Rising from the dust

Saraswati Karki and her husband lived their lives in sheer destitution until a decade ago. Despite of working hard in the field they had no sufficient food to survive.

“We were really in acute poverty,” recalls Saraswati, a resident of Kubu Kasthali, a remote and far northern village of Ramechhap, eastern hill of Nepal, “Even to feed children was very hard.”

Though they had plenty of land, the crops they could grow were too little. For them, steep fields were burden only.

But now the picture is totally different. The same steep and mountainous fields have become boon to them. Saraswati's family is earning more than a million rupees [US$ 10,000] in a year from the same field. They can afford every kind of facilities available in the market.

“We have even become able to pay the bills of engineering college of our elder son,” Says saraswati, “This change is like a dream to us.”

It is not only the story of Saraswati, everyone in the village are enjoying a prosperous life now. So, what has happen so prominent that the dust of village turned into gold?

“It’s a miracle,” says Manju Lamichhane, a farmer of Kubu, showing a leafy bush.

Thanks to the cardamom. Ever since they started farming this spicy plant in their least yielding fields, poverty has gone away. Perhaps, forever.

Ten years ago, Saraswati and some neighbors of her got an opportunity to take part in training launched by UNDP's Micro-Entrepreneur Development Program (MEDEP), an Australia funded anti-poverty program. There were two types of training available, jam making and cardamom farming. Rest of the villagers' choice was on jam making while Saraswati stood alone from Kubu to learn the secrets of the farming of spicy herbs.

When Saraswoti knew that Steep fields having the shade of uttis, a native Nepalese tree called Nelnus Nepalenis with facility of water is the mantra of cardamom farming, she instantly took vow to plant this spicy herbs all over her land. Though, she was mocked by the neighbors, the crop of cardamom paid off her well. Soon, all the villagers began following her footsteps.

Now a days, more than a 43 hector lands are covered by cardamom's bush in the village. And every ear, ratio of its farming is increasing dramatically. There was time where farmers having plain paddy fields were supposed to be lucky one. Now the situation has been changed by polar opposite.

“Currently, the farmers who do not have steep lands are lamenting their fate,” says Sundari thapa, another farmer of cardamom.

Villagers have formed a cooperative to sell cardamom collectively.

Things were going well. All of the sudden land began to shake and houses began to fall down. The whole village become homeless. On top of that, the sources of water appeared dry which posed a great threat to the cardamom farming which was on full swing before the Earthquake.

This time too, UNDP reached their village with its Rapid Enterprise and Livelihood Recovery Project funded by Australia. Psychosocial counseling revived the hope of villagers. A special kind of oven that was built to get cardamom was also collapsed by the earthquake. The project not only rebuilt the ovens, but installed a plant of water pump to compensate the loss of natural irrigation.

Now, villagers are again in full enthusiasm to carry their micro entrepreneurship as in the past. They are so much thankful for the support of UNDP and Australia.