DRAFT REPORT

Rayale VDC Leasehold Forest User Groups cluster: Systematization and sharing of good practices in rural development

Rayale VDC, Kavrepalanchok District, Bagmati Zone, FDR Nepal, February 2013

Fig 1: Drawing maps of Rayale

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Department of Forestry Leasehold Forest and Livestock Programme (LFLP) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) PROCASUR Corporation

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report presents the experience in forest management undertaken by the Leasehold Forest User Group cluster of Rayale VDC, Kavrepalanchok District through the creation of VDC co-operative. The systematization of this experience has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Leasehold Forest and Livestock Programme (LFLP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the PROCASUR Corporation who provided technical and methodological support in the process of documenting the experience. The systematization process took place between 15

th and 18

th February 2013 in the village of Rayale, in the

district of Kavrepalanchok, Bagmati Zone, which lies at the heart of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) around 20 km southeast of Kathmandu. The systematization workshop involved project staff from HVAP, WUPAP, LFLP, and PAF, including staff that had previously participated in the training held during 2012, together with six local champions – two from Chitwan District, two from Kapilvastu District and two from Kavre District – plus one social mobiliser from Kavre District. Training and systematization activities were carried out using PROCASUR methodology in knowledge management and capacity building, as part of the activities supported by the regional IFAD-financed Learning Route Programme for Asia and the Pacific.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1, BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE 2. CONTEXT OF EXPERIENCE 3. LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF RAYALE 4. DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIENCE OVER TIME 5. MAIN ACTORS INVOLVED 6. DIVERSIFICATION OF RURAL LIVELIHOODS 7. OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLANGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 8. ANNEXES: List of participants and Training Agenda

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1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE As part of the IFAD-PROCASUR Learning Routes Programme for Asia and the Pacific, PROCASUR Corporation is supporting knowledge management and capacity building strategies for the scaling-up of best practices and innovations for poverty reduction among IFAD partners in the Asia and Pacific Region. The programme aims to increase knowledge-sharing and learning capacities at project and country levels by building up human capital, facilitating the adoption of best practices and improving the results and impacts of IFAD supported projects in the region. This is done by identifying, systematizing and disseminating existing knowledge on innovations and best practices; identifying local champions who are playing a key role in promoting innovations and enabling them to organize and share their experience using Learning Routes (LR) methodology; and by designing and implementing Learning Routes, as a way to further the dissemination and scaling-up of local knowledge. In this context, in September 2012 PROCASUR carried out the first mission to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in order to present the Learning Route Programme to IFAD project partners in the country and to implement the first capacity building and knowledge management training. All four IFAD-funded programmes were involved, meaning the Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme (LFLP), Western Uplands Poverty Alleviation Project (WUPAP), Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and High Value Agriculture Project in Hill and Mountain Areas (HVAP). The trainees included staff from institutions involved in, or associated with, two successful experiences in Chitwan and Kapilvastu districts, along with local champions and national staff from all four IFAD projects. The objective of the process was to identify, systematize and pedagogically package the existing and generated knowledge, innovations, best practices and lessons learned from two selected experiences from the LFLP and PAF projects. The process also provided an opportunity for the projects to acquire new capacities in terms of knowledge management and participatory research techniques directly in the field. Furthermore, collaboration between project staff and local participants was strengthened, enabling the latter to develop tools to communicate their knowledge to a broader public. Training and systematisation process took place from the 23

rd to 27

th September in the community of Devitar,

Shaktikhor VDC Chitwan district and from 29th

September to 3rd

October in the community of Bijuwa, Kapilvastu District. Both cases revolved around innovative experiences in the development of second tier network organisations – in both cases, co-operatives. The third case study systematization was carried out with training participants between the 15

th and 18

th February 2013.

The following report presents the outcomes from the February workshop, where the LFUG cluster’s experience in Rayale VDC, in the district of Kavrepalanchok, was explored. The systematization workshop involved project staff from HVAP, WUPAP, LFLP, and PAF programmes, and included staff that had previously participated in the two training sessions held during September and October 2012. There were also six local champions who participated as trainees, including two from Chitwan, two from Kapilvastu and two from Kavre District – plus one social mobiliser from Kavre District.

