Submit your Article

In the two decades that Habitat for Humanity has worked in Nepal, it has remained committed to putting people at the center of its work. Be they low-income families or vulnerable and marginalized groups such as the landless, disaster-affected, and Dalits, it believes that everyone deserves a secure, healthy place to call home.

A home is more than a roof and four walls. The complexity of our work attests to this fact. Habitat’s programs in Nepal focus on land tenure security and housing rights for the most vulnerable—in line with our partnership with the government in upholding the constitution. It also builds resilience against disasters and climate change and empowers communities to access water and sanitation. Habitat helps roll out sustainable innovations in housing technologies. It promotes renewable resources such as bamboo, locally available construction materials such as hollow concrete blocks, and innovations such as “rat-trap” or the baker bond technique that make houses more affordable by using fewer bricks.

As it has enormous potential, bamboo shouldn’t be limited to furniture or handicraft. It has the potential to become a sustainable housing solution with a positive impact on the environment. Through the Impact 2026 Initiative—Habitat’s partnership with the Hilti Foundation—Habitat aims to scale up the adoption of disaster-resilient and affordable treated bamboo housing solutions among low-income families and the most vulnerable people in Eastern Tarai. The partnership focuses on bamboo treatment, bamboo house designs, government-subsidized housing, market-based housing, and ecosystem strengthening.

During the pilot phase between July 2019 and December 2020, 51 vulnerable families built homes made of treated bamboo with Habitat in Birtamode, Jhapa, Shambhunath and Saptari. Over the next two years, up to 600 families will build better homes and lives under the project’s second phase. Through a market-based approach, Habitat Nepal is working with the public and the private sectors to promote treated bamboo as mainstream construction materials. While the public sector can support the treated bamboo value chain and encourage the use of bamboo as an alternative to timber, the private sector’s role is important to promote treated bamboo housing solutions and influence the material’s availability and affordability. Individuals also play a part.

Regardless of their income level, families can choose to build safe, durable, and affordable bamboo homes. Kampa Devi, who lives in Shambhunath, Saptari, is among those who chose to build with bamboo. In the past, she said she could not discuss marriage proposals for her daughter. Visitors representing prospective suitors refused to come to her old hut that had sari cloths for walls and hay and leaves for a roof. As a daily wage worker who collects and sells wood from the forest, she could barely earn enough to cover household expenses and her husband’s medical treatment, let alone dream of having a decent home.

“Now the new house has given me relief,” Kampa Devi says. Her family has more privacy with the children having their room; the house no longer leaks nor rattles by strong winds; a raised plinth keeps floodwaters from coming into her durable home built with treated bamboo. As a housing-focused organization, Habitat is committed to helping change living conditions, productivity, education, and health of families and individuals.

In the fiscal year 2020, it helped 109,170 Nepalis realize their fundamental right to housing by removing the barriers between them and a decent and affordable place to call home. In a post-pandemic world, housing will continue to be an essential and critical component of any comprehensive approach to recovery and development in emerging economies, including Nepal.

Since May 2021, World Vision has been supporting the Government of Nepal in battling the second wave of Covid-19 through its 90-day response Nepal COVER (Covid-19 Emergency Response Project: Phase II).

The first 30 days of the response focused on strengthening government medical services and protecting health workers as they responded to the health crisis by providing much-needed medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, oximeters, and PPEs. Additionally, the program joined efforts to contain Covid-19 through integrated messaging on preventive measures, vaccinations, and isolation.

Following the distribution of medical equipment including 1,433 oxygen cylinders to the federal, provincial and local governments, World Vision focused on livelihood support to the most impacted and vulnerable families across 16 districts (Kanchanpur, Bajhang, Doti, Achham, Kailali, Jumla, Banke, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Lamjung, Sindhuli, Udayapur, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari and Dhanusha) in Nepal.

