Lamjung Field Trip with CEED

I was sitting at ‘desk’ in Northfield Café, Thamel, my first week in Kathmandu when I struck up conversation with an American girl called Melanie. As we talked about what we were doing, we found a synergy to our respective projects. She runs a non-profit organisation in California called Empowerment Works. They are ‘Global Betterment Think Tank in Action’, a facilitator in mobilizing community driven solutions to transform international development from the ground up. I have a very loose understanding of the technicalities but she really is an incredible woman with such a passionate mission in life, it was inspiring just talking to her. Empowerment Works had presented a conference called the Global Summit in San Francisco last October (weirdly enough, I almost attended, as it turns out a saxophonist friend of mine is going out with one of her closest associates and friends and was playing at the event – even weirder, she had just got off skype with them both when we started talking).

Find out more about Melanie St. James’ organisation Empowerment Works.

Bandita is Nepali and runs an organisation based in Kathmandu called Women Foundation Nepal. It was around the time leading up to the conference that Bandita contacted Melanie about attending the Global Summit and presenting a paper, as she was interested in collaborating with Empowerment Works. She travelled to San Francisco to attend the conference. Subsequent to that, she invited Melanie to come to Nepal to find out more about what she did and to join forces to collaborate on leading a ‘Local Summit’ in Nepal, which was how Melanie found herself in Kathmandu.

The more I talked to them, the more I wanted to find out more and further understand their work. There was clearly a marvellous connection between the two women and their work. I was particularly struck with Bandita’s attitude, being a Nepali women, essentially breaking down all the barriers that her culture might have forced on her. She has chosen this path, against convention, and is a strong, sparky, independent woman. Bandita works with local Nepali charities in promoting sustainable development and income generating projects for women.

They were going on a field trip the following week to see one such project in action and I asked if I could tag along. For me, this is all part of getting a better understanding of rural life for women in Nepal and also how different programmes are run. There are differing figures but there are thousands of INGOs and NGOs (International/Non-Governmental Organisations) in Nepal running all sorts of projects, sometimes covering similar ground and there is often little collaboration between them, vying for funding as well as presence on the ground. It is all very fascinating and a whole world of information that is new to me, so this trip promised to be an interesting excursion. The charity we were going to see in action is called CEED (Centre for Environmental and Economic Development) and they run programmes in different districts but are mainly working out of Lamjung at the moment.

Lamjung is a district in central Nepal. It is about a six hour drive from Kathmandu, on the road to Pokhara as far as Dumre and then north towards the mountains from there another few hours to the district capital Beshishar. We set off relatively early in a taxi from Thamel to meet Rajendra, the chair of CEED, who would be driving the three of us to Lamjung and showing us around. Aside from the horrific (likely fatal) bus crash that we encountered on our way (a digger had to pull one of the buses apart to get the driver out – not sure how well the other driver fared), our journey was very pleasant. The drive west along the Prithvi Highway is very picturesque, snaking the river, passing villages and paddy fields, hills on either side.

For those with a sensitivity to dangerous practices, can be quite hair-raising travelling on Nepali roads as the style of driving, in particular, overtaking, seems quite reckless. There is a very loose attention paid to which side of the road you are supposed to be on in relation to the oncoming traffic which can be quite disconcerting when going around blind corners. Even though traffic is notoriously chaotic, I actually think the drivers are probably more skilled than in the west, just not as mindful of what we would consider safe practices. To navigate the mayhem takes lightning quick reflexes and their ability to actually manoeuvre the vehicles is far more precise, because invariably there is only a hair of a gap when vehicles are passing each other. We had to stop a couple of times as the rough road and his efficient driving was taking it’s toll on Raj’s little car. Nonetheless, we reached our destination in one piece and good time.

After settling in to the hotel we went off to the CEED offices to meet the staff who were waiting for us. Over tea and a seemingly endless supply of biscuits we talked to the various staff about what they do with Bandita or Raj translating.

The programme they run is agriculturally based in the various communities (broken down into what they call VDCs, village development committee) that make up the district.They work with women farmers from about 1850 households. They approach the women from the community and get them to form a group or collective. The group themselves decide who gets the first round of goats or materials and they support each other. They nominate a chairperson, secretary and treasurer and the groups meet once a month to discuss various issues with the secretary taking minutes.

The group is given training on various agricultural practices and then provided with the tools to put them into practice. They also get them to form a savings and credit collective where each person puts in a little bit of money and then members of the group can borrow from the pool in short term loans. The types of income generating activities range from goat rearing to mushroom growing to more efficient ways of utilising their land with new technology practices or encouraging them to cultivate kitchen gardens to grow their own food with more variety for a healthier diet. Then they provide the women with goats, seeds, or the equipment needed to put their training to use.

