Evaluations – Nepal Australia Friendship Association https://nafa.org.au Thu, 16 Sep 2021 23:37:56 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 Report on the Re-establishment of the Pasang Chowk Agricultural Cooperative https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/report-on-the-re-establishment-of-the-pasang-chowk-agricultural-cooperative Thu, 21 Dec 2017 10:58:45 +0000 https://nafa.org.au/?p=6205

This project involved a funding partnership with the English Family Foundation (EFF) following the devastating Gorkha earthquake in April 2015 that destroyed the Cooperative’s infrastructure. In the partnership, NAFA funded the rebuild of the infrastructure: two structures for housing egg-laying and broiler chickens and a caretaker cottage. EFF funded a range of activities, including:

  • engagement of agricultural experts to do two on-site visits for training and follow up of
    Cooperative and other interested farmers in growing cardamom and coffee.
  • purchase of 20,000 cardamom plants, 700 baby chicks, 11 goats and one coffee pulping machine.
  • training and follow up of 10 women in goat rearing and purchase of 10 higher value “Jamunapari” goats for allocation to particularly poor Cooperative women.
  • Increasing local access to government accredited veterinary knowledge and experience.

Progress reports on the implementation of the project were prepared for EFF and the NAFA management committee following visits to the area by senior NAFA executive officers. The final report on the project submitted to EFF is attached.

Read the NAFA Final Report on Pasang Chowk Agricultural Cooperative here.

]]> Interim Evaluation of Tawal Goat Project https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/interim-evaluation-of-tawal-goat-project Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:39:20 +0000 https://nafa.org.au/?p=6200

INTERIM EVALUATION
OF
 TAWAL GOAT PROJECT
NOVEMBER 2017

Introduction

This project is a part of the re-establishment of the Pasang Chowk Agricultural Co-operative following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, funded by a grant from the English Family Foundation. Ten women were given higher value jamuna goats with the objective of improving family incomes from the sale and rearing of goats. A second evaluation will be undertaken to assess the progress of the goat breeding and to compile a record of sales of goats.

The main findings are:

1. The majority of goats had not produced kids yet; three goats were pregnant and due to give birth in 2 -3 months time.

2. All women knew the commodity value of the goats.

3. Collecting grass feed for the goats was an issue during dry season as the women had to walk long distances to gather grass. The possibility of the Co-op investing in irrigation facilities to water and grow grass closer to the village is currently being considered for funding by NAFA.

4. The next goat breeding trainer should be from the local area and the training simplified as the women have no formal education and found it difficult to understand certain aspects of the last workshop.

Read the Interim Report on Tawal Goat Project – Report by Avalon Wood (UQ Social Work Student) under supervision of Dr Deborah Setterlund

Photographs below Bimala Tamang (Left) and Kanchho Tamang (Right) with their goats.

]]> Interim Evaluation of Tailor Training Project https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/interim-evaluation-of-tailor-training-project Wed, 30 Nov 2016 10:24:12 +0000 https://nafa.org.au/?p=6193

INTERIM EVALUATION
OF
TAILOR TRAINING PROJECT
NOVEMBER 2016

Introduction

A six-month tailor training program was conducted for twenty women from five villages in the Tawal area. Women identified the need for tailoring training at a meeting held after the Gorkha earthquake in 2015. The objective was for women who currently have no employment to earn an income through tailoring work, including establishing their own tailoring business if feasible. The project was funded by Queen’s College, Brisbane.

The main findings are:

  1. Currently the participants’ main source of income is sale of agricultural products, baskets and receipt of money from family members.
  2. Nearly all women stated that it was not difficult to learn tailoring.
  3. Thirteen women stated that they wanted to have their own business in the future.
  4. Twenty women expressed interest in having a small tailoring business; however, they said they did not know how to run a business and would like to training on the subject.

