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The Nepal Digest Wednesday 12 April 95: Chaitra 29 2051 BkSm Volume 37 Issue 5
******************************************************************************
* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
* Editor/Co-ordinator: Rajpal J. Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* SCN Liaison: Rajesh B. Shrestha rshresth@black.clarku.edu *
* Consultant Editor: Padam P. Sharma sharma@plains.nodak.edu *
* TND Archives: Sohan Panta k945184@atlas.kingston.ac.uk *
* Book Reviews Columns: Pratyoush R. Onta ponta@sas.upenn.edu *
* News Correspondent Rajendra P Shrestha rajendra@dartmouth.edu *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* *
* "If you don't stand up for something, you will fall for anything" -Dr. MLK *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" - Sirdar Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 03:46:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: Rakesh Karmacharya <karmacha@aecom.yu.edu>
Subject: Artistry of the Kathmandu valley
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
In the "Travel" section of this Sunday's New York Times (April 9), the
theme is "Artistry of the East". One of the prominent pieces is an article
entitled "Discovering the rich wood carving and architecture of Nepal's
Katmandu Valley" by Marcia R. Lieberman, a visiting scholar at Brown
University. Included with the article are colour photographs of
Bhaktapur's Sun Dhoka, a stone elephant in the courtyard of the Changu
Narayan Temple, carved and painted struts in Patan, farmers winnowing grain
outside the Narayan temple in Changu and children on statue on the steps
of the Nyatapola temple in Bhaktapur.
Another piece is entitled "Holy chants and sacred paintings in Tibet's
oldest temple and other religious sites" by John M. Lindquist, along with
photographs of the Samye Monastery, Kumbum Temple, Palkor Chode
Monastery, pilgrims being ferried to Samye across the Tsangpo River and a
woman selling scriptures.
**********************************************************************
Date: Sun, 09 Apr 1995 01:11:36 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Top Ten List:
Top Ten Reasons
given by the United People's Front (UPF) on why
they hurled stones at Hillary Clinton's motorcade in Kathmandu
10. "They denied us a visa, man . . . to drive cabs in New York!"
09. "No, we did not mean to hurt Hillary. We were only trying to hit
the evil spirits hovering over her head."
08. "They totally misunderstood us: We meant to say, 'Imperialists go
home . . . and COME BACK with money to invest in our industries.
But we shouted the first line loudly, and the second line softly."
07. "We just wanted to see how far we could throw stones without hurting
anybody."
06. "Hey, we are stone-age people, with stone-hearted tactics. What do you
expect?"
05. "Come on, relax, it's not that big a deal: That's what Newt Gingrich
would have done anyway, had he too been in Kathmandu, hanging out
with us."
04. "Throwing stones at visiting important guests: This program was brought
to you by the creative minds of Babu Ram Bhattarai and Hisila Yami,
our great leaders, whose previous jobs include stints at stone-cutting
facilities at the Himal Cement Company and the Department of Roads."
03. "You know Mick and Keith? Well, they are the Rolling Stones . . .and
our Babu Ram and Hisila? Well, they make up our very own Hurling
Stones. Get it?"
02. "Ah! Just our way of winning brownie points with Comrade Gonzalo in
Peru. You see, Comrade Gonzalo is our long-distance David Koresh!"
01. "Oh, baby, we were all totally STONED! That jadi-booti from Mt. Kailash
was making us all just so high that we had no idea what the hell we
were doin'."
*************************************************************
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 1995 23:38:33 PDT
To: nepal-request@cs.niu.edu
From: FRENCHBRD@eworld.com
Subject: letter to editor, request for information
Dear Editor:
First, thank you very much for so promptly initiating my subscription to
TND.
Would you kindly post the following request:
I would greatly appreciate information on the current mathematics curriculum
at the middle-school level (grades 7 and 8), in Nepal. I am doing a
comparative study of mathematics education and curricula in the US and other
countries. My last visit of several to Nepal was 1988, and my info is not
very up to date. Specifically; info re: grades and grading standards,
curriculum and curriculum standards, salient differences in curriculum,
education, and performance in rural areas vs. Kathmandu. Any response would
be most appreciated. Thank you!
Robert Matthews
french brd@eworld.com
**********************************************************************
Subject: Happy New Year 2052
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 15:36:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Anil Shrestha" <shresth1@student.msu.edu>
To: The Editor, TND
From: Friends of Nepal at MSU
We would like to wish readers of TND all around the world "A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
2052."
