Khushbu Mishra Davis Projectsfor Peace2010

Paintinga PeacefulPresent Background: The peopleofTerai', an ethnic minority in southernNepal, are discriminatedagainst by Pahadi,or the hill people,the majority ethnic group in , becauseof their socio-cultural,linguistic and physical affinity with the communitiesliving immediatelyon the other side of the border in krdia. The ' womenof face the additional challengeof genderdiscnmination. Cultural taboosand norms, a lack of knowledgeof their rights, unequalaccess to resourcesand feelingsof incompetencecreate reluctance in Mithila womento engage in politicaland economic activities. kr this patriarchalsociety, decision making power, be it economic,political or familial, resideswith men. The lower statusof womenwithin the societybecomes apparent by the preference of male progenyover female,the dowry system,extremely low literacy rate and life expectancyamong women, high matemal mortality rate, and a high percentageof anemic women. Moreover, the ongoing semiarmed conflict,which began as an offshootof the Maoistrevolution, and the ethnictension between people of thehill regionand Terai , have made the lives of Mithila womenmore difficult. Despitelagging behind economically and politically, the Mithila regionis full of culturaltreasures. One suchheasure is Mithila Art, which is practicedby Mithila womenof all castesand communities of the region. They typically make temporary paintings depicting the relationship betweennature, culture and the human psycheon walls of theirmud houses.The traditionalmethod uses temporary paints made ofrice, mud andplant extractsthat are appliedwith their fingers.To producepaintings that can be sold to tourists,the Mithila women needtraining in the useof permanentpaints, paintbrushes, paper and fabric. Selling these Mithila paintingswill not only improve the economic condition of the women but also promote awarenessof Mithila culture throughoutNepal and help to defusethe ethnic tensionin the Terai region.

Project goals: In an EconomicDevelopment class, I researchedthe impactof sweatshopson Baagladeshiwomen and leamedthat economicgain from thesejobs enabledwomen to participatemore actively in the decisionmaking processin their familiesand decide for themselvesabout their ageof marriage,marriage partners and education. Basedon this research,the main goal of my "Paintinga PeacefulPresent" project is to provideeconomic empowermentto the local Mithila women by establishinga Mithila Art Institute in my home village of Halkhori, where they can create and sell their own art. This will make the women part of the productive economy and decreasegender disparity, which will eventually give them decision making power in other aspectsof social and family life. Moreover,the economicrevenue from the institute will enablethe women to support their poverty stncken families. They will be able to afford better health care, clean drinking water, nutritious food, and educationfor their children. Furthermore,the art institute will serveas a platform for team building, planning, skill learning,gender awareness and productive engagement for thesewomen. The economic gainwill helprun the institutein the longrun andgive a solidbasis for the instituteto be self-sustainable.Also, the institute could engagemore womenin the future, spreadingthe benefitsto an evenlarger population. Mithila Art hasjust startedto gain popularity within Nepal and abroad.This opportunitycan be usedto promoteMithila culture,which still remainsunknown in otherparts ofNepal andis oftendiscriminated against. Awarenessabout Mithila culture will promotecultural understandingand tolerancearnong the hill peoplewhich can help reducethe ethnic tensionand initiate the peaceprocess. Therefore, this project aims to promotepeace by advancingcultural awarenessand tolerancethrough art and, at the sametime, provide economicand social gainsfor Mithila women.

Methodology: I will buy the requiredland for the "Painting a PeacefulPresent" project with a working spaceof thee roomsfrom a local landlord,Mr JeevnathPandey, in the Halkhoriarea that is accessiblefor all trainees.I will then hire five professionalartists from the Mithila Women'sArt and Craft Centerin ,which is two hours away by bus. The artists,who will train the local women in the use of materialsto producepaintings for tourists, will be provided with lodging and food at the institute throughoutthe training period. The professional artistswill help me conducta two day selectioncamp for all the interestedcandidates Iiom the Halkhori Villaee

' The southernplain belt of Nepal that bordersIndia. ' The easternpart of Terai region that usedto be part of the Mithila Kingdom in ancienttimes. Khushbu Mishra Davis Projectsfor Peace2010