Read the Evaluation Report Tailor Training – Report by Minghan Deng (UQ Social Work Student) supervised by Dr Deborah Setterlund

]]> Interim Evaluation of Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) Project https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/interim-evaluation-of-improved-cooking-stoves-ics-project Sun, 30 Nov 2014 09:03:51 +0000 https://nafa.org.au/?p=6179

INTERIM EVALUATION
 OF
IMPROVED COOKING STOVES (ICS) PROJECT
NOVEMBER 2014

Introduction

This project funded by NAFA, involved trialling the use of 90 ICS (improved cooking stoves) in 8 villages in the Tawal area. Thirty-five householders in 8 villages, representing 90% of householders who had installed ICS as at late November 2014, were interviewed.

The main findings are:

  1. Twenty of the 35 respondents reported receiving training in use of the ICS
  2. The ICS is used exclusively by 57% of householders; while others use both the ICS and a traditional stove, mostly to make food for cattle.
  3. The reported advantages of the ICS are:
    • wood use reduced by 30 – 50%
    • improved cooking efficiency
    • better health status, improved safety, improved household environment
  1. Problems associated with the ICS:
    • Difficulty in lighting the fire and heating up the combustion chamber
    • Problems with chimney
    • Difficulty in cooking ‘dhindo’ (millet porridge)
  1. Strategies to address difficulties
    • Consider paying installers an additional 200 rupees ($2.50 approx) per stove to encourage full time efforts to roll out installation of stoves at a faster rate.
    • Further instruction needed on stove operation and kitchen management.

Read the Evaluation Report for ICS Project – by Dr Deborah Setterlund

]]> Preliminary Evaluation of Adult Literacy Program https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/preliminary-evaluation-of-adult-literacy-program Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:34:28 +0000 http://nafa.org.au/?p=2539

REPORT

 PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

TAWAL, RI VDC

March 2014

By Dr Deborah Setterlund

 

adult literacyThis report provides a preliminary evaluation of the adult literacy program at Tawal funded by NAFA. The adult literacy program in Tawal began in 2009 following a meeting initiated by Tawal women during NAFA members’ visit to the village. Approximately 30 women met with NAFA members with a proposal for adult literacy classes. At that time almost all adult women in Tawal were illiterate or had low literacy. Funding was provided for classes for one year.

Read the full report EVALUATION OF ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

]]> Tawal Social Health Survey Nov – Dec 2012 https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/tawal-social-health-survey-nov-dec-2012 Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:45:05 +0000 http://nafa.org.au/?p=2070

TAWAL SOCIAL HEALTH SURVEY Nov- Dec 2012

  •  Designed and administered by Ms Bimila Prajapati
  •  Supervision and write-up by Dr Deborah Setterlund (NAFA Research Officer)
  •  Interviewer: Ms Bimila Prajapati
  •  Interpreter: Beg Tamang
  • Prepared for NAFA, Hilly Region Development Club (HRDC), and Tawal community
  •  Special thanks to all those who participated

Beg Tamang (senior health worker), Bimila Prajapati (volunteer) and Lilla-Maya Tamang (health worker) at Tawal health clinic.

January 2013

A small scale social and health survey of Tawal villagers was carried out by Ms Bimila Prajapati in November-December 2012.

Ms Prajapati was sponsored by NAFA at VSN School Thimi, and then through FEAT (Further Education and Training) program. She completed her final exams in a health assistant course and volunteered to accompany NAFA members to Tawal to gain some direct experience of community life in a remote area village.

The main aims of the survey were to obtain information from villagers on:

  • Use of traditional cooking stove and wood collection practices.
  • Problems associated with use of traditional cooking stoves.
  • The impact of electricity availability on everyday life.
  • Access to clean water and toilets.
  • Sources of health information.

To read the complete report, including outcomes, click on  TAWAL VILLAGE HEALTH SURVEY Nov 2012

]]> EVALUATION REPORT https://nafa.org.au/evaluations/evaluation-report Mon, 21 May 2012 14:34:37 +0000 http://nafa.org.au/?p=1726

NAFA Child Education Sponsorship Program

Vinayak Shiksha Niketan Secondary School, Thimi, Nepal

NAFA members, VSN teachers and parents of sponsored children

  • Researchers: Rachel Gehrke, Kate Miller, Nghi Vuong
  • Interpreter: Ramita Shrestha
  • Supervisors: Dr Petra Kohts, Dr Deborah Setterlund
  • Written by: Dr Deborah Setterlund
  • Special thanks to Surendra Prajapati, Helen Zada and Rod Setterlund for statistical information

Date: April 2012

Copyright held by The University of Queensland. Not for reproduction without permission of author Dr Deborah Setterlund, School of Social Work and Human Services, U of Q, St Lucia.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

VSN School

1. In 2003 NAFA commenced a child education sponsorship program at Vinayak Shiksha Niketan (VSN) English Secondary School in Thimi, Bhaktapur.

