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I am a Himalayan American,” says Tsechu Dolma when asked about her nationality. At only 25, Dolma’s work and achievements are mountainously high, just like the terrains she loves to work in. A graduate of Columbia Univer­sity School of International and Public Affairs, Dolma has been active in social work from a very early age. She has also co-founded women and girls economic and social empowerment component of ACHA Himalayan Sister­hood in New York and advised UNDP in Colombia on natural resource man­agement and impact on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.

She runs indigenous honeybee farms, apple orchards, and greenhouses in the remote areas of the Nepali mountains. Ideally, the mountains are not considered the most lucrative terrains for agriculture and farming.

But with Dolma’s education, knowl­edge and persistence, she has been able to transform the areas she has worked in into profitable hubs of agro business, thus changing the lives of many farmers and their families especially women.

Her work as a social entrepreneur has been recognized by many organizations globally. She is a 2014 Brower Youth Award Winner, a 2013 Udall Scholar from the US Congress and 2017 Fulbright Hillary Clinton Fellow.

This young environmental scientist and anthropologist of Tibetan origin, who was born in Nepal and grew up in Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk, is also the founder of the Mountain Resilien­cy Project which is working with commu­nities in the rugged high mountains to build climate change resilience. Dolma was recently listed in the ‘Forbes 30 under 30: Social Entrepre­neurs’, an achievement which is the first for a person from this region.

The Annapurna Express man­aged to briefly talk to Dolma who is currently based in Kathmandu. Excerpts from the rendezvous:

The beginning

My work on in remote mountains of Nepal started when I was 16 and study­ing in the US. From early childhood, my religion, culture and family always taught me that whatever you gain in life, you share with others. Because of these values, I felt it unfair to see how my childhood friends were living and how their lives were so different from mine, just because of the resources
avail­able to us. Therefore, when my college provided resources for me to do summer projects, I chose to come back to Nepal do small agricultural projects in remote areas, like Mustang. This is how the concept for the Mountain Resiliency Project was developed.

Managing resources

After my first trip to Nepal’s mountain­ous regions, I started sharing everything I had seen with the people in the US. I started doing presentations and talking about food and water insecurities, climate change and identity politics. By sharing my ideas with people, I found donors and foundations who supported us.

Areas of work

The Mountain Resiliency Project is cur­rently active in Mustang, Baglung, Sind­hupalchowk, Gorkha, Rasuwa, Manang, Dolpa and Solukhumbu. We focus on developing the agriculture sector there. We work with local communities and farmers to connect them to value added market chains, to make farm­ing more lucrative for remote areas.

Changes

In roughly nine years, we have managed to create a network of 15,000 farmers. In this time the average income of the farmers has increased by 800 percent. This has improved their standard of living and the children now have better access to education and health care. In our calculation, we have managed to generate a net benefit of $25 million in past nine years.

Challenges faced

As a young woman, whenever I go to district offices here in Nepal, I can never go forward and say I am the founder or CEO of an organization. I have to hide behind another man and pretend he is running the show. The problem of age and gender discrimination still exists in Nepal. There is also a gap between different ethnicities. The people of Tibet­an-Buddhist origins are still treated with a certain amount of foreignness despite us co-existing with our neighbors here for generations. There is a lot of identity politics in Nepal.

The future

We are planning to reach a million farmers in the next three years. We would also like to scale up to 12 more districts in Nepal and expand to northern India, if possible. Also, we want to turn the net benefit of $25 million into $250 million within the next 10 years for the benefit of the communities we are working with.

Recognition

I would never feel comfortable intro­ducing myself as a ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ person. In the past three or four years that I have been living in Nepal full time, I have spent 90 percent of my time up in the mountains instead of Kathmandu. It was never a priority for me to develop a network in Kathmandu. For me, being a part of the communi­ty, being there out on the ground, is so much more important than networking. All the awards, fellowships and recog­nitions I have received are based on the evaluation of my work.

Forbes 30 under 30

It has been such a blessing and priv­ilege to be a part of this cohort. I have spent time with the other 29 participants and each of them has been equally inspir­ing. I think to be the first Nepali-Tibetan person to be on that prestigious list is inspiring to the other people in our community as well. To see someone just like you who comes from the same background reach this posi­tion based on her own hard work is relatable to the youth here.

Message

I truly believe that what I am today is because of the people I met in the past and the lessons I learnt from them. I believe in sharing my knowl­edge and experience with everyone, especially other young women. My message to the youth and people who want to work in this field is— always say yes to everything. You get so many opportunities in life but you can grab them only if you put yourself out there. Also, seek mentors. Getting training and guidance at an early age is very important.

