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Bottlers Nepal Limited—the authorized bottlers of the Coca-Cola Company—has started Shopkeeper Training and Resources “STAR” Program that aims to economically empower five million women across the value chain by 2020. The program aims to provide Nepali women retailers with the skills, techniques and tools required to succeed in the dynamic retail setup of Nepal, focusing on four key areas: shop management, stock management, customer management, and finance management. A joint Bottlers Nepal’s Public Affairs Communication and Sustainability (PACS) team and the sales team has reached 15 cities and several smaller towns in Nepal to train over 5,000 
women retailers.

THE MENU
Chef’s Special:
-    Pork Thenthuk 
-    Jhol momo 
-    Chicken Fan Baifan
Opening hours:
10:00 am-10:00 pm
Location:
Baluwatar
Cards:
Accepted
Meal for 2:
Rs 1,200
Reservations:
9851228014

One of the largest selections of beer available in Nepal,” the Ventures Café boasts on its Facebook page. A tall claim, you’d probably want to test. Located at Baluwatar (near the main gate of the Prime Minister’s official residence), the Ventures Café is a restaurant that serves a fusion of Oriental and Nepali cuisines and also provides a comfortable ambience for entrepreneurs to co-work and chill. 
With snacks starting at Rs 100 and main courses not exceeding Rs 500, Ventures has to be one of the most affordable restaurants around for food and ambience. Even the drink (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and coffee) prices give fierce competition to other restaurants in the area. Perhaps why it has thrived all these years without much fanfare. A steady customer base, we suspect, is its secret sauce. 

Q.    Summer or winter?
A.    Summer please! I catch cold and feelings quickly.

Q.    If you had to buy something for the person you love, what would it be?
A.    Fooooooodddd. I’ll give something I want in return gift.

Q.    What has been the funniest prank played on you? 
A.    Maybe not the funniest but recently in an event I announced bingo tickets were available. One drunk uncle said “the ticket is worth Rs 50.” I should’ve known he is “that drunk uncle at the wedding”. He pulled a good one, I must say.

Q.    If you could dis-invent one thing? 
A.    Hair straighteners! I want people to rock their natural hair—curls, wavy, bushy whatever.

Q.    What makes someone a hero?
A.    A heart that isn’t jealous. Someone who can be happy at others’ success is 
my hero.

Q.    What are the qualities you enjoy in a friend?
A.    Humor for sure. I want my friend to insult me back when I insult them. We laugh together that way. A friend that buys food. My best friend does somersaults and backflips when I am upset. So may be a little more drama, pretty please.

Q.    In what situation or place would you feel the most out of place in?
A.    After I started my professional life, I have become a potato. I go with everything.
Q.    What would you stockpile if you found out they weren’t going to sell it anymore?
A.    For now sanitizers and masks.

Q.    Shake hands or Namaste?
A.    Kisses and hugs? I am a chuppa kinda person.

In Soru Rural Municipality of Mugu district, women have multiple responsibilities. Most of the village men have gone to the proverbial ‘Kala Pahad’ (India) or other countries in search of jobs. So women here have to handle not just their families but other traditionally ‘male’ responsibilities as well.

Take construction. Women are working as construction workers in a number of local projects like the 1,100-meter irrigation canal from Majhgatta to Ekal Katiya of Soru-9, and another 1,100-meter canal from Bhuwane Khola to Naidhunga of Khatyang-2. Of the 484 laborers in the two projects, 330 are women.

“Men are out of the country. Even if they return, they won’t work as construction laborers,” says Gorikala Kami of Soru-9. “Development projects in the village are mostly in the hands of women these days.”

“This kind of out-of-home work gives us a unique outlet,” says Kami. “It pays as well.” The project office pays them through a bank, so women now have their own bank accounts. It helps them save money, and keeps them from being cheated by contractors, as happened when they used to get their wages in cash. The World Food Program is funding both the projects.

“As male members are away, many development projects in the village are unfinished,” says Ramdevi Yogi of Soru-9. “We women will finish what they started”. 

Kamal Dev Bhattarai and Arun Poudel talk to economist Posh Raj Pandey, who is also the chairman of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), about the impact of the global novel coronavirus outbreak on Nepal’s economy, with the focus on its impact on remittances.

How do you assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s economy?

