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Nepal Annual Report 2008-09

Download Annual Report 2008-9 (PDF, 1.2MB)Annual Report 2008-09

Practical Action Nepal

Practical Action Nepal's Annual Report for 2008-9 is available to download as a fully-illustrated colour PDF, or can be read as web pages from the links below. Download Annual Report 2008-09 (PDF, 2.37 MB)

Contents

Message from the Country Director

Last fiscal year April 2008 to March 2009 proved to be challenging for us both locally and globally. The global recession's impact with the depreciation of sterling pound, there was enormous pressure on core fund. Thanks to the sensitive contingency plan we developed with the UK Head Office which helped minimise the potential damage. Locally, strikes called by various political parties, higher gas prices and 18 hours of daily power load shedding delayed the completion of some of our planned activities.

Despite these persistent challenges, Practical Action Nepal Office has been successful in reaching more than 104,699 direct beneficiaries in the last fiscal year. We have achieved significant impact through scaling up activities and influenced for policy changes through a number of projects. We provided technical support to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MoEST) to develop standards and guidelines on Indoor Air Pollution, which was recently approved by the Government of Nepal as a national legal document. Our initiatives to work together with Department of Local Infrastructures and Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR) for promotion of complimentary means of transport is bringing encouraging results with DoLIDAR prepared to include gravity ropeways in the annual plan of some districts. Similarly, in consultation with the local and national stakeholders, we successfully assisted the local authorities to finalise the Disaster Management Plans of Bardiya, Chitwan and Nawalparasi Districts. For the first time in Nepal, we demonstrated a successful model of community based Early Warning System (EWS) utilising the data of existing flood monitoring system from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DH&M). This has led other Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) stakeholders including the government to replicate and promote such model in other parts of the country. Our use of Participatory Market Development Systems approach and its tools used to analyse the dairy sector has been duly recognised by USAID and it was highlighted in the Best Practices in implementation paper series (micro REPORT 149).

Climate change adaptation is one of the most pressing and prominent challenges we are facing globally and in Nepal. We are keenly observing the adaptation skills of beneficiaries in Kabilash, Chitwan where a project on "Adaptation to Climate Change" was implemented during 2005 - 2007. Major improvements in the coping capacity of the beneficiaries against the negative impacts of climate change have been observed recently. They have diversified production of climate appropriate crops, and introduced new alternative options such as livestock, poultry farming, horticulture and dairy. Today, villagers are able to save some of their income as they have created a demand for fresh vegetables, fruits, livestock, poultry and milk in the market luring traders to buy their produces. Practical Action is scaling up leasehold farming activities by training around 188 local Resource Persons and registering the farmer groups in District Agriculture Office enabling them to sustain themselves even after the project phases out. Till the reporting period the beneficiary communities have already leased 1,322 kaththas (around 44 hectares) of land. Though this figure looks small in terms of national perspective, there are opportunities for achieving multiple effects of this initiative, which can benefit a large number of landless and small landholders across the country. We are working with the conflict affected communities in Achham, Doti and Kailali to build the confidence of traumatised victims by engaging them to various livelihood activities. The introduction of Community Peace Centres (CPCs) and Better Life Option Programme (BLOP) has been instrumental for local peace promotion, to mediate local disputes and develop social cohesion between the ex-conflicting parties through collaborative activities, group counseling sessions and ward level discussions. We are also actively engaged in identifying and developing potential sub sector that offer opportunities for small holder farmers.

Last year, we successfully completed two urban focused projects - Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) and Integrated Urban Development (IUD). We launched a new project SWASHTHA focused on improving the health and well being of the urban and peri urban settlements of Bharatpur, Butwal, Gularia and Tikapur Municipalities. We also started liaising Practical Action Consulting (PAC) UK in Nepal. It is a subsidiary of Practical Action which aims to scale up good practices in the geographic regions where there lacks Practical Action's presence. We have successfully achieved financial target set for the last year. At project level, we capacitated the budget holders for periodic financial review and strengthened the monitoring system for timely and effective project delivery.

With these glimpses, I would like to thank the funders for supporting our work and other like minded organisations for encouraging us and providing support where necessary to achieve our mission. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their hard work, commitment and effort in reaching the poorest section of the society. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the people in our project areas, who are our inspiration and who have seen some form of hope from our initiatives.

Achyut Luitel
Country Director

1 Strengthening people's resilience

Practical Action aims to reduce vulnerability of the poor by introducing new technologies to cope with natural hazards and disasters, environmental degradation, food insecurity and to increase their resilience to adapt to climate change.

The programme areas under AIM 1 include:

Securing food for the poor
This programme aims to reduce the vulnerability of marginalised and disadvantaged communities by ensuring food security and sustaining livelihoods with increased production and incomes through improved natural resource management, skills enhancement and access to appropriate technologies and resources. Interventions focus on land leasing for productive use, water management, capacity development through networking and skill enhancement training, and developing linkages with the government and non government organisations to help access resources for both self food production and income generation.

Reducing risk from disaster and climate change
This programme aims to reduce the loss of lives and property of most vulnerable communities from water induced disasters, and addresses the impacts of climate change by identifying and developing adaptation and coping strategies. Based on the lessons from previous projects in Nepal and consolidating international learning, Practical Action in Nepal is focusing its work on preparedness, development and promotion of local practices and early warning systems (EWS) appropriate for flood. The programme further encompasses the promotion of existing natural resource management practices to reduce the impacts of climate change; study of indigenous adaptation strategies, knowledge and skills; promotion of appropriate existing farming system/practices; and strengthening communities' coping capacities through diversifying livelihood options.

Reports on project activity, 2008-9:

2 Making markets work for the poor

Practical Action works with small holder farmers to help increase access to established markets. It supports poor communities by making market work for them and by exploring a participatory and systemic market development approach to reduce vulnerability and secure livelihoods by applying technology for better production and networking skills to engage effectively in fairer markets. Practical Action's "Making markets work for the poor" programme (Aim 2) in Nepal mainly works under one thematic area - Minimising impacts of conflict.

Minimising impacts of conflict
This programme aims to improve the livelihoods of poor communities affected by the conflict. It rehabilitates the socio economic situations of the poor communities by building confidence through mediation and later implementing activities to increase their livelihood. The programme focuses on the promotion of youth peace promoters to strengthen the project's key messages of peace, reconciliation and conflict mitigation along with the promotion of local agro products, optimising marketing and management strategies and addressing under utilisation of potentially valuable and marketable products.

Reports on project activity, 2008-9:

3 Promoting infrastructure for the poor

Our third programme aim strives for increasing poor people's access to, control over, and choice of appropriate and sustainable infrastructure services. It works through promoting partnerships between marginalised people, the public and the private sector, to plan, deliver and sustain infrastructure services. The Aim facilitates these actors to demonstrate innovative models of service delivery with a positive impact on poor people's livelihoods. Based on learning, this Aim helps uptake good models for attaining impact at scale by influencing concerned authorities for pro-poor policy changes. Aim 3 focuses its work in three broad thematic areas:

Increasing Rural Productivity
This thematic programme aims to increase productivity of rural people and their access to other basic services and markets through use of complementary means of transport services and small decentralised renewable energy systems. Interventions include the scaling up of technologies such as, cable river crossing (tuins), gravity goods ropeways, bicycle trailers; decentralised renewable energy technologies focusing on the development of wind energy systems and strengthening their manufacturing bases. An integrated approach is an integral part of this programme promoting partnerships with stakeholders including local governments, NGOs, CBOs, and private organisations at all levels to increase uptake and help influence for conducive policy environment.

Reports on project activity, 2008-9:

Sustainable Urban Environment
This thematic area aims to improve urban environment and the livelihoods of the urban poor through promotion of sustainable waste management and, water and sanitation (WATSAN) services. The interventions focus on demonstrating innovative models of waste management and WATSAN technologies and approaches, by building effective partnerships with local governments, CBOs, NGOs and the private sector. In addition, activities under this area promote livelihood options for the urban poor by building their capacities in developing business opportunities from waste. It provides poor communities with opportunities for additional income and socio economic development to take place, through the adoption of a community managed decentralised approach.

Reports on project activity, 2008-9:

Healthy Homes
This thematic area aims to improve the health conditions of women and children living within poor HHs by improving indoor air quality, access to clean HH energy, HH sanitation, and providing safe drinking water facilities. Interventions focus on integrated service approach considering multiple indicators affecting health. The technologies and processes mainly focus on IAP reduction, improved ventilation and stoves, on site sanitation, water treatment at storage and at point of use. These HH interventions are supported beyond HH levels by raising awareness on hygiene behaviour, advocacy and influencing through partners and network such as National and Regional Forum for Smoke, Health and HH Energy, GEWNet and NGO Forum for Water.

Reports on project activity, 2008-9:

4 Responding to New Science-led Technologies

Work under Programme Aim 4 is comparatively in its initial phase. The Aim is planning to develop work on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), biotechnology and nanotechnology as potential sector for interventions together with other Aim works. These sectors were identified after an exploratory study of the potential areas focusing on the prospects, issues and suitability in the context of Nepal.

To strengthen the collaboration in the identified areas Practical Action signed a MoU to develop and implement joint programmes in the future with the High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT) - an autonomous government body to look after the ICT issues. Similarly, Aim 4 supported to establish a telecentre in Nawalparasi under the management of Kumarwarti Krishi Cooperative.

Aim 4 also jointly organised a workshop on Arsenic problem and use of nanotechnology with the Government of Nepal and UNICEF. The main objective of the workshop was to bring together all the relevant stakeholders (scientist, development and beneficiaries) so that a process can be paved to deal with the problem especially on arsenic sensing through nanotechnology.

Financial highlights for the year

A full financial statement can be found in the complete Annual Report 2008-9 (PDF, 1.2MB).

Acknowledgements

Practical Action Nepal Office 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:

A M Pilkington's Charitable Trust
B & P Glasser Trust
Carlisle Overseas Aid Trust
Caterham Overseas Aid Trust
CBC Charitable Trust
Churches Together Bookham Effingham
CO-OP Bank
Danish Government-RISO
Department for International Development, UK (DFID)
Directorate for International Cooperation (DGIS)
Enid Linder Foundation
European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)
The European Union
Evan Cornish Foundation
Farrer-Brown Trust
The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
George & Margaret Taylor
Haramead Trust
HCD Memorial Fund
Hodgson Charitable Trusts
International Forum for Rural Transport Development (IFRTD)
Isle of Man Government
J H F Green Trust
King/Cullimore Charitable Trust
L D Rope Third Charitable Trust
Mrs. E M Cox
Persula Foundation
Preston Trust
Robin Comyns-carr
Robert Klin Charitable Trust
Rotary club of St Helens
Rufford Foundation
States of Jersey
St John The Baptist Church
Tanner Trust
Triodos Foundation
United Nations Human Settlement (UN-HABITAT)
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Waterloo Foundation
The World Health Organisation (WHO)

Practical Action international group annual report | Previous Nepal reports: 2007-8 | 2006-7 | 2004-5

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