Most of the 300 students of Khursane Primary School are comfortably financing their studies by selling bay leaves. Interestingly their elders are not so fortunate and have to depend on their parents for study as they have no time to pluck leaves as they have to walk two hours to the nearest school as there is no secondary school in the village. [break]
The major source of income of locals is bay leaves and almost all the primary students can be seen in the jungle for plucking leaves. There is a forest of bay laurel ((Laurus nobilis). near the village and Khursane alone exports leaves worth around Rs 5 million to India every year.
Apart from government holidays and Saturdays, the students are busy plucking leaves even on other days after school.
"Most of the students are from the dalit and indigenous communities and they get government scholarships anyway. But these students buy stationeries and dresses with the money earned from bay leaves, giving parents an option to spend the scholarship amount elsewhere," school principal Sthaneshwar Bhattarai said.
He claimed each child earns up to Rs 15,000 a year by selling bay leaves. "They even bunk classes to pluck leaves during the peak season from February to June," he added.
Fourth-grader Dhruba Khanal, 12, said he has not asked the parents for money since studying in Grade II. "I give the balance to mother after making all my expenses but never ask her for money," Khanal, whose father died of asthma while he was small, said.
"Two sisters quit school after Grade V due to financial difficulty and I fear even he (Dhruba) has to quit after the fifth grade. I wish there was a secondary school in the village," Dhruba´s mother Bhumisara said.
Basanti Basnet, a second grader, and first grader Parbati Thapa said they collect at least a kilo of leaves everyday and sell them for Rs 23 a kilo.
Hum Bahadur Regmi, who has opened a collection center in the village, conceded that half of the leaves are plucked by students. Bay leaves of Khursane are considered of better quality and traders pay five rupees more for a kg of it. Regmi said he exports the leaves to India through Bhairahawa and gets up to Rs 58 a kg.
Bay leaves are aromatic. Fresh or dried leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine.
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