***********************************************************
Date: Sun, 09 Apr 1995 17:07:55 -0500 (EST)
From: Jagadish Dawadi <JXD9590@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - April 9, 1995 (26 Chaitra 2051 BkSm)
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Dear TND Readers!
I
Wish All Of You
A
Happy New Year 2052!
May This New Year Be Prosperous To All Of You!
Namaste!
Jagdish Dawadi
Rochester Institute Of Technology
Rochester, New York
*************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 16:47:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ashutosh Tiwari <tiwari@husc.harvard.edu>
Subject: Decision-making
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
I was absolutely amazed at the number of people who could not
distinguish between whether it was Amulya's or FORWARDED by Amulya, re:
the recent posting on BKS. So much so that one reader, in a particular
burst of white-hot anger, even called Amulya "Mr. Loose-Mouth". And that
reader was AGAINST name-calling! Fascinating people, aren't we?
Amulya is certainly right that there are many dimensions to any
decision-making process in Nepal. And that no single posting or an essay
can truly capture every essence of that ENTIRE decision-making process.
Certainly the state of secondary schools in Nepal, for example,
requires greater efforts, resources and more time to be understood more
clearly than what is possible to point out here on the screen.
But I also think out that just because a topic is
complex, or just because it is close to someone's heart, that's no
excuse to NOT critically discuss it at all.
After all, if a debate is to be sustained well, somebody has to
start somewhere, even with some naive ideas or thoughts. Otherwise, if
we assume, a priori, that all things are complex and therefore require
tons of expertise beforehand on one's part, how then to go about benefitting
[intellectaully] from this vast pool of talents, intelligence, knowledge
and experiences that 1200-plus TND readers from all over the world possess?
Personally, I do NOT think that TND debates have any obligation to
help in Nepal ko Bikas. If they do that, fine. Even if they don't, well,
as a TND reader, I would be more than happy if these kura-kani SIMPLY
make us challenge our long-held assumptions, unsettle our fuzzy beliefs,
sharpen our knowledge and help us getting our ideas, thoughts, reports,
and news across to a well-educated, concerned audience without getting
personal or unduly cynical. It would also help, if they entertain us, too!
After all, hey, if vigorous dialogues now shape robust democracy
later on, then Nepal's Internet Generation -- consisting of FUTURE
doctors, engineers, lawyers, public policy makers, scientists, social
scientists, philosophers, writers, politicians, professors, ministers,
and, yes, even our favorite Amulya Tuladhar :-) -- is right here,
chatting up in cyberspace. Amazing, ain't it, when you pause and think
about it.
namaste
ashu
*************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 17:26:45 -0500 (CDT)
From: loomin <rd038@aix1.ucok.edu>
To: nepal_news_bulletin <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: **Nebraska boys**
The following information was written by -Gyanendra Aryal
Hi Shobhakar-
It was nice to hear from you via TND.
Regarding your queries:
Sanjaya Shrestha--- phone # 402-558 5636
Kanchan Sharma ---- phone # same as above.
Pawan Adhikari ---- CRDT, Wallsall Campus
Gorway Road
551 .3bd, Walsall
UK
..sorry i don't have his phone #.
so long...take care...and have fun.
Gyan
namaste.
**************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 19:57 EST
From: ATULADHAR@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - April 9, 1995 (26 Chaitra 2051 BkSm)
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
LAND USE WORKS IN CENTRAL NEPAL...
=================================
This is in response to Joti Giri's request for any contacts and leads of
land use works in central nepal that might help him with this mathmatical
modelling of river flooding of Bagmati. I am offering my two cents of
suggestions that might be of interest to joti and others who may be interested
in environmental research on Nepal...
At Clark university, we have been studying Nepal's himalayas since 1990's as
part of research supported by National Science Foundation, United Nations
University, UNITAR, NASA, and Ford Foundation. The first phase studied
environmental change in the Himalayas as part of the global study that studied
environmental change in 9 critical areas of the world (Aral Sea in USSR, Ordos
Plateau in china, Borneo, Kenya, the Mediterranean, the Great Lakes, South
west America, and Mexico city). Leading this study was Dr. N. S, Jodha,
formerly Director of Mountain Farming System of ICIMOD. The study was
coordinated by Principal Invetigators R. E. Kasperson and B. L. Turner II.
