Organic Farming

About the Project

Organic Farming Initiative

In consultation with SVSI, the local government in Chitwan and the Musahar community, a Women’s Farming Initiative has been set up, led by the Musahar women to train the Musahar how to grow vegetables. This will give them food security, make them more self-reliant and allow them to earn a small income by selling any surplus vegetables in the market. In this way they become part of the solution.

Project Status

maart 2024

The next batch of rice has been planted by the women. The first batch of rice was sold last year to the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation (KRMEF) for a very good price. Because of the excellent quality of the organic rice, KRMEF already informed us that they would like to buy this batch as well.

november 2023

Ramila Dhakal from aQysta came to Chitwan and gave the Musahar women a 3-days training. She taught them how to make natural fertilisers, trained them on post-harvest management and discussed what other high value crops they could plant in the next crop cycle. Our new volunteer, Yvette Feeke, also joined the training and is supporting the women on how to manage the farm financially.

august 2023

The Musahar women work very hard on their organic farm and are very eager to make it a success. They decided to plant rice and also more spices like turmeric. From August onwards they will be working together with aQysta, who can support them in making their farm more profitable, resilient and ecologically sustainable. aQysta will provide the following support:

• Advise on crop selection and design cropping calendar

• Provision of training (organic farming practises/intercultural operations, pest and disease management and post-harvest management), both on site and remote.

• Marketing advise for harvest and for predetermined crops guaranteed access to market

November 2022

No floods this year

From August to October, the women enjoyed working on the land. The fruit trees grew well. However it is also monsoon season. While there were floods last year, luckily there were none this year, although it was quite exciting at times because the piece of land is close to the river. As a precaution, the tools was were moved to higher ground. Due to the heavy rains, the women could not always work on the land, but cauliflower and carrots could be planted.

Once the rains stopped, the land was plowed with a hand plow. This device is handy but comes with instructions. The women were taught how to use the hand plow. 1600 chili plants could be planted. However, due to the heavy rains, the question is how many seedlings will successfully grow into chili’s.

Tool and machines blessed

At the end of September, the 5 Musahar women worshipped the Hindu Lord Vishwakarma in the customary manner to pay reverence to the farm tools and machines to get his blessings. On this day, people take a break from work and clean their tools and machines so that they can be used in the future. They eat delicacies to celebrate.

Now that the monsoon has come to an end, more work can be done on the land to sow and harvest fruit, herbs and vegetables.

september 2022

To make their lives easier the Musahar women have bought a hand tractor enabling them to plow the land more easily. In the beginning, it was quite difficult to use the hand tractor, but practice makes perfect.

april 2022

As a follow up on the permaculture design course that Kusumi and Sushila successfully completed in Kathmandu, they presented their vision and long-term plan for the organic farm to Debbie, Dorien and Gita during their recent trip to Chitwan. They were very impressed with the detailed design and well thought out plan and will continue to fully support them during the implementation of their plan.

The presentation can be viewed here.

January 2022

The organic farm is doing really well. The Musahar women are working on the farm every day and are taking excellent care of all the crops. A lot of vegetables and herbs have already been sold on the local market at a good price: cauliflower, beans, spinach, potatoes, onions, green chillies, coriander, garlic and radish.

September 2021

Finally after many weeks of rain the fence has been repaired and the Musahar women can start to grow a new batch of crops. We also built a greenhouse sponsored by ‘Veiling met een missie’, so the women can grow crops safely during the monsoon period. Different types of herbs will also be planted.

We are looking into sustainable solutions to make the fence monsoon and flood-proof for the coming years.

July 2021

Sadly the July monsoon washed away the crops of our farming project. The flood destroyed the safety fence around the farming land and chicken farm. Luckily almost all of our chickens survived. Every year the monsoon and floods cause many challenges. We hope to work together with the local government to find workable solutions to mitigate the damage caused to the land and the houses in the coming years.

April 2021

The organic farm is well cared for and the first vegetables have made their way to the market. The ladies have sold over 900 kilograms of potatoes, 40 kilos of cucumbers and 25 kilos of bitter gourd. The farm is providing sources of food and much needed income for the Musahar community. Together with the Sustainable Poultry Farm and the upcoming Eco Soap Factory, this Farming Initiative is part of the growing Eco Village being realised for the Musahar community.

FEBRUARY 2021

Our Farming Initiative, in partnership with SVSI and Veiling met een Missie Zoeterwoude, is progressing well. The Musahar women have formed the Sapana Madhyebarti Women Mushar Farmer Group cooperative and are working together with agricultural experts to grow different kind of vegetables, like potatoes and cauliflower and have planted 20 avocado trees. They are using natural fertilisers and exploring other crops and fruit and nut trees that have a high sales value in the market.

NOVEMBER 2020

The complete lockdown in Chitwan is over for now. Fortunately we can continue with our Farming Initiative.

Dorien van Niekerk and Ilse Verweirder on behalf of ‘Veiling met een missie Zoeterwoude’ have joined us as project partner. They will sponsor the necessary seeds and fruit trees.

Gita and Debbie interviewed 4 Musahar ladies who will represent the board of the Farming Initiative cooperative. All ladies are eager to work, earn money to provide for their families and learn new things. They especially enjoy working on this project as a group/team. Plowing of the land has also started.

Funding

6º raised Euro 4,570 funds together with Veiling met een missie Zoeterwoude and we will continue to support the women for the coming 2-3 years till they can run the farm fully on their own.

Objectives

Setting up of a Women’s Farming Initiative, led by the Musahar women, to train the community how to grow vegetables. Any surplus vegetables can be sold in the market and provide a small income for the community.
All candidates who participate in the SVSI and 6º programmes are expected to contribute in-kind by Paying-it-Forward.

Project Partnership

6º is partnering with Sapana Village Social Impact (SVSI) for this project. SVSI will run the operation on the ground including candidate selection and guidance as well as project management. 6º is also partnering with Veiling met een missie Zoeterwoude. Dorien van Niekerk and Ilse Verweirder are participating in the project on their behalf.
Clean City is facilitating business mentoring, permaculture design, and farm diversification training. Clean City will provide global and regional technical expertise to minimize the impact of climate change and develop strategies for appropriate land use using permaculture principles.