Let’s first discuss the structure of our economy. The contribution of service sector in it is very high, which is mainly about people-to-people contact and movement. So, we see a higher impact of coronavirus in this sector. In manufacturing, there is comparably lesser impact but if there is a break in value-chains, it will also be affected. In our economy, the contribution of agriculture is about 27-28 percent, whereas the contribution of social and government service stands at around 4.5 percent. This means a third of the economy is insulated and would not be directly hit by coronavirus. There will be impact only in the remaining two-thirds.

How will the two-thirds of the economy that is vulnerable to coronavirus be affected?

There can be both direct and indirect, as well as positive and negative, impacts. The worrying factor is that the value-chain of the industrial sector is breaking down as we import intermediate and raw materials from other countries. This could result in less production and affect the country’s overall export. Similarly, the high flow of remittances boosts retail and wholesale trades. If remittances die down, health and education sectors could also be affected.

Next, the coronavirus scare is affecting our tourism. Basically, there are two components in tourism: hotels and restaurants, and travel and transport. These sectors are directly affected because movement of people is restricted. Similarly, there will be a direct impact in the construction sector. Big government projects will be hit.

What kind of positive economic impacts could the coronavirus pandemic have?

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, global oil price has come down. Despite some fluctuations, the price is on a downward trend. It would benefit our economy as we import a lot of oil. Similarly, concentration of our raw material resources in China was never a good thing. The world might now think of diversifying on raw materials and intermediate or final products. If the private sector and the government can come up with a calculated strategy, it also gives us an opportunity. On the negative site, as I said earlier, there is going to be a huge impact on remittance sector.

Remittances are considered the backbone of the Nepali economy. Will they be severely reduced?

The infection is spreading fast in Gulf countries and Malaysia, Nepal’s major labor destinations. Some countries have already blocked the entry of Nepali workers. Even India has said it will require Nepali travelers to be tested at the airport. This will restrict the flow of migrant workers as these countries are providing jobs to our unemployed people. Second, the remittances that Nepali workers send home have helped generate income and boost the economy. Remittances constitute one fourth of the country’s GDP, and if there are any ups and downs, our economy will be directly affected. Additionally, if economic activities slow down in those labor destination countries, they will ask for fewer workers. It will not only impact new recruitments, but also displace current workers. Can we generate employment at home for all those people?

Is there a way out of this potential economic crisis?

We are more or less without options. We have long been saying that sending workers abroad is only a transitional measure. And yet the government has been promoting it. We will not be able to manage the workforce if our workers return from those countries. We will be option-less because we cannot generate enough jobs for them at home. But even if we create some jobs, we cannot give the returning workers the wages they expect.

What could be the political and social fallouts of that?

Obviously, there would be big social and political impacts. It could result in political instability. There are also chances of social unrest and increase of crimes. It could also affect our social stability.

Will the national economy collapse if remittances stop coming, as some fear?

We have adopted flawed parameters of economic success. For example, the success of the finance minister is measured on the basis of the revenue and foreign aid he helps generate. It should rather be measured on how the money is spent. The finance minister takes pride in the revenue generated
but nobody cares where the revenue comes from. In the past decade, 47 to 58 percent of the revenue was collected from customs, which is import-based. Remittance money created demand here but we do not have enough supply. So the country had to import more, which in turn raised more revenue. So, more the remittances, more the imports and greater the revenue.

If the finance minister’s success were measured in terms of revenue from excise duty, which means more tax on goods produced at home, it would be better. Right now, the finance minister is complacent. The government thinks it need not work with the private sector. Even the Nepal Rastra Bank governor is happy because foreign reserves are in a healthy state due to remittances. Nobody cares about the huge import-export gap. Earlier, there was equilibrium between the country’s trade balance and inflow of remittances. So in a way the trade imbalance was compensated by remittances. In the past 3-4 years, the situation has worsened. Remittances have failed to make up for the deficit.

Does it mean remittances are decreasing or is the trade imbalance swelling?

The size of trade deficit has increased. Over the years, the gap between trade imbalance and remittances has continued to increase. Even in current circumstances, pressure is gradually building and remittances are not going to sustain the demand for foreign exchange. So, if remittances go down, we have to take foreign aid even to buy medicine, gasoline and food grains. Our economy will be captive to international financial institutions.

Compared to other countries in the region how dependent are we on remittances?

