However, there is much to be said of the new trend of agro forestry which has taken off in these parts. Be it with the help of various I/NGOs, the average, often marginalized communities in Nepal, are finding new and sustainable – both in terms of livelihood and their environments – to make the most of the beautifully rugged terrains.
Not far from the banks of the Rapti, a mere few kilometers down from Hetauda, the implementation of agro forestry techniques has brought much awaited change to the area’s inhabitants – the kind of change that legal legislation or a people’s revolution simply had not.
Making one’s way to the three target Village Development Committees (VDCs) all along and around the banks of the Rapti, a sudden change of scenery meets one’s eyes. What was until just a few years ago, landslide- and flood-ridden hilly wasteland now has become a booming landscape of ripe bananas, pineapples and amliso. This is most surprising, given that the terrain is most rocky, dry, arid, and to the average eye, most uncultivable.
And it’s not simply to the average passerby that the landscape seems unmanageable; the locals themselves are most pleasantly surprised to find cultivation, be it of a unique nature, on the land that they, for the most part, had given up on.
“We didn’t even know what bananas were, let alone know what it would take or require to grow them,” says Chandra Man Chepang, a local of Thade Churi in Raksirang village.
For a community plagued by poverty, and traditionally ostracized by society for being “Ban Kariyas,” meaning those who make a living off things found in the forest, the novelty of banana, pineapple, and amliso has meant they are no longer confined to their traditional roles, but now proving themselves as equals to the remainder of the agrarian society of Nepal.
The privilege of consuming rice itself, the staple diet of the nation, was something they saw “one month in the year,” according to Dorje Praja, another local of this area and part of the organizing committee that made the whole project possible.
“Now we sell bananas two months in the year, pineapple three months and amliso a further two months, meaning we can eat rice for an additional three or four months in the year,” he adds.
What is apparent now, if nothing else, that if the bananas and pineapples don’t end up doing quite as well as one might hope, is that the amliso plant is definitely a promising investment. The plant takes close to no care and is cultivable, come rain or shine. The women from the village and its surroundings can be seen carrying the brooms made of this plant, and walking to town and selling them for Rs 40 apiece!
“On average, even though this is the first year, we’ve cultivated the plants that were introduced last year. Two plants make one broom, and with so many around, and being so easy to take care of, amliso has been great, especially for the women of these parts,” says Heramai Moktan of Thadechuri.
This way, among others, the whole community seems to be benefiting, as profit is being made while, at the same time, local production has meant the need to import regionally has reduced. The villagers and NGO workers have begun referring to this whole project as “technology for the poor.” And, that it is.
Obviously, implementation is not ideal. As with any other agricultural conundrum, there is more production for some, and very little for others, on the basis of land ownership and the government’s hand in this. This is a substantial problem in the area. The locals who are landless have been negotiating with the local government as a traditionally landless tribe, But getting government approval to cultivate on this land – which the government wasn’t doing much with, in any case – is proving to be quite the task. On this front as well, local and international NGOs have been advocating for the lease of the land to the locals of the area.
However, the whole project which began a couple of years ago is mandated under the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRRO), based on the food-for-work plan.
While the discourse surrounding food security and dependency is a genuine concern, programs like these seem to be more practical and sustainable than that of their macro infrastructure development projects, where the likeliness of food dependency is perhaps higher as infrastructure development is temporary, and not as personally concrete as one’s own self having learned valuable skills such as the agro forestry techniques acquired through the PRRO projects.
Agro forestry was undoubtedly a productive option for the villages in which it has been implemented thus far. While it may not mean all disparity has come to an end, what was once a hopeless and infertile land has seen some potential.
“When the pineapples are in bloom, they look like little girls, standing with red ribbons fluttering in their hair. These fruits have meant so much to us, for us people who had nothing,” says Dorje, with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
To the passerby, as well, it may seem too good to be true, and perhaps it does sound too good to be completely true. But even if it holds an iota of truth, it is certainly worth it.
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