annual report 2011 - Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) · 2.0 PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS 11 ... SST...

ANNUAL REPORT2011

Committed to Development, Democracy, Peace and Human Rights

Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN)

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Editor

Dr Sarba Raj Khadka

Contact for Further Information

Rural Reconstruction Nepal – RRNCentre for Development Studies and Policy Advocacy (CDSPA)P.O. Box 8130, Kathmandu, Nepal

Street address288 Gairidhara Marg, Gairidhara, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 977-1- 4004976/4004507Fax: 977-1-4004508 and 4443494Email: [email protected] Website: www.rrn.org.np

© RRN, 2012

Reproduction and dissemination of information on RRN’s programmes, finances, methods and processescontained in the Annual Report 2010 is encouraged as long as the source is duly acknowledged.However, the production of whole or part of this report including financial information should not occurwithout the prior written consent of RRN. RRN highly appreciates receiving a copy of the publication thatuses the materials from this report. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect tothose of our partners.

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TABLE OF CONTENTAcronyms V

Foreword VI

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Organisation Structure 2

1.2.1 General Assembly 4

1.2.2 Executive Committee 4

1.2.3 Regular Administration 4

1.3 RRN’s Belief, Vision, Mission and Objectives 6

1.4 Approaches and Strategy 7

1.5 Programme Focus 8

1.6 Resources and Facilities 9

2.0 PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS 11

2.1 Peace Building From Below (PBB) 12

2.2 Community Support Programme (CSP) 15

2.3 Enhancing Food Security and Agricultural Production Capacities Programme (EFSAPP) 17

2.4 Sankalpa Project 19

2.5 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme 21

2.6 Women’s Empowerment through Community Based Sustainable Livelihoods Enhancement Project (WEP) 23

2.7 Education for Vulnerable and Marginalised Children in Nepal (EVMCN) 24

2.8 Community Initiatives Infrastructure and Livelihood Support Project (CIILSP) 26

2.9 Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) Project 29

2.10 Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation in the Mountainous Regions of ChitwanDistrict (MDG Village) 31

2.11 Improving Food Security in Communities Vulnerable to Food Price Volatility 33

3.0 CAMPAIGN, ADVOCAY, LOBBYING AND NETWORKING 35

3.1 National Initiatives 35

3.1.1 Right to food, food security and food sovereignty 35

3.1.2 Campaign against human trafficking 38

3.1.3 Campaign for climate justice 39

3.1.4 Other campaigns and advocacy works 40

3.2 International Initiatives 40

3.2 1 South Asia level 40

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SAAPE 40

People's SAARC 42

PSAARC proper 45

3.2.2 Global LDC level 45

LDC Watch 61

3.2.3 Other global level initiatives 47

4.0 FINANCIAL OUTLOOK 48

Independent Auditors' Report 48

Balance Sheet 49

Income and Expenditure Statement 50

Cash Flow Statement 51

RRN People 52

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ACRONYMS

AGs Adolescent GirlsCF Community FacilitatorCIDA Canadian International Development AgencyCM Community MobiliserDDC District Development CommitteeDRRM Disaster Risk Reduction ManagerDFID Department for International DevelopmentIFI International Financial InstitutionIGA Income Generation ActivityJS/APMDD Jubilee South/Asia Pacific Movement for Debt and DevelopmentODA Official Development AssistancePM Project ManagerPO Project Officer SCG Savings and Credit GroupSF Stromme FoundationSHG Self Help GroupSK Sambad KendraSST Sambad Support TeamVDC Village Development CommitteeWTO World Trade OrganisationUCPA Underlying Causeses of Poverty Analysis

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This gives me immense pleasure introducing another issue of RuralReconstruction Nepal’s annual report covering major programmes andprojects undertaken in 2011. This is an eye witness that despite messypolitical situation at national level and absence of people’srepresentatives in the local government bodies, we have accomplishedour planned activities without major problems. It was possible throughthe high quality participation and support of the local people, centralministries in Kathmandu and line agencies of the government in thedistricts and villages, funding partners and the collaborators at all levelsof our operation. We strongly believe that socio-economic change forcomprehensive social transformation is enhanced when the like-minded stakeholders work hand in hand with the people for whom thechange matters the most.

As in the past, we not only facilitated for development per se, we ourselves were very much engaged inmaterialising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) forthe LDCs, among others. Integration of MDGs and IPoA into the national development framework is themain development agenda of the country and our conscious engagement has helped to these processes.Our engagement was particularly in policy advocacy, raising awareness and bringing the agenda to thelocal level and complementing other stakeholders’ endeavours.

Another important area that RRN continued to contribute during this period, too, was conflictmanagement and peace building through local initiatives, and linking it to macro level peace buildingprocesses. We are convinced that without realization of peace dividend at local level through communityparticipation, the top down approach of peace building is inadequate. Poverty reduction, promotion oflivelihoods opportunities, food security, education, health and sanitation, infrastructural development andinstitutional development, which RRN is supporting continuously, are some of the important aspects thatadd for people’s well-being and happiness in the long run.

In the capacity of President of the Board, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the people, thegovernment, Social Welfare Council, funding partners, volunteers and staffs of the organization for theircontinuous support and solidarity. My special thanks go to Dr Sarba Raj Khadka, Som Rai, Amit Pyakureland other colleagues who have helped compiling and bringing this report to you. We are committed tocontinue our struggles towards sustainable development, human rights, peace, justice and happiness indays ahead. We would be more than happy receiving your critical observations so as to improve ourundertakings in future.

Thank you,

Arjun Karki, PhDPresident

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FOREWORD

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1.1 Background

Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) is a Nepali non-government, not- for- profit, human rights andsocial development organisation established in1989 with its preceding name ‘Grassroots Institutefor Training and Services-Nepal’ (GRITS-Nepal). Thiswas the period when the country was preparing forJana Andolan-I, which succeeded in 1990 thatforced the absolute monarch to confine within theconstitutional boundaries and re-established multi-party democracy in the country.

RRN subscribes the philosophy, principles andcredo of the International Rural ReconstructionMovement initiated by Dr Y C James Yen (16 Oct1893- 17 Jan 1990) which puts immense emphasisand the utmost need to work with the rural peoplewho are deprived of almost everything necessaryfor their survival. Therefore, RRN has been workingwith the economically disadvantaged, politicallydisempowered and socially excluded povertytrodden rural communities for more than twodecades now. Embracing the four-fold approach ofrural reconstruction - education, health, livelihood

and self-government - RRN has been implementinga wide range of integrated communitydevelopment and socio-economic empowermentprogrammes and projects addressing the deeprooted crucial problems being faced by the people.These programmes and projects include, but notlimited to, awareness raising and education,healthcare, natural resource management forlivelihoods, empowerment of women, children andthe Dalit, and ethnic minority groups, andprotection and promotion of human rights andsocial justice. RRN also implements activities thatenhance positive results in the community within ashort period, particularly at the time of naturaldisasters and conflicts needing emergency reliefand rehabilitation support. Such activities mainlyincluded the emergency relief and rehabilitation,rural infrastructure development, life skilldevelopment and local resource generationprogrammes.

Since its establishment, RRN has been working withthe resource poor and marginalised people in ruralareas, facilitating them in the process ofempowering and meeting their basic needs,improving livelihoods and building their own

RRN ANNUAL REPORT 2011 | 1

1. INTRODUCTION

Dr. Arjun Karki, then Chairman of GRITS Nepal distributing certificate to the participants of 'Animation Training'

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institutions. It significantly contributes to ruralpeople’s empowerment, and human and socio-economic reconstruction processes, by embracingthe rights- based, participatory and people-centredapproaches to sustainable development. RRN iscommitted to human rights, so it helps creating anenabling environment for building a just, equitable,peaceful and prosperous society through social,economic and political empowerment of the ruralpoor, particularly the resource poor rural women,peasants, landless people and other disadvantagedand socially oppressed strata of Nepalese society.Besides implementing integrated communitydevelopment programmes and projects atgrassroots, it is also extensively engaged in policyadvocacy, lobbying, campaign and networkingactivities at all levels for the cause of protecting andpromoting human rights and social justice.

In terms of ameliorating from the post conflicttrauma of Nepalese people, RRN has positioneditself to facilitate conflict transformation initiativesby adopting the approach that strongly focuses oninstitutionalising democracy and peace buildingthrough reconstruction, rehabilitation and

reconciliation (RRR) processes, embracing themicro (grassroots) and macro (national andinternational levels) initiatives simultaneously. Inorder to successfully embark on such a pivotal role,RRN takes into consideration the key aspects ofpeople's genuine participation, gender equalityand social inclusion, transparency, accountability,social justice, coordination and collaboration, andcommunity ownership of the interventions forensuring sustainability in the long run. As in thepast, RRN with its over 500 staffs and volunteers hasbeen able to successfully implement diverseintegrated community development programmesand projects in several districts of the country;covering the Mountains, Hills and Lowlands (Tarai)ecological zones, and undertaking policy advocacy,lobby, campaign and networking activities at local,national, regional and international levels. It isestimated that the integrated communitydevelopment programmes and projects havebenefited over 500,000 households. RRN has beendeveloping as one of the largest and fast growingNGOs in the country together with its diversedevelopment programmes covering the vastgeographical area and the population of Nepal andthe advocacy work both within the country andbeyond country boundary.

RRN enjoys the Special Consultative Status with theEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of theUnited Nations since 1997. RRN is also accredited tothe Global Environment Facility (GEF). Currently, it ishosting the Secretariat of the South Asia Alliancefor Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) – a South Asiaregional alliance of mass based civil societyorganisations and individuals, and InternationalSecretariat of LDC Watch; two of several of RRN’scivil society alliances with which RRN is associatedto fight against poverty and hunger and for therealisation of human rights, social justice,democracy and peace.

1.2 Organisation Structure

The organisation structure of RRN comprises ofgeneral assembly, executive committee, centraldivisions and other components of theadministrative management system encompassingcentre, region and district structures (Fig. 1).

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Dr. Y.C. James Yen



Organisation Structure

General Assembly

Executive Committee

Chief Executive Officer

Eastern Region

Coordination Office

District/Project Coordinators

Western Region

Coordination Office

Central Region

Coordination Office

Central Management Committee (CMC)

Central Divisions

Central Units

Centre for Development

Studies & Policy Advocacy

Policy Research,

Advocacy &

Campaign

Human Rights

Social Inclusion &

Gender Equality

Governance

Development

Network & Alliance

Building

Awareness,

Education & Training

Livelihoods & Health

Humanitarian

Assistance/Emergency

Relief &

Rehabilitation

Institutional

Development

Action Research

Communication &

Media Development

Documentation &

Publication

Fundraising

Monitoring &

Evaluation

Information

Management

Institutional

Coordination

Accounts

General

Administration

Maintenance &

Security

Procurement

Human Resource

Management

Asset Management

Development

Programme

Research, Fundraising &

PublicationMonitoring & Evaluation

Finance & General

Administration


1.2.1 General Assembly

The General Assembly (GA) of RRN is the highestbody governing the organisation. It meets annuallyto review and provide overall institutional policyframework. It reviews and approves bylawsincluding any amendments therein, strategies,programmes and plans, and ensures that RRN isoperating within the overall policy frameworktowards its organisational vision, mission,strategies and objectives. The GA also reviews andendorses the annual financial audit report of theorganisation, appoints the auditor and fixesremuneration.

1.2.2 Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is the principal executivestructure of the organisation that ensures deliveryand implementation of RRN’s GA decisions andresolutions. The Committee ensures effective andefficient implementation of policy directions andguidance within the overall policy frameworkdefined by the GA. The Committee also reviewsoverall progress, plans and corresponding budgetsof the programmes and projects annually, andadjusts RRN’s operational structure tocommensurate with the annual work plan. Itarranges for undertaking annual financial audit ofRRN.

It also commissions appropriate missions forreviews and evaluations, and streamlines theoverall as well as specific programmes andoperations of RRN whenever such exercises aredeemed necessary. The Committee also managesthe human resources necessary for the smoothoperation of programmes and projects. TheCommittee members are elected at an interval ofthree years from among the members of theorganisation during its General Assembly.

1.2.3 Regular administration

The administrative management system of theorganisation comprises of the Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO), Central Management Committee(CMC), central divisions, central units, regionalcoordination and support offices anddistrict/project offices.

The Chief Executive Officer

The CEO provides overall administrative,programmatic and financial leadership to RRN forits institutional growth and development toward itsvision, mission and objectives. The CEO also has thegeneral responsibility for undertaking the day-to-day management functions and overall supervisionof the programmes and operations.

The CEO ensures that RRN, as a non-government,human rights and development organisation,establish its institutional niche within the macroarena of sustainable rural development in thecountry, with a particular focus on eradication ofrural poverty, hunger, vulnerability anddiscrimination. The CEO also leads internationaladvocacy and campaign works of the organisation.The CEO conforms that RRN operates in adecentralised and participatory manner with a setof efficient management standards, proceduresand systems that demonstrate human dignity andgrowth, utilise human potentials, and develop andexecute programmes to achieve the organisationalpurposes.

Central Management Committee

The CMC plays an important advisory role forsupporting the CEO on the matters related tooverall organisational growth and development aswell as policy decisions related to operations andmanagement of the organisation. It is composed offive to seven members from among the seniormanagement level staffs of the organisation.

Central Divisions and Cascading Structures

RRN has five central divisions, 18 central level unitsand three Regional Coordination and SupportOffices. The Regional Coordination and Supportoffices are located at Biratnagar, Chitwan andNepalgunj. The main functions of these differentstructures are to promote and implement theorganisation’s programmes and projects, andstreamline general and financial administration.The roles and responsibilities of the central leveldivisions and centres are briefly discussed below.

Centre for Development Studies and Policy

Advocacy: The Centre for Development Studiesand Policy Advocacy (CDSPA) is responsible for



policy research, alliance building and campaignand policy advocacy works. It undertakes wide-ranging research activities related to the impacts ofglobalisation, IFIs, WTO, ODA, international debt,poverty, global warming/climate change and otherissues of unequal power and socio-politicalrelations that affect the lives of the rural poor,women and children including Dalits and minoritygroups. The findings of the research work areincorporated into the designing of RRN’sdevelopment programmes and policy advocacyworks.

Other major tasks of this Centre are to engage theorganisation in different networks, alliances,campaigns, seminars and workshops for policyadvocacy at local, national, regional and globallevels. Under this Centre, there are five majorfunctional units to share the responsibilities. Theyare (i) Policy Research, Advocacy and Campaign, (ii)Human Rights, (iii) Social Inclusion and GenderEquality, (iv) Governance Development and (v)Network and Alliance Building.

Development Programme Division: RRN’sDevelopment Programme Division is responsiblefor development, implementation and monitoringof the development programmes and projects. This

division oversees the project activities and liaiseswith funding partners and other stakeholdersinvolved in development works. It functions inclose coordination with the regional coordinationand support offices and district based field officesand other divisions at the central office of RRN.

Additionally, it is also responsible for themanagement and organisation of RRN’s trainingprogrammes. This division has four major units, Viz.,(i) Awareness, Education and Training, (ii)Livelihoods and Health, (iii) HumanitarianAssistance/Emergency Relief and Rehabilitationand (iv) Institutional Development.

Research, Fundraising and Publication Division:

This division promotes action oriented researchwithin the premises of development projects andsupports other research initiatives that have social,economic, environmental and politicalimplications. The other responsibility of the divisionincludes managing information system,documentation, publication, and mediadevelopment for wider communication. It is alsoresponsible for raising funds necessary for theprogramme activities of the organisation. It hasfour central units viz.: (i) Action Research, (ii)Communication and Media Development, (iii)


Dr. Rishi Adhikari (Front Left) then RRN Exe. Director and Mr. Pradip Nepal (Front Right) then Minister of Info. and Communication inaugurating

the Drinking Water Tap constructed for flood affected people in Chitwan (1995)


Documentation and Publication and (iv) FundRaising.

Monitoring and Evaluation Division: This divisionis responsible mainly for designing monitoring andevaluation strategies and guidelines forundertaking overall monitoring and evaluationworks of the organisation and the project activitiesincluding the financial matters. It, in turn, providesfeedback to the organisation for policy decisions,and to the programmes/projects for furtherimprovements. This division is also responsible forstrengthening the monitoring and evaluationcapacity of the staff and the organisation. There arethree major units under this division that share theresponsibilities, they include: (i) Monitoring andEvaluation, (ii) Information Management and (iii)Institutional Coordination.

Finance and General Administration Division:

The Finance and General Administration Division isresponsible for the management of financialresources and general administration of theorganisation. This division prepares budget plansfor the projects, supports the field offices withnecessary logistical arrangements and ensuresmaintenance of the accounts and inventory of thephysical assets. The division also prepares financialreports for the organisation and funding agencies,and arranges for internal and external audit of theorganisation. The division is also responsible forsupporting the recruitment of staffs andvolunteers. There are six functional units under thisdivision; they include: (i) Accounts, (ii) GeneralAdministration, (iii) Maintenance and Security, (iv)Procurement, (v) Human Resource Management(vi) Asset Management, (vii) InformationManagement, and (viii) Transport Management.

1.3 RRN’s Belief, Vision,

Mission and Objectives

Beliefs

RRN has following believes:

- The rural poor in Nepal, as elsewhere in theworld, are confronted by four basic andinterrelated problems, Viz. poverty, ignorance,

disease and civic inertia.

- The rural poor comprise about two thirds of theworld’s population in the developing world;hence, sustainable peace is likely to alwaysremain as an unattainable dream unless theserural poor are able to solve their basic problemsand achieve a basic standard of living equal tothat of the rest of the society.

- The rural poor have the potential power for self-development, what they are denied of areopportunity to release and develop this power.

- The rural poor also have personal dignity andshould be regarded with respect, not pity.

Vision

RRN envisions a world where there is JUSTICE,EQUALITY, PEACE and PROSPERITY for all citizens.

Mission

RRN is committed to create an enablingenvironment for building a JUST, EQUITABLE,PEACEFUL and PROSPEROUS society throughsocial, economic, environmental and politicalempowerment of the rural people, particularly theresource poor rural women, peasants, landless


RRN’s Credo

RRN subscribes to the philosophy andprinciples of the International RuralReconstruction Movement, which areencapsulated in its credo as follows:

- Go to the peasant people,- Live among the peasant people,- Learn from the peasant people,- Plan with the peasant people,- Work with the peasant people,- Start with what the peasant people know,- Build on what the peasant people have,- Teach by showing, learn by doing,- Not a show case, but a pattern,- Not odds and ends, but a system,- Not piecemeal, but an integrated approach,- Not relief, but release,- Not conform, but to transform.


people and other disadvantaged and sociallyoppressed strata of Nepalese society.

Objectives

RRN’s objectives are as follows:

- to enhance the socio-economic status of theindigent, oppressed and marginalised resourcepoor and vulnerable groups,

- to promote action-oriented research initiativesfor problem solving and informationgeneration, and

- to contribute to enhancement of inclusivepolicy and governance systems.

1.4 Approaches and Strategy

In order to realise its objectives, RRN embraces thefollowing strategic approaches for its programmeand project implementation:

Rights based: Rights based approach of pro-poordevelopment is founded on the conviction that allhuman beings are holders of rights. A right entailsan obligation on the part of the government torespect, protect, fulfil and promote it. The legal andnormative character of human rights and theassociated obligations are based on theinternational human rights instruments and thenational laws. Thus, a rights-based approachinvolves not charity or simple economic growth,but a process of changing systems, actions andpriorities by enabling and empowering people toclaim and realise their economic, social, cultural,civil and political rights including the right todevelopment of the communities.

Inclusivity: Inclusive approach of development isthe process of ensuring that all so far marginalisedand excluded people and groups from diversegeographical areas and cultures are deliberatelyincluded in the development process by releasingthem from the social, psychological, cultural andinstitutional barriers with a view to facilitate themenjoying the benefits of developmentprogrammes.

Sustainability: If development is related toimproving the quality of life of people,

sustainability is about more than just quality of life.Sustainability is about understanding andachieving balance among the social, economic andenvironmental aspects of a community andproviding a healthy, productive, meaningful life forall community residents not only in the presenttime but also in future.

Democracy and participation: Democracy is thekey to ensuring inclusive development. Genuineparticipation of the stakeholders by empoweringthem, most importantly the communitybeneficiaries, with exercising democratic principlesand decision making powers entails success. Itinculcates ownership of the developmentprogramme as well as the benefits by the people,while maintaining transparency, accountability andgood governance in the implementation ofdevelopment projects and policies.

Development from below: RRN’s developmentfrom below approach intends mobilising andengaging those who are unreached or have beenmade the 'last' in development process. Theconventional development efforts reveal that theyhave failed to bring them within the framework ofthe development agenda. Consequently, the 'last'are further pushed towards the extreme peripheryof the development boundary. Therefore, ourapproach offers the benefits of the developmentinitiatives to the ‘last’ first.

Coordination and collaboration with

development stakeholders: As far as possible,RRN maintains highest level of coordination andcollaboration with national, district and village levelgovernments, government line agencies, fundingpartners, civil society and private sector. The mainpurpose of this approach is to craft synergy andincrease development effectiveness by sharinginformation, resources and good lessons fromelsewhere.

Integrated intervention: RRN’s developmentinterventions are designed to address theinterlinked problems in a holistic manner thandealing them in isolation or singly. The fourinterlinked areas of education, health, livelihoodsand self-government are the major integratingcomponents of our undertakings.



RRN embraces two-pronged strategy for its

development intervention:

Implement integrated community developmentprojects and action-oriented research focusing onthe poorest and most vulnerable people/groups inrural areas; and

Raise awareness and influence policy environmentthrough policy research, advocacy, campaign andlobbying at local, national and international levelson the root causes of poverty, the problems of theresource poor, and the social, economic andcultural rights, and the right to development, andenvironmental degradation.

1.5 Programme Focus

Almost all development programmes of RRN focuson the four-fold approach of Rural Reconstructionas the foundation upon which its programme andproject activities are based. The focus lies on thefollowing four key building blocks (four-foldapproach):

Education and awareness - to combat illiteracy,and provide exposure to the outside world,

Sustainable livelihoods - to fight poverty andhunger,

Health - to prevent disease, and promote rights tohealth, and

Self-Government - to overcome civic inertiathrough institutional development leading to self-reliance

Education and Awareness

We implement educational and awareness raisingprogrammes with the credence that a human beingcannot be a perfect human being in the real sensetill s/he is aware of his/her rights. Awareness andeducation are essential to human progress. Thetruth is that people have a right to education,besides the vital necessities of life like food,clothing and shelter. RRN’s awareness andeducational programme targets mostly those whoare in the state of chronic poverty and constantlystruggling to fulfil their basic needs and who areusually left out by the conventional developmentprogrammes.

Sustainable Livelihoods

A sustainable livelihood framework encompassesthe activities intended to help disadvantagedmembers of society to meet their daily subsistenceneeds in a manner that is personally dignified,culturally appropriate and environmentallysustainable. RRN acts on the belief that theprincipal need of the rural resource poor is nottemporary relief from their sufferings but therelease and development of their innateintellectual, productive, physical, political andorganising powers, to enable them to undertakedevelopment initiatives meeting their own shortand long term needs without compromising theability of the future generations to meet theirneeds. RRN promotes livelihoods developmentactivities that meet the basic needs of the presentgeneration without compromising the ability offuture generations to meeting their needs.

Health

The capacity of people to adapt to, respond to, orcontrol life’s challenges and changes lies in theirhealthy lives. The philosophy of RuralReconstruction supports the transformation of “sicksocieties” into “healthy societies” not only in thephysical sense but also in the social, psychological,political and economic sense. Health and nutritionproblems in Nepal are varied, enormous andspiralling, particularly among the rural poor, whichgreatly impede their self-development. RRN,therefore, tries to integrate a community healthcomponent into its development programme. We



put emphasis on preventive measures; howevercurative measures are also the integral part of ourhealth intervention. Our health related activitiesinclude: nutrition, sanitation, drinking water,capacity building of health care professionals andinstitutions, health education, outreach/mobilehealth clinics, community drug and immunisation,among others.

Self-Government

Inculcating the sense of self-government isindispensable for sustainable development. Self-government is understood in terms of democraticexercise, participation and inclusion intogovernance by empowering the deprived andmarginalised people in society. RRN follows theprinciple that, for development to be relevant andsustainable, it must be planned and undertakenprimarily by the “insiders” - the very people forwhom it is meant. Development workers – the“outsiders” - can help by facilitating a participatoryprocess, through which the people organisethemselves and collectively analyse their situation,identify their problems, articulate their demands,select and plan solutions, mobilise resources andthen implement, monitor, share benefits andevaluate the actions taken.

The process of empowerment, self-reliance andself-government includes: awareness raising andactive participation in analysing problems,potentials, opportunities and constraints, capacitybuilding through management, leadership andtechnical skills training and federating andnetworking people’s organisations. As one of thevital components of its programmes, RRNencourages and facilitates the people to build theirown organisations and institutions for their owndevelopment. Such people’s groups form thebuilding blocks for bottom-up organisationaldevelopment and promoting genuine participationin the development process.

1.6 Resources and

Facilities

To respond to the development needs of thecommunities and the people, RRN has developed

reasonable resources base over the years. Theseresources mainly include human, physical andinstitutional capacities.

Human Resources

RRN possesses an established pool of humanresources with high level of academic training andmultiple years of experience in diverse fields. Itsstaffs have long practical expertise and experienceof working with the communities in the ruralsettings in connection with communitydevelopment programmes. Their key expertiseinclude: designing developmentprogrammes/projects, community facilitation,organisation and mobilisation, monitoring andevaluation, human resource and institutionaldevelopment, networking, resource generationand livelihood development, gender and socialinclusion, research, human rights, organisingadvocacy and campaigns activities.

RRN is well staffed with multidisciplinarymanagement team in its central office, threeregional coordination and support offices andproject districts.

Physical Resources

The organisation is well equipped with necessarymodern communication facilities such astelephone, fax, e-mail, internet, wifi, videoconferencing and other necessary office suppliesand equipments to carry out day-to-dayadministrative works and facilitate project relatedactivities. RRN has well equipped learning andtraining centres located in Morang district ofeastern Nepal, Tumlingtar of Arun Valley (North-east Nepal) and Parsa of Chitwan (mid-Nepal). Thefacilities in all these learning and training centresare used for organising training sessions,conferences, meetings, etc. as well as for full boardaccommodation, fields for practical sessions (e.g.,handicrafts, kitchen gardening, crop and forestnursery production, crop production, etc). RRNpossesses a wide variety of physical assets such asmotor vehicles (jeeps, motorbikes) and office andtraining building equipped with necessaryappliances such as computers, scanners andprinters, photocopy machines, LCD projectors, etc.RRN has a multipurpose conference hall at its



central office building, appropriate for organisingvarious types of events having a capacity toaccommodate comfortably about 100 people.

Community Learning and Resource

Centres

With the objective of achieving positive impacts onthe lives of resource poor and marginalised peoplein the rural area, RRN has established multipurposeresource centres in Morang, Sankhuwasabha andChitwan districts and has a plan to establish asimilar centre in Banke district in the form ofregional resource centre beginning 2012. Theexisting centres are fully equipped with modernaudio-visual learning facilities to organise training,workshops and conferences. The training/conference halls in these centres are well furnishedand equipped with the multimedia and public

address system. These training centres and halls arealso rented out to other individuals andorganisations for development related activities.


RRN Regional Office, Biratnagar

Centre for Community Dialogue, Biratnagar



SN Name of the programme/projects Project Districts Duration Funding partner(s)

1 Peace Building from Below Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Nov 2008 - Aug 2012 CIDA

2 Community Support Programme

Rolpa, Banke, Bardiya, Kanchanpur,

Salyan, Dang, Ilam, Jhapa, Morang,

Sunsari, Siraha, Saptari, Bhojpur,

Khotang, Sankhuwasava,

Solukhumbu, Mahottari, Sarlahi

and Dhanusha

Jul 2003 -Mar 2014 DFID/UKAID

3 Sankalpa Project Makwanpur Apr 2011- Apr 2013 Stromme Foundation

4Rural Water Supply and Sanitation

ProgrammeSankhuwasabha and Bhojpur May 2011 - Oct 2012

Government of Nepal/Fund

Development Board

5

Women's Empowerment through

Community based Sustainable

Livelihood Enhancement Project

Dolakha Jul 2010 - Jun 2013

Austrian Catholic Women's

Movement (KFB) and Hilfswerk

der Katholischen Jungshar (DKA)

6Education for Vulnerable and

Marginalised Children in Nepal

Sindhupalchok, Dolakha and

RamechhapMar 2010 - Feb 2014 European Commission

7

Community Initiatives for

Infrastructure and Livelihoods

Support Project

Chitawan, Morang, Jhapa, Ilam and

SankhuwasabhaDec 2009 - Apr 2011

Ministry of Development (BMZ)

Germany and Deutsche

Welthungerhilfe

8Children Affected by Armed Forces

and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) ProjectSankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Oct 2007 - Dec 2012 World Education/ UNICEF

9 Advocacy for Right to Food Whole Nepal Aug 2010 - Mar 2011

10

Enhancing Food Security and

Agricultural Production Capacities

Programme

Sankhuwasava, Bhojpur and

KhotangApr 2010 - Jul 2012

Evangelische Sentralstellefur

Entwicklungshilfee (EED)

11

Integrated Rural Development and

Nature Conservation in the

Mountainous Regions of Chitwan

District (Millennium Village)

Chitwan Aug 2011-Dec 2014Deutsche Welthungerhilfe

(DWHH)

11

Advocacy through South Asia Alliance

for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)

Initiatives

South Asian countries Jul 2003- Dec 2013 Oxfam Novib, HIVOS and EED

12Advocacy Through LDC Watch

Initiatives

13

Improving Food Security in

Communities Vulnerable to Food Price

Volatility

DailekhAug 2010 - Mar

2011Oxfam GB Nepal

2.0 PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS


The Context and

Rationale

The Peace Building from Below(PBB) project is intended toaddress the underlying causesthat create and proliferateconflicts such as denial offundamental human rights andbasic livelihoods services. Alsothe causes included are thesituations like incidences ofinjustice, social discriminationand exclusion and lack ofinfrastructure development. Toameliorate these situationsunder post-conflict scenario, thePBB project is implementingneed-based activities that helpreconciliation and promotingpeace using the human rightsframework as it seeks to achievethe end-result of the sustainablepeace at grassroots, connectingit upwards to districts, regionsand the central level. RRN’sseveral years of work experienceat community level helped toreflect that rural people’s

perceptions of peace anddevelopment are muchgrounded on the needs ofeveryday life. Therefore, RRN,with the support from CIDA,ventured to implement PBBproject in 19 VDCs and onemunicipality of Sankhuwasabhaand Bhojpur districts fromNovember 2008 till August 2012.

The project started to work inpartnership with existingCommunity Based People’sOrganisations (CBPOs), whichwere selected based on welldefined criteria developed inconsultations with people anddifferent stakeholders. In areaswhere no CBPOs existed,facilitation was done to establishnew CBPOs. The CBPOS werestrengthened with variousawareness and skill developmenttrainings so as to empower themas agents of change and peacebuilding at the community level.The trainings and other capacitybuilding activities were further

cascaded to grassroots membersby the respective CBPOsthemselves. Also, CBPOs weretrained on conductingorganisational assessment calledParticipatory OrganisationalCapacity Assessment Process

(POCAP)1, through which theyassess their organisation’sstrengths and weaknesses andnow can further work onimproving weaker parameterson their own.

Reconciliation has been a majoroutcome of the project.Therefore, the project mainlyseeks to assist directly conflictaffected people (DCAP) and thecommunities to recover fromshocks and stresses of conflicts,and revamp their relationships tolive a peaceful life. The project isworking on improving thelivelihoods of poor and excluded(P&E) groups through variousincome generatingopportunities with a focus onchildren, women and youths


2.1 Peace Building From Below (PBB)

Community people participating in road construction, Sankhuwasabha


from Dalits and Janjatis. Also,reconstructing ruralinfrastructures and developingthe capacities of local people tomanage communitydevelopment projects areemphasised for ensuringsustainability and creatingopportunities to people comingtogether for addressing commonneeds. All the project activitiesare meticulously compiled anddocumented to come up with apeace building model based onthe first hand workingexperiences with thecommunities. The peace buildingmodel based on PBB experienceis in a process of being shared atregional, national as well asinternational levels forpromoting its suitablereplications.

Key Achievements

Capacity strengthening of

CBPOs

By the end of 2011, all 150 CBPOshad demonstrated sensitivitytowards gender equality andsocial inclusion. In addition, theyare now able to identify theirneeds, prepare action plans andhave already started successfullyapproaching VDCs, DDCs andother local service providersrequesting partnerships anddemanding developmentprojects.

For example, a PBB interventionin a CBPO in Dhupu-6 succeededchanging its membershipcomposition from beingpredominantly Bahun, Chhetri,Thakuri and Sanyasi (BCTS)community to now beinginclusive of Dalits and Jananjatis.The CBPO even changed its

name to Sansari SamabesiSamuha showing its readiness tobe inclusive, which was achievedwith GESI training and ongoingsocial mobilisation. PuspaKalakheti, a member of CBPOsays, “last year, Spider diagram ofour group showed weak GESIintegration and resourcemobilisation and thus weplanned accordingly to be GESIsensitive. Now, all groupmembers are well aware on GESIand the group has built a linkagewith VDCs and district-basedstakeholders”. Capacityassessment tools like spiderdiagrams have been veryinstrumental to capacitatecommunities reflect on theirstatus. The social mobilisationcomponent of the project hasencouraged them to correcttheir weaknesses.

Livelihoods improvement

In 2011, the trained beneficiariesstarted practicing the skills theyacquired through trainings and

have started income generationactivities (IGA) like vegetableproduction, pig and goat raising,production of handicrafts, etc.Their IGA not only supplementedtheir traditional householdincome but also contributed toimprovements in food andnutrition intake. Along withtrainings for various seasonaland off-seasonal vegetablesfarming, animal husbandry andproduction of local handicrafts;the project is also venturing intoexploring market links,constructing rural roads so as tolinking the isolated communitiesto markets, and promoting massproduction of agriculturalcommodities and strengtheningvalue chain for the selectedagricultural products.

An ex-combatant, Kamal Rai ofMatchhepokhari VDC-1, Loktamvillage, collaborated with PBBthrough a CBPO calledJanasangam Youth Club. As perthe recommendations of youthclub, the project provided him


CBPOs members discussing about the institutional capacity, Bhojpur


with a three month-long basichouse-wiring training andsupported with basic tools toinitiate the business after thetraining was over. He started asmall scale house wiringbusiness in Khandbari includinginstalling PVC system or solarpanels in adjoining villages andis now earning an averageincome of 7,000 to 10,000 NRsper month.

Community development and

infrastructure reconstruction

The project initiated 131infrastructure projects (23community buildings, 14drinking water schemes, 29school buildings, 6 health posts,20 irrigation schemes, 24 kmagricultural roads, one marketsupport and 14 furnituresupport) in both the districts in2011. The supports in the health,education and markets involvemultiple CBPOs and coverbeneficiaries from wider areas

and even beyond the CBPOscommand area. So far, a total of34,308 people (about 76 % oftarget beneficiaries) have beenbenefitted from these subprojects. The infrastructuredevelopment projects haveenhanced quality of servicedelivery in the community,generated employments andconnected the people withdiverse social, economic andpolitical backgrounds in anetwork of mutually beneficialrelationships.

The Tiwari Bhanjyang School hada high number of students fromsurrounding settlements but itdid not have enough land, classrooms, teachers and furniture.There was an abandoned pieceof land owned by Area PoliceOffice near the school. TheCBPOs requested District PoliceOffice (DPO) to give the land tothe school as grant and alsorequested PBB and the VDC for

the financial and technicalsupport for the construction of abuilding for the school. Inaddition, the VDC was requestedto contribute for the cost ofadditional teachers needed. WithDPO’s permission and PBB’sfinancial and technicalcontribution alongside thevoluntarily contribution of localcommunity, the school buildingwas built. Even the local skillsand human resources were fullyutilised during the construction,while ex-combatants toosupported through carpentryskills. After the completion of thebuilding, the VDC allocatedbudget for two additionalteachers and the school is nowupgraded to secondary level. Theconstruction of school buildingwas an opportunity for reunionof the community/neighbourhood after 10 years ofarmed conflict that had createdfear, distrust and hatred amongthem.

Peace building initiatives and

reconciliation model

development

As PBB project is about tocomplete in 2012, the projectteam is in the process ofdeveloping and finalising acircumstance based model byincorporating the lessonslearned during the projectimplementation period. Theongoing project documentation,research and discussion with theMinistry of Peace andReconstruction and staffconsultations have enabled indeveloping the model for peacebuilding.


Community people declaring the 'Open Defecation Free Area', Bhojpur


The Context and

Rationale

The first phase of the CommunitySupport Programme (CSP) wasinitiated in June 2003 with thepurpose of supportingimmediate development needsof the poor and excluded peoplewho were affected by armedconflict in 39 districts of the farwest, mid west and easterndevelopment regions of Nepal.The first phase ended in March2010. The programme has nowentered into the second phase oftwo years that will conclude inMarch 2012. The programme isbeing implemented by RuralReconstruction Nepal in 19districts and rest by CARE Nepal.The project emphasisesincreasing the access of basicservice facilities for poor,excluded and conflict riddenpeople. Similarly, the projectprioritises uplifting the capacityof the poor and excludedcommunities so that theircapacity is enhanced to claim

their rights by leading socialactions and generating incomes.As the local infrastructures arecrucial for sustainabledevelopment, the programmealso emphasises on increasingcapacity of user groups andcommunity based organisations(CBOs) to equitably andsustainably managing localinfrastructure. While providingcollaborative support forimmediate relief andrehabilitation to needycommunities, the project hascreated a basis for assimilatinglearning and practices of CSPIIinto VDC/DDC planning andmonitoring processes fortransitioning to LGCDP.

Goal and Objectives

The overall goal of CSP Phase II isto reduce poverty and promotesocial inclusion in 44 districts ofthe country. The specificobjectives are as follows:

- To reduce poverty and

promote social inclusion

- To improve the access of poorand excluded groups tocommunity baseddevelopment opportunities,and

- To provide immediatesupport for men, women andchildren affected byexclusion, poverty andconflict to help them toachieve their livelihoods andhuman developmentpriorities.

Components

- Access increment to basicservice facilities

- Local infrastructuremanagement

- Income generation - Assurance of appropriate

social action, and - Assurance of immediate relief

and rehabilitation


2.2 Community Support Programme (CSP)

UCPA is being used for the participatory planning process, Sunsari


Project Area

Out of 75 district of Nepal, 19districts are covered by thisproject. They are Rolpa, Banke,Bardiya, Kanchanpur, Salyan,Dang, Ilam, Jhapa, Morang,Sunsari, Siraha, Saptari, Bhojpur,Khotang, Sankhuwasava,Solukhumbu, Mahottari, Sarlahiand Dhanusha.

Beneficiaries

Total: 420,891 (Male 205,731;49% and Female: 215,160; 51%)

Composition by ethnicity: Total420,891 (which includesBrahmin, Chhetri, Thakuri andSanyasi, relatively advantagedJanajati (RAJ), relativelydisadvantaged Janajati (RDAJ),Dalit, other excluded caste (OEC)and religious minority (RM).

Key Achievements

Out of the total 324infrastructure developmentactivities targeted under secondphase, 406 rural infrastructureshave been completed and 48 areongoing until the end of 2011which is already more than thetargeted activities. This mainlyincludes the support for school,health care facilities, drinking

water systems, community-ledtotal sanitation (CLTS), irrigationsystems, suspension bridges,road and/or foot trailimprovement, rural energy,community buildings andmarket centre supportprogrammes among others. Thecapacity of user groups has beenenhanced by providing variousmanagement and basic technicalskill trainings. For instance, pre-construction managementtraining was given to 6,062members of the users groups,post construction managementtraining was given to 3,836members and right basedapproach (RBA), gender equalityand social inclusion (GESI) andpublic audit (PA) trainings wereprovided to user committees(UCs), school managementcommittees (SMCs) and healthfacility management committees(HFMCs) benefiting 5,908persons. These capacityenhancement activities wereaimed at empowering the ruralcommunities as a whole.

Similarly, under the marketoriented vocational skill trainingactivities, 1,026 (668 female and358 male) individuals benefitedfrom the training. The projectalso provided support to 1,558

households intermittently foron-farm income generationactivities, and 26 events of sub-sector and livelihoodsimprovement plan trainingswere conducted. Joint planningmeetings on developmentinitiatives with districtdevelopment committees(DDCs) and Village DevelopmentCommittees (VDCs) wereconducted on trimester basis,completing 100 events so far.The participatory planningprocesses of VDCs usingunderlying causes of povertyanalysis (UCPA) were supportedin 41 VDCs. Twenty five jointmonitoring visits wereconducted and 65 events oftraining for integrated planningcommittees (IPCs) on RBA, GESIand PA had been conducted.Initiatives to enhance thecapacity of poor and excludedpeople to lead social actionclaiming their rights were madethrough Citizen AwarenessCenter (CAC) which are thegrassroots level communitybased self -help groups that runweekly Regenerated FrerianLiteracy EmpoweringCommunity Techniques(REFLECT) classes andcampaigns on problemsaffecting them. A total of 548CAC centres were establishedand are running the weeklyREFLECT classes. A total of 1,182events of social action initiativeshave been held through the CACmembers.

These interventions haveproduced a encouraging impactson the lives and livelihoods ofthe community people in termsof accelerating their social andeconomic transformation.


Vegetable farming for income generation, Salyan


The Context and

Rationale

Eastern hill districts of Nepal arecontinuously suffering fromnatural disasters such as erraticrainfall, prolonged draught,disease infestation andlandslides. This has affected thelives and livelihoods of poor andvulnerable people. Keepingthese facts in mind, RRN hasintroduced a project named“Enhancing Food Security andAgriculture ProductionProgramme (EFSAPP)” since April2010 in Sankhuwasabha,Bhojpur and Khotang districts asa pilot project. The Project isfunded by a non-governmentorganisation namedEvangelische Sentrals-tellefurEntwicklungshilfee (EED) basedin Germany.

Traditional farming systemsaccompanied with very littleknowledge of farmers aboutmodern farming-technologyhave become one of the

responsible factors for theannual harvest reduction.Therefore, the poor andvulnerable people, mostly fromethnic minorities are increasinglysuffering from food scarcity asthey are unable to afford thesoaring food prices in themarket. Hence, the project aimsfor a conducive environment forproduction and availability offood, which will lead to foodsecurity among poor andmarginalised people of theproject areas and raise theirliving standards.

Objectives

The Project’s main objective is tocontribute towards food securityby increasing accessibility offood and productivity in theagricultural sector. The specificobjectives are:

- To increase accessibility offood and productivity in theagricultural sector,

- To provide agriculture inputs

and infrastructures,

- To build capacity of thepeasants and createemployment opportunities,and

- To improve agriculture sectorin order to make itresponsive to food security.

Components

- Rural infrastructureexpansion

- Agricultural skillsenhancement, and

- Food security improvement

Project Area

Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur andKhotang districts.

Expected Beneficiaries

Total- 7,500 people Composition by ethnicity:Total Households-734, Janjatis-433, BCTS-237, Dalit-64


2.3 Enhancing Food Security and Agricultural

Production Capacities Programme (EFSAPP)

Vegetable seedlings distributed to different group members, Sankhuwasabha


Key Achievements:

Expansion of rural

infrastructures

The project supported to buildrural infrastructures like linkroads, irrigation canals, rainwater harvesting ponds, etc., inthe project districts. Three linkroads, two irrigation canals, fourrain water harvestingcommunity ponds and threemarket sheds have beenconstructed in the project area.This has enabled the barrenlands to have proper irrigationfacilities, increasing the quantityand quality of the crop harvests.The community rain waterharvesting ponds have evenenabled the production of off-season vegetables. Link roadshave increased rural people’saccess to the markets andimproved the local employmentopportunities. Consequently, ithas also helped widening thealternative income sources of therural poor, ultimately increasingtheir purchasing power. Theconstruction of ruralinfrastructures and increasedaccess to agricultural marketshave enhanced income andemployment opportunities andimproved food availability in thetarget communities, whicheventually contributed to foodsecurity in the area.

Skill enhancement trainings

and inputs support

The small peasants of the projectarea were forced to practicetraditional ways of farming withinadequate inputs and lowtechnical knowhow. Now, theproject has been supporting

with improved agriculturalinputs and crop husbandry skills.Various trainings were organisedsuch as skills enhancementtraining for promotion of highvalue cash crops, commercialvegetable farming and postharvest technologies and so on.Training sessions on teacultivation, off-seasonvegetables production andpreparation of different recipesof food crops for promotinglocally grown food crops such asmillets and maise, dairyprocessing technology and fruitjuice preparation have beenconducted. The results of suchtraining sessions havecontributed to increased tea andginger cultivation and helpedinitiate commercial vegetablesfarming by a group of farmers.Such skill enhancementprogrammes and technicalsupport initiatives have enabledabout 30 % peasants to engagein commercial vegetablefarming, off-season vegetableproduction and cash cropfarming in the project area.Likewise, small scale enterpriseson agri-business have beenestablished in the project area.Improved cultivation techniquesof some fruit crops like bananaand papaya have also beenintroduced, increasing thepossibility of alternative incomesources of the local farmers. Theproject’s support to establishdemonstration plots for highvalue cash crops includingseasonal and off-seasonalvegetables enhanced the skills ofthe farmers and encouragedthem to shift their focus fromsubsistence farming to marketoriented agricultural production.

Farmers are now able to diversifytheir agricultural productionthrough enhanced skills,technologies and improvedfarming methods.

District level food security

improvement

Series of different reviewmeetings, seminars, workshopsand forums on food security andfood sovereignty have beenorganised in participation ofconcerned stakeholders in theproject districts. A district foodsecurity network (DFSN) has beenformed in each project districtthat frequently organise meetingsto delve on the situation of foodsecurity in the concerned district.Such meetings and workshopshave been instrumental forcreating a platform for discussionamong different stakeholders onthe issues and trends of foodsecurity in the region. Differentawareness campaigns on foodsecurity and food sovereigntyhave been conducted using FMRadios, agricultural exhibitions,local food fairs and so on. Inaddition to this, two issues ofproject newsletters and districtagriculture production profilehave also been published anddisseminated to all thestakeholders and communitypeople.

All project activities haveeventually helped to inculcategeneral commitment and madethe concerned district levelgovernment institutions and localbeneficiaries realise theirresponsibilities in terms ofimproving food security at least atthe community and district level.



The Context and

Rationale

Sankalpa project is beingimplemented in Bhainse andNamatar VDCs of Makwanpurdistrict since April 2011. Thisproject was run as a pilot projectuntil Dec 2011. The project VDCshave dominance of indigenouspopulation- 73% people are fromTamang ethnic group.

Adolescents, especially the girls,in Nepal often encounter socialproblems such as early marriage,reproductive health problems,frequent child bearing, droppingout from schools, indenturedgirls labour, violence and abusesincluding trafficking and forcedprostitution mainly due to lack ofawareness, genderdiscrimination, poverty andilliteracy.

There are higher percentages ofearly marriage incidents in theproject district; 32.36% girls getmarried at the age of 15-20 years

(SF baseline survey 2011) in theproject VDCs. The schooling rateof adolescent girls is very low,only 4.82 % of 11-15 years agegroup and less than 1 % of 16-18years age group are sent toschools as of SF baseline surveyof 2011. The adolescents in boththe project VDCs are living underextreme poverty, with little or noeducation and limited skills,making them the mostvulnerable population in theproject district. They facediscrimination, deprivation andhence often fall victims ofhuman trafficking. Furthermore,they lack access to safe drinkingwater and sanitation and arebeing marred by the traditionallysubsistence rain-fed farmingsystem, food insecurity andrelatively higher rates of schooldrop outs.

Objectives

The project aims to educate theadolescent children about their

human rights and encouragethem to speak out claiming theirrights, alongside empoweringthemselves against forced andhazardous labour andpreventable diseases. Anotheraim of the project is social andeconomic empowerment. Thespecific objectives of this projectare:

- To strengthen the capacity ofthe adolescent girls on theirsocial, economic and culturalrights and right todevelopment,

- To strengthen basiceducation; formal and non-formal, of the communities

- To strengthen the capacity ofthe vulnerable andmarginalised communitiestowards enhancing theiraccess to social andeconomic developmentopportunities.


2.4 Sankalpa Project

An interaction between project officials and the community people


Components

- Empowerment onadolescents’ rights

- Support for formal and non-formal education, and

- Community empowermentfor democratisation and self-help

Project Area

Two VDCs - Bhainse and Namtarof Makwanpur district have beenselected for implementing thisProject. Both VDCs are located inthe north and north-westdirection from Hetaunda, thedistrict headquarters ofMakwanpur district.

Beneficiaries

The total number of beneficiaryhouseholds was 800 in 2011which included adolescent girlsof Samvad Kendra (SK), adultwomen and men of Self-HelpGroups (SHG) and studentsrelated to School supportprogramme.

Beneficiaries by gender andethnic categories are as follows.

Gender compositionMale: 30%Female: 70%

Composition by ethnicity Janajati 78%Dalit 10%Others 12%

Key Achievements

In 2011, the project helpedestablishing eight SamvadKendra, eight Samvad SupportTeam, four Self-Help groups, fourSaving and Credit groups areorganised and functioningeffectively. A total of 201adolescents are participating in12 month classes and it hasfocused awareness andeducation on anti-human/girlstrafficking, anti-women violence,children and women rights,cultural rights and rights todevelopment.

As the project revolves aroundfinancial and non-financialactivities implemented byfollowing a holistic approach, itbenefits the entire familymembers of the communities. Asthe self-organisation process ofthe poor at the community level

empowers themselves, theproject enables the grassrootscommunities to voice theirconcerns and needs as well asdemand for more responsiblegovernance anddemocratisation at the locallevel.

It has been very much successfulin mobilising and organising theadolescent girls and othermembers of the communities tocombat human trafficking andpoverty, and increase capacity ofthe local people. Both schooldropouts and the school goingadolescent girls of the projectarea are extremely vulnerable totrafficking. Their exposure to andparticipation in this project hasproven very effective in raisingawareness against humantrafficking. Additionally, thisproject has put emphasis in themeaningful participation ofcommunity people (mainly theparents and guardians ofadolescent girls) in the projectactivities. Communityparticipation has become veryuseful mainly in two ways: firstthey are very much supportive tocontinue the education of theirchildren, and second, theythemselves are involved inincome generation activities,increasing their householdincome. This project has veryclosely worked with VDC, DDC,local health posts, public schools,agriculture and veterinaryservice centres, cooperatives andother developmentprogrammes, which havecontributed to create aconducive environment for theeffective implementation of theproject initiatives.


Adolescent girls attending the class at Sambad Kendra


The Context and

Rationale

In the most rural areas of theproject district there is often lackof safe and hygienic drinkingwater and sanitation facilities.The quantity of water available insome areas is also inadequate.The existing sources of water areoften polluted. They are locatedat a distance place. Women, whotraditionally shoulder theresponsibility of fetching water,have to spend prolonged hoursto fetch the water. This haspushed the women into a harshwork load as they would spendsignificant amount of theworking time for fetching water,which would have been used forother activities. Consequently,the women are not able toengage in the productive andsocial activities, thus gettingrelegated to lower social andeconomic status. Besides, thecommunities are alsoencountering with the healthhazards such as waterbornediseases (skin disease, dysentery,diarrhoea, etc.) andenvironmental hygieneproblems arising from thecontaminated water. Realisingthis fact, the community peoplefrom different ethnic groupshave started demanding for theiraccess to safe drinking water. Inthe meantime, they also showedtheir preparedness to contributenecessary labour (both skilledand unskilled), technical skillsand assist in the project activitiesto be undertaken. They have astrong feeling that if the watersupply and sanitation problemsare solved, they will be in a betterposition to improve their lifestyleand engage in other

development activities for theirbenefit. With the experience ofsuccessful implementation ofthe similar batches of projectsearlier, RRN has beenimplementing Rural WaterSupply and SanitationProgramme in Sankhuwasabhasince 2002. RRN has beenworking together with women,Dalit and Janajati through theprocess of developmentfacilitation, social mobilisation,empowerment and self-organisation. The programme issupported by the Government ofNepal through Rural WaterSupply and Sanitation FundDevelopment Board.

Project Duration

May 2011 - Oct 2012

Objectives

It aims at promoting sustainable,cost effective and demand-ledrural water supply and sanitationservices in the communities. The

specific objectives of thisprogramme are, to:

- Enhance access to drinkingwater,

- Improve health andsanitation of the community,

- Reduce drudgery of women,and

- Develop social capital in thecommunity among membersbelonging to various socialcaste and ethnic groups.

Components

- Social mobilisation for ruraldrinking water and sanitation

- Health and sanitationtraining

- Maintenance and servicetraining, and

- User groups’ Leadershipdevelopment


2.5 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme

Newly installed drinking water tap, Sankhuwasabha


Project Area

Sankhuwasabha (2 VDCs) andBhojpur (1 VDC)

Beneficiaries

Total households: 349

Total population: 2,073 (Male:1,042, Female: 1,031)

Composition by ethnicity:

BCTS: 649, Dalit: 118, Janajati:1,289, other vulnerable groups:17

Key Achievements

Community people havecommitted for the timelycompletion of structuralinfrastructure. The project putstrong emphasis on health andsanitation awareness andeducation in the community.These social activities are part ofa comprehensive effort to assurethe success of local participationand ownership as well as theproject’s long-term

sustainability. The communitieshave committed to contribute tothe project by supplying theirlabour and locally availablematerials to the project. Thevillagers also held themselvesresponsible to operate andmaintain the system. Locallyappropriate norms have beendeveloped to operate andmanage the sanitation units withthe roles and responsibilitiesassigned to the individuals in thecommunity in respect toparticipation requirements,decision-making processes,dispute resolutions, etc. Thisproject has brought significantimpacts in the lives of thebeneficiary communities bycontributing to improve thelifestyle of the rural poor andproviding them with the cleanand safe water supply andproper sanitation system. As theproject made water availableright in their villages, thecommunities have been able tosave maximum of time, whichotherwise would have beenspent in fetching water from a

distant source. Consequently,the project helped reducewomen’s drudgery thusempowering them and wideningtheir livelihood options. Theincreased availability of cleanand safe drinking water andproper sanitation systemcontributed to improve thehealth of the beneficiaries andprevented from water and faecalborne diseases, thus leading toimprovement in the quality oflife of local communities. Theawareness and non-formaleducational activities related tohealth and sanitation alsobrought positive changes in thelives of the beneficiaries,eventually resulting inimprovement in the personal,household and communitysanitation and environment. Thedirect and physical involvementof the local people in the projectactivities has developed a senseof ownership and responsibilityin them to operate and maintainthe project activities after itscompletion.


School toilet construction, Sankhuwasabha


The Context and

Rationale

RRN is implementing a projectentitled “Women’sEmpowerment throughCommunity Based SustainableLivelihood Enhancement” inJhule VDC of Dolakha districtwhich falls in the centraldevelopment region of Nepal.Austrian Catholic Women’sMovement (KFB) and Hilfswerkder Katholischen Jungshar (DKA)have been supporting thisproject.

Objectives

This project aims buildingenabling environment for theself-reliant sustainabledevelopment of rural women.The specific objectives of theproject are:

- To create/strengthen localfarmers’ institutions

- To contribute toenhancement of thelivelihoods of resource poorand marginalised womenpeasant farmers, and

- To establish farmer-ledresource centre.

Components

The main components of theproject are as follows:

- Capacity building trainings

- Support for market orientedfarming

- Organisation of farmers fieldschools (FFS)

- Installation/rehabilitation of

irrigation schemes, and

- Establishment and follow upsupport of communitynurseries

Project Area

Jhule VDC of Dolakha district

Project Duration

Jul 2010 – Jun 2013

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of theproject are the members ofwomen’s self-help groups andthe advisors’ groups. Thefourteen women’s self-helpgroups with 446 members wereorganised in 2011.

Key Achievements

Capacity building trainings

One hundred thirty (mainlywomen) farmers receivedtraining and exposure on sevendifferent programme areas (book

keeping- savings and creditmanagement and cooperativemanagement, high value cropgrowing, exposure visits, etc)

Peasant women led market

oriented farming

The 40 peasant women hadreceived technical and inputsupport for growing cardamom,ginger, chillies, garlic, onion,turmeric, coriander, mushrooms,potatoes, etc., mainly targetingthe markets.

Farmers’ field schools

- Four farmers’ field schools(FFS), two in summer and twoin winter, participated by 120farmers are conducted.

- Establishment and follow upsupport for communitynurseries on fodder and fruitcultivation and vegetables

- Two such nurseries areestablished so far.


2.6 Women’s Empowerment through Community Based

Sustainable Livelihoods Enhancement Project (WEP)

Women are raising goats as a source of income


The Context and Rationale

Education is a fundamental humanright of children and the people.However, Nepal faces variouschallenges in the education sector,especially for realising an inclusiveeducation. In several poor ruralcommunities, the fulfilment of otherbasic necessities such as food andshelter takes precedence, thuspushing education to the bottom oftheir priority list. Education for All(EFA) and the Goal No. 2 of theMillennium Development Goals(MDGs): achieve universal primaryeducation, which is ' to ensure that,by 2015, children - boys and girlsalike, will be able to complete a fullcourse of primary schooling’, isdifficult to achieve. Of course, forthese, Global Dakar Summitenvisioned the attempt to combatquest of these goals of providingfree and quality education for all by2015. Considering the problemsbeing faced by the communities inthe public education sector, RRNespousing education as one of thefour-folds of its developmentapproach, expresses its commitment

towards fulfilling these goals inNepal by implementing educationalprogrammes in collaboration withthe School Sector ReformProgramme (SSRP) of thegovernment of Nepal with financialsupport from European Union.Through a four-year (March, 2010 toFeb, 2014) project entitled:'Education for vulnerable and

marginalised children in Nepal',RRN has been helping those childrenand communities that are in thestate of chronic poverty, includingthe marginal and vulnerablepopulations as well as excludedgroups.

Objectives

The main purpose of the project is toincrease the access of children toeducation, strengthen the capacitiesof public schools and localcommunities and enhance the levelof commitments of civil societyorganisations and local authorities.The specific objectives are:

- To increase the access of childrenof vulnerable and marginalised

populations to education,- To strengthen the capacities of

public schools and localcommunities,

- To manage the schoolenvironment by enhancing thelevel of commitments of CSOsand local communities, and

- To improve the access ofchildren to quality educationand promoting peace in theschools/communities.

Components

- Increase access to qualityeducation

- Improvement in school andcommunity facilities

- Support for institutionalstrengthening of CSOs

- Raise level of commitments ofcommunities, CSOs and localauthorities for quality educationand peace.

Project Area

Dolakha: Gairimudi, Mirge, Bhirkot,Jhule and Thulopatal VDCs


2.7 Education for Vulnerable and Marginalised

Children in Nepal (EVMCN)

Participants of the ECDC Facilitators Training, Dolakha


Ramechhap: Doramba, Tokarpur,Gaunswara, Fulasi and Daduwa VDCs

Sindhupalchowk: Duwachaur,Banskharka, Baruwa, Thanpaldhapand Thanpalkot VDCs

Beneficiaries

- A number of 26,000 vulnerableand marginalised children aged3-5 years and < 18 years

- Coordination and collaborationwith local authorities and CSOs(Schools, CLCs, ECDCs, VDCs,VECs, DDCs, DEOs etc.)

Key Achievements

Increased access to education for

the children of marginal and

vulnerable children

So far, a total of 1,200 children areprovided with scholarship packagesthat cover uniforms, school bags,textbooks and stationeries. Similarly,the project has run 30 EarlyChildhood Development Centres(ECDCs) for 875 children (of which440 are girl children) aged 3-5 years,conducted by trained facilitators.Teaching is done in child friendlyenvironment that uses mostly locallyavailable resources. Parents areconstantly encouraged to sendchildren in ECDCs. Children in ECDCare increasing and stay at centresuntil late hours (around 3pm)enjoying the available kits andplaying facilities as well as changedteaching environment. Earlier, theyused to go back home around 1 pm.School management concerns arealso receiving equal importance bythe ECD Center management. Theproject has helped so far 707 (girls-442) school dropout children byproviding counselling classesthrough 30 Out of SchoolProgramme (OSP) organised by 30trained facilitators to mainstream

them to formal education system inpublic schools. Likewise, those whowere not interested to continue theschool education due to age orsome other justifiable reasons, 31(6=female) of them got thevocational training for differententerprises or occupations, Viz.VAHWs -23, Electricity wiring-2, softdriving-3, vegetable farming-2 andcarpenter-1. Thus trained childrenhave just started the incomegenerating activities in theirrespective villages.

Strengthened capacities of public

schools and local communities to

manage school environment

Project has supported 25 schools bysupplying improved educationfacilities in all the three projectdistricts. That is, library support isprovided for 25 schools; of these, 10schools also received computers andchild friendly materials supportwhereas six schools receivedadditional support of laboratoryequipments. Similarly, 15community learning centres (CLCs)have been established. Capacityenhancement through facilitysupport have provided commonplatform to access and makecommunity people aware aboutnew technology and education bymaking use of the reference books,computers and printers includinginternet installation. Roughly, morethan 15, 000 children, their families,teachers and other communitymembers have been benefited bythese CLCs facilities. A total of 364school teachers have receivedtraining on basic child centredteaching and learning skilldevelopment intensive trainingpackages. Also, community led totalsanitation (CLTS) training for schoolteachers have been conducted.Similarly, capacity developmenttraining, monitoring and evaluation

of public schools and monitoringvisit and other regular meetingswere conducted.

Encouraging commitments from

civil society organisations and

local authorities towards

improving the access of children

to quality education and

promoting peace

RRN’s campaign related projectactivities (e.g., children/school aszone of peace for promotion ofrights of children have been activelyparticipated by the representativesof CSOs and government agencies.The project has conducted planningand developing effective strategiesto ensure the quality of educationand child friendly school maintainedin their respective schools/communities. Last year, the projecthad organised three exposurevisits/studies for members of SchoolManagement Committees, CSOs andother local authorities to inculcatelearning about different approachestowards school management andquality education is being providedat low cost in other parts of thecountry. Similarly, by mobilisation ofchild and youth clubs, differentevents such as sports competitionsand cultural programmes with a goalof spreading the message of peacebuilding and harmony amongschool children and communitieshave been continuing. RRN has beenproducing a variety of informationand education materials such asnewsletters, briefing papers,manuals and leaflets to facilitateimplementation of education andawareness raising activities atdifferent levels. Children at risk ofchild labour, disabilities thoseaffected by the ongoing conflict andfemale children form principal focusgroups for these programmes andcampaigns.



The context and rationale

The Community initiativeInfrastructure and LivelihoodSupport Project (CIILSP) is thecontinuation of Food Aid andSocial Rehabilitation in Nepal(FAASRIN) Project supported byMinistry of Development (BMZ)and Deutsche Welthungerhilfe ofGermany. The project isimplemented aiming to improvethe livelihoods of rural poorthrough developing social andphysical infrastructures such asestablishment of irrigationfacilities, agricultural link roads,market facilities and improvedmethods of production. Theproject also intends to supportthe persons affected by thedecade long armed conflict thatbrewed mainly because of thedeep frustrations in rural areasowing to the lack of employmentopportunities, insufficientagricultural production andnegligible opportunities forincome generation.

The project targets about 53,350individuals or 9,700 householdsfrom among poor and excludedgroups such as women and Dalitcommunities affected by povertyand conflict. It makes severalcomplementary interventionsfor fulfilling immediate needs,urgent challenges of foodinsecurity and low agriculturalproduction, along with longterm interventions such asimprovements of educationalfacilities, construction ofagricultural link roads andtraining in commercial farming.Harnessing local opportunitiesby empowering communities towork cohesively andcooperatively for their owndevelopment is a key operatingapproach of the project. Theproject works with local usergroups in close coordinationwith other local stakeholderssuch as local governmententities, cooperatives, I/NGOsand CBOs.

Objectives

- To improve the criticalagriculture infrastructures(irrigation, agriculture linkroads, marketstructures/facilities)accessible to vulnerable andmarginal farmers/peasants

- To increase agriculturalproduction, immediate andshort term employment andincomes on the part ofvulnerable and marginalfarmers of the rural areas.

- To provide educationopportunity to the childrenof vulnerable andmarginalised families

Components

- Infrastructure development

- Skill development activitiesfor marginalised farmers

- School support programmes


2.8 Community Initiatives Infrastructure and

Livelihood Support Project (CIILSP)

Vegetable farming, Jhapa


Project Area

CIILSP has been implemented infive districts of Nepal. They are:

- Chitwan- Birendranagar,Bhandara and Korak VDCs

- Sankhuwasabha- Khandbari,Jaljala, Mangtewa andSittalpati VDCs

- Morang- Govindapur,Lakhnpur, Bhogeteni,Kerabari, Bayarban, Sijuwa,Thalaha and RamitekholaVDCs

- Jhapa- Damak municipalityand Jalthal, Gauradaha,Lakhanpur and DharampurVDCs

- Ilam- Dhuseni, Nayabazzar,Kolbung, Banjho,Maimajhuwa and ChulachuliVDCs

Beneficiaries

Household: 12,316

Total population: 46,967

Gender: Male: 49.78%, Female:50.22%

Composition by ethnicity: Dalit:9.0 %, BCTS: 19.7%, AdvantagedJanajai: 16.3 %, DisadvantagedJanajati: 51.7%, other ethnicgroups and religious minorities:3.3%)

Key Achievements

Irrigation support

To increase diverse agriculturalproduction, different irrigationschemes are constructed andrenovated in the project area.Three small scale irrigationschemes have been constructedand renovated so far. Some new

schemes such as plastic reservoirponds and concrete reservoirponds are also constructed forirrigating vegetable farms.Altogether 13 irrigation schemeswere constructed which irrigate1,212 hectares of land.

Agricultural link road

construction

Numbers of agricultural linkroads are constructed tofacilitate transportation ofagricultural goods from villagesto nearby local markets andagricultural inputs and otherconsumable commodities frommarkets to the villages. Theconstruction work comprisestrack opening, retaining wall andbreast wall construction. In Taraidistricts, upgrading of existingroads has been done bygravelling and constructingculverts and causeways.Altogether 19.05 km of road wasconstructed and renovatedduring this period. All the roads

are linked to the nearby towncentres and highways so thatthey can facilitate easy transportof agriculture products andinputs.

Marketing centre construction

These centres are constructed inthe convenient places of thevillages – mostly near thetraditional market centres or Hatbazaar area which not onlyprovide facilities for tradinggoods but also a facility for localvillagers to temporarily storeagricultural products. Peasantsbring their seasonal agriculturaland small scale industrialproducts to these centres andtrade with much ease.Altogether 10 such centres areconstructed in different villagesso far.

Skill enhancement

Skill development activities havebeen introduced to improve


Hat Bazar Shed constructed at Mangalbare, Jhapa


technical knowhow forintensifying agriculture on thepart of marginal farmers. In theproject districts, most of thefarmers have been involved intraditional types of farming astheir profession but lacknecessary technical knowhow tocarry out farming as a profitablebusiness. The project, therefore,provided technical support forextensive cultivation of highvalue cash crops appropriate tothe local situation. Followingactivities have been carried outin this regard:

- 12 events of kitchengardening training of 4 dayseach for 380 leader farmersrepresenting differentagricultural groups andcooperatives from within theproject area.

- 10 events of commercialvegetable productiontraining of 5 days each for261 farmers representingdifferent agricultural groupsand cooperatives.

- 5 events of compostpreparation and greenmanuring training of 4 dayseach to 137 farmersrepresenting differentagricultural groups andcooperatives.

- 5 events of improved seeds,plant nutrients and seedlingsupports to 117 leaderfarmers from eachagricultural groups and/orcooperatives.

- 7 events of cooperativemanagement training of 5days each for 166 members ofcooperatives and agriculturalgroups.

- 6 events of exposure visits for154 leader farmers visitingthe agricultural farms andcooperatives beingsuccessfully operated inother parts of the country

It was anticipated that bothtraining and exposure visitswould enhance basic skills offarmers for cultivation andencourage them to engage inmarket oriented commercial

production activities frommerely subsistence farming as ofnow.

Education improvement

School support programmeshave been introduced to therural areas to improve educationfacilities thereby facilitatingaccess to education of thechildren from marginalised andvulnerable families. In general,the communities in the ruralareas have taken initiatives toestablish community schoolswith limited support fromgovernment. They are mostly inshortage of adequate classrooms, toilets, furniture,laboratory equipments, etc.benches Therefore, the availablefacilities are not sufficient toattract school enrolments in arational way. To ameliorate thepathetic situation, the projecthas mainly provided support forthe cost ofconstruction/renovation ofschool buildings, additional classrooms, furniture, etc.


Musroom cultivation, Sankhuwasabha


The Context and

Rationale

The districts of Bhojpur andSankhuwasabha were also badlyaffected by the decade longarmed conflict between the thenMaoists rebels and the stateforces. As a result, many peoplehave died, many were physicallymutilated and mentally tortured.Some of them were madeinvoluntarily homeless andlandless, hence condemnedspending lives as refugeeselsewhere. In many instances,the rebel forces used number ofchildren (some of them werelater known as Verified Minorand Late Recruits –VMLRs by theUN verification process) ascombatants, cooks, porters,messengers and informants. Inorder to address the socialproblems associated with armedconflicts, the CAAFAGprogramme has beenimplemented since October2007 in Bhojpur andSankhuwasabha districts. Theprogramme was tuned to thelocal contexts to provide supportto above categories of childrenand their families. The projectfacilitated the children for theirreunification and reintegrationwith the communities, andhelped them sustain theirlivelihoods independently.Besides supporting andrehabilitating CAAFAG, theproject also shored up them forpeace building activities. Theproject was designed to providespecial attention to the girlVMLRs and the lactating motherVMLRs with nourishing diets andchild care grants.

Objectives

The project aims to support andrehabilitate the ChildrenAssociated with Armed Forcesand Armed Groups. The specificobjectives of the project are asfollows:

- To facilitate VMLRs (children)released from the rebellionMaoist cantonments

- To involve the children indifferent social and incomegeneration activities,

- To support the children intheir formal education, and

- To support the children fortheir successful reunificationand reintegration with theirfamily, friends andcommunity, and

- To help the children to beself-dependent, whichindirectly help for peacebuilding from below

Components

- Education and scholarshipssupport for VMLRs

- Support children and youthsfor peace building activities

- Provide special support forgirl VMLRs, and

- Support to lactating motherVMLRs

Project Area

Bhojpur (27 VDCs) andSankhuwasabha (onemunicipality and 16 VDCs)

Beneficiaries

Total: 85 personsBy Sex,Male: 60%Female: 40%Composition by ethnicity,BC: 11.8%Janajati: 75.3%Dalit: 11.8%Tarai: 1.1%


2.9 Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed

Groups (CAAFAG) Project

Skill training for conflict affected youth, Bhojpur


Key Achievements

Education and scholarship

support to CAAFAG and VMLR

students

Scholarships were provided toCAAFAG/VMLR students forsupporting their study in theschools. The idea of this supportis to develop good citizenry byway of inculcating knowledge,skills and opportunities, andstrengthening the level ofconfidence for their betterfuture.

Support to VMLRs for their

formal education

The project facilitated VMLRs for

their gradual reunification andreintegration process within thefamily, friends and community.Previously, they were deficient ofself-esteem and self-confidencehence unable to shoulder theirresponsibilities in terms of theirposition in their family, friendsand community. Now, theycould comfortably adjust withtheir family, friends andcommunity. There are 12 VMLRs -8 male and 4 female, who arecontinuously receiving theformal education support still.The female VMLRs are alsogetting special support, whichhas helped them to continuewith their education so far.

Support to children and

youths for peace building

activities

Many social activities wereperformed by children and youthclubs in their communities andschools, like volleyballcompetition, quiz competition,poem competition, songcompetition, street dramacompetition, etc. Six childrenand youth clubs performed eightsocial activities in seven places.The main objective was toestablish peace, prosperity,brotherhood and good harmonyin the community bycommunicating usefulinformation and messages ofpeace and harmony. Its targetwas to build the peaceful villageand country. Such programmeshave enabled the children andyouths to expose their hiddentalents and creative skills whichgradually help building their self-confidence. The project, thus,helped in acquiring prosperityand proper awareness on socialharmony and improved livingstandard among the childrenand youth. The project has alsobeen instrumental to form andregister children’s club with theDistrict Child Welfare Board(DCWB) as well as help them toadvocate and enjoy their rights.


Students observing a programme orgainsed in the community


Context and Rationale

Korak VDC is situated in Churiamountain range of Chitwandistrict. The total population ofthe VDC is 13,735 (1,648households), composed ofChepang, Tamang and othercaste groups. Korak has a totalland area of 4,669 ha. Over 20%of the area is agricultural land. Ithas forest resources rich inbiodiversity. About 95% of thepopulation is involved in theinformal economic sector. Themajority of the people aresmallholder farmers who arecultivating the mountain slopeseither laying down small terracesacross or practicing the slash andburn system of cultivationirrespective of slope conditions.The nature of farming is rainfedsubsistence agriculture. Themajor crops grown in the areainclude maise, millet andbuckwheat. Due to low rainfalland a lack of irrigation facilities,the cultivation of vegetables,

one of the potentiallyagricultural enterprises of highmonetary as well as nutritionalvalues, is facing severe problems,especially during the drymonths. Most households arenot able to produce enough foodfor their own consumption,hence are subjected to sufferfood deficit for more than fivemonths every year. Due to widespread food deficiency andmalnutrition in the area, thehealth and happiness of thepeople, particularly women andchildren, are very much affected.More than 50% of the youths arein search of jobs outside of thearea - within or beyond thecountry borders.

The current over-exploitation offorest resources is not onlycausing degradation but alsodestruction of forest resources,having a very critical impact onthe livelihoods of the people.This leads to reducedproductivity of forests. It also

causes intensive erosionresulting into the destruction ofproductive land both in theforests and agricultural areas.This ultimately leads to increasedpoverty, hunger andvulnerability of the people. Thesituation is further aggravated bythe impacts of climate change–unpredictable and inadequateprecipitation patterns, increasedrisks of water induced disasters,etc.

Despite several problems asbriefly discussed above, Korakhas considerable developmentpotentials. The region possessesa great ecological diversityhence allows the cultivation ofvarious crops, fruits andvegetables with considerable.Both seasonal and off-seasonalfruits and vegetables can begrown owing to its favorabletopographic and climaticvariability. Looking at thepotentials and prospects ofKorak VDC, the project has


2.10 Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation

in the Mountainous Regions of Chitwan District (MDG Village)

Participants of a training programme on social mobilisation and leadership development


targeted a holistic developmentmodel encompassing a range ofactivities which aresupplementary andcomplementary to one another.Therefore, the project isintended to intervene foruplifting the living standards ofChepang and Tamangcommunity through economicand social activities.

Objectives

- To create environment thatsupports pluralistic anddemocratic co-existence.

- To enhance food security andsustainable management ofnatural resources.

- To strengthen structures andmechanisms in the projectarea.

- To enable the target group’sparticipation in socio-economic developmentprocess, and

- To implement sustainableintegrated agriculture andforest management practices

Key Activities

Organisation of PIA workshop

Participatory Impact Monitoring(PIA) was carried out in KorakVDC in participation with theproject beneficiaries to analyseand set up different MDG(millennium development goal)indicators and facilitate planningand monitoring for the projectactivities. Activities like time lineanalysis, factor collection, trendanalysis and influence analysiswere the major steps undertakenin the process. The results weredepicted in graphs, texts and

figures after vigorous exercise.Some staffs from WHH(Welthungerhilfe) and MDGvillage from India had alsoparticipated in the workshop forsharing their experiences andfacilitating the workshop.

Situation updating of the

project area

The project site was jointlyobserved and monitored by thestaffs of RRN and WHH so as toget familiarisation with the agro-ecological situation, socioeconomic status of people andgeographical features.

Staff planning meeting

Staff meeting was conducted forpreparing detail plan ofimplementation of the projectactivities. In addition topreparing plan, in-depthdiscussion on the roles andresponsibilities of the staff andsome standard procedures toimplement the project were alsocarried out.

Social mobilization and

leadership development

training

Week long training on the abovetopics was carried out for 20participants from the projectarea. The training proceedingwas produced and shared withthe participants after thetraining.

Feasibility study for irrigation

and rural road

Demand for supportingirrigation facility and rural roadwas high on the agenda of thelocal people. Therefore,feasibility study of these two

projects was carried outassessing the possibility fordetail study and implementationaddressing the felt needs of thecommunity people.

Coordination

Coordination with relevant lineagencies at district and villagelevels was established as per theneed of the project. The relevantagencies with whom thecoordination relationship isestablished so far are districtagriculture development office,district forest office, districtlivestock development office,district development committee,women development office,district administration office,village development office andsome NGOs working within ornearby the project area. Thisinitiative has helped to exploresome areas of collaborationand/or coordination whileimplementing the projectintervention in the area. Thechief of DDC and the VDCSecretary of Korak haveexpressed that they would tryproviding some matching fundsfor initiating some joint activities.

Key Achievements:

In summary, the achievements ofthe campaign project in 2011were satisfactory as it started inthe latter part of second half of2011. The main achievements arethat the project team was hiredand oriented, the projectactivities were identified, planwas prepared for theforthcoming period and someactivities were already initiatedin the field.



Context and Rationale

This project was implemented byRural Reconstruction Nepal-RRNwith the financial support fromOXFAM GB Nepal. This projectcovered four VDCs namely Katti,Kusapani, Ruma and Chamundaof Dailekh district. The VDCs andprogramme Wards were selectedbased on the number of foodunsecured households andvulnerability.

The overall objective of thisproject was improving long-termfood security in vulnerablecommunities. To achieve thisobjective, the project hadundertaken a number ofactivities supporting improvedagricultural practices andtechnologies for increasing theproduction and productivity.Together with this, socialmobilisation and localgovernance were also promotedin the community throughpublic learning centres andcommunity management

committees. It has linked thehuman resources potential withthat of existing productiveresources in the communities topromote the livelihoods ofpeople thereby decreasing therisk of vulnerability.

The project targeted to supportthe communities meeting theirinfrastructure, seed supply,fertiliser supply, socialmobilisation and food needs.

Objectives

- The campaign’s overall goal isto Improve Long Term FoodSecurity in VulnerableCommunities. The specificobjectives are as follows:

- To improve and strengthenthe long-term food securityof vulnerable communities inDailekh district throughimproved agriculturalproductivity,

- To reduce the practice ofunsustainable copingmechanisms, and

- To improve governance ofthe agriculture sector

Key Activities and

Achievements

Construction of small

irrigation schemes

The project completed 38irrigation schemes which weremainly plastic ponds forcollecting rainwater andsupplying to the fields. Around50% of the beneficiarypopulation was supported bythese schemes.

Community seed bank

construction and management

Community seed bank buildingswere constructed in two placesof the project area and they weresupported with seed bins tostore seeds collected fromdifferent households. Thesefacilities are in use for storing theseeds, protected from insectpests and diseases and sold orused during next planting


2.11 Improving Food Security in Communities

Vulnerable to Food Price Volatility

Vegetable farming in Dailekh district


season or other convenienttimes.

Support for leasing in the land

by the landless

180 landless households of theproject area were supported bythis land lease scheme,contracting the land for multipleseasons cropping. In addition toavailing the land for cropping,the lease holders were alsoprovided with technical supportsand inputs so as to multiplyingthe production and productivityof agricultural crops.

Foundation seed support

Foundation seeds of paddy,maise, peas and beans weredistributed to selected seedgrowing farmers so as tomultiply the quality seed andmake easy access of seed in thedistrict. In total, 127 farmers weresupported through this scheme.

Certified seed support

Certified seeds of different cropvarieties were grown andmultiplied to increase availabilityof quality seeds for other farmerswithin and outside of the project

area. A total of 1,390 farmerswere benefitted by thisprogramme. Besides cereals andvegetables, some high calorieenriched species like colocaciaand yam were also distributed.

Capacity building training

Different training sessions wereconducted participated by 1,343farmers. Most of these sessionswere organised in a coordinatedway where the government lineagencies such as NARC, DADOand local NGOs were alsoengaged.


Plastic house for off-seasion vegetable farming


3.1 National Initiatives

The national level advocacy initiatives are mostlyrelated to human rights. As the nature of thedevelopment work is closely associated withEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) andright to development, our advocacy work isfocused on the protection and promotion of ESCRas an individual right and right to development as acollective right. The following are the human rightsareas of our advocacy work in Nepal:

3.1.1 Right to food, food security

and food sovereignty


Even though the Nepalese state is a party to ICESCRsince 1991, there are no effective state policies andmechanisms in place addressing the issues of Rightto Food in Nepal. The state lacks even the foodsecurity policy and food security acts so far. Due tothis, hundreds of thousands of people are fallenvictims of food insecurity and hunger. The state hasnot shown any level of seriousness ensuring the


3.0 CAMPAIGN, ADVOCAY, LOBBYING AND NETWORKING

As discussed elsewhere in this report, RRN has a very strong component of policy advocacy and campaignactivities within the country and beyond its boundary. These initiatives are mostly built on the experiencesof development interventions that RRN is undertaking with the grassroots people. RRN believes that theproblems being faced by the rural poor and marginalised communities may not always be solved by onsitetechnical remedies but along with the favourable policy environment, which often necessitates strongadvocacy, lobbying and campaign through collective efforts. Temporary solutions may be achieved byspatial fixes which last for short; therefore, to achieve lasting redress of the problems, suitable policies haveto be in place, as well as technical backstopping. With this firm conviction, RRN is undertaking both thecommunity development programmes and policy advocacy works as its two pronged strategies.

The policy advocacy, campaign, lobbying and networking activities are divided into two parts, nationaland international.

Guest Speakers to a Regional Conference on Democracy and Peace in South Asia organised by SAAPE in Kathmandu


right of people to adequate food. According to therecent data, the government has declared 44 out of75 districts as food deficit districts. Of them, eightdistricts are in the Tarai, which has never happenedin the history of Nepal before, because Tarai isendowed with all the opportunities and potentials,hence it has the greatest potential to producesufficient crops. This is an indication to reveal hownegligent is the state in producing food where ithas tremendous potential. Nepal once the netexporter of food grains until 1980s has to importsince then.

The incidence of poverty and level of humandevelopment vary greatly by gender, caste,ethnicity, religion and region. For instance, Dalitsshare 15 % higher incidence of poverty than thenational average. The same is the condition of largesections of indigenous peoples. The incidence ofpoverty is much higher in the mid and far-westernregions of the country compared to otherdevelopment regions.

To help supporting the realisation of right to foodof the greater section of Nepalese society, it isnecessary to have a synergetic action by the civilsociety. Therefore, Human Right to Food Network(RtFN) is established, whose secretariat is based atRRN. The RtFN has taken strategic approach for

mobilising civil society actions towards concertedefforts in the realisation of right to food in Nepal.For this a strong advocacy is being launched byRtFN at different levels in the country.

The RtFN is working as a watchdog in monitoringviolations of human right to food. It advocates forinclusion of human right to food as fundamentalright in the upcoming new constitution of Nepal,and thereof polices. It holds the state and otherrelevant parties accountable for realisation of theirobligation to respect, protect and fulfil the humanright to food as stated in Article 11 of theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966 and GeneralComment 12 of the committee on ESCR. The RtFN,thus, focuses its strategic interventions towardspolicy advocacy, networking, lobbying andcampaigning at national, regional and local levelsfor promoting and strengthening the human rightsto food and food sovereignty in Nepal. Its thematicareas of intervention are raising awareness on theissues and concerns of human right to food and thecases of its violations; facilitate capacity building ofCSOs on the issues of food sovereignty; facilitateimplementation of campaigns, seminarsworkshops and roundtables and share relevantinformation and learning among differentstakeholders.


RRN staff participating in the World Food Day celebration, Kathmandu


Objectives

- To strengthen the capacity of the communitygroups, civil society organisations to influencefood policies, plans and programmes reflectingthe rights and interests of food insecurehouseholds, and

- To mobilise community groups and networkmembers for monitoring the food policyimplementation and policy advocacy on RtFissues in the country.

Activities and Achievements

RRN had facilitated/coordinated several activitiesand achieved following results in 2011:

- Organised ten district level right to foodnetworks. The total number of district level rightto food networks now reached to 30, coveringfrom the east to the west of the country.

- Three-day long training programme wasconducted by national network in Kathmandufor the district and regional level networkmembers. The facilitators had attended fromdifferent central level civil societies where thepertinent issues of right to food and foodsecurity were discussed, scrutinised andforthcoming plan was derived.

- Celebrated World Food Day in presence of civilsociety activists and representatives of thegovernment agencies. The vice Chairperson ofNational Planning Commission of Nepal hadinaugurated the session as a chief guest.

- Two workshops on comprehensive issues inconstitution drafting were accomplishedparticipated by Constituent Assemblymembers. More than 120 participants attendedthese workshops. The second workshop alsofocused on the issues of women CA members.

- A strategic plan for three years was producedand shared among the members. The RtFN hasbeen working with the same principles andactivities outlined in the plan.

- A workshop on food quality was conducted byRtFN where NPC members, civil society activistsand the members of RtFN had participated.

- Two workshops were conducted in the premisesof the department of agriculture about thecurrent defects on food policy and need offuture improvements in government planning.The government senior officers related toagricultural development had also participatedin this workshop. After the workshop, amemorandum on behalf of the civil societyorganisations coordinated by RtFN wassubmitted for immediate actions.

- There were three media consultation aboutfood insecurity and constitutional issues to beaddressed by the government. The major civilsociety organisations like farmers’ associations.NGO federation, FECOFUN, water users group,WOCAN and several member organisations ofRtFN participated in the programme andinteracted with the media people.

- There were series of discussions andinteractions about Agriculture DevelopmentStrategy (ADS) and Global Agriculture and FoodSecurity Programme (GASFP) which are in theprocess of finalisation and implementation bythe government agencies. However, both theseinitiatives have failed garnering adequate civilsociety feedbacks; hence there are likelychances that the implementation would be lessgrounded on real field situation.


Participants of an interaction programme on the issues and concerns

of food adulteration in Nepal


3.1.2 Campaign against human

trafficking


Trafficking in person is one of the major challengesbeing faced by Nepalese society since long. Theseverity of the human trafficking is still at risedespite some efforts from the government andother stakeholders. The main victims of humantrafficking are women and children. To stop thisinhumane act, RRN has joined hands with differentorganisations active on the similar issues creatingsynergy for dealing with the complex issue ofhuman trafficking. RRN is one of the foundingmembers of an alliance known as Alliance AgainstTrafficking in Women and Children in Nepal(AATWIN). It was established in June 1997 to raisethe strong and collective voices against the humantrafficking.

Objectives

- The main objectives of RRN’s work againsthuman trafficking are:

- To increase social awareness against humantrafficking,

- To extend support and create pressure on theconcerned agencies for implementation ofrelevant policies and regulations stoppinghuman trafficking,

Activities and Achievements

As an active founding member and currentPresident of AATWIN, RRN had organised andcoordinated various activities as follows.

- Coordinated the celebration of internationalwomen's day participated by differentstakeholders including the Ministry of Women,Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) andNational Women's Commission (NWC).

- Organised an interaction programme with CAmembers to ensure the citizenship rights ofsurvivors in the new constitution.

- Celebrated 5th National Anti-Human TraffickingDay in coordination with MoWCSW and NWC.

- Organised/coordinated a rally on the occasionof 16 days activism against violence on women.

- Participated in the consultation workshops forthe preparation of National Plan of Action (NPA)on human trafficking and transportation control


Participants of an interaction programe on the concerns of human trafficking in Nepal


in 3 districts. Also submitted a report to NPAmaking team.

- Organised an interaction programme on theproblem identification and possible solutions ofworking women and children in dance barrestaurants.

- Organised 4-days anti human trafficking ToT forrepresentatives of AATWIN memberorganisations

- Submitted suggestions regarding the safemigration of people seeking foreignemployment to the committee for safe foreignemployment.

- Memorandum submitted to the Minister ofMoWCSW regarding the revision/ improvementof Human Trafficking Act 2064 and regulation2065. Similarly, a memorandum was alsosubmitted to the Minister of Labour andTransportation for the revision/improvement ofForeign Employment Act 2064 and regulation2065.

- Organised a felicitation programme for theactivist (AVIYANTA) of Anti-Human Traffickinginitiatives Ms Chari Maya Tamang (Anu), whowas also felicitated with “the 2011 Hero Actingto End Modern-Day Slavery Award” by the USSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Key Achievements

- Increased effectiveness to change the nationalpolicy, regulation, Digdarshan and Acts.

- Increment in coordination and collaborationwith stakeholders including NWC, MoWCSW,NHRC, office of Prime Minister and Office ofWomen and Children.

- The network succeeded to represent in theNational Women Rights Monitoring Networkunder the NWC through its current president MsLaxmi Karki of RRN. Currently, she is responsiblefor monitoring three districts--Sunsari, Rolpaand Khotang.

3.1.3 Campaign for climate justice


Campaign for Climate Justice Network (CCJN)Nepal is a group of Nepalese civil societyorganisations working on policy advocacy forclimate justice. Most of the members of CCJN arealso the members of Jubilee South Asia-PacificMovement on Debt and Development (JSAPMDD).In 2011, the CCJN undertook some activities thatare briefly discussed in the following sections.

Major Activities

Group plan for country-based campaign activities

The members met on 15 September 2011 inKathmandu to review and plan the country-basedcampaign activities related to climate finance andclimate justice, debt, sovereign, democratic andresponsible (SDR) finance and tax justice. Themeeting reviewed and discussed the activitiesperformed till date and planned some campaignactivities for the rest of year 2011 and first quarterof year 2012.

Demonstration against role of World Bank in

climate finance organised

The CCJN members organised a symbolicdemonstration against the anti-people role of theWorld Bank in climate finance near World Bankcountry office on 12 October in Kathmandu, Nepal.


Participants of a protest programme against World Bank in the Green

Climate Fund


Representatives of CCJN and other organisationsworking in the field of climate change alsoparticipated in the programme.

3.1.4 Other campaigns and

advocacy works

In addition to the above campaigns and advocacyworks that we are undertaking, RRN is also engagedin other civil society movements in the country. Forthe protection and promotion of human rights,peace and social justice RRN has been working withdifferent civil society networks and alliances. RRN isa founding member of NGO Federation of Nepal,National Alliance for Human Rights and SocialJustice (HR Alliance), Disaster PreparednessNetwork (DPNet), Children as Zone of Peace (CZOP)and Human Rights Treaty Monitoring CoordinationCommittee (HRTMCC). Through these networksand alliances, we are continuously trying to raisethe level of awareness of the people on their rightsand duties, and helping them develop theiradvocacy capacity. In the meantime, ourengagement is also towards influencinggovernment and intergovernmental agencies forimproving policy environment andimplementation mechanisms, particularly on theeradication of poverty, conserving environmentand ensuring human rights.

In 2011, RRN has also made contributions for thepreparation of universal periodic review (UPR) andstreamlining the CZOP strategies and approaches.In the capacity of lead organisation for monitoringthe International Covenant on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights (ICESCRs), RRN is alsocoordinating the preparation for third civil societyparallel report to be submitted to the Committeeon ICESCR. RRN has been working closely towardsmonitoring the impacts of global warming andclimate change. In this context, the organisationhad participated in the annual preparatoryprocesses of the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and themeetings of the Conference of Parties (CoP).

As a founding member and country coordinator ofSocial Watch, RRN is also carrying out differentmonitoring and awareness raising activities on theimplementation of World Summit for SocialDevelopment (WSSD) and Women’s World Summit

(WWS).

3.2 International Initiatives

RRN has been playing an instrumental role for thepromotion of sustainable development of thepeople both within the country and outside. It hasremained an active member of variousinternational civil society initiatives that includeresearch, campaigns, lobbying and networkingactivities for effective policy advocacy at differentlevels. Some of the international civil societyinitiatives that RRN has remained an active partnerin 2011 are briefly discussed hereunder.

3.2 1 South Asia level

There are two civil society initiatives of South AsiaRegional significance that RRN is contributing sincetheir inception.

SAAPE

South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)is an alliance of like-minded mass-basedorganisations, academics, trade unions, peasantassociations, women organisations, communitybased organisations, NGOs and other people’sorganisations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and SriLanka, working together towards eradication ofpoverty and promotion of human rights and socialjustice in the region. SAAPE was formed following aconsultation meeting in 2000 in Manesar, Haryana,India attended by more than 200 civil society actorsfrom across the South Asia region, together withrepresentatives of civil society organisations fromEurope, as well as the representatives of differentintergovernmental agencies working in the region.

SAAPE envisions just society and esteemedindividuals fully enjoying all human rights for adignified living. From SAAPE’s view point, povertymust be seen as violation of human rights.Therefore, SAAPE’s mission is to bring together like-minded civil society groups from South Asia tojointly strategise and take actions to contributetowards poverty eradication and achieve effectivechanges in the economic and socio-political arenato combat the harmful economic policies of neo-liberalism and anti-people globalisation. To fulfil



this, SAAPE engages in campaigns and policyadvocacy in South Asia and beyond focusing on thestructural causes that create and perpetuatepoverty, injustice and vulnerability.

SAAPE campaign groups are primarily engaged infood sovereignty, livelihood and employment,gender justice, demilitarisation, democratisationand social justice.

The governance structure of SAAPE is comprised ofthe General Assembly (GA), Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM), Core Committee (CC), and theSecretariat. Rural Reconstruction Nepal is hostingthe Secretariat of SAAPE.

Major Activities of SAAPE

Research and publications

In 2011 regular publications like SAAPE bulletinsand other research activities were carried out bySAAPE member organisations. All research andpublications can be downloaded fromwww.saape.org.

Engagement in dialogue with European

Parliamentarians and EU Officials

A team consisting of two core committee membersof SAAPE, Ms. Rokeya Kabir (Bangladesh) and Mr.

Farooq Tariq (Pakistan) had visited the EU

headquarters in Brussels from 13th to 16th of June2011. The visits and meetings were jointlyorganised and facilitated by SAAPE and Eurostep,and hosted by Richard Howitt, Member ofEuropean Parliament (MEP). During the discussionsat different forums and meetings with differentmembers of the MEP, the SAAPE representativesargued that the current trend in developmentpolicy of focusing on energy and infrastructure ismisguided and this does ‘minimal, if any, to addressthe social problems’ of the region. Similarly, theprivatisation of the health and education sectors,which serves to widen the gap between the richand poor, was also critically analysed. Delegationteam also called for support for democratic reformsin the region.

Workshop on WTO, agriculture and sustainable

development

A workshop on WTO, agriculture and sustainabledevelopment was held in Calcutta, India on 12December 2011. The workshop mainly focused itsdiscussion on the analyses of role of internationalfinancial institutions, especially World TradeOrganisation and its adverse impacts on agricultureand sustainable development. Representatives offarmers’ groups from various south Asian countries


Participants of the Regional Conference on Democracy and Peace in South Asia organised by SAAPE in Kathmandu


and civil society activists actively participated inplenary sessions and the workshops.

Regional Conference conducted on Challenges

and Way Forward for Democracy and Peace in

South Asia

On 1-2 July 2011, SAAPE organised a regional levelconference on ‘Challenges and Way Forward forDemocracy and Peace in South Asia’. The mainobjective of the conference was to contributetowards strengthening democracy and sustainablepeace in South Asia.

The conference, participated by political leaders,parliamentarians, academicians, policy makers,human rights defenders, members of CSOs,representatives from different marginalisedsections of the Nepalese society like women, Dalit,indigenous groups, workers, unemployed youthsand students discussed the following issues andagenda:

- Democracy and Governance - Conflict Transformation and Peace Building- Human Rights and Gender Justice for

Democracy and Peace

Conference on rights of Bhutanese refugees

Analysing and identifying the contestations andway forward for the effective and acceptablerepatriation of Bhutanese refugees from Nepal, aconference on rights of Bhutanese refugees wasorganised in Jhapa district of Nepal, where theBhutanese refugees are residing, on 6 July 2011.About 100 participants representing diversestakeholder groups, viz. Political parties of Nepal,Bhutanese political leaders (in exile), human rightsand civil society organisations and activists andleaders of refugee’s rights movement, participatedin the conference.

There are over 130,000 Bhutanese individuals livingoutside the country Bhutan for the fear of politicalpersecution. Of them, about 110,000 registeredBhutanese asylum seekers in Nepal, not a singleindividual has returned to Bhutan.

People’s SAARC

People’s SAARC (PSAARC) is a broad based regional

civil society platform initiative whose majoractivities are organised parallel to the officialSAARC Summits. Its main intentions are to promotepeople friendly and people governing regionalism,and to consolidate, galvanise and voice people’sissues and problems so that the governments ofthe region working as SAARC block are forced tohear and respond positively. In this process, civilsociety groups and movements in their respectivecountries identify and priorities their issues, sharethese with their national governments and theSAARC process. It provides a platform where issuesof country specific as well as regional interests areshared, debated and mutually reinforced throughstrategic alliance building for fighting the commonenemies, i.e., poverty, hunger, denial of humanrights, exclusion, marginalisation and vulnerability.The PSAARC Secretariat is hosted by SAAPESecretariat in Kathmandu.

Major activities

People’s SAARC steering committee meeting

The PSAARC steering committee (extended) thatmet on 16th and 19th of January 2011 in Dhaka ofBangladesh came up with the following decisionpoints in relation to the forthcoming PSAARCprocess.

- P-SAARC country process has not yet beenconducted in all countries of SA, hence it wasagreed to have the country process by allcountry groups as early as possible.

- Problems like religious extremism,fundamentalism, etc. need to be considered asan internal problem of different countries.Blasphemy Law in Pakistan needs to bequestioned and condemned. PSAARC musthave a position on the blasphemy law inPakistan and PSAARC must respond to it.

- Visa problem within SAARC region is veryimportant for regional solidarity. PSAARC mustengage with SAARC Secretariat and exploregetting the apex body or recognised bodystatus for PSAARC members and peace activistsof the region for at least freely move in theregion.

- SAARC Charter on Democracy is being re-worked/refined by Prof. Imtiaz from Dhaka



University. PSAARC’s engagement in refining itshould be explored.

- Maldivian President’s Thimpu Statement, wherehe categorically hinted India and Pakistan’sbilateral interests as hindrances to the totalSAARC process and role for the entire SA region,was very true and bold enough to question thetwo “big brotherhood” of SA. SC memberssuggested that the PSAARC 2011 may focus onactivities around the issues stated by Maldivian

President in his inaugural speech in 16th SAARCSummit in Bhutan. The issues are: Greeninvestment and development, democracypromotion and human rights, food and energysecurity and inter-cultural understanding andexchange – especially for the youth of SouthAsia.

- It was suggested to prepare a directory of civilsociety organizations/ networks/ groups andindividuals working on the South Asian issuesand explore possibility of collaborative workswith different networks/organizations whenrequired so that duplications of work could beminimised. This information will be compiledand circulated by the secretariat; however thecountry based SC members collect and forwardthe information to the Secretariat as soon aspossible.

- Decesion was made to engage in influencingthe official country delegation for SAARC needsto be done as part of the country process andPSAARC groups should share the CS agendawith each country delegation before SAARCSummits.

- Discussion has taken place whether to have justa small meeting and some engagementsthrough CS delegation to the Summit in

Maldives during the 17th SAARC Summit itself.However, as South Asian civil society includingpeoples’ movements and struggles have beentaking PSAARC as an opportunity in the form ofannual regional convergence, providing aplatform for voicing and consolidating SAmovements and struggles on a common cause,so the idea needs to be further discussed in alarger meeting and finalised then.

- The steering committee further discussed thatthe following themes need to be built upon aspreparation/research in the context of itsengagement with SAARC. Thus, a short conceptnote on the following issues was agreed to beworked out and shared within the next sixweeks from the date of this meeting. Alsoincluded in bracket is the name of theperson/organisation who have taken theresponsibility to work on the concept paper.

- Climate Change including natural resourcemanagement (Rezaul Karim Chowdhry)

- Livelihoods in the context of globalisation/liberalisation (Later decided as Poverty andVulnerability (Mohiuddin Ahmed/SAAPE)

- Democracy and Human Rights (SAAPE)

- Militarisation, conflict, religious fanaticism(Kamal and Anu Chenoy)

- Migration and free movement of people, socialprotection (including) labour rights(Karamat/PILER)

- Cultural and peoples exchanges andunderstanding (focal person/organisation to beidentified)

- SAFTA (adversarial trade relations withinSAARC) and trade cooperation (Meena/FOCUS)

- SAARC Food Bank – (Meena/FOCUS, incollaboration with Reza)

The SC also came up with a plan to map the existingmechanisms within SAARC, like the SAARC FoodBank, Inter-regional Transportation Plan, SAARCDevelopment Fund, SAARC Convention onPreventing and Combating Trafficking in Womenand Children for Prostitution, SAARC DisasterManagement Framework, etc.

Guidelines to map the existing mechanisms

- People’s position on the issues

- SAARC’s analysis and commitment

- Our critiques on SAARC’s way of handling theissue

- Our suggestion to SAARC on making themechanisms effective, etc.



Organisation of a seminar on envisioning New

South Asia: People’s perspectives

This seminar had broadly discussed the idea ofregionalism and regional integration as a responseto hegemony and the current crises experienced bythe people of the world. The seminar highlightedthe need of civil society groups to furtherconsolidate their struggles so as to responding theurgent needs of the people to get freedom frompoverty, hunger and continued subordination. ThePSAARC platform is one of the models to bestrengthened and expanded for creating just SouthAsia, the conference declared in its concludingstatement.

Preparing for the regional convergence parallel to

17th SAARC Summit

As per the decision of the last P-SAARC steeringcommittee (SC) meeting (expanded) held inJanuary in Dhaka, a small team of the steeringcommittee members had visited Maldives towardsestablishing functional relationships with theMaldives based stakeholders, including civil society(CS), and exploring different opportunities toprepare for and get engaged in during the

upcoming 17th SAARC Summit, November 2011, inthe platform of People’s SAARC. The members ofthis team had been there from 24 to 27 April 2011,had met different CS groups, HR and relevantgovernment officials. These meetings were quiteinteresting and insightful towards meeting theexpectations.

After the meeting with different stakeholders, thefollowing areas of concerns were identified to workfurther:

Identification of common priority issues

- Better communication and connectivity linkingthe Maldives, Sri Lanka and India through seatransport,

- Trade issues and implementation of SAFTA in away that allows for the smaller SAARC countriesto also derive benefit from it; bettercoordination of customs regulations,

- Cross border- issues- migration, trafficking,counter-terrorism, prisoner exchange,

- Linking National Human Rights Action Planswhich are a part of all governmentcommitments under the UPR at the UN HumanRights Council.

What we could push for in the context of SAARC?

Some formal space for CSO participation in SAARCSummit processes: at least limited number of seatsas observers at the Summit,

Inclusion of visits with CSOs when SAARC officialsvisit countries in the region.

Possible plan of action from May to November

2011

PSAARC as a process based initiative, can think ofimplementing several country activities andorganising a relatively large (maybe 100participants) regional level convergence in Malebefore the SAARC Summit (may be one month or sobefore the SAARC Summit). This would helpgathering the messages for the Summit andbrining the Maldives CS on board as well as firmregional CS position. The outcomes of the Malegatherings can be handed over to the SAARCprocess while it is happening in Addu Island,Maldives.

If tried well in advance, the CS groups may also get

observer status for the upcoming 17th SAARCSummit. For this, the Maldivian Foreign Ministrymay be requested soon.

May/July 2011: national PSAARC processes toidentify national priorities that could have relationsat the south Asian level.

July 2011: meeting of representatives of PSAARC(perhaps 3 or 4 per country) with CSOs in theMaldives, in Male. Discussion and agreement oncommon priorities;

August 2011: preparation of statement to behanded over to SAARC Secretariat in Nepal as wellas to all Foreign Ministries in SAARC countries andto the government of the Maldives in particular.

September/October 2011: Public activities in Male(workshop/conference, photo exhibition, filmfestival, concert, etc.) organised by PSAARC incollaboration with Maldivian NGOs.



November 2011: representatives of MaldivianNGOs hand over formal statement to SAARCSummit in Addu Atoll.

PSAARC proper

Country processes/activities

Towards the preparation for the upcoming regionalconvergence of PSAARC parallel to the 17th SAARCSummit, various civil society initiatives wereundertaken in different countries of the regioncharting the demands in a consolidated form. Localand national level workshops and seminars wereorganised in Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Indiaand Pakistan. These country processes fed into theregional process from their respectiveconstituencies.

PSAARC 2011

The recommendations and agenda received fromthe country process were compiled and handedover to the 17th SAARC process as memorandumfrom the regional civil society groupings.

3.2.2 Global LDC level


LDC Watch

The LDC Watch is a lead civil society alliance whichacts as a coordinating body for LDC civil society to

advocate, campaign and network for the realisationof the LDC Programme of Actions (PoA) and otherInternationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs).It goes beyond the LDC PoA to progressivelyaddress poverty, hunger, social injustices andhuman rights in the 48 LDCs of the world. LDCWatch, therefore, has been raising its voice andarticulating civil society perspectives in a multi-stakeholder framework, engaging with the UN, LDCgovernments and their development partners,both as partner and an active pressure group. Asthe only representative advocate of LDC civilsociety, LDC Watch was mandated by the office ofthe UN Secretary General to lead the internationalsteering committee of the Civil Society Forum atthe Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs (LDC-IV) inMay 2011, Istanbul. The LDC-IV Istanbul concludedwith a renewed and strengthened commitment ofspecial development attention to the LDCs andconsequently, declared the Istanbul Programme ofAction (IPoA) for the decade 2011-2020.

Key Achievements

Intergovernmental preparatory committee

meetings

Selected representatives of the civil societyorganizations from the LDCs, civil society steeringcommittee members and CSF secretariat includingexperts on LDC issues had participated in the twoIntergovernmental Preparatory Committeemeetings of LDC IV in New York. The meetings werecommissioned in January and April 2011,respectively.

Research and publications

LDC Watch has produced a number of publicationsin French and English. These include the updatedLDC Watch brochure, a position paper on the MDGson the occasion of the MDG Summit in September2010, a policy paper on Climate Change on theoccasion of CoP 16 in December 2011, a CSObriefing paper on the UN LDC IV on the occasion ofthe first Preparatory Committee Meeting in NewYork in January 2011, and proceedings of theregional consultations.

Participation in World Social Forum, Dakar

LDC Watch co-organised an interactive


Press conference organised during the SAARC Summit 2011, Maldives


panel/special eventl at the World Social Forum heldin Dakar, Senegal from 6 to 11 February 2011 whichhelped to improve Civil Society Agenda towardsLDC-IV Conference. The panel explored thedevelopment of an alternative people’s agenda forthe upcoming LDC IV Conference.

Activities at UN LDC IV Conference

The UN LDC IV civil society forum was organised byLDC Watch with the co-organisation support fromDoctors Worldwide, Turke. Different thematicplenary sessions, opening and closing plenariesand workshops were organised during the UN LDCIV Conference where heads of the states and headsof the government from different countries, theUnited Nations Secretary General, the Chairpersonof the conference and Under Secretary General ofthe UN, and civil society leaders delivered theiropinions and commitments towards full-fledgedimplementation of the Istanbul Programme ofAction (IPOA) for the LDCs. At the end of the civilsociety forum, a civil society declaration wasadopted that urged the world leaders to abide bytheir commitments for making LDC free world.

Country consultations

Country consultations on LDC issues and on IPoA

were performed in several Asian and African LDCssuch as Laos, Democratic Republic of Congo,Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania fromