NMA Quarterly Update (Apr-Jun 2017) What happened this quarter? (Brief synthesis of activities) A. Micro-interventions 1. MI Cluster I: School nutrition garden (number of MIs: 4; districts: Mugu and Dailekh) Key progress a. Rural Service Providers informed and oriented about their respective micro-interventions, its message and progress to the newly-elected chiefs and other executive members of local levels in Dailekh district (Dullu Municipality). b. Joint monitoring and interaction with School Management Committee of Shree Bhanu Secondary School (Dullu Municipality), teachers and newly-elected Chairperson of ward number 11 took place in Dailekh. RSP along with the staff of Nepal Agricultural Services Development Programme-Prayas joined the event. c. An interaction was arranged among non-course RSPs in Mugu district; 17 RSPs from 6 different villages participated in the meeting. Besides sharing about project’s progress, the RSPs vowed to initiate to promote local bean under the brand of ‘Himali Chhayanath Simi’. d. Subject matter specialists from District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), District Education Office (DEO) provided technical support on identification, production and consumption of local agricultural crops, nutrition garden and hygiene & sanitation in Dailekh and Mugu districts. It’s been already initiated to include such crops in daily meal in the school. They are also providing technical support in preparing subject for the source teachers. Similarly, monthly class is being regularly provided to the students by source teachers in all schools in Mugu and Dailekh. Technical persons from non-governmental organization are providing such support in two schools in Dailekh. e. A garden pipe (500 m), drip irrigation, sprinkler were supported to Shree Bhanu Secondary School, Shree Janata Basic School, Dailekh for irrigating their nutrition garden. There is a problem of irrigating water particularly in winter season. Other agricultural inputs like seeds of seasonal and off-season vegetables, saplings of fruits (lime, mandarin orange: 110 saplings) spade, sprayer, silpaulin plastic sheet were also supported to the (3) schools in Dailekh. Besides vegetable seeds (tomato, okra, bottle gourd, cucumber, cowpea, hot pepper, brinjal, snake gourd) were also supported to the guardians (30 households) f. 30 students, including executive members of children club and nutrition group, source teachers, guardians, from Shree Ima Primary School participated in inter-school learning exchange visit of Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School in Shreenagar, Mugu. Students of Shree Bhanu Secondary School also observed agricultural activities being carried out in another school, Shree Basantamala Secondary School in Dailekh. During the learning exchange visit, it was emphasized on including locally available green vegetables, pulses in school daily meal, establishing kitchen garden in each student’s home, discussed in importance of nutrition and behaviour change. Similarly, 27 students, teachers and guardians from Shree Bhanu Secondary School visited the nutrition garden, sanitation and hygiene programme that is being carried in Shree Saraswoti Lower Secondary School, Dailekh. 199 students from Shree Janata Basic School visited Horticulture Research Station, Nepal Agriculture Research Council in Dailekh. 48 - 1 :: www.maan.ifoam.bio students and teachers from Shree Bijaya Technical and Vocational School visited Shree Jwala Secondary School, Gamaudi in Dailekh. g. Intra-school level competition (e.g., quiz, poem-writing, speech, drawing etc) carried out fortnightly in both Dailekh and Mugu. The message about nutrition and nutrition sensitive agriculture is also being promoted via various means. For instance, Shree Bhanu Secondary School organized folk song competition among the students in Dailekh. Similarly, there’s been regular interaction among students, teachers, guardians and school management committee as well as agricultural technicians quarterly in both districts. The guardians realized to promote the knowledge of urban agriculture (e.g., balcony farming) and seek for technical support. h. Course curriculum on vegetable production which is being taught in schools in Dailkeh has provided theoretical and practical knowledge about it to the students. Besides the guardians also ought to be provided this knowledge, a meeting on curriculum development discussed about it in Dailekh. i. As per the suggestion of National Education Commission’s report 1992 to develop school level curriculum (equivalent to 100 full mark course load) under the subjects like mother language, social study, creative and physical education, according to local context, District Education Office prepared a curriculum on nutrition and nutrition sensitive agriculture in collaboration with NMA/Women Upliftment and Awareness Centre and Karnali Agriculture and Food Concern Group in Mugu. The course has been given 20% course load out of 100 full mark. Main topics included are: introduction to nutrition, nutritious food, its necessity and benefits to human body, food groups, locally available nutritious foods, preservation of nutrients in food and its method etc. Currently the curriculum is being taught to the students of grade 1-5 in 18 schools under the source school of Shreenagar in Fiscal Year 2017/018. The District Education Office has decided to teach the course to the students of grade 1-10 in all schools from Fiscal Year 2018/019 in the district; it’s been agreed to develop the course with the course load of 100% (out of 100 full mark) and also include the learning from Shree Ima Primary School where the micro-intervention is being carried out. j. As a part of learning exchange, RSP Ms. Chetana Malla Shahi visited school nutrition micro- intervention that is being implemented by Mr. Krishna Bahadur Shrestha in Shree Janata Basic School in Dailekh. The school has also initiated to include vegetables produced in their nutrition garden in day meal for the students. Nutrition education and technical support provided to the guardians has supported in changing their behaviour with respect to production and consumption of divers nutritious foods. k. 6+ non-course participants got registered in MAAN internet platform through school nutrition MI in Dailekh district. - 2 :: www.maan.ifoam.bio Photo 1: RSP from Dailekh, Mr. Maharup Khatri (with District Coordinator, Good Governance Programme of HELVETAS, Ms. Shilpa Kshetri) informing about his micro-intervention to the newly-elected Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Dullu Municipality (left); interaction with School Management Committee and teachers of Shree Bhanu Secondary School in Dullu Municipality, Dailekh (right). Photo: Sharing meeting with Acting District Education Officer, Mr. Bhim Prasad Sharma; School Inspector, Mr. Dhirendra Sharma; resource person Mr. Ramkrishna Subedi; representative of World Education, Ms. Babita Thapa and representative from Food for Education, Mr. Krishna Regmi in Dailekh. Table 1: Working areas of NMA according to state restructure Province. Rural Municipality/ Cluster of micro- Responsible district.Local Micro-interventions Municipality and ward no. interventions RSPs level.MI no. 1 Province no. 5 1.1 Banke district Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan Mr. Bir Bahadur 1.1.1.1 City 18, Tejnagar and Improving nutrition MI V: Organic Hamal Sangamnagar through organic manure Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan manure promotion Mr. Ashok Kumar 1.1.1.2 City 20, Thapuwa Thapa 2 Province no. 6 2.2 Mugu district 2.2.2.3 Chhayanath Rara School nutrition MI I: School Ms. Chetana - 3 :: www.maan.ifoam.bio Municipality 3, Ima (Shree garden nutrition garden Malla Shahi Pashupati Primary School) Chhayanath Rara Mr. Prakash Budh 2.2.2.4 Municipality 9, Murma Sustainable Thapa Initiatives in Chhayanath Rara Ms. Samjhana 2.2.2.5 Mountain Economic Municipality 11, Rowa Shah Engagement MI IV.II: Soru Rural Municipality 8, (SIMEE) Promotion of 2.2.3.6 Mr. Ishwor Malla Kachche local bean for nutrition Production, improvement consumption, Mugu Karmarong Rural 2.2.4.7 processing and Mr. Dabal Kumai Municipality 4, Kimri marketing of local agricultural products 2.3 Jumla district Tila Rural Municipality 7, Sustainable MI IV.II: 2.3.5.8 Mr. Jaya Shrestha Ghodasain Initiatives in Promotion of Mountain Economic local bean for Patarasi Rural Municipality Mr. Ghanashyam 2.3.6.9 Engagement nutrition 4, Tirkhu (SIMEE) improvement Nagarkoti 2.4 Kalikot district Narharinath Rural Vegetable farming Mr. Durga 2.4.7.10 MI II. Household Municipality 8, Balde for improvement of Bahadur Bista level homestead agriculture garden Khandachakra Municipality productivity and Mr. Hari Bahadur 2.4.8.11 promotion 6, Danha nutrition Shahi Raskot Municipality 3, Mr. Hansha Raj 2.4.9.12 MI III. Promotion Sangatiya Nutrition of diversified Nyaupane Kalika Rural Municipality 6, improvement project food items Mr. Tirtha Prasad 2.4.10.13 Haudi (recipe) Acharya 2.5 Dailekh district Vegetable and fruit garden establishment in Dullu Municipality 11, Mr. Maharup 2.5.11.14 Toranya (Shree Bhanu school for health and Khatri Secondary School) nutrition improvement (484 MI I: School nutrition garden hhs) Dullu Municipality 7, Dullu (Shree Bijaya Technical and School nutrition 2.5.11.15 Mr. Jagat Rijal Vocational Secondary garden School) Improving nutritional MI III. Promotion status of golden of diversified Ms. Harikala 2.5.11.16 Dullu Municipality 11 1000 days children food items Thapa and women practical (recipe) knowledge Vegetable and fruit garden Narayan Municipality 1,