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2. CONTEXT OF EXPERIENCE Rayale VDC is a mid-hill village of nine wards with around 4000 households or families. It is in the district of Kavrepalanchok which is situated in the Bagmati Zone, at the heart of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) around 20 km southeast of Kathmandu. This is the region of the “middle hills” of the Mahabharat Range, also known as the Lesser Himalaya. The Middle Hills are densely populated in the lower valleys while population thins out above 2,000 meters. The paddy and cereal-based agriculture in the lower valleys gives way to seasonal herding and cold-tolerant crops such as potatoes in the higher valleys. Rayale has both paddy fields along the river valley floor, and non-irrigated cereal fields higher up, with forests on the higher slopes, on which much of the income generating activities are based.

Fig 2: Rayale VDC valley

Nepal’s forests are now broadly divided into two ownership categories: national and private. Most of the forests were nationalised in 1957 under the “Private Forests Nationalization Act”. This led to the disappearance of previously established communal forms of management and control over local forests, increasing deforestation through overgrazing and thus accelerated degradation. In 1976 the National Forest Plan was introduced based on the Panchayat Forestry governance, which evolved into the current form of community forestry governance. This involves Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), who are responsible in preserving the forests through a wide range of activities which link the community with the forests, timber, foliage and grass and other non-timber forest products.

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Community forests now cover more than 1 million ha spread across the country in all but one district and cover all eco-zones. The LFUGs were developed as a way of targeting the poorest community members who were not able to access the forest through the CFUGs. Under the Government’s leasehold forestry programme, started in 2005 with support from IFAD, groups of poor families are now able to manage about 8

1 From Koirala, R. (2008) “Sustainable Development: A case study of Forest Governance from Nepal”

Presentation to World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSCSD), University of Regina, SK, Canada (May 12- May 16, 2008)

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500 ha of forests in 31 mid-hill and mountain districts. By increasing production of forest’s goods and livestock, these initiatives contributed to reduce poverty of around 44,300 households across Nepal. The Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme (LFLP) developed an alternative model to CFUGs, providing groups of poor households with a plot of degraded forest with a 40 years lease, renewable after that for another 40 more years. The Programme initially supported the formation of LFUGs with 5 to 15 households and provided technical orientation in the preparation of group constitutions and operational plans. District Forest Offices (DFOs) formally handed over the forestland to the groups. The Programme provided seeds and seedlings for the reforestation and improvement of the leased lands. At the same time, groups were strengthened by Group Promoters to ensure adequate social mobilization. A household-level saving scheme was introduced with the group’s formation. In the second year of the implementation of the programme, eligible households are provided with two goats from District Livestock Service Offices (DFSOs). Multiple trainings are provided to the beneficiaries and staff, in order to strengthen their technical competence and the sustainability of groups created.

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The systematization undertaken during February 2013 in Rayale VDC, Kavre, explored the history and context of current economic activities and their impact on social, community and environment in the area. The facilitation of training activities with the community, including the mapping and structured field visit, was carried out by members of staff from the four main IFAD-supported projects in Nepal, but also counted with the participation of local champions. These included four local champions from Chitwan and Kapilvastu who had attended training and systematization of the first workshops held in October-November 2012 and two local champions from Kavre along with a local social mobiliser. Two main themes have arisen from this experience: the formation of Co-operative organizations in the village, namely the Kalpasriksha Co-operative and the Leasehold Forest Users Inter-Groups, and the diversification of livelihood and income-generating activities as result of the initiatives supported by these organizations. The LFLP started supporting the formation of LFUGs in the early 90s and the Co-operative of Kalpasriksha resulted from the consolidation of some of those Groups in 2011. Several different economical activities have recently emerged at individual (briquette production, fish farming, and poultry), co-operative (milk and dairy production, vegetables) and LFUG level (cardamom, harvesting of grass and agro-forestry management). Women are playing a key role in the development of new income-generating activities both at household and co-operative level.

2 From IFAD (2012) “Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme: Building an reliable and efficient system

of monitoring and evaluation” IFAD M&E report written by B.Thierry and D. Da Silva Cabral

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3. LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF RAYALE The lessons learned from the good practices highlighted during the systematization process included the diversification of livelihood and income generation activities at an individual level, as well as at the cooperative and Leasehold Forestry User Group level. LFUGs and the Cooperative were built on a strong social awareness programme, which helped foster the strong commitment and social cohesion at community level. It was important to note that the availability of natural resources allowed for the diversification of livelihoods. Improved management of natural resources was dependent on the active participation of all members in the LFUGs as that ensured that good practices in forestry management and reforestation of degraded areas were developed and shared. Improvements in livestock farming also had strong impact on both natural resource management and the increased diversification of livelihoods. The LFUGs acted as small savings groups, based on strong commitment and social cohesion within the community, and this was the basis for the emergence of the cooperative. The cooperative has then created new opportunities for income generation activities at the individual or private level as well as at the cooperative or community level.

