant from the English Family Foundation has the potential to bring about positive changes in economic development and spin offs in improvements in education and health. It also provides a significant psychological boost to community members. When informed of the grant, Kanchha Tamang, president of the Co-operative, spoke of a brighter future: “So we are sharing this great news to all Cooperative members as soon as (possible) with big meeting. We hope fully now our Cooperative’s future will be bright by this project. We will invest this budget and we hope in agriculture area will get change… from our side thanks very much to NAFA and English (Family) Foundation”.