On 17 June 2021, 69 households at Om Himalayan Brick Industry in Chandragiri, Kathmandu, were provided food supplies and hygiene kits. A total of 245 individuals, including 184 adults and 61 children, benefited from the support. Mina (name changed), one of the recipients who arrived to collect the support with her 13-year-old daughter shares, “World Vision has been supporting us continuously during this time of Covid-19 crisis. I remember receiving support from them last year. This year, during the second wave of the Covid-19 wave too, they have been helping us a lot. The food and hygiene kits we received today will help us sustain for the next two months.”

A family of four, Mina, her husband, her 10-year-old son, and her daughter moved to Kathmandu for a better life from the remote Rolpa district six years ago. Like Mina, Kanchan (name changed) lives around Om Himalayan Brick Industry with her husband and two children. Her husband, a driver, has been struggling to find work due to the lockdown. “We have been struggling a lot to earn right now. During this difficult time, the support we have received today will help us sustain for the next 1.5-2 months. We’re grateful to World Vision for supporting us during this time of crisis,” shares Kanchan.

The brick kilns are sources of seasonal employment for laborers from the most vulnerable regions of Nepal and India. People migrate to Kathmandu each year along with their families to work in the kilns. The Covid-19 pandemic has gravely impacted most of the kilns—most of them have shut down or are unable to pay their workers.

To sum up, World Vision has been responding to the Covid-19 crisis in Nepal by supporting the government of Nepal and health facilities with the provision of medical supplies, including oxygen cylinders; supporting holding centers with the provision of items such as beds; spreading awareness about Covid-19 through integrated messaging on preventive measures, vaccinations, and isolation; providing psychological counseling support as per need to children and their families; and implementing multi-sectoral initiatives including education, livelihood, along with support to monsoon-affected families with cash for livelihood options, consumption support, agri-input support, non-food items, and business recovery support.

The response that was implemented from May to July 2021 utilized a total of $828,203 and World Vision could reach out to 207,000 individuals, 65,000 children, and 9,000 vulnerable households.

Birth: 1968, Sindhuli
Death: 18 August 2021, Kathmandu

The practice of karate fosters a strong mind, promotes physical fitness and improves self-confidence. Krishna Bahadur Rai embraced the art form from early in his life, and remained enamored with it throughout. This dedication also earned him numerous accolades at home and abroad. 

Born in Khurkot, a village in Sindhuli, Rai enrolled into Nepal Police at an early age. Having demonstrated great adeptness in karate, he was chosen to represent Nepal at the 8th South Asian Games held in Kathmandu in 1999, the year karate and taekwondo were introduced to the games. There, Rai became one of the first gold medalists for team kata. 

Rai continued his winning streak, impressing Nepali audiences by securing another gold medal at the 4th National Games. This time around it was for solo kata.  

These achievements were no mean feats and King Birendra conferred on Rai the distinguished Gorkha Dakshin Bahu. 

Like other sports, there’s an unmistakable element of sociability in karate, especially when it is taught in youth clubs and schools. Rai had a fervent desire to impart the skills he had mastered to Nepali youngsters. 

In 2008, Rai completed a diploma from the Japan Karatedo Nanbukai Association, which declared him to be the chief coach of Nanbukai karate in Nepal. In 2014, he founded Japan Karatedo Nanbukai Sitoriyo Association, Nepal. With his team of skilled athletes, he had been encouraging everyone from young kids to adults to learn the intricate techniques of Nanbukai karate. 

On 18 August, Rai succumbed to Covid-19 at the age of 53. He is survived by his wife and son. 

Hansraj Hulaschand and Co Pvt Ltd, the authorised distributor of KTM and Husqvarna bikes in Nepal, has announced the opening of its 13th KTM and Husqvarna dealership showroom—Times Auto Enterprises—in Thimi.

The new showroom officially opened at the start of this month. “Situated in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, the showroom is expected to reach a wider customer base,” a media release issued by the company reads. Both the brands will be available for the customers at the new showroom.