Fig 3: Rayale VDC landscape with terraces and wood transportation

Loans provided by the cooperative promoted small rural business at an individual level of briquette production, market vegetable gardens, production of poultry and of pigsties. A diary and milk production business has been started by the cooperative and is run by the women. In general, the participation of women within the community has increased. This has had a positive impact on income generation at household level and also most of the cooperative members are women. However, their role in decision-making processes within the community is still weak.

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4. DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIENCE OVER TIME The village of Rayale, in the district of Kavrepalanchok, has nine Wards in total. The village is surrounded by hilly slopes and settlements are scattered across the area, with some along ridges, some in the flatter lands, and some along the road which runs parallel to the Lilabati River. It is the main river system of the district and is the confluence of the Khani Khola from Phulchowki, the Phedi Khola from Lalitpur. The River is the village’s major source of water, used in particular for irrigation of the farming. Villagers recall that only in the lower lying land was irrigation from the river possible as there was no pump to transport water higher up. However, there were around ten springs used to collect drinking water, for irrigation and other uses such as the powering of water mills that were commonly used for grinding purpose. Although natural forest was to be found in all wards, around 25 years ago its condition was generally very poor due to its over-exploitation. People from the village used to collect firewood from the forest and sell it in Bhaktapur, and this was a major source of income around 25 years ago. This unmanaged exploitation led to the decrease in resources.

Fig 4: Map of the Past

In the past, about 25 years ago, land use was divided up into directly irrigated farmland – paddy (khet) and non-irrigated farm land (bari), used to grow crops like maize and millet. The forest area was part of government land until the late 1970s, when the Nationalization Act was reversed and the Government of Nepal began to encourage the transfer of forestland back to community control. This was done through the establishment of Community User Groups and later through the Leasehold Forest User Groups. At that time, the settlements of the VDC were scattered; in total there were around 286 households across the 9 VDC’s, with different groups settling in different parts of the VDC depending on their caste. At the time (c.1988) there were no first generation migrants in the area and there were generally good relationships between neighbours, nor serious conflicts related to resource use. All households were involved in agriculture and firewood collection. The demographic age spread included higher percentages of younger population

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living in the area. In terms of the socio-political organization within the VDC, a village authority was collectively elected. Culturally most people were Magar and Gurung. In addition there were people who were leaders of the Tamang community. There were no particular groups within the village apart from political parties. The main occupations in the area included farming, at subsistence and household level. All households collected timber and firewood, which had become the main source of income. People would collect firewood and sell it in nearby important markets, such as Bhaktapur and Panauti. A few families were involved in livestock rearing and kept cows or buffaloes. Division of labour on gender lines was very clear – men collected and sold firewood, whereas females did the household work. Within agriculture and other activities however the role of females and males was more equal. There were many people in government jobs or in public sector, with around forty government employees in the village, although this has decreased recently. There were according to accounts, three traders who brought in the regular household consumables to sell in the local market.

Ward within Rayale VDC Tamang Brahmin Chettri Newar Dalit

1 0 12 0 1 0

2 15 8 0 0 0

3 15 5 5 2 1

4 30 1 0 0 0

5 40 7 0 6 0

6 16 0 0 2 1

7 8 35 0 1 0

8 0 40 0 0 0

9 0 35 0 0 0

Table 1: Breakdown of ethnicity for each ward within Rayale VDC (NB Tamang and Newar are Nepali indigenous groups; Bhramin and Chettri are higher cast; Dalit represent marginalized groups)

In terms of infrastructure and services, there were two school buildings in the area, two temples and eight water mills. There were three bridges in the VDC across the river and a small track.