DevelopmentCommittee lVDC;t area.In the camp, my team will test the women on their basic Mithila art skrllsand will requirethem to fill out questionnairesregarding their economicand family backgrormd.My team will thenselect twenty women on thebasis ofneed and skill. Next,in orderto establishthe institutionon a solid ground,I will collaboratewith the local non govemmentorganization (NGO), Public DevelopmentOrganization (PDO), and registerthe art institute as an NGO. The PDO will help with drafting the constitution,advising and otherlegal procedures involved. I will engagethe selectedwomen in formulatingand planningthe institute's constitutionso that theyhave a senseof ownership.Halkhori VDC, the local govemingbody, has expressed its supportfor thisproject (please see attached letters of support). The training processwill last for a period of two monthsand will enablethe womento developtheir art skillsto a professionallevel. I will buy thetraining materials such as fabric, paper, paints and paint brushes from local market in Janakpur.A tlpical training day will be of five and half horus beginning at noon, since the women often cook for their family and finish up their morning choresby then. The professionalartists will conduct intensive training on art skills for four hours followed by a half an hour tea and snack break. This provision of snackwill definitely encouagethe train€esto join and continuewith the training. After the break,I will conductan hour long group meetingfor the women to build leadershipskills. BiodiversitySector Programme for Siwalik and Terai (BISEP-ST), a support program of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservationwhich operateslocally, has agreedto provide two professionalmanagemert trainers, who will conductrnanagerial training sessions focusing on commrmication,accounting and administrativeskills for the women during the goup meeting.I will also conductfield trips to Mithila art centerssuch as Janakpur HandicraftCenter, Janakpur Women's Development Center and Mithila Women'sArt and Craft Centerfor all the traineesso that they can observeand leam from establishedinstitutes. Basedon rny consultationwith the professionalartists, the paintingsof the first two monthswill not be saleable,but by the end of the secondmonth and every month after that, each artist will be producing one saleablepainting per day for a total of about six hundred paintings. Depending on the size, quality and complexity,the costprice of paintingswill rangefrom threeto five dollarseach while their sellingprice will rangefrom six to twenty dollars each.By the end of the third month, I expectto sell abouttwo hrmdredand fifty paintings which will bring in approximatelyfifteen hLmdreddollars even if eachpainting sells at the lowest price. This amountwill be enoughto buy materialsfor the fourth month, leaving tfuee hundreddollars extra.By the end ofthe fourth month, if the instrtutesells two hundredand fifty more paintings,the institute will still be making a net profit of three hundreddollar. Monthly profits will be divided amongthe artists,giving eachartist fifteena dollars a month, which is a substantialamount for a Mithila woman. This way by the end of the third month,the institute will be able to run on its own while alsomaking moneyfor the involved womenartists. Becausethe target village is not on the tourist trach I havebeen in contactwith craft merchantsin the high tourist traffic cities of Janakpur, and ,who have offered to buy the painhngs(please seesupporting letters). I havealready arranged to exhibit the paintingsat SakalbhawanKanya Higher Secondary School in Janakpur,the Institute of Forestryin Pokhara,and Little Angels' School, one of the largestpnvate schoolsin Kathmandu.Each exhibition will featurethe paintings and on-site display ofpainting methods by five of the trained women to createbotl awarenessof and a market for Mithila art. I will also mobilize the local pressand radio stationsin Janakpur,Pokhara and Kathmandufor marketingand advertisingpurposes. I have friends working for radio stationswho have agreedto advertizemy project for fiee. The institute itself will function as an outlet for selling the artwork. Additionally, I will be travelling aroundother cities to expandthe market.

My Experience: As a member of Halkhori village, I organizedan adult literacy program with the PDO (pleasesee attachedletter of support).I madecontacts with the Fofessionalsin and aroundthe target community through this work experience.I also worked as an assistantaccountant in the UK and gainedvaluable money managementskills, which will equip me to build a strongfoundation for the art institute. In addition, as one of the few in the areawith a strongeducational background, I havebeen fortunate to gain the respectand goodwill ofthe localcommunity, which will suppodthe successfulexecution of the "Paintinga PeacefulPresent" project.

' VDC is the local governingbody. o Fifteendollars is approximatelya month's salaryof a primary schoolteacher in Nepal.