Photo of Nepal Village Women Agriculture Training

I am Prativa Subedi, – prativasub@gmail.com founding President of Women Awareness Centre Nepal. Women Awareness Center Nepal (WACN) is a social and economic justice non-profit organization entirely run by women which promotes social and economic empowerment, development opportunities and equality for Nepali women since 1991. WACN works for the elimination of all forms of discrimination, and violence through action programs designed to eliminate the roots of these issues, mainly poverty and women’s lack of social, economic and political status. WACN works with villagers to implements its programs, which are tailored to the specific needs of each community. WACN advocates for equal rights, as equal pay, and works in stopping migration from villages to cities or abroad to search jobs. Specifically, WACN helps rural women to start community development activities together with savings and credit schemes agriculture, advocacy, and health. Many parents and children are making their livelihood working in the brick factories in Bhaktapur. They migrate to the brick factories to earn money. Therefore, WACN wants to promote livelihood by freeing them from exploiting labor. Furthermore, the children will drop out from school to go to brick factories.

Gamala Tamang Story: Nepal Woman Moving Towards Self-Reliance

Gamala Tamang is a permanent resident of Pipaldada, Panchkal municipality of Kavre district. Gamala is 30 years old. She has a 13 years old son, Abhishek Tamang. Gamala has been working in brick factory since she was 12 years old. When she was young, she used to go to the brick factory with her parents. Now she and her husband also go to work at the brick factory. Gamal said that it was very hard to sustain their living only on the wages they received from their work at the brick factory. Even during her pregnancy, she worked at the brick factory due to financial crisis in the family. She even gave birth to her son in the brick factory itself. Life is very hard for her. She has to work in the brick factory from 2 am until 7 pm and sometimes until 10 pm. She has no alternative sources of income other than going to the brick factory. She did subsistence farming when she used to be back to her village for six months. But there is scarcity of water in the village where she lives. She has to walk for an hour to fetch water. Due to scarcity of water, she could not depend on her own farm produce and had to buy vegetables from the market.

Gamala got the opportunity to participate in Farmers Field School Program organized by Women Awareness Centre Nepal (WACN) in collaboration with World Education International. The training helped her to gain knowledge and skills on different farming techniques. She felt that the life has become easier than before after participating in the training. Now her farming and marketing skills have been enhanced. She has also opened a small vegetable stall on the road side where she sells her vegetables. She also collects vegetables from her sister and neighbors and sells them. From selling vegetables, she earned NRs. 70,000 in 3 months. WACN supported Gamala’s family in making plastic ponds for rain water collection, which helped her in irrigation.

At present, Gamala not only collects the rain water but also the waste water from washing dishes and laundry. Gamala also makes organic natural fertilizers made of animal manure, and plants. Participants who have participated in IPM training have formed a women’s group. She said that the training has changed her life and she is now a lead farmer after attending 20 trainings on agriculture. She has now become financially independent. She also said that after paying all her debt she will stop going to the brick factory. Before participating in WACN’s activities, she used to take her son to the brick factory. Her son had to leave his studies for 6 months.  Now that she is economically independent, her son can go to school instead of working in the brick factory.

Gamala was also victim of the devastating earthquake of April 25, 2015. Her house totally collapsed during the earthquake. WACN supported her by providing her zinc sheet.