Villagers describe the current situation in the area in their map of the present. The forest is now being managed under the government system of Leasehold Forestry, with only one area of forest used as community forest, and another smaller is traditional religious forest. The land use is still mainly agricultural, which is the mainstay of livelihoods. Crops grown include maize, wheat, rice, and vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, coriander, and fruits such as orange, are grown. This is mostly for subsistence but any surplus is sold to markets. There is increased rearing of livestock, especially cow, buffalo, goats which generate cash incomes. New forest management practices are based on leasehold forestry user groups. There are around 350 households managing about 300 ha of forests which were previously degraded and un-productive. This is a government system led by the District Forest Office, where discussion in groups are facilitated and mass meeting are held to decide about the issues relating to common property issues, with all decisions being made by consensus. Women, indigenous and poor people in particular are encouraged to participate actively in the meetings and assemblies. Over 70% are from indigenous groups, i.e. Tamang, and 25% are upper castes, such as Bahun or Chhetri and there are also a few Dalits (such as Kami and Sarki). Only a few people are engaged with either government or private sector services, such as teachers, VDC civil servants, and some private sector jobs. The VDC has good relationships with neighbouring villages. The Village Development Committee (VDC) is the village-level Local authority and the District Development Committee (DDC) is the district level authority. There are local

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branches of the major political parties including UML, Nepali Congress and Maoist parties. The village has linkages with government agencies such as the District Forest Office, District Livestock Support Office, District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), the Women Development Office (WDO), District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCO), and with non-government agencies including donors including Environmental Preservation Services for Development (ENPRED), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). These government and non-governmental agencies provide the community with technical support, financial support and technological resources. For instance, the FAO Hub Office has been supporting LFUGs with plants, seeds and seedlings as well as providing technical forestry and management support. FAO have also supported communities through the TeleFood project for development of the pigsties. NARC carried out research into technology transfer for grass and vegetable cultivation.

Fig 5: Map of the present

The village road is now gravelled and joins Panauti with Gworko, the ring road out of Kathmandu Valley. Therefore now people have road access to Kathmandu. There are schools from primary up to end of secondary school. There are now three temples - the Mahankal, Shiva, and Gumba. There are still three small bridges on the Lilabati River. Now a health post has been provided under the District Public Health Office. Electricity reaches every household and all villagers have access to drinking water facilities, and the Fund Board is constructing more water taps to increase access. Therefore the main changes between past (c.1988) and the present are in the management of the forest, use of water resources, and the introduction of the fisheries. Underpinning these important shifts in the villager’s use of natural resources has been the creation of the cooperatives and also associated changes in social and cultural norms. The changes have led to a diversification of livelihoods.

The national forest had uncontrolled grazing of animals and was exploited for timber and hard wood. It was an area of poor sanitation as people went into the forest to relieve themselves. The only space that remained unexploited was the religious forest. By 1992-93 there were 3 Leasehold Forest User Groups formed of about 21 households. By 2006-7 there were 8 groups and in 2013 there were 35 groups in total, with around 450

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household families involved. Under the community control of the Leasehold Forest User Groups there has been significant improvement of the quality of the forest, including its income generating potential through the introduction of useful varieties of plants that can be sold on the market. There has been a reduction of illegal cutting or forest exploitation for income, and clear differentiation between areas used for forest conservation and areas used for agriculture. The District Forest Office supported the creation of the user groups and the spread was facilitated by the creation of two documents i) a template group constitution and ii) template operation plan. The use of water as resource has changed. In the past there were canals for irrigating the lower lying land for paddy cultivation. The higher areas had less water and planted maize and millet, mainly for household consumption. There were water mills used for grinding and for collecting water there were wells and natural streams. Recently, cash crops have been introduced into the higher hill areas, including cardamom and broom, which offered a diversity of income. There is however less water during monsoon period and water mills do not work anymore, as there is not enough water. Different types of mills are now used and water is collected using hand pumps and taps. An important new livelihood is from the fishery set up around five years ago by two cooperatives that received a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture for the set up of a fishery, and was supported by the District Agriculture Development Office. The fishery grows a Japanese trout type of fish and is an important source of income for the cooperatives.

Fig 6: Trout fish farm

There were a series of cooperatives that were formed during the last ten years. As population increased from 500 households to around 4000 there was increase in food production through improved agricultural techniques and livestock production. There were two coops formed initially in the village – the “Fuelchoki“ co-operative and the “Marne Doban” cooperative. However, it was only with the creation of the LFUGs and the subsequent building of a third cooperative called the “Kalpasriksha”, that the coop model became successfu l. This has been seen through the shift in economic production from just the selling of wood to a diversified production at an individual level (briquette production, fishery, and poultry), at co-operative level (milk and

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dairy production, vegetables) and at the LFUG level (cardamom, harvesting of grass and agro-forestry management). The vision of the future includes increasing vegetable production, introduce cultivation of cinnamon and medicinal herbs and increase production of dairy products. The forest will become denser through careful management and conservation of leasehold forest. Subsistence activities have given way to more commercial activities such as cardamom and broom cultivation, and fish farming for example. Training is required for mushroom cultivation and also for briquette production.