Hansraj Hulaschand Pvt Ltd brought KTM to Nepal in 2012 and it has been one of the most loved bike brands in the country. Similarly, the Swedish brand Husqvarna has been available since 2020.

Both bikes are available in all showrooms in Kathmandu. To date, KTM bikes have won over 390 world championship titles—including the toughest and most prestigious Dakar Rally a whopping 18 times in succession. 

Mina Chhinnotola, a single mother from Bhaktapur Municipality-2, used to survive on daily wages before the Covid-19 lockdown was announced to contain the spread of the disease. Following the lockdown, she lost her job, which was her only means to earn a living for her four-member family. As she stayed home, she felt as if she were falling deeper into the whirlwind of fear and hardship.

 The hungry faces of her children shook her to the core. The little money she had managed to save was spent on buying rice for her family. One night, before going to bed, Mina stumbled upon a sewing machine– wrapped in a yellow shawl. The machine was provided by Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) by identifying her skill in tailoring. In 2019 when she was supported with a sewing machine, she was identified as one of the vulnerable members of the community having the limited financial support to sustain. It was then that the idea of sewing face masks came to her mind. The next morning, she bought the necessary materials and started sewing face masks.

She used the money she received by selling the masks to buy essentials for her family. These days, she is busy in her tailoring work and encourages other members of her community to start something on their own. “Now I can help people just the way the Red Cross helped me. I can earn money as well,” she said with a smile on her face. With her skill and support from the Red Cross, Chhinnotola was able to meet her family’s basic needs. Realizing the importance of face masks and the needs of the people, she has been distributing face masks free of cost to elderly people.

Sharing her plans, she says, “I will buy more clothes and sew more masks. I will give half of them to the elderly people until the coronavirus pandemic is over.” She is thankful to the Red Cross, “It was with the Red Cross’s help that my family survived the lockdown. Now my financial condition is stable. So I want to help the needy.”

Though her husband has worked abroad for 12 years, he has barely made enough to sustain the household. That was why 38-year-old Munna Biswokarma from Nawalparasi had given up on her dreams of having a better life. Munna’s husband initially started working in the United Arab Emirates, where he slogged for five years. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he continues to work, but the money he makes is barely enough to make Munna’s dream of being financially stable come true.

Every month she struggled to make ends meet, educate her children and also pay for her father in-law’s medical expenses. She had also opened a beauty parlor hoping to support her family better, but due to lack of investment and time, her business did not flourish. In December 2020, Munna heard about the financial literacy class in her community. Interested to learn more, she registered herself in the sessions. In the financial literacy class, she learned about investment, the importance of saving money, and also the basics of doing business. She also gained knowledge about managing household expenses.

With the experience she received from the financial literacy class, Munna sold her parlor and invested in goat rearing. She says, “The things I learned during the classes not only gave me knowledge but also confidence. So, I sold my beauty parlor, took out additional loans, and established a farm.” During the classes, Munna had also learned about registering small businesses at the municipality.

 She instantly did that for her own farm. She shares, “After registering my business, I also received a grant of Rs 45,500, which was very helpful. I am now a proud owner of 20 goats.” She has now also convinced her husband to return home and support her in goat farming. “My husband is happy with what I am doing here. He also plans on returning home to expand the business. I don’t think this would have been possible had I not attended the financial literacy classes,” says Munna. Financial literacy classes are part of a package designed for households and women left behind by migrant workers.

It is a package of 24 modules completed over six months, which empowers women on various dimensions of finance. Financial literacy is a component of the Safer Migration (SaMi) program—a joint initiative of the Governments of Nepal and Switzerland with technical assistance from Helvetas Nepal. SaMi works in collaboration with all three spheres: national, provincial, and local governments to ensure migrant workers and their families are better protected by the democratic institutions of Nepal.