The next morning we set off to meet our first group, driving back down the valley a short way and then a pleasant and invigorating uphill hike as the morning unfolded. We were escorted by Sukram, one of the Social Mobilisation officers who oversees this particular area. We arrived at the home of one of the women to find a group of about 15 women awaiting our arrival. The men, interestingly, hung back and observed mainly from a distance as we sat and chatted with them. We were served tea and toasted corn and the women talked about their experience of the project with Raj translating (Bandita hadn’t come along as she wasn’t feeling well).

The women talked about how they had benefited, not just from the increased income, which seemed to be significant, but also the affect that had on their self-esteem and sense of pride. One woman talked about being proud to say her name now. Many members of the group are from very poor, lower caste families and couldn’t send their children to school before. They didn’t have the means to support their education in terms of books and uniform or feel worthy in the eyes of the community. They also talked about how their husbands and families had more respect for them as they were taking charge of their lives and livelihood. One woman had earned enough to buy an additional piece of land that she was going to grow vegetables on. This group formed two years ago and it really was remarkable to hear so much positive feedback from all of them on many levels. Increased income, pride within the community, more respect from their families – all incredibly encouraging feedback. I asked them if their workload was lighter than before, in addition to their elevated standard of living, but it seems not. They are working just as hard, but now working for themselves with pride.

We went back to Beshishar for lunch and in the afternoon went out to visit another group, driving back down the valley a little further and driving up the side of the hill before parking, and again, hiking up a little way. This group had a little table set up and plates of fruit (a small round seeded fruit called kaphal and papaya) ready as our offering as well as beautiful floral garlands.

We had introductions and brief chat and then went on a tour of a few members homes to see various projects in action. This group had had great success with the mushroom growing, to the degree that they had earned enough money to actually build a building specifically to continue growing. They had recently completed it and hadn’t even begun to use it yet but were very proud and excited to show us. It seems that the mushrooms had sold so well they hadn’t even needed to take them to market as people had come to buy them directly. They had actually told the local radio station that the mushrooms were ready and everyone came to buy them. Impressive local marketing.

We continued up the hill, around the village, going to various homes. Five of the women had sewing machines, many had goats in differing quantities (a new breed of goat had been introduced which was more ‘productive’), some bred local chickens (more expensive than ‘boiler’ chickens fetching over Rs1500), pigs, buffalos and even pigeons that apparently are sold for Rs500 a pair and used for religious purposes. One woman we went to visit was in the process of building a bathroom and toilet adjacent to the very simple hut she lived in with her husband and five children and goats (the goat section was at one end of the hut). She was clearly very poor but through the programme, she had been able to earn money through her goat rearing, breeding them and selling them. She got milk from her buffalo, which she gave to the children, and she would make ghee to sell.

At another home, we were presented with even more to eat, this time local honey and honeycomb – there were even bees still in it! You chew the honeycomb, sucking out the honey and end up with a kind of natural, waxy gum that you can chew on.

We then returned to the first home to talk with the women. Again it was so inspiring to hear from the participants as it seems that this project is really effective on so many levels. They talked about how they had transcended caste barriers as coming together in a group and becoming close friends. In the past they might not have shared tea and refreshments with each other.

These women seemed genuinely happy and proud to be a part of this project, showing us the log books with their accounts and minutes from the monthly meetings. Things on the agenda, setting market price for various crops or livestock, transportation of goods to market, progress on the group overall. What was possibly the most inspiring was that they said that regardless of whether CEED continued to support them in terms of providing seeds, equipment etc, they would continue in the same manner. The collective group working together, helping each other, utilising the skills that they had acquired from the trainings and elevating their standard of living as a community.

It was a heart-warming and fascinating field trip and I am so grateful to Bandita and Melanie for letting me tag along, as well as Rajendra and the CEED staff for taking the time to show us around. It had also been great to get out of town and breath some fresh air as well as the luxury of 24 hour electricity, as it is only Kathmandu and Pokhara that have load shedding. I returned to Kathmandu with Raj the following day. Bandi and Mel were heading to Pokhara for a brief few days but as I was coming later in the month and I had commitments in Kathmandu, I headed back to the dusty city with more to ponder on…

To see more pictures from this trip check my flckr page.

March in the Dusty City of Gods

This month has flown by and the more time I spend in this small, dynamic city, the more I feel at home. I know as soon as I reach Pokhara and see Phewa Tal (the lake), I will be glad to have escaped from the pollution, smells, noise and traffic of Kathmandu. But meanwhile, I have enjoyed the chaotic energy and surprisingly lively night scene of this capital city.

Aside from the major temples, Pashuputinath, Boudnath and Swayambhunath, there are thousands of stupas, pagodas and temples at every turn in this incredibly picturesque town. Old Newari architecture with intricate wood carvings adorns windows and doorways across the city.