2. The aim of the sponsorship program is to provide a basic education for disadvantaged children at VSN School or Creative Learning Academy (CLA) in Thimi.

3. A systematic evaluation of the sponsorship program was conducted in Nov-Dec 2010 and January 2011 by three University of Queensland social work students undertaking field work in Nepal with NAFA and Joy Foundation.

4. Information was sought from 5 key participant groups: VSN Principal, 6 VSN teachers, 2 groups of parents (6 parents working in a carpet factory in Thimi and 5 non-carpet factory parents), and 5 older sponsored students.

5. A total of $120,000AUD has been allocated by NAFA to the education sponsorship program since 2003.

The Principal Surendra Prajapati and his wife Shova

6. Successful management of the sponsorship program is administratively time consuming. The NAFA president reports that the sponsorship programs (Thimi and PA Nepal), together with the Further Education and Training (FEAT) program, create the most administrative work of any NAFA project.

7. A total of 86 students are benefitting, or have benefitted, from the sponsorship program since inception. Of these, 64 are currently being supported in classes 1 – 10; 2 are in class 11 & 12; 10 are continuing their education post grade 12 through the FEAT program; 3 students completed their SLC under NAFA sponsorship, then left the program; and 7 exited the program before reaching SLC level.

8. To date, all 15 sponsored students who have reached grade 10 sat the SLC exam and all achieved a pass, and some achieved results in the top division.

9. The sponsorship program targets poorer children in the community, with 39% of children supported from Nursery to Grade 10 coming from families of carpet factory workers. The gender balance in favour of girls (69%) is appropriate, given the low level of literacy of women in Nepal.

Meeting with parents working in carpet factory

10. Surendra reports that all sponsored students attend school regularly and are very diligent in their studies.

11. Annual reports of individual students’ academic results show that all students are passing successfully and in some cases are achieving excellent results.

12. Overall, the key participant groups report a high level of satisfaction with the program.

13. A key benefit identified by parents is the opportunity for their child to gain a high quality education, which they could not otherwise afford. Education is synonymous with a brighter future.

14. Parents from the carpet factory report that the sponsorship of their children reduced their worry about the cost of living and enabled them to focus on daily survival such as buying food.

15. Parents from the carpet factory raised a number of concerns regarding: the continuation of the sponsorship program, the conditions of the sponsorship (such as sponsorship being conditional on continuing to work in the carpet factory); and the role of the sponsor.

16. In January 2011, NAFA members in Nepal at that time responded immediately to some of the concerns expressed by parents, by meeting with both groups of parents.

17. Overall, both the quantitative and qualitative data from all key participant groups strongly indicate that the VSN education sponsorship program is achieving the aim of providing disadvantaged children with a basic education to grade 10, with a cost of between $300 and $500 per student per year.

Sponsored child

18. There are a number of recommendations arising from the evaluation. One recommendation concerns the sustainability of the sponsorship program:

  • Given the administrative demands of the program, can NAFA sustain the administrative load in the coming years?
  • Should the numbers of students sponsored be capped in light of the administrative load and the number of children coming through who could apply for FEAT funding? The current policy is that a new student is accepted into the VSN program when a child leaves the PA Nepal sponsorship program.
  • At the present time a child who enters the sponsorship program at nursery level will require 13 years of schooling to reach SLC level. Should NAFA have an older age criteria for any new children coming into the program?
  • Does it matter if the program were to decline or fold before all current and new children complete SLC, keeping in mind that fear of losing the sponsorship is a key concern for a number of parents. On the other hand, it can be argued that some years of quality schooling is better than none.

Full report available from Dr D Setterlund 

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