Obviously, India and Bangladesh get far more remittances than us. But in relation to the share of remittance to the country’s economy, we stand in the top three position globally. Except for some central Asian countries that send migrant workers to Russia, Nepal has the highest dependency on remittances. So we are in a very vulnerable situation. Regionally, we are the most vulnerable. When we talk about India, lower remittances will only have a local and limited impact. For example, it could affect the state of Kerela, not Delhi or other states. In our case, the whole economy will be affected. In Bangladesh, remittance contributes to just 5-6 percent to the national economy; in our case it was 25 percent last year.

What happens if we cannot find an alternative to remittance?

If we do not seek options immediately, our economy could crumble anytime. 

Province 1: Isolation beds have been set aside in BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nobel Medical Academy, Koshi Hospital, and Birat Medical College. Health desks have been set up at Biratnagar airport and Rani (Jogbani), Bhadrapur, Kakadvitta, and Pashupatinagar border points. 

Province 2: Health desks with 2-3 health workers each have been opened in eight districts of the province. There is no monitoring at 22 entry points from India. 

Bagmati Province: The Tribhuvan International Airport has the largest health desk of the country. Rasuwagadhi border point has a desk with three health workers. Isolation beds are set aside in different hospitals.

Gandaki Province: Thirty isolation beds are set aside at Charak Hospital. Preparation is underway to open wards at Gandaki Medical College, Manipal Hospital, and few other hospitals. Pokhara and Jomsom Airports have health desks. 

Province 5: Ten different hospitals have assigned 3-5 beds each for isolation. Health desks have been set up at Maheshpur, Sunauli-Belhiya, Krishna Nagar, and Rupaidiya entry points and Nepalgunj aiport. 

Karnali Province: Health desks have been opened at Babai along Ratna Highway, Hilsa of Humla, Kapurkot of Salyan, and Surkhet airport. Each has four health workers. Three beds are set aside at Karnali Hospital.

Sudur Paschim Province: Ten health desks have been opened at 10 entry points in Darchula, Baitadi, and Kanchanpur districts. These are staffed with 2-4 health workers each. 

1.    The central lab at Sukraraj Tropical & Infectious Disease Hospital in Kathmandu is the only facility in Nepal to test COVID-19 infection. 

2.    Government has suspended visa-on-arrival for citizens from China, Iran, Italy, Korea, Japan, France, Germany, and Spain. Visitors from these countries also need to produce latest health certificate to come and they can enter the country only through the Tribhuvan International Airport. 

3.    International travelers are individually scrutinized at the TIA.

4.    Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal has asked people to ‘self-quarantine’ as per WHO recommendation, stating that the government cannot manage enough quarantine facilities for everyone. 

5.    Government has assigned 155 isolated beds in the Kathmandu Valley in 36 different hospitals, coordinated by seven ‘hub’ hospitals: Tribhuvan Army Hospital, TU Teaching Hospital, Bhaktapur Hospital, Bir Hospital, Civil Hospital, Patan Hospital, and Dhulikhel Hospital.

6.    Cabinet has met four times on infection preparedness since the outbreak in Wuhan (till we went to press). An all-party meeting was also held. 

7.    A government focal body headed by deputy prime minister has been formed. Ministers for home affairs, education, health, tourism, industry, and finance are members.

8.    In the provinces, a body chaired by the concerned chief minister or their representative will work as the focal body. Local elected officials will work as coordinators at local levels.

9.    People have been asked to avoid mass meetings, conferences, and celebrations involving crowds

10.    There are total 31,592 health professionals across Nepal under the Health Ministry, in addition to 52,000 women health workers. 

This photo feature is the outcome of the five-day intensive startup workshop organized by acclaimed photographers and educators Philip Blenkinsop and Christopher Morris on February 17-21.

A total of 18 photography students from Norway, China, Bangladesh and Nepal had gathered in Kathmandu for the International Storytelling Workshop 2020. As part of the curriculum, all 18 students roamed the streets of Kathmandu, taking pictures for the special workshop.

This is a 40-day advanced visual storytelling workshop for advanced level photography and photojournalism students and professionals.

This exchange program is divided into three parts: a five-day start-up photography workshop, fieldwork, and the editing workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Organized with the collaboration of the Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), VII Academy (the US), and photo.circle (Nepal), the program opens up a unique space for young photographers to learn and practice under close mentorship.