Around 30,000 new cancer diagnosis are made is Nepal every year—only a third of them get treated. According to the National Cancer Registry Program, the rest do not pursue treatment due to lack of finances, illiteracy and negligence. It is to get these untreat­ed people to seek timely treatment, and to raise general awareness on the disease, that the Annapurna Media Network (AMN) has been organizing a yearly cycle rally, ‘Ride for Life’, on the World Cancer Day on February 4. Lung cancer is the most common cancer in Nepal while incidents of cervical, breast and abdomen can­cers are also rising. A patient diag­nosed with cancer in the first stage has 95 percent chance of cure; with cure rates plummeting to 50 per­cent with a third-stage diagnosis. In the fourth stage, cure is nearly impossible. Raising aware­ness on this was one of the goals of the cycle rally.

The Chief of Army staff Rajendra Chhetri kicked off the fourth edition of the Ride for Life from the AMN head office in Tinkune, Kathmandu. Hundreds of cyclists took part, as the rally passed through Gausha­la, Chabahil, Maharajgung, Gonga­bu, Balaju, Sorakhutte, Lainchaur, Jamal, Ratnapark, Bhadrakali, Tri­pureshwor, Thapathali, Maitighar, Baneshwor, before converging at Tinkune again.

“We should all unite to fight can­cer and to give the message that it can be prevented if we are self-aware,” says Sushil Pant, the Chairman of Nepal Cancer Foun­dation, who was also participating in the cycle rally.

The names of the participants of the cycle rally went into a lucky draw. The bumper award of a 43-inch television went to Samim Paudel. Similarly, Rajendra Chhetri got the first prize (a mountain bike) while Sanubabu Thapa and Ratman Gurung together got the second prize (each a two-way Simrik Air­lines Kathmand-Pokhara ticket). Likewise, in third prize, seven lucky winners were given six-month sub­scription of Annapurna daily and Annapurna Sampurna magazine. APEX BUREAU

When Gaurika Singh set eight national swimming records in the 2014 Galaxy Cup, young Nepali competitive swimmers like me were left flabbergasted. We would have been lucky to break one or two records—and here was this 13-year-old completely rewriting our record books. Singh is an inspiration for my generation. But in many ways com­paring her achievement with the achievements of other young Nepali swimmers is also unfair. Singh lives in England, where she can train, morning and night, right through the year. Swimmers here in Nepal can barely train for six months a year, and even that training is sub-par. As a national level competitive swimmer, I have experienced these problems first-hand. And so have the rest of the 130 registered swimmers who take part in national games every year, along with countless others who never make it that far.

 To compete internationally, we need to be able to train in an Olym­pic-sized (50m-long) swimming pool. But the only Olympic-sized pool in Kathmandu, the one at Satdobato (there is another one in Birgunj), we have to share with the public for three hours every day. Moreover, the pool is not heated in winters.

Invariably, our hard work goes down the drain during this long winter slough. National swimming head coach Ongden Lama likes to compare young Nepali swimmers to frogs in a well: “They learn to jump high, only to come crashing back”.

 All heat

We don’t even get bare minimum facilities. For instance, the national team should have a gym workout before training in water. But the gym at the Satdobato pool is always under lock and key. Swimmers should also consume food within 30 minutes of training. But by the time we reach our homes from Sat­dobato, it is usually too late.

The National Swimming Asso­ciation (NSA) started providing post-training diet to swimmers after the 2016 South Asian Games. But the little that is provided goes to the 10 swimmers who participate in the SAG, most of whom, in any case, can train on their own, in the Lin­coln School’s heated pool (because they are students there) or abroad (because they live there). But the rest of us are barred from Lincoln, nor do we have the wherewithal to go abroad.

With the funds it gets from FINA, the global competitive swimming regulator, the NSA arranges for some star athletes to go abroad and train. But no one knows what happens to the association’s own funds, collect­ed via private sponsors and parents of young swimmers. Even simple tasks, such as maintenance of the old pool, is being carried out by the Chinese government, which built the Satdobato complex in the first place.

Said one parent of a budding swimmer: “We had time and again contributed for the construction of a heated pool, to no avail”. The parent did not want to be named fearing that NSA officials, angry with her critical comment, would bar her child from future competitions.

When I asked him about the miss­ing NSA funds, Ashok Bajracharya, the president of the association, hedged: “The private sector is only just starting to see swimming as a lucrative investment. This stands us in good stead for the future”.

Signs of hope

Thankfully, after years of pleading and pressure from parents as well as swimmers, the construction of the heated pool has finally begun, with 80 percent contribution coming from the government and 20 per­cent from the NSA. Why the abrupt change of heart? Because the coun­try is again hosting the South Asian Games in March 2019. Moreover, the association needs to show FINA something tangible for all the funds it gets. Some old problems, such as leakage in the Satdobato pool, are suddenly being solved now.

Whether this is a mark of real change in the way competitive swim­ming is governed in Nepal or a blip on the NSA radar remains to be seen. Fingers crossed. 

No visitor to Kathmandu’s Thamel or Pokhara’s Lakeside this past tourist season (from September to November) could have failed to notice unusually big crowds of foreign visitors compared to the same time in previous years. The year 2017 was indeed a high-water mark for Nepali tourism as a record number of foreign tour­ists came calling. The Department of Immigration data shows a total of 940,693 tourists visited Nepal in 2017, easily surpassing the previous record of 803,092 in 2012. If we fac­tor in tourist arrivals by various land routes, the 2017 figure will easily cross one million, according to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

There has in fact been a steady uptick in the number of foreign tour­ists since the low of 2015, when, due to the earthquakes and the border blockade, just 538,970 of them vis­ited Nepal.

The top-five tourist-contribut­ing countries in 2017 were: India (160,832), China (104,664), the US (79,146), the UK (51,058) and Sri Lanka (45,361).

The tourism board deserves some credit. It has in recent times made a concerted effort to promote Nepal abroad. In April 2017 it signed up to promotion schemes with the BBC, Trip Advisor and Reuters. The board also initiated online and TV promo­tional campaigns in different parts of the world. Nepal, for instance, participated in the 21st East Med­iterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition (EMITT) in Istanbul, allowing the country to showcase its tourist attractions in the Middle East for the first time.

Another successful promotional campaign was the first-of-its-kind ‘International Photography Compe­tition on Nepal’ held in the Chinese city of Chengdu in December, 2017. At least 600,000 Chinese and for­eign tourists visited the exhibit of photos related to tourism, art and culture of Nepal.

“We have been rigorous in pro­moting Nepal abroad following the 2015 earthquakes,” says Sunil Shar­ma, officiating director, PR and pub­licist branch of the NTB. “Not just the NTB, tourism entrepreneurs, other responsible government bod­ies, our industries, each became an unofficial brand ambassador for the country”. Brand Nepal also got a fillip when the country was voted the second ‘Best Travel Destination’ in ‘Adventure Travel’ category of the 2017 National Geographic Travelers Award.

Nepal relies heavily on tourism. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2017 tourism accounted for 7.5 percent of Nepal’s GDP, and the country was ranked 37th, among the 185 coun­tries surveyed on tourism’s direct contribution to GDP. In 2017 tourism supported 427,000 jobs in Nepal.

The mood among hoteliers is upbeat. “We had 81 percent room occupancy in 2016,” said Phurba Sherpa, Director, sales and market­ing for Hotel Shangri-la. “In 2017, occupancy went up to 87 percent and in the first quarter of 2018 we are already expecting 91 percent of occupancy.”

Yet there are skeptics who argue that new tourist numbers should be put into perspective. For instance, according to the Hotel Associa­tion of Nepal, overall hotel room occupancy in 2017 was just 60 per­cent, the same as in 2016. This is because more and more hotels are being opened, says Binayak Shah, the association’s general secretary. “We currently have the capacity to accommodate 1.6 million tourists but only around 1 million came at the peak of 2017. The supply far outstrips demand.”

On the other hand, says Tek Mahat, the CEO of Trekking Agen­cies’ Association of Nepal, hotel occupancy gives only partial picture of tourist interest, as it does not fac­tor in the tremendous growth in vil­lage tourism and home-stay option. “We have for instance been trying to connect tourists with people of Annapurna and Everest regions. Tourists value this opportunity to get to know Nepalis and their habits up close,” says Mahat.

Nepal has the potential to wel­come even more tourists. After all, “a tourist who comes to trek in Nepal won’t get the same experience anywhere else in the world,” says Sharma of NTB.

With its ‘Tourism Vision 2020’ Nepal plans to bring two million tourists by 2020. But delays in con­struction of vital tourism-supporting infrastructures like the second inter­national airport in Nijgadh, Bara and the regional international airport in Pokhara make the task difficult. Nepal’s only international airport is crowded and mismanaged. The condition of the roads and highways is no better. Nepal has a lot going for it, say tourism entrepreneurs, but it would be dangerous to relax, as the competition for foreign tourists in South Asia is stiff.