I recently made a trip to Rasuwa to observe the work of Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) and to see how people were getting along four months after the April earthquake. I observed a number of people still living in tents and rubble that needs to be cleared out but life seemed to be somewhat returning to (a new) “normal”. As relief efforts are beginning to end and INGOs/NGOs move towards recovery efforts through livelihoods development, hopefully it is possible to “build back better”.
In one community meeting hosted by CSRC a project framework was laid out in which, based on a household, family centered, business first approach, those most vulnerable would be provided with training, inputs, mentoring and access to markets in order to improve their household incomes. (Other parts of the project include Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) community training and access to Improved Cook Stoves (ICS) in order to reduce women’s time collecting firewood and to improve family health).
It was explained that CSRC wanted to help people earn enough income in order to rebuild their homes within five years. This meant that based on a new home cost of approximately NPR 5,00,000, they would need to save about NPR 8,333/month. For many people in the meeting this probably meant doubling what they were making on a monthly basis prior to the earthquake. Since many of the project beneficiaries are landless, small holders, this makes the situation all the more challenging as owning even a small parcel has implications for household income and self-recovery.
Based on numerous government and other reports it is apparent that Nepal farmers need to do more in terms of commercial production so that household incomes will increase and the country will depend less on imported agricultural products. But questions remain as to how to do this given that the majority are subsistence farmers, from lower castes and small land holders; that agricultural products from India and China can be sold cheaper, that irrigation, post-harvest production handling, land degradation, quality planting materials, transportation, lack of training and access to credit all remain issues. But what I’ve learned is that although there are numerous issues, these can all be resolved. What this takes though is a real focus of resources and “hand holding”, mentoring the farmers to not only produce for their households but to also grow for market.
On some level it’s about taking what farmers already know from multiple generations, simultaneously complementing this with specific business and product training, providing business inputs, e.g. tunnels, irrigation, quality seeds, etc. enabling them to produce more and better. This in no way should be interpreted as just giving a hand out, as the farmers should be asked to provide a small investment, whether through sweat equity, a monetary contribution, connection to markets, providing knowledge and training to others, etc.
On some level this is about gradually changing attitudes and demonstrating why previously used methods, e.g. growing organic and using modalities such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), ensuring that soil is not degraded and people are able to eat healthy produce, make more sense than purchasing loads of fertilizer in the market.
As observed in another meeting with a variety of NGOs working in Rasuwa Nepal has a lot of resources. Due to any natural disaster, in this case the earthquake, there are more resources available in a country, which if focused properly can really make a difference in people’s lives. The key though is collaborating, being creative and going beyond boundaries and letting go of, in this case organizational ego, resulting in maximum benefit for those most vulnerable.
Collaborating avoids duplication and enables organizations to stretch their resources as well. Examples of this, as noted in the NGO meeting, includes an organization which provides specific agricultural or animal husbandry trainings, but does not provide inputs, as well as the reverse. In the meeting then there were many opportunities to partner in which one organization could provide the inputs and the other could provide the trainings. Another example was of an organization providing only inputs for personal household consumption but now thinking further as to how to move into limited commercial production. Partnering with an organization working through a business based approach on commercial production would make sense for the organization providing only small inputs.
There are also many other areas for partnering and developing holistic approaches to enabling farmers to be successful including adding small irrigation systems, tunnels, upgrading collection centers and establishing cooperatives. The list goes on. Bringing together expertise from a number of fields results in the ultimate beneficiaries seamlessly obtaining a comprehensive package to more expertly grow/produce leading to greater household incomes and an opportunity to rebuild better, e.g. an earthquake resistant house, better education for children, greater access to health care and options for a better quality of life.
As I left the meeting many people voiced the opinion of wanting to collaborate, avoiding duplication, but based on experience, I know that this takes a lot more than words. Unfortunately, as humans, we tend to get in our own way and feel that we need to take all of the credit. On some level I understand this, that in order for an organization to continue fundraising it needs to “toot its own horn”. But there are ways to do this simultaneously working on modalities to partner. This takes longer than just working on our own, taking a tremendous amount of communication and a strong will. However if we keep in mind who we are trying to help, this makes perfect sense.
After listening to everyone in the NGO meeting I suggested that through partnership, Rasuwa could become a model district in showing how collaboration could make a huge difference in the lives of people. I’m convinced that we do know all of the answers. However, if we don’t, based on Nepali ingenuity and the help of a number of people and organisations who truly care about Nepal, the answers can be found. There are really no limits to what can be accomplished if we can dream together, put our egos aside and believe in the goodness of humanity.
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