Marking the World Tourism Day at the DDC Humla

• The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was convened from August 26 to September 4, 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• The concluding meeting of Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal (SDAN) Steering Committee was held on August 16, 2002.
• SCDP Humla supported the CBOs’ plans to equip five schools of SCDP area with furniture.
• A total of 39 infrastructure development projects have been completed including 13 drinking water supply schemes in Okhaldhunga district alone.
• SCDP Okhaldhunga supported 12 Village Sustainable Development Specialists through providing with equipment for veterinary services.
• World Tourism Day has been celebrated in the Programme districts on September 27, 2002. In Humla, DDC and SCDP jointly marked the Day by organising an open photograph competition, exhibition of handicrafts and pottery. The winning participants had been awarded on the occasion. It was hoped that such local crafts and cultural items can help promoting eco-tourism in the district.

Fig 1: Contribution in Community fund raising by types of the CBOs by September 2002

The number of Community-based Organisations formed and activated is reached 1358 and over Rs 18 million community capital has been generated. Over Rs. two million has been added from the interest of the capital that has been internally mobilised. In this way, the community capital mounts to over Rs. 20 million.

Figure 1 gives a glance of only women CBOs' place among mixed and only men CBOs in terms of contribution in raising community fund. There are 304 women CBOs, which is just one quarter of total 1358 CBOs. Nearly half of the members of mixed CBOs are women despite of patriarchal pattern of Nepalese society and thus their contribution to the community capital formation looks no less significant. It is noteworthy that the amount of weekly saving has been made by women CBOs themselves is more practical (Rs. one or two per week in most cases). The equal contribution of money for community fund is essential to avoid social disparity among the members.

Natural Resource Management 
Natural resource management is the centre-point of SCDP. Under this, various sub activities are designed and implemented by the CBOs in collaboration with the local institutions and line agencies. They have formed need-based functional committees to look at special work assigned for. Conservation, protection, rehabilitation, domestication and finally the sustainable use of natural resources are the key areas the communities work.

Multipurpose Nurseries  
A total of 27 multipurpose nurseries have been operated in the SCDP programme districts. The community-based nurseries serve mostly CBOs plantation plans and meet individual needs. SCDP Kailali reports Rs. 72,802 as income to the CBOs from selling of 1,16,414 seedlings in multipurpose nurseries of Giddiniya and Chhatiuna. These nurseries stock over 1,76,000 seedlings. SCDP also supported the communities by providing with over 95,000 seedlings worth Rs 57,000 in other five programme districts. The management committee of Multipurpose Forest Nursery cum Demonstration Plot, Thehe, Humla, has been developing the nursery as profit centre, and has grown 200 edimail seedlings that will produce 200 apple seedlings next year. By selling these seedlings, the management committee has estimated Rs 3,000 as income. The nursery had grown 10,000 seedlings of medicinal plants, some rootstocks of edimail and of vegetables that includes timber and fodder tree species.

	Community Plantation in Rumjatar

Plantations 
During the quarter, 30 CBOs of Kailali have planted different plant species in 72 hector of land. SCDP Kailali provided the communities with 95,000 seedlings and technical support. Likewise, SCDP Okhaldhunga has reported plantation of over 6,000 fruit species, 40,000 fuel wood, fodder and timber species, over 3,000 broom grass, over 8,000 nepier grass and 375 bamboo rhizomes. In Myagdi, a total of 8.3 hector of barren land is covered by the CBOs' plantation activities during this quarter. The CBOs planted toona alder, bamboo, amriso and pinus species, which help to control soil erosion. CBOs of Gumi, Lekhfarsa, Ghatgaun and Tatapani VDCs of Surkhet district have planted a total of 16,000 different species. Likewise, the Eco-Club of Vidyapur has planted 50 Ashoka seedlings in the school premises.

Community Forest Management Support 
The Support Organisations in each district provided technical support to manage community forests so that the ownership over the forests would remain to the locals and the forests would be managed in a sustainable way. Supporting through providing training and orientation to the communities and helping them prepare forest management plans are among the activities undertaken by SCDP. Six Forest User Groups were registered in Kailali during this quarter. This will benefit over 1,170 households of Seukaliya, Mukti Nagar, Dhodarpur, Malbhanga and Motipur villages.

Alternative Energy Promotion  
During this quarter, 14 improved cook stoves have been installed in Chala settlement of Muchu VDC of Humla. SCDP Okhaldhunga has reported installation of 203 ICS, and 100 solar home systems to this date. Most of the Programme VDCs are potential for installation of biogas technology. It is a difficult task to motivate locals to install the bio-gas plants due to their poor economic condition. Therefore, SCDP initiated special package to support the communities providing short- term loans and a provision of award to the households who attach their toilets to the plants. As a demonstration, 12 bio-gas plants have been installed in Betini, Unbu, Rumjatar and Moli VDCs in Okhaldhunga district that will help saving trees from chopping down on a regular basis for fuel wood collection.
  

Drinking Water and Sanitation 
Despite of the sloppy terrain, construction of individual household toilets is not an easy task in Humla. People are habitual to use public places like village trails for open latrine. As a result of untiring motivational efforts, communities have gradually changed their attitudes towards human waste disposal management. Thali settlement of Raya VDC of Humla was dirtiest even few days back. The community members have now completed construction of 93 private household toilets. During the quarter, 35 toilets in Kharpunath and Raya have also been constructed.

SCDP Surkhet has provided the Hariyali CBO of Bijaura with Rs. 35,000 to support installation of three rainwater collection jars. In Okhaldhunga, Mahakali Samudayik Digo Bikas Mahila CBO of Ketuke, has completed a drinking water project that costs Rs. 40,000 for which SCDP contributed Rs. 13,000. The scheme has benefited 10 households. Such three schemes are under construction in Moli and Betini VDCs and CBOs and SCDP have agreed to join their hands for new four drinking water supply schemes.

Infrastructure Development Support 
Village trails, bridges, roads and culverts are the most focused infrastructure development activities for CBOs for increasing accessibility to the market or service center like schools, Health Post, Post Office or VDC office. In Myagdi, SCDP contributed a natural spring conservation scheme of a CBO of Darbang VDC providing with Rs. 12,406. The CBO contributed Rs. 5,580 to complete the project. SCDP contributed Rs. 45,500 for which VDC and communities contributed a matching fund of Rs. 18,000 and Rs. 63,683 respectively for construction of community building at Histan Mandali VDC. SCDP Okhaldhunga contributed Rs. 12,380 in construction of community building in Rumjatar. The community building serves all community requirements to store hardware, conduct meeting and performing rituals.

An example of collaboration is a link road at Loharpur settlement of Chuha VDC, Kailali, where a CBO gravelled a 2 k.m. long link road. The CBO itself contributed Rs. 35,000 while SCDP contributed Rs. 6,000 and VDC contributed Rs. 15,000 to complete the work. SCDP Okhaldhunga supported construction work of two shrines (both the Shiva Temples) of Rumjatar and Unbu VDCs.

A main committee and a CBO of Narayanpur VDC in Dang in collaboration with the Rural Urban Partnership Programme (RUPP) and VDC have constructed a market complex in Narayanpur and a ring well in Satbariya. SCDP contributed Rs 30,000 while Rural Urban Partnership (RUPP) and VDCs shared Rs 1,00,000 for the schemes. The total cost of the scheme was Rs. 1,56,000. A village trail has been constructed in Rumjatar VDC- 2 and 3 for which SCDP complemented Rs 38,724 the VDC contributed Rs. 20,000 and CBOs contributed labour equivalent Rs. 26,000.
  

Economic Development

Green Enterprises

All the CBOs formed and activated have raised over Rs 18 million and mobilised over 90 percent of their total saving for fulfilling basic household needs, and importantly, invested the community fund in creation and development of small scale enterprises. The CBO's micro enterprise plans have also been supported by providing SDFF loans and technical know how through developing linkages. The Support Organisations/NGOs have mobilised over Rs. 92 million to support the communities' economic development initiatives.

The Fulbari Community Forest User Groups of Kailali have earned Rs. 74,175 and invested over Rs. 50,000 for income generation activities from conservation of their forests. The communities have been able to sell bamboo, broom-grass and other locally consumed materials made of grass species from the community forests.

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