This study looked not only into environmental change but also societal
response and concluded that Nepal was an endangered environment. This study is
coming out ina book published by United nations University called Regions at
Risk: Comparison of Threatened Environments in 1995.
The next study was an effort to explore how Landsat Imagery could be used to
assess environmental criticality in the Middle Mountains. This study used
1:50,000 contour maps, 1978 and 1992 aerial photo graphs, GPS recordings in
the field, and IDRISI GIS to try to identify environmental change and societal
respone patterns by satellite platform. The preliminary results will come in
the Journal of Global Environmental Change in 1995 (PLEC issue).D9!
The Clark Cartogragphic labs, where the most popular GIS software (some 12000
licensed users worldwide) was developed , has studied the Bagmati watershed
for a series of UNITAR instructional exercises in decision making such as
using gis to decide land allocation in Kathmandu valley for agriculture vs
carpet factory. This research has produced GIS data bases of controus, GPS
locations, relief, aspect maps all in GIS spatial data base. While all ths
looks jazzy, they all suffer from the primal sin of unreliable contour maps of
Nepal from which they have been digitized.
Ford Foundation has funded an ECOGEN study of Ecology, Gender, and Community
analysis of development and environmental change. The study area was Ghusel, a
remote village on the souther edge of kathmandu valley. The data is mostly
social and not biophysical.
Besides these research at Clark, University of British Columbia have been
involved for nearly 8 years studying the Jhikhu Khola watershed for micro
level environmental change and much of their work is biophysical in nature.
They have exact data on soil run off, change of forest and agriculture cover,
specially flown aerial phototgraphy at 1:20,000, all in GIS format
(TERRASOFT). They have brought a series of articles in Mountain Research and
Development and Environmental Management, the latest being "Gaining forests
but losing ground: A GIS Evaluation of in a Himalayan Watershed" in
Environmental Management, 18(1): 139-150. Try calling up hans Schreir at
University of British Columbia.
During the mid eighties, Barry Haack studied the Kathmandu Valley with Spot
satellite imagery and GIS to study urban growth and in the process also
developed GIS spatial data base of runoff and slope and aspect that Barry
haack may be interested for his mathmatical modelling.
Exercises in mathmatical modelling raise hopes of exactitude and the authority
of science but all this is a function of foundational data base such as the
Topographic maps such as developed by the Survey of Indian which nepal still
uses. Till a few years ago, the govt was so tizzy about availing these maps
ostensibly for "defence " purposes and it is rumoured that Nepal has only 2
"original copies " from the Survey of India one with rhe Royal Army and the
other as master copy with the Topographical survey of Nepal. The rest are
bluish color ammonia prints where we can hardly read the topo maps and the
utmost of digitizers is completely lost when we have to interpolate between
points. Also my professor of remote sensing gis and cartography had the rare
fortune to see the multicolor "original" contour map at the Topo Geodetic
survey office at the Kausi of theChar Khal Adda in Dilli Bazaar while we were
disputing the differing in the so-called 1 meter accuracy of Geodetic Control
points which we dug up and calibrated with 21 defence Global Satellite
Positioning system and found them to be off by up to 200 to 300 meters. In
these points the boundaries of forests and shrubs were obviously
interpolations between few random measurements. No doubt this introduces gross
errors in calculations of vegetation covers, the rainfall interception, the
soil runoff and all the fancy mathmatical manipulations one might do.
just my humble opinion,
Amulya Tuladhar
Clark University
USA
THE GREAT BKS DEBATE: THE MICROCOSM OF WHAT'S WRONG IN nEPAL?
==============================================================
Many in the TND are frankly tired with the "great BKS" debate ignited by the
great discussion moderator of ancient past, ashu, and fired up by the
incendiary defence of the loyal bks alums. What have we learned so far?
1. That Ashu's orginal thesis that the State has no right to support
such elite school despite BKSites asserting that it is necessary
to produce bright nepalese who may be poor to top schools of the world
stands,
2. That BKS grads are a bright and articulate lot and fiercely proud
of their school and would love to shout down any dissenting opinions,
3. That BKS grads and others no longer dispute that the causal links
demonstrated by the anonymous posting that claimed that there is
cheating going on in enrolling into BKS, a hallowed myth that
all bks are virginally pure, " poor" [emphais on poor underscored
because this is the crux of the argument justifying the State's
investment for the righteous cause of helping these poor brigth
students] and deserving.
The debate has now moved into whether this systematic cheating and looting
(note, no debate here argued by the bks alums) is a "isoloted random" event
or much more characteristic bks, as other pork barrel schemes of Nepal?
It is interesting that similar objections are raised about any book that hits
the nail on the head, one of the first defence is denial: "oh it is an
isolated thing," one of the characteristics of "isolated things" if really
true is that the accused do not feel threatened about being exposed so it is
often ignored. As Shakespear, that classic purveyor of human nature, noted,
"Thou dost protest too much" is often taken by dispassionalte observers as a
common sense indication of a smoking gun, that something is totally amiss.
I am referring here not to BKS but the book, "FAtalism and Development" a book
that has been torn apart as "screwy research, unrepresentative, simplistic" by
only the defendents implicated in the book but which most every development
worker both nepalese and foreginer admits hits the nail on the head of being
right on target. I sometime wonder if we begin to insist that every argument
stand up in a court of law, and we know even that is flawed, before we believe
in the credibility of a thesis we cannot get any social communication done.
There will always be varying degrees of access to data and knowlege and it
does not follow that truth lies only in the head of the most well informed .
if that was so, we would buying into a elitist notion of society ruled by
Plato's philosopher kings or in modern US contexts there is an expert for
everything to comment on the evening news from why peoplf fall off chairs to
dna sampling of blood samples. Can we say the jurors understand all the
details of dna that the experts do and does that disqualify them for passing
judgements?
Just wondering...
Amulya Tuladhar
**********************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 17:46:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anshuman Pandey <apandey@u.washington.edu>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Nepali Brahmins.
I'm looking for any information about the Pande/Pandey families in
Nepal. I've heard that a great number of Nepali Pande Brahmins migrated
from Uttar Pradesh, India some time ago, and were once called Pandey.
>From the same group as these Pandeys, come the Tiwari, Dwivedi, Mishra,
etc, Brahmins.
Any information anyone is able to provide me with is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again.
*************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 18:31:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dahal Durga <daha9014@uidaho.edu>
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - April 9, 1995 (26 Chaitra 2051 BkSm)
Tax people, I pay tax by my salary. My parents pay tax of their land.
What kind of tax you are looking for? Bribe tax? Thanks.
******************************************************
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 00:50:49 -0400
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: World Neighbors' project in Nepal.
From: fkroger@coho.halcyon.com (Frank F Kroger)
Here is a report about World Neighbors' activity in Baudha-Bahunipati,
Nepal.
Please let me know if you think this is too long of a post.
Please see my signature for information about WN appearance on the PBS tv
series "The Quiet Revolution" or send email if you have questions.
Thanks,
Frank
The Integration of Population and Environment
In Baudha-Bahunipati, Nepal
Denise Caudill
Research Associate, World Neighbors
I. Nepal - Crisis in population & environment
Experiment & Experience
III. Case Study: Majhigaon Village
IV. Strategy for Sustainability
V. Lessons Learned
VI. References
I. NEPAL -- CRISIS IN POVERTY, POPULATION & ENVIRONMENT
The world community has now recognized the
interrelation of population, the environment and poverty.
International debates have begun on how to address these related
issues. Conflicts arise especially over the issue of population,
as seen at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and in the
prelude discussions to the UN International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo.
UNICEF has presented the "PPE spiral" in its State of the
World's Children 1994. This schematic illustrates the integrated
and mutually reinforcing relationships between poverty,
population growth and environmental stress. It also proposes an
integrated response against the PPE problems, emphasizing family
planning, health and nutrition and education, especially of
girls. (1)
In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development
urged that "population policies must have a broader focus than
controlling numbers: measures to improve the quality of human
resources in terms of health, education and cosial development
are as important." (2)
These problems and possibilities for solutions can easily be
seen in Nepal. In the 1989 Worldwatch Paper -- Poverty and the
Environment: Reversing the Downward Spiral, Alan Durning
described the problems:
Nepal exemplifies the way sheer growth of human numbers
feeds the spiral, when human practices at a given level
of technology exceed the carrying capacity of local
environments. As population swells, peasants in
highland valleys are forced to expand their plots onto
steep forested hillsides, extending the distance women
must walk to gather fuel and fodder. Over the past
decade, during which forests have shrunk to half of
their original extent, women's average daily journeys
have increased by more than an hour. Pressed for time,
their workday in the fields shorten, family income
falls, and they have both less food to cook and less
time to cook it. Shubh Kuman and David Hotchkiss of the
International Food Policy Research Institute report not
only that daily food consumption in the region has
fallen by 100 calories per person on average, but that
- in village after village - childhood malnutrition
rates and deforestation rates are closely coupled. In
the hill regions of Nepal, in other words, the health
of a village's children can be read in the retreating
tree line on surrounding slopes. (3)
Sharon Camp, Ph.D., former senior vice president of
Population Action International, suggests a solution. She states
that voluntary family planning programs alone are not enough to
bring about required reduction in fertility to achieve world
population stabilization: "but in combination with other efforts
to raise the social and economic status of women, reduce child
mortality, and improve economic opportunities for low-income
families, better quality voluntary family planning programs are
sufficient to stop most population growth in most parts of the
world." (4)
This paper will describe the experiences of people in rural
Nepal who have reversed the downward spiral of poverty,
population and environment through an integrated community-based
self-development process.
The Baudha-Bahunipati Family Welfare program is sponsored by
the Family Planning Association of Nepal in partnership with
World Neighbors.
II. The Baudha-Bahunipati Family Welfare Program:
Experiment & Experience
The Baudha-Bahunipati (BBP) Family Welfare project grew out
of a modest, private health care project based in the Baudha
Family Health Center on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal in the
early 1970s. This small clinic was providing basic health and
family planning services to the local community. Additionally,
some patients and clients from Sindhupalchowk District, a remote
area northeast of Kathmandu, used these facilities as there were
no other health services available. Under the auspices of the
Family Planning Association of Nepal and with support from the
International Planned Parenthood Association, the Baudha-
Bahunipati Family Welfare project began in 1973 when it expanded
its clinic services to Bahunipati, a small bazaar located on a
major trading route in Sindhupalchowk.
The people's fundamental concerns had more to do with self-
sufficiency and improved livelihood than child-spacing in the
early days of the program. Excessive demand on the area's
diminishing resources by the growing population had resulted in
subsistence living conditions, lack of food security and
outmigration.
In community discussions, the people identified priority
objectives of income generation through improved agriculture and
livestock development. The animals they had were unproductive,
such as cows that were raised for manure only which required
grazing yet didn't produce milk.
World Neighbors participation began in 1975. Without the
resources to work in non-family planning activities, the project
requested World Neighbors to support a pilot project integrating
family planning with community health and income generation from
fodder and livestock.
Families work small plots of land, planting rice in the
valleys and corn and millet on the hillsides. Production was
barely sufficient for family food security -- no surplus
available for sale. Livestock was the source of manure for
fertilizer and potential additional income and food for the
family. Water buffalo could provide meat and milk: goats and pigs
provide meat and a source for quick cash. But a critical limiting
factor to productive livestock improvement was the lack of
grazing land or fodder for the animals.
From its initiation, the project has addressed comprehensive
and integrated needs of the people as seen in the original goals
of the program:
* reduce the birth rate and improve the health of children
and mothers
*increase agricultural productivity and family income --
especially of small farmers
* increase community participation in program design and
implementation
* provide basic curative and preventative health services
until the area is adequately served by alternative
services
* integrate project activities with other agencies and the
government for effective utilization of available
resources
* seek to discourage permanent out-migration by promoting
income generating activities and better health care
* demonstrate the project's cost-effectiveness to government
and non-government agencies.
In addition to setting these goals, the project began with a
commitment to long-term continuity of involvement, starting
slowly and encouraging people's participation at every stage. (5)
The project started small, working with one health center
and the surrounding community of Bahunipati in 1973 and gradually
expanded to cover one-half of the district by 1980 with an
integrated development approach of community health, family
planning, drinking water, sanitation, fodder and livestock
development for income.
Where other government or international organizations had
programs, such as the Department of Health, Action Aid and Save
the Children Foundation UK, the Baudha-Bahunipati Family Welfare
project filled in the gaps, providing family planning services or
agroforestry extension or drinking water systems support.
In the mid-1980s a strategy of concentration in "focus
communities" was adopted to allow for better measure of the
relationship between adoption of contraceptives and the
integrated project activities. In general, good impact in family
planning acceptance had been realized but the association with
other key project activities was still difficult to assess.
Characteristics of the "focus communities" included:
representative of marginalized people, low class and income;
dryland farming; inconvenient drinking water source; interest in
livestock improvement. After a three-year emphasis in these
areas, the "focus communities" showed double the acceptance of
family planning compared to the overall district and national
rates. Along with the increased focus and evaluation efforts,
formation of user groups (for credit, managing and repairing
drinking water systems, rotating male breeding goats) led to
enhanced capacity of communities to sustaining their improvements
following the phase-out of the three year projects.
Measurement of these important health indicators in 1993
show the results realized in the Baudha-Bahunipati Family Welfare
project area:
BBP Program National
Under age five
mortality rate 46.5/1000 107/1000
Total Fertility Rate 3.2 5.8
Crude Birth Rate 26.1 36
Crude Death Rate 8.1 14
A summary of other major accomplishments since 1988
illustrate the extent of the program activities:
* family planning acceptance (April 1993) 6,687 fertile
couples protected (22% of the project area population of 153,000)
* fertile couple protection 35% to 62% in 15 focus
communities following three years of integrated services
* curative health service to 10,000 patients per year
through four health clinics which are now 50% self-supporting
* introduction and continued use of latrines; 525 pit
latrines constructed in focus communities
* 55 new drinking water systems completed and sustained by
community user groups
* project nursery producing approximately 15,000 fodder,
fuel and timber seedlings per year for use as "mother plants" and
start-up planting material for extension in new areas.
* 150 home nurseries producing 52,000 seedlings in June 1994
* livestock upgraded with improved breeding in 22
communities known to the project
* eight local NGOs assisted in organization, registration,
planning and implementation, to sustain the program activities.
(6)
III. CASE STUDY: MAJHIGAON VILLAGE
The project began in the Bahunipati area and would later
expand to 48 village development committees covering about 450
square miles with an estimated population of 160,000.
The Majhi fishing village of Bahunipati situated along the
Indrawati River was one of the first involved in program
activities. A focus on it from 1975 to 1990 reveals the evolution
of the BBP project.
Early Days of the Program
The Majhi people traditionally relied on fishing from the
river for their livelihood. Environmental degradation had
severely limited the productive fishing and the Majhi became
subsistence farmers and porters. They are among the poorest
classes in Nepal. The land they farmed was marginal, steeply
terraced, rainfed hillslopes that was mostly reclaimed forest.
Trees had been cut if they competed with the rainy-season
crops of corn and millet. The people's constant need for animal
fodder, fuel and timber also led to the cutting of trees.
Remaining forest land across the river was at risk. The Majhi
used the remaining forest to graze animals and as a source for
cutting fodder. The need for fodder was critical. Manure was
insufficient for crop production, especially for any improved
varieties, and livestock numbers were limited because fodder was
unavailable.
Limiting Factor Identified
What was needed to address this complex problem was a fast-
growing fodder tree that would grow on the terrace faces, could
be cut to prevent shading, was nitrogen-fixing and deep rooted to
prevent competition with crops for moisture and nutrients -- the
leucaena trees were the perfect, early solution.
Varieties of leucaena seed were first acquired from World
Neighbors programs in the Philippines. The project staff
germinated the new seeds using inoculant from soil taken from
around a leucaena tree growing in a government research farm near
Kathmandu. They transplanted the seedlings around the health
center in Bahunipati and waited to see what would happen.
The trees survived and averaged eight to ten feet of growth
during that first year, 1977. The best variety was chosen based
on fodder yield and the seeds from those trees were used to begin
the first community nursery to produce seedlings for the Majhi
people.
Farmers Test New Idea
Slowly a process of diffusion took root. Farmers tested the
new trees on their own land where they could learn for themselves
that leucaena would grow on terraces along with other crops, it
would not compete for moisture, nutrients or sun, and that it
would produce fodder for their livestock. The people measured the
value of the trees by the effect they had on their animals -- how
many they could maintain, milk yields, meat gains.
