Agro-based Enterprises Change the Life Style of Mushahar Families

The 63 Mushahar families of Golbazar municipality of Siraha district did not have their own land for cultivation. They were serving lives by working as wage labor. The money they earned was just enough to feed them every day.

During the time a project was developed to support these Musahar families with vegetable farming. Many were skeptical about the result it would bring. All (63) Musahar families of Musarniya, Bhangbaari and Nipane of Golbazaar municipality in the district were identified for commercial vegetable farming in 4.1 hectare of land where each family was allocated 0.06 hectare. The land was managed by renting it from Rs 1750 to 3000 for each Kattha. The cost varied depending on the quality of land.

The program is supported by CARE Nepal through CSRC and is managed by Forum of Justice and Equality Campaign (FOJEC). Uddav Thapaliya of FOJEC shared that the main purpose of implementing this project was to uplift the social status of Musahar community through economic empowerment. The initial days of implementation of this program were very difficult as the Musahar families were not enthusiastic about the farming. The land was made cultivable by putting cow dung and chicken manure. As per the plan eggplant and chillies were planted on April 4, 2017. The farmers were supported with rent, seeds, manure, pesticide, tools needed for weeding and spray tank. Technical input like time for weeding, spraying pesticide, irrigating was provided by FOJEC with the financial assistance of CSRC.

Lakhpat Sada said "Though I don’t have land I am happy with the earnings and continue to farm if no one supports me in future." According to Hira Sada, she earns about 32,000 by selling brinjal produced from the field.

A joint monitoring visit from Right to Food team of CARE Nepal, CDO of Siraha, LDO, DADO, DLSO, Engineer of Irrigation department and local journalist conducted to the site on June 11, 2017. All the participants of the visit were in awe looking at the progress and applauded the organization for providing land to these landless farmers. CDO Ramji Shrestha applauded the exemplary work saying CDO was ready to help the landless communities for their livelihood strategies. LDO Suresh Rawat said that these kind of exemplary work should also be conducted with the support of government.

Uddav Thapaliya of FOJEC said albeit he had assumed to earn Rs 100,000 from each household the flood swept away the vegetables. However, the Mushar community has decided to plant cauliflowers in the same field. Ashoj sada, one of the entrepreneurs of the farming shared that many people of Mushar community who wasted their times by playing cards in the village have engaged in such a productive work. The land which was taken as lease should be contracted for at least five years so that the Mushahar community would be sustainable through vegetable farming.

CSRC Nepal

Announcement

Regional Environmental Policy Dialogue

Securing land rights of women and indigenous peoples in the face of climate change in South Asia

 4- 6 April 2023 | Park Village Resort, Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu, Nepal

The National Land Coalition (NLC) Nepal, is holding a Regional Environmental Policy Dialogue on 'Securing IPLCs and women's land rights for increasing communities' adaptative capacity facing climate change in South Asia' from 4-6 April 2023 in Kathmandu, Nepal. This forum is co-organized with the Community-self Reliance Centre (CSRC), International Land Coalition (ILC) Asia and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA), Government of Nepal and supported by the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) Asia.

The event provides an interactive forum for sharing, , discussion and reflection on recent policy development and future challenges to people centered land governance in support of inclusive and equitable climate change adaptation, mitigation, and local agency in South Asia, namely – Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

The event is open to participants from all over the world who are interested in understanding land and environmental issues in South Asia and developing professional ties for opportunities to contribute to this domain. The conference provides a platform for professionals involved in land rights, gender transformative approaches, human rights-based instruments and land governance to exchange knowledge and gain insight into the state of the art in the current land-related policies, innovation, and solutions. Participants include a wide variety of stakeholders from civil society organizations (CSOs), social movements, development partners, and academia as well as government agencies.

Important Dates:

Preconference Events15 and 21 March 2023
Pre-event – I: Social inclusion & gender justice among south Asia’s people’s organisations led National Land Coalitions (NLCs)15 March 2023
Pre-event – II: Challenges and opportunities to operationalise commitments made under the Rio+ Conventions in South Asia21 March 2023
Arrival in Nepal3 April 2023
Main Conference4-6 April 2023
Departure6 April 2023

For more information, please visit https://www.lgwg.org / https://www.csrcnepal.org / https://asia.landcoalition.org/en/engage-ilc-asia/events-opportunities/regional-policy-dialogue-securing-womens-land-rights-in-south-asia/ and/or contact  nes_nepal@landcoalition.info

Focal person: Dharm Raj Joshi, National Coordinator, NLC Nepal

Contact Address:

National Land Coalition (NLC) Nepal C/O

Community Self-reliance Centre (CSRC)

https://www.csrcnepal.org

Tokha-7, Dhapasi | Indrapuri Awas-361, Kathmandu

Tel: (+977 1) 4 357 005/ 4 360 486  | Mobile/WA: +977 9849 206101 Email: dharmraj.joshi@gmail.com  / nes_nepa@landcoalition.info / landrights@csrcnepal.org