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Table 2: Timeline of Rayale community as per February 2013 (2069)

Year Event

Early 1950s Start of building the foot track

2016 B.S. (1960) “Santi Niktan” school established

2032-2033 (1976) Government Milk centre (Dairy Development Centre)

2034 -35 (1978) Local post office

2048 (1992) Foundation of Fuelchoki cooperative (1st

cooperative)

2049 (1993) Department forest office established and Leasehold Forest User Groups created with transfer of forest ownership to community

2049-2050 (1993) Government health post services begin

2049 -2050 (1993) Nine LFUGs organized by IFAD

2050 (1994) 2nd

cooperative “Marne Doban” established

2050 (1994) Raising of livestock begins

2052 (1996) Establishment of the private school

2052 (1996) Green grass production begins

2052 (1996) DLSO district livestock service organization: veterinary services (livestock vaccination)

2053 (1997) Agriculture Development Bank (ADB) support for goat raising

2053 (1997) Water: support schemes for drinking water funded by fund board

2054 (1998) Four additional forest users group established

2054 (1998) Building of the health post

2054 (1998) Electricity connection from the city

2056 (2000) ADB loans for buffalo (20.000 Nepali Rupies (NPR) per family)

2057 (2001) CEPRED (NGO) support vegetable farming

2057 (2001) Toilets built

2059 (2003) Goat raising NARC programme

2062/63 (2006) Seven additional forest users groups established

2064 (2008) Ten additional users forest groups established

2067 (2011) Foundation of the 3rd

cooperative “Kalpasriksha” by LFUG

2067 (2011) FAO provides tools for grass cultivation

2068 (2012) Public school with 2 additional levels (10 + 2: 10 is obliged, 2 is additional and specialization)

2069 (2013) Ratobangla (KTM School) supported economically the building of a new public school “Bholochandra”

2069 (2013) UNDP supported agricultural project

2069 (2013) Second toilet programme

2069 (2013) Black topped road built between Panauti – Kushadebi

2069 B.S. (2013) Bio-brick or briquette production begins

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5. MAIN ACTORS INVOLVED Over the last 20 years the network of actors working with the villagers of Rayale VDC has grown significantly. The map of actors shows who are the actors, their distance from the village (i.e. if are within the village, nearby or far away) and type of relation (strong and frequent, medium and weak). The central circle drawn in the middle represents the co-operative, the second circle represents the “community of Rayale”, and around the community are drawn out the stakeholders with spatial distinctions highlighting their distance and strength of relationship with the co-operative and the community.

Fig 7: Drawing the map of actors

Within the village or nearby there is a strong relationship with the veterinary help-post, the diary, Nepalese Agriculture Research Council (NARC) which provides new technology and training for agriculture, forestry, and green grass growing for livestock, a small market area, the Animal District Office, the Forest Ranger post, the Bus station and the VDC (Village Development Committee office). Relationships with actors outside the village include the District Land Conservation Office, who supported women in vegetable farming. Also there is the District Development Centre, the education office, the secondary school, the NGO SEPEREAD, the Forest Department, and the Women’s Empowerment Office. There is also external support from the nearby “Manedoban” cooperative and strong links to city of Bhaktapur and Panauti markets. Organisations that provide support from further away, for example at national levels, include the Fund Board for tap and drinking water, the Government of Nepal (GoN) Department of Animal Husbandry, as well as FAO, IFAD, and aid partners from Australia and New Zealand