One of the first farmers to get involved was also one of the
first family planning acceptors. This woman, Laxmi Majhi, went on
to produce the largest number of trees, increase her livestock
holdings and become a village health worker. Though family
planning services had been available for four years already, the
increase in acceptance of family planning started at the same
time as the agroforestry activities. (7)
The news about the project spread to even more farmers
through the use of field days during which people from other
villages and districts visited the farms of ongoing program
participants. Farm tours, field-discussions, and farmer-to-farmer
sharing enabled many people to learn from their peers about
everything from transplanting, spacing, manuring, weeding to
lopping the fodder and feeding practices. (8)
Measuring program progress
A household survey was conducted in Majhigaon in 1983 to
provide baseline information for measuring program progress. By
1986 these changes had occurred:
* 40% increase in livestock
* sale of animals went up from 26 head a year to 234;
purchases went down for 32 from 68
* 85% of households using leucaena as primary fodder tree
* 49% of households had enough food to last all year
compared to 13% in 1983
* average annual growth of the population at 3.5%
With the realization of these successes and triumphs over
problems, the Majhi people took on more projects. People desired
irrigation canals and drinking water systems and requested
funding assistance. The project encouraged them to collect money
locally which led to the establishment of "user groups" -- made
up of the families who co-fund, construct, manage, and use the
water systems.
In 1989 the household survey was conducted once again and
revealed these improvements:
* 90% of households using leucaena
* 73% of households had enough food to last all year
* average annual growth of the population down to 1.9%
But also in 1989 the leucaena trees were devastated by a
psyllid which destroyed the fodder-producing capacity of the
trees. The insects ate the tender new shoots produced when the
trees were cut.
The community nursery diversified and produced seedlings of
other fodder trees. Farmers now produce seedlings in their home
nurseries, which they learn to establish and maintain following
one-day training sessions conducted at the project nursery. (9)
A decade after the program began in Majhigaon, visitors
asked the local people what they would do if the project stopped
in the area and their response was, "They have taught us enough.
We can manage." (10)
Evaluation Findings
An impact evaluation of the Baudha-Bahunipati (BBP) Family
Welfare project was conducted in Majhigaon village in 1989 by the
Nepali research organization New ERA with assistance for the Ford
Foundation. (11)
The study had six major components:
1) leucaena-cereal interaction
2) fodder system and livestock keeping
3) irrigation system and cropping pattern
4) income expenditure pattern
5) time allocation study
6) family planning adoption.
A similar comparison village, Dumrechour, was also included in
the study. The major difference between the two villages was the
activity of the BBP program. However, due to its proximity to
Majhigaon and diffusion of program activities, Dumrechour did
experience some impact from the program. Despite this, key
differences were found:
* before the implementation of the BBP project there were
few productive animals and fodder trees in the two villages --
one or two per household. The study found average animal holding
size (excluding poultry) at 4.71 in Majhigaon and 5.71 in
Dumrechour, and average number of fodder trees per household at
346 and 45 respectively. Both production per unit and economic
efficiency were measured higher in Majhigaon than Dumrechour.
* easy access to fodder and drinking water systems in
Majhigaon significantly reduced time spent on fodder collection
and water carrying which allowed family members (primarily women)
to spend their time saved on other farm and non-farm activities,
including more time with children and generating extra income.
* household income level was higher in Majhigaon than in
Dumrechour although larger land and animal holdings were evident
in the latter. This was due to higher productivity from resources
in Majhigaon.
* 100% of the people in Majhigaon had knowledge of at least
one form of family planning, almost double that of respondents in
the comparison village. Current users of family planning in
Majhigaon was 37.7% compared to 28.7% in Dumrechour. There was
also a distinct difference between the two villages' knowledge of
specific methods -- Dumrechour respondents were found to have
little or no knowledge of temporary contraceptive methods while a
large majority of Majhigaon respondents were aware of and users
of oral pills and injectable contraceptives.
A general conclusion of the report was "the Bahunipati
Family Welfare clinic and program has been very effective in
providing family planning services."
IV. STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY
In the early 1990s, the Family Planning Association of Nepal
and World Neighbors began implementing a program strategy aimed
toward program-service sustainability, strengthening of local
capacity for program management and phase-out of outside support.
(12)
Central to the new strategy was the development of local,
community based organizations. These organizations would be
strengthened in order to take over responsibility for all program
activities -- from managing the clinics and providing services to
financial support and management.
A change in the government in 1990 brought with it a more
supportive climate for the registration of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). Since then it has been a relatively simple
process for the project to encourage individuals and user groups
to join together and become registered NGOs. Most of them grew
out of community user groups or networks of small NGOs.