Resham Binita Bhujel lost her house and her husband in 2015, the year Nepal was struck by an earthquake. “When the earthquake hit, we lost our small house but luckily, all our lives were spared. We were struggling to feed ourselves when my husband met with an accident. Suddenly I was a widow, a single mother, and the sole breadwinner of a family of five,” the resident of Sangahachowk, Sindhupalchowk shares.

“For three years, we were living in a shed and it was difficult to feed my children with the little money I made. It was a relief to be selected by JICA as a vulnerable household beneficiary. The mobile masons helped us to build our house brick by-brick, which is stronger and will not collapse even if another earthquake hits.” JICA has supported almost 56,000 household beneficiaries such as that of Bhujek in Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk by providing technical assistance and financial help in building seismic-resistant houses.

Under JICA’s Community Mobilization Program, mobile masons, also known as “local engineers”, received expert training in seismic-resistant building. They then supervised the construction of houses in the two districts. Bhujel, who was trained as a mobile mason as well, benefited from the program in man ways. “I can work for almost 5-6 days a month and receive a monthly allowance from the government.

All my children go to school every day; I am hopeful that they will study till high school and secure a job in the future,” says Bhujel. “When the earthquake hit, our old house which was made of only mud and stones was crushed to the ground. When our children came running through the dust, we were very relieved to have lived through the disaster but worried about not having a shelter anymore.”

“I lost my job and had no way to feed my family of six. When JICA began the mobile mason training, I trained to become equipped with the knowledge of building earthquake-resistant houses. I began working as a mobile mason and rushed to complete the construction of my house to shelter my family.” Since then, Bhujel has helped build almost two dozen houses in her village. She now has a disaster-proof house, a stable source of income and her children also go to schools built by JICA.

Geeta Devi, a resident of Nageswari village is one of the women preserving the unique skill of intricate pattern making. The village in Tehrathum District, Province 1, consists of 26 households with the majority belonging to the indigenous community. The village lies on the border of the district due to which its problems and issues often go unnoticed and the people are deprived of information and facilities provided by the local government as well as the other organizations.

The area is quite dry and lacks irrigation facilities. This has made life difficult for its residents, including women who are deprived of opportunities to become economically independent. Women from this community possess indigenous skills of weaving cotton and making fabric out of it. Only women from the older generation possess this skill and if it is not passed to the new generation, it will be wiped out from the community.

Geeta Devi remembers her first weaving experience, “During that time only a handful of women had this skill. I always saw my motherin-law and sister-in-law get busy all day weaving cotton to make beautiful fabrics. I got inspired by them and learned this amazing skill. Initially, it was just out of interest, but now it has become the source of our family income.” “Cotton requires less water and grows well on dry land. After receiving cotton seeds from ActionAid Nepal (AAN) and Deurali Society (AAN partner organization), we started to grow cotton and it really grew well,” she shares.

“Through a reflect circle (an empowerment group), AAN also trained members of the group. I trained 15 women/girls to process cotton as well as weave fabrics. AAN also provided required equipment for weaving, which has been installed in the community building. It has made the weaving easier.” A reflect circle was formed in coordination with the local partners. The group included one member each from 26 households. Initially, the meetings were conducted weekly to identify potential areas for economic development, and cotton farming, as well as weaving.

AAN provided support of Rs 23,930 to procure cotton seeds. Cotton farming was first started in 11,192.28 sq meter of land. As production of cotton increased, residents wanted weaving equipment. AAN then provided Rs 30,560 to buy the required weaving equipment. Fifteen people were provided three months of training in cotton processing. The cotton fabric is called “khadi” in the local language.

“I am glad that I can contribute to preserve the indigenous skills of our community and transfer them to the new generation. Through cotton farming and weaving, I earn about Rs 150,000 annually which is three times more than what I could earn from farming. My husband and children help me by growing cotton, harvesting, processing, weaving, and selling. I feel this is more like teamwork. All the villagers can make more money from this if we can draw the attention of the local government in promoting farming, developing a good marketing strategy, and bringing innovation in the fabric-making process”.