PRACTICAL ACTION WORLDWIDE HEAD OFFICE Practical Action The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development Bourton on Dunsmore Rugby, CV23 9QZ, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1926 634400 Fax: +44 (0) 1926 634401 E-mail: [email protected] SRI LANKA BANGLADESH Practical Action Practical Action 5 Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha House 12/B, Road 4 Kirulapone Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Colombo 5, Sri Lanka GPO Box 3881, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Telephone: +94 11 2829 412 (413, 414, 415) Telephone: +880 2 865 0439, 967 5236 Fax: +94 11 2856188 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] KENYA Practical Action SUDAN P.O. Box 39493, Nairobi Practical Action AAYMCA Building (Second Floor) P.O. 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Jorge Chavez 275 Number 4 Ludlow Road (off Enterprise Road) Miraflores, Lima 18 Newlands, Harare, Zimbabwe Telephone: +511 446 7324, 444 7055 Telephone: +263 4 776 107, 776 631 Fax: +511 446-6621 Fax: +263 4 788157 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Practical Action Nepal Office House No. 750 Pandol Marg, Lazimpat P.O.Box : 15135 Kathmandu, Nepal Annual Report Tel : 977-1-4446015/4434482 Fax : 977-1-4445995 E-mail : [email protected] 2009/10 Web : www.practicalaction.org/nepal A group of women benificiary. A. de la Vega © Practical Action, 2010 No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose without prior permission of the copyright holder. Text and production coordination: Upendra Shrestha and Shradha Giri Photo: Practical Action, unless stated otherwise Cover page photo: Farmer taking rest after ploughing. A. de la Vega Designed & Processed @ Wordscape, 977-1-5526699 Printed in Kathmandu, Nepal 3 MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY DIRECTOR The country is going through an important transition period, impact in 26 VDCs of Achham, Doti and Kailali Districts. These unstable political circumstances and negative economic trends positive changes have been possible due to introduction and are aggravating the situation to worst. The Asian Development application of different kinds of technologies, such as multiuse Bank (ADB) has reported decreasing trend on Nepal’s GDP growth of water systems for enhancing productivity, notice board from 5.3 per cent to 4.7 per cent in the last fiscal year. The GDP services for market price information of different commodities growth is well below than required rate of 6 per cent in reducing and so on. Nepal’s high levels of poverty, especially while average annual population growth is increasing rapidly at the rate of 2.3 per cent There have been significant works on improving poor people’s over the past decade. infrastructures during this reporting period. The communities of selected VDCs in Gorkha, Tanahu, Achham and Kalikot now have Due to high inflation (13.2 per cent in 2009), and declining better access to nearby market facilities with the installation of remittances, exports and reserves, Practical Action realises the six new gravity goods ropeway systems. Similarly, five improved urgency to concentrate its focus in more remote areas, where tuins in these districts have helped the scattered communities to over 80 per cent of the economically active population live and significantly reduce their travel time to the markets and service depend upon subsistence agriculture. centres. We expanded our Renewable Energy Village concept in other wards of Bhumlichowk VDC in Gorkha and Devchuli VDC Despite the challenging situation in the country, we believe that in Nawalparasi District targeting to the poor and marginalised Practical Action has made impacts in its working areas. In line communities. The infrastructure support has been extended not with its three major thematic areas, (i) reducing vulnerability, only to scattered rural communities but also to the urban poor. (ii) markets and livelihoods and (iii) access to services, Practical During this reporting period, communities in Bharatpur, Butwal, Action through the local partners helped the communities to Gulariya and Tikapur Municipalities, and other emerging towns overcome various barriers to improve their lives. were supported for safer drinking water and sanitation facilities and improving indoor air quality leading to better health. We are particularly proud for being able to help the communities in building resilience to fight against different natural and Last year, we piloted a new concept on creating local technical manmade adversities, such as food insecurity, disaster risks and contents and disseminating those using MP4 devices. The negative impacts of climate change. In selected VDCs of Doti, trained Local Resource Persons are using this concept to provide Surkhet, Kailali, Banke, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi Districts, we knowledge about different technologies to the local communities. provided support to the socially excluded and disadvantaged These kinds of innovative ideas have been integrated with other communities to fight against food insecurity using land projects to ensure sustainability of the initiatives. leasehold approach, on and off farm skill building and market linkages. We are convinced that the land leasehold concept can Besides implementing the regular projects, we worked closely address immediate need of the communities and ensures long with central government institutions, notably, the Ministry of term access to land from the earnings. Based on our lessons on Environment in preparing National Adaptation Plan of Action food security issues, we launched HELP Food Security Project in (NAPA) and Department of Local Infrastructure Development and January 2010 with financial support of the European Union’s Food Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR) in developing technical guidelines Facility Programme. Likewise, early warning systems together for Gravity Goods Ropeways to standardise and scale up the with preparedness for possible disasters, and diversification of technology. livelihood options for communities provided through our SEWIN and DRR Projects have saved lives and assets, and brought I express my gratitude to all the funders who believed on us positive impacts on poor people’s lives in Chitwan, Nawalparasi, and supported our project work. Likewise, I thank all our partner Banke and Bardia Districts. organisations for their continued support in field delivery of our work and closely working with the communities to make We feel satisfied with the ways we have been able to help the them understand about the approach we wanted to put forward. conflict affected poor communities in building their confidence Similarly, I would like to thank the government institutions both and entering into the local economic activities by gaining at local and national level for encouraging us and supporting knowledge and skills on off seasonal vegetable farming and our approach. Last but not the least, I would like to thank the markets linkage. SABAL Project has brought about a positive people in the communities who saw hope for the future in us. Achyut Luitel Country Director Annual Report 2009/10 4 VISION MISSION A sustainable world free of To use technology to challenge poverty by: poverty and injustice in which n building the capabilities of poor people, technology is used to the n improving their access to technical options and knowledge, and benefit of all. n working with them to influence social, economic and institutional systems for innovation and the use of technology Annual Report 2009/10 5 Contents Acknowledgements 7 Acronyms 8 Practical Action in Nepal 10 AIM 1 Reducing Vulnerability 13 AIM 2 Markets and Livelihoods 21 AIM 3 Promoting Infrastructure for the Poor 29 AIM 4 Responding to New Technologies 38 Knowledge Products 38 Practical Answers 39 Finance at a Glance 40 CORE PRINCIPLES n Putting people first n Working in partnership n A concern for future generation n Respect for diversity Annual Report 2009/10 6 Children observing bio-gas inputs mixture in Hururedanda, Nawalparasi Annual Report 2009/10 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Practical Action sincerely acknowledges the financial and moral support provided by individuals, organisations and trusts from Europe and elsewhere. We would like to thank following organisations and individuals for supporting us in our mission: Audio Partnership plc Bodyshop Foundation British High Commission Churches together Bookham Effingham Danish Government – RISO Delves Charitable Trust Department for International Development (DFID) Diocese of Blackburn European Commission Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (ECHO) European Union Evan Cornish Foundation Farrer-Brown Trust Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) George and Margaret Taylor Glacier Trust Government of Nepal H C D Memorial Fund Hodgson Charitable Trust International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) J H F Green Trust Jose Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation, Spain L D Rope Third Charitable Trust Persula Foundation PJK Charitable Trust Rotary Club of St. Helen Souter Trust Sutasoma Trust Tanner Trust Triodos Foundation UKAid