The Kathmandu Valley is made up of three ancient towns, Kathmandu, Lalitpur (also known as Patan) and Bhaktapur. All three cities have their own Durbar Square (“Palace” Square) with wonderfully ornate, tiered, wood and brick temple buildings, statues and shrines. You can while away hours watching the world go by, tourists (myself included) taking a ridiculous amount of photos, colourful ‘fake’ sadhus posing for photos and handouts, young people just hanging out and the rest of the local population just making their way through going about their business, the glory of these majestic buildings just part of the daily landscape for them. In Kathmandu and Patan the ticket is valid for the day unless you go and get it stamped. As there are many alleys and walkways connecting to the square it is probably worth it if you are going to be wandering the area at all. For Bhaktapur, there is an entrance fee just to enter the city itself as the whole town is a UNESCO world heritage site. Again, if you plan to spend more than a day, you need to get your ticket stamped upon arrival.

The bowl shaped valley is surrounded by mountains on all sides which makes it very picturesque when clear - unfortunately, due to the extraordinarily dense air pollution from the multitudes of motorbikes, mopeds, minivans and cars as well as the billowing smoke pouring from the chimneys of brick factories, it is rare that the snowy peaks make an appearance. In fact, the shape of the valley itself doesn't help as the smog just hangs overhead, trapped by the mountains themselves.

Added to this the dust that is apparently due to the valley being an ancient lakebed so the ground itself is fine silt and just seems to float around. If I am sitting outside with my laptop, after a short while, there will be a layer of dust on my keyboard. For this reason, you will see many people wearing facemasks as they make their way about - particularly police directing traffic in the middle of the road

I must admit, I haven't done much sight-seeing this time round as I have been focused on my Nepali classes and meeting an interesting array of people living here both local and foreign. Some people are working for international charities, others are volunteering for a few months and my Nepali friends are your basic modern yuppie - working in media and music primarily.

I feel fortunate to have met an interesting cross section of the community, not just limited to the travellers scene in Thamel, which is Kathmandu's answer to London's Soho

Tourists and touts – not-so-surreptitious men sidle up to you offering 'hash, smoke...' and then sellers wandering the streets with necklaces hanging from their arms, wooden flutes, small stringed instruments which I think are called sarangi or boxes of tiger balm. Shops sell brightly coloured clothes, pashminas, yak wool blankets, Tibetan jewellery and Nepali paper goods. Cycle rickshaw drivers lounge around at intersections offering rides with a hopeful voice even though I walk past every day on my way to class shaking my head. I tend to walk through the back streets to my class as it is on the other side of Thamel from my guest house. I prefer to weave my way through the side streets that aren’t crammed with sellers, beeping vehicles in a cluster, and sadly, groups of grubby street kids with bags of glue stuck to their faces. I have mixed feelings about Thamel as it is all a bit too much. It is like a little world unto itself, but it’s where you can find backup power to charge when the power is off elsewhere. So it has its useful purpose beyond eating pizza and drinking beer. It is where everything is and almost everything is happening in terms of evening entertainment. Most bars in Thamel have live music – mainly cover bands but you can also find a diversity of other music often a fusion of many genres - from brass bands to acoustic jams featuring tablas and sitars. The days easily slip into weeks in the bubble of Thamel, but it is one face of Kathmandu. The tourist bubble.

There are basically three types of foreigners in town - travellers, trekkers and volunteers. I guess I kind of fall into the category of the first and last. Now that I am actually set to leave town tomorrow (in my usual style, a few days later than planned), I am sorry I haven’t done more tourist stuff. I would have loved to return to the magical peace of Boudhnath or further explored Pashupatinath (both of which I visited last year), but I have appreciated just wandering through the city streets of town, soaking up the atmosphere of the dusty streets. There is always so much going on, grubby kids scrambling around, playing and fightign, men lolling in doorways or shopfronts, the smells of food cooking and of course the constant beeping of cars and bikes.

Throughout the city vendors sell vegetables laid out on corners or in squares around temples and stupas. Large pieces of furniture come walking up the road attached to someone’s head by a strap. Little momo shops serve up the nation’s favourite snack (steamed dumplings stuffed with veg or buff - buffalo, that is – being a Hindu country, they don’t eat beef, but buffalo isn’t a cow so…). This is the primary variation (the other being noodles) on the main staple diet of Nepal which is Dhal Bhat (dhal and rice). It is a Nepali thali, with a big mound of steaming rice, a bowl of soupy dahl, a potato curry, a green veg (usually spinach) and a variety of chutneys and pickles. This is eaten twice a day by almost everyone in Nepal with variation focused only on the vegetables that form the curry. Non-veg features a meat curry, usually mutton. I must admit, I love eating dhal bhat and eating with my hand, local style. (Any excuse to eat with my fingers!) And I crave it if I haven’t had it for a day or so. But once a day, or even five times a week is enough for me before I start yearning for something else – thus the inevitable return to Thamel.

I have been able to get out of the city a couple of times with my friends – riding on the back of the bikes, weaving out of the city and up into the mountains – watching the sunset over the valley. Shivapuri is a big park to the north of the valley – the first week I was here a big group of us rode up, took a picnic and a guitar and climbed atop a rock to watch the sunset while the boys sang songs. That’s what I call magic moments.