Good Neighbors International (GNI) is an international development and humanitarian organization that responds to the call of the neglected, vulnerable, and marginalized beyond the barriers of race, nationality, religion, ideology, and geographical distance. GNI empowers people in 40 countries across the world through social development activities and places particular emphasis on economic development in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty that people in developing countries suffer from.    In Nepal, GNI has been working since 2002 for improving the lives of poor people, especially children through child protection, education, income generation, health services, water, sanitation and hygiene, disaster risk reduction/climate change adaptation, and advocacy programs. Currently, GNI Nepal serves marginalized, vulnerable, and poor children, families, and communities in 22 districts across Nepal.

 

Inclusive Rural Development Project in Nawalparasi (IRDN)   Nepal is a country dependent on agriculture. It is endowed with a fertile strip of flatland called Terai and houses 66 percent of the country’s total population. Out of the 77 districts, Nawalparasi Bardaghat Susta East and West in Terai are good examples of districts having fertile stretches and boundless possibilities in agriculture. However, due to the absence of modern technology, and agricultural knowledge and skills, farmers relied on traditional and subsistence farming.   In order to support the farming communities in these two districts, Good Neighbors International Nepal implemented a three-year Locally Initiated Projects (LIPs) in collaboration with SAMAHATI, a local partner, under the Inclusive Rural Development Project in Nawalparasi (IRDN) funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).   IRDN was designed based on the principle of ‘Saemaul Undong’, meaning ‘New Village Movement’. Introduced in South Korea in the 1970s, it is a successful community-based integrated rural development program that is regarded as the Korean development model for sustainable development. It contributed to achieving remarkable socio-economic development and closing the developmental gap between urban and rural Korea within over a decade.   The overall goal of the Project was to enhance the quality of life of people through socio-economic empowerment by increasing household income through the promotion of commercial agriculture and livestock, economic infrastructure development as well as youth and women employment. Under the IRDN, 26 projects were implemented in two districts viz. Nawalparasi Bardaghat Susta East of Gandaki Province and Nawalparasi Bardaghat Susta West of Lumbini Province. It covered 13 wards of four rural municipalities (Susta, Pratappur, Sarawal, and Palhinandan) and two municipalities (Sunwal and Madhyabindu).   Achievements 

• 580 vegetable farmers trained in commercial vegetable farming and provided farming machinery and equipment for commercial agriculture, and constructed a market center
• 124 crop farmers provided 18.16 metric tons of high-quality rice and wheat seeds, farming machinery and equipment, necessary training, and installed deep boring systems for irrigation.
• 149 banana farmers provided banana saplings, farming machinery and equipment, necessary training, established banana nurseries and constructed a collection center.
• 1,336 dairy farmers supported dairy farming and production and established milk collection centers.
• 123 fish farmers provided technical support in preparing fishponds, necessary training, installing bio floc and fish aerators, constructing shallow borings, fish nurseries, fish nets, and filling their ponds with fingerlings.
• 287 shallow and 21 medium-size borewells were installed to irrigate dry areas in Sarawal and Madhyabindu. 317 user committees formed.  
• 267 youths provided with various skills development training and supported to become entrepreneurs.

Covid-19 recovery project (December 2020–November 2021)   The Covid-19 Pandemic had a global impact. In Nepal, it upended life as usual and the death toll crossed almost 12,000. All sectors suffered due to the lockdown and businesses closed for many months. As breadwinners lost their jobs and livelihoods, many families were at risk of food insecurity, Community members in the two districts lost their livelihoods leaving their families in dire straits.    The Covid-19 response under the IRDN supported Covid-19-affected community members and households as follows;

• 20 local women provided with mask-making training
• 13 health facilities provided with health materials
• 3,372 Covid-19-affected households of 13 wards provided with food items
• Handwashing stations installed at 24 schools, 13 health facilities, and 19 local offices
• 275 community members supported the revival of their businesses.

  Modernization helps attract youth to dairy farming   Nepal is a growing market for milk and dairy products. Rapid urbanization and an increase in milk demand have attracted private sector investors to pour more money into the dairy sector. Local governments have also affirmed and prioritized this industry. However, there is a deficit on the supply side. Dairy farmers make low profits due to marketing mismanagement and price differences. The Inclusive Rural Development Project in Nawalparasi (IRDN) intervened on both supply and demand sides to close the gap.  Dhaniram Bhurtel of Madhyabindu Municipality used to be a migrant worker. He returned home and started dairy farming with a buffalo. Now, in three years, he owns 15 buffaloes and sells 75 liters of milk every day. Dhaniram shared, “After I returned, I ran two shops, and both failed. My wife and I are into dairy farming now, and we make enough profit to afford a decent life for our family.” Agricultural equipment and machinery such as chaff cutters, feed-maker, mats, etc., lessen farmers’ physical workload and saves time. Shed improvement keeps livestock clean and healthy, and easy to manage. “I can easily collect and transport heaps of dung using trolleys provided by the IRDN Project.”, says Rajesh Tiwari, Madhyabindu-9.  Thaman Bahadur Rana of Madhyabindu Municipality produces about 80 liters daily and sells about 60 liters through an IRDN supported dairy cooperative and the remainder by himself.  1,336 farmers were supported to increase milk production, productivity (from 4.4 to 14.7 liters/per farm/household) and income (quadrupled) through milch animal purchases, improved housing, and forage management, and strengthened agricultural cooperatives for marketing.