The NGOs have established programs in the area which sustain
the activities of the BBP project but which are no longer solely
dependent on outside support. NGO programs include reproductive
health services, curative health services, women's credit,
construction of drinking water systems, community nurseries for
agroforesty and livestock improvement. (13)
The BBP project has changed its focus to one of replication
through training. Demand has steadily increased from local,
national and international groups interested in learning about
the integrated development approach. A training facility has been
constructed in the program area and training curriculum
developed.
V. LESSONS LEARNED
The long experience gained through the Baudha Bahunipati
Family Welfare project has provided many lessons. Among them:
* The integrated approach to family planning works,
evidenced by the findings that contraceptive acceptance and
continuation rates were significantly higher in areas served by
the integrated approach than in villages where family planning
was accessible but without other development activities.
* Objectives for sustainability should be set at the
beginning of programs. Local institution building and
strengthening are as important as any other project activity and
is essential for long-term sustainability. (14)
* Sustainable family planning activities are best rooted in
community-based programs with fees for services and drugs.
* Always start with the people, establishing trust,
strengthening their capacity to identify, analyze and solve their
own problems. Work with people to try out new ideas, starting
small and staying practical.
The Baudha-Bahunipati Family Welfare program is sponsored by
the Family Planning Association of Nepal in partnership with
World Neighbors. The following organizations have provided
financial and other support:
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The Ford Foundation
The Scaife Family Charitable Trust
The Brush Foundation
OXFAM-UK
International Planned Parenthood Federation
PATH
Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association
CEDPA
Asia Health Institute (Japan)
Phd Foundation (Japan)
World Neighbors Canada Society
SG Foundation
The Martin Foundation
VI. REFERENCES
1. UNICEF. State of the World's Children 1994. Oxford and New
York: Oxford University Press for UNICEF.
2. World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common
Future. 1987.
3. Durning, Alan B. Poverty and the Environment: Reversing the
Downward Spiral. Worldwatch Paper 92. Washington DC: Worldwatch,
November 1989.
4. Camp, Sharon, L. "Global Population Stabilization: A 'No
Regrets' Strategy" in Conscience. Vol. XIV, No.3, Autumn 1993.
5. Caudill, Denise. "Integrated Strategy Focused On Agriculture,
Livestock and Economic Improvements Yields Significant Health and
Family Planning Results in Nepal," Paper presented at National
Council for International Health Conference, Washington, DC,
1988.
6. Arens, Tom. "World Neighbors Five Year Summary Report to the
Social Welfare Council," Kathmandu, Nepal, May 21, 1993.
7. Hamand, Jeremy. "Fodder Trees and Family Planning in Nepal" in
Earthwatch. Number 28, 1987.
8. Arens, Tom and Nakarmi, Gopal. "Case Study 3, Baudha-
Bahunipati Family Welfare Project, Nepal," The Greening of Aid:
Sustainable Livelihoods in Practice, International Institute for
Environment and Development, 1988.
9. Westley, Sidney. "Family planning project turns to nitrogen-
fixing trees." Nitrogen Fixing Tree News. Volume 1 - Number 3.
July-September, 1993.
10. Vaidya, Huta Ram. "Villagers of Majhigaon Rise to Prosperity"
in Himal. Nov-Dec 1990.
11. Adhikary, B. R. ed. The Boudha-Bahunipati Project (BBP) At
Majhigaon, Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal: An Overview.
Kathmandu, Nepal: New ERA, 1990.
12. Arens, Tom. "Sustaining BBP - A Concept Paper," Memo to World
Neighbors headquarters, received April 2, 1991.
13. Arens, Tom. Strategic Plan for South Asia. Kathmandu, Nepal:
World Neighbors, 1994.
14. Severinghaus, Jeff. Is Reproductive Health a Sustainable
Rural Development Strategy? An Analysis of a Family Planning
Project in Nepal. Oklahoma City, OK: World Neighbors, 1991.
Posted by:
*Frank Kroger, World Neighbors volunteer Seattle WA US fkroger@halcyon.com
** World Neighbors: working in a cost effective way at the forefront of
*** efforts to help the poor of the world help themselves.
****Look for WN on the upcoming PBS series the "Quiet Revolution."
***** World Neighbors Home Page http://www.halcyon.com/fkroger/wn.html
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