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6. DIVERSIFICATION OF RURAL LIVELIHOODS Two particular themes of interest emerged: the diversification of forest based livelihoods through the creation of Leasehold Forest User Groups (LFUGs) and the changing role of women in community. Under the nationalization of forest, villagers had been felling in the forest illegally and would sell wood in Bhaktapur for cash income, which had led to serious forest area degradation, as this had been the main source of income. The forest condition was poor: ground was covered by bushy and thorny plants, with open grazing, which exacerbated land degradation. People had to spend whole day to collect one bhari (head load) of grass or fuelwood. Around about 30 years ago, the Nepal Australia Community Forestry Project (NACFP) established a nursery in Parkhal Chaur. A large plantation was carried out during 2043-44 (c.1986), but all the plantations were burnt due to serious forest fire in 2045-46 (c.1988), which destroyed the initiatives of NACFP. During 2048-49 (c.1991) staff from the District Forest Office (DFO), the District Livestock Office (DLSO) and the VDC Chairperson (the late Mr. Krishna Prasad Sapkota), advised the local people to get involved in Leasehold Forestry. Forest lands would be provided on lease for a period of 40 years by the DFO to user groups. Staff from and the Khopasi Range Post oriented the people about leasehold forestry programme especially about Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project (HLFFDP) funded by IFAD. A joint team of staff from District Forest Office (DFO) and District Livestock Office (DLSO) conducted mass meeting and informed about details of process and procedures for group formation, plantation and other activities to be carried out within leased lands. In this way, local people were motivated to become part of leasehold forestry programme. The key steps in developing leasehold forestry in this village included: Step I: Staff of DFO and DLSO and project staff carried out initial orientation meetings with the community Step II: With support from the HLFFDP and DFO staff, eligible households (i.e. households below poverty line) were identified and nine LFUGs were formed during 2050-51 (c.1993). Step III: DFO conducted training for preparation of group constitution and operational plans. Based on these documents, nine LFUGs were registered and leased lands were handed over as leasehold forests. Step IV: DFO provided land development training along with seeds and seedlings for plantation inside leased forests. DLSO provided forage grass seeds for sowing within leased lands.

The main income generating activities related to the forest include goat rearing, cow and buffalo raising, non-timber forest product collection. Goat rearing was initiated through soft loans to LFUG members, provided by the Agricultural Development Bank of around NRs. 5,000 (US$ 58) on 18% interest rates for 1.5 years. Farmers bought goats for rearing and currently, each household has on average five goats. Annual household income from goat selling ranges from NRs. 10,000 (US$ 116) to NRs. 40,000 (US$ 464). It has been due to grass and other fodder grown and collected within the leased forest areas that goat rearing has been successful. Farmers have supplemented grass and fodder from forest by planting on their private farm lands as well. The raising of cow and buffalo was also initiated through Agricultural Development Bank soft loans of around NRs. 20,000 (US$ 232) for buffalo rearing. Farmers were able to start raising buffalo and cow due to the increased availability of forage and fodder within leasehold forestlands and their private lands. Almost all farmers have cow or buffalo that provides for good cash income from selling of milk. Annual household income from selling of milk ranges from NRs. 40,000 to 50,000 (US$ 464-580). From the forest there are also important non-timber forest products (NTFPs), which have been promoted within leasehold forestlands. Farmers have also begun cardamom cultivation, a high-value crop that sells well in local markets. Cardamom has been planting on leasehold forestland as well as on private lands. They typically sell cardamom for NRs. 60,000 (US$ 696) from leasehold forestlands and up to NRs. 4-5 lakhs (US$ 4627-5784) from private farmlands. Other income generating activities include poultry farming, the fisheries, pig farming, supported by the FAO TeleFood project. Important support has come from Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) who started working in Rayale VDC in 2050/51 B.S. (c.1993). NARC established trial plots of grass within leasehold forests of different varieties like White Clover, Molasses, Stylo, Napier and other grasses. After a couple of years, NARC ceased

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their activities due to lack of interest from farmers. In 2055-56 (c.1999) farmers again approached NARC, assuring their active participation. Work was begun with the Chisapani LFUG where the farmer group divided their leased lands into seven parts so that each farmer had one hectare of land to work on to cultivate forage and grass. NARC technology has been applied with some farmers planting only grass in their plots, while some have planted grass with cardamom. NARC tried to establish a community goat farm during 2058/59 (c.2002), however it was not successful because of lack of community acceptance and farmers kept rearing goats on an individual basis.

Other organizations that have supported the farmers are CEPREAD (NGO) who began to support them in 2055/56 (c.1999) for vegetable farming with provision of seeds and seedlings of improved varieties. FAO's Hub Office has also been supporting the LFUGs for last 2-3 years by providing seeds and seedlings of cardamom, broom and other agro-forestry plants for leasehold groups. In addition, it has been providing technical supports. The benefit of the Leasehold Forest ownership model and the LFUGs is that some groups (i.e. the Chisapani LFUG) can now have a supply of forage, animal fodder as well as fuelwood for a whole year. In most groups, the annual requirement of grass is met by leasehold forest. The farmers of this village do not have problem of forage grass and fuelwood supply as the combined output from leasehold forests and plantations on private land have fulfilled annual requirements. In addition, leasehold forests have potential to promoting NTFPs of other income generating species by intercropping to raise cash incomes. However, the main challenges include the development of human resources, as there are not sufficient trained people. There is the challenge of finding a sustainable market to sell produce and also the question of whether regular financial and technical inputs from DFO and DLSO as well as other projects will always be needed. Finally, there are 35 LFUGs in total now and therefore mobilizing all groups with same speed is difficult. In this sense, the cooperative aims to ensure all the groups are mobilized and kept informed at the same time. The Kalpasriksha cooperative was established in 2066 B.S. (c.2010) in wards 1, 3, 5 and 6. The starting fund was of about NRs. 12-13,000 (US$ 140-150) and the membership initially was of 30 people representing 12 LFUGs. The cooperative membership fee was of NRs. 100 (just over US$1) for the poorest, and otherwise NRs. 1000 (around US$ 12). There are now a total of 210 members. The increase in household incomes has shifted role of men. As women from Kavre village reported “before men used to go to Kathmandu in search of employment. But now, since the Leasehold Forest has increased our household income we are able to afford to go abroad and most men go to Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia”. The increase of emigration for labour led to an increase in remittances that have been an important new source of income for households in recent years. The previously unemployed men who stayed in the village are now involved in dairy work. The Leasehold Forestry provided huge amount of grass and fodder and thus the number of cattle has increased and more people are engaged in selling dairy products. The role of women has shifted also: “Before we didn’t feel comfortable attending any type of meeting but now we want to take leadership for any activity” reported a member of the women’s focus group, Kale Saau Ko Danda. Now women are more empowered, are more familiar and outspoken about their rights, and the hesitation to talk in front of others that they had before has gone. Problems, such as health and other social issues, are discussed more openly and constructively now, in forums and groups including a much wider section of the community.

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Fig 8: Kapura, Subhawati from Kapilvastu and Chhami from Chitwan are among the local champions that

attended the training in Kavre In terms of their role in agriculture, the women reported that in the past they used to spend more than 9 hours collecting fodder and fire wood, whereas now they can collect them in 3 to 4 hours because of the improved quality in each Leasehold area. The remaining time can be used for vegetable cultivation cattle rearing and child-care, among other activities. Since few years ago, only boys went to private school but now girls attend to private school too: “I can still remember the day when girls were not allowed to go to school. One day I went to school without my parent’s permission but when I came back home my parents punished me.” (Saili Tamang) The role of women in the initial start of savings groups, which then led to the Co-operative, was also crucial. Even before the formation of the LFUGs, women in the VDC formed the “Naari Chetana Samuha” women group that used to collect NRs. 50 (US$ 0.58) per month per person. However, the money collected was not mobilized and finally the group collapsed. The experience showed the group how to mobilize funds and this helped them with the experience of how to run a cooperative in an organized way. In terms of expectations, women in general would like to receive more training in skills such as candle making, soap making and pickle making. A large part of the land remains abandoned - with seeds and seedling they will be able to cultivate more land. There is also strong demand for adult learning classes.

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7. OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS One of the main opportunities the village and community of Rayale have is the availability of local markets, as the community is located in a strategic area, good for commerce and tourism. The sustainable use of natural resources has been established and institutionalised; in addition, there is easy access to technologies and strong linkages between different activities, which increase efficiency and sustainability. The success has depended on the mobilization of women as well as the role of VDC (village committee). Examples of successful programmes have been the sanitation in the village, improved cooking stoves and adult learning. The current challenges include the lack of technical skills, including financial literacy especially amongst women and awareness about savings, credit and group mobilization. The land structure of terraces is an obstacle to expand agriculture production and production increase. At the same time there is a lack of leadership skills, the in-going migration of young population, and the lack of strong communication within the community. There are also reports of impacts from climate change, which has led to increase in disease among livestock. The main lessons learnt are about the way in which diversification of livelihood and income generation activities took place at an individual level, at cooperative and at Leasehold Forestry Users Groups level. The way in which the LFUGs were able to mobilize into a cooperative was crucial to the development of the experience. The active participation of LFUGs members into group’s activities led to the sharing of good practices in forestry management, allowing the reforestation of degraded areas. The management of the natural resources also allowed for development of more sustainable livestock farming and diversification of livelihoods. The cooperative formation therefore created new opportunities for new income-generating activities at an individual or private level and at a cooperative level. The Rayale VDC experience and in particular the formation of the cooperative has increased the number of farmers who undertake individual income-generating activities and has improved the amount villagers are now able to save. However, the cooperative should be more involved in collective marketing, for example guaranteeing access to markets before starting with new production. Women’s participation can be also strengthened, as this is an essential element for cooperative future. The rotation of leadership within the LFUGs has to be ensured as well as social inclusion. This will also improve the coordination among the various stakeholders at village level as well as with agencies who provide technical and financial support. The challenge also will be to retain young people in the community, and this can be tackled through the creation of more livelihood opportunities. Good practices can be scaled up from LFUGs and local technical knowledge enhanced at community level through communication among farmers - intra-community technical capacity building. The awareness amongst women should focus on capacity building for group mobilization, fund management and financial literacy, cooperative governance mechanisms and decision making process, strengthening leadership skills for technical and management roles. Exposure to external experiences would also help with this process.

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8. Annexes: List of participants and Training Agenda. Table 8.1: List of participants on systematization workshop February 2013

S.N. Name of the participants Designation Organization

1 Mrs. Kapura Kori Farmer/PAF User Group, PAF, Kapilvastu

2 Mrs. Subhawati Pyasi Farmer/PAF User Group, PAF, Kapilvastu

3 Mrs. Chhami K. Magar Farmer/LFLP Ratmate LFUG, Shaktikhor Chitwan

4 Mr. Tilak Bdr. Magar Farmer/LFLP Chhotari LFUG, Shaktikhor Chitwan

5 Ms. Sarita Tamang Farmer/LFLP Rayale LFUG, Rayale, Kavre

6 Mr. Pratap Singh Tamang Farmer/LFLP Phalame LFUG, Rayale, Kavre

7 Mrs. Shila Gnyawali Assistant Forest Officer LFLP, DoF, Kathmandu

8 Mr. Kamalesh K. yadav M&E specialist FAO LFLP, DoF, Kathmandu

9 Mrs. Binita Guragain Assistant Forest Officer LFLP, DoF, Kathmandu

10 Mr. Ghanashyam Chaudhary Monitoring Officer HVAP, Surkhet

11 Mr. Sanjib Chaudhary Communitation & KM Advisor HVAP, Surkhet

12 Mr. Sanjaya K Jha Portfolio Manager PAF, Kathmandu

13 Mr. Ajaya Sharma Portfolio Manager PAF, Kathmandu

14 Mr. Dhruba Regmi M&E Specialist WUPAP, Nepalgunj

15 Mr. Rupak Joshi M&E Officer WUPAP, Bajhang

16 Mr. Ishwori Barshila Planning Officer Seed Project

17 Mr. Krishna Khanal Training Coordinator PROCASUR/IFAD Nepal

18 Mrs. Giulia Pedone Facilitator PROCASUR

19 Mrs. Cecilia Ruberto Facilitator PROCASUR

20 Mrs. Sonal Gurung Group Promoter Ryale, Kavre

Table 8.2 List of participants involved in drawing the map of the past

S.N Name Age Gender

1 Chaturman Tamang 53 Male

2 Bir Bahadur Tamang 1 71 Male

3 Bir Bahadur Tamang 2 71 Male

4 Saile Bhujel 45 Female

5 Pramila Bhujel 14 Female

6 Anisha Bhujel 5 Female

7 Mithu Tamang 60 Female

8 Jitmaya Tamang 70 Female

9 Nikita Tamang 14 Female

10 Mile Tamang 59 Female

11 Saile Tamang 35 Female

12 Sita Tamang 18 Female

13 Priya Tamang 22 Female

14 Nirmala Tamang 56 Female

15 Jirimaya Tamang 56 Female

16 Suresh Tamang 16 Male

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Table 8.3 Key informants for the focus group Interview on forestry 1. Mr. Indra Bahadur Tamang, 47 M 2. Mr. Bir Bahadur Tamang, 72 M 3. Mr. Chatur Man Tamang, M Table 8.4 Focus Group Interview: Women and the cooperative Women interviewed (all Tamang)

Name Age Ward

Sona Tamang 24 3

Gyonu 50 7

Sano 28 7

Hari Maya 32 7

Dipa 36 7

Saili 51 7

Pan Maya 40 7

Kaaili 45 7

Tuli Maja 50 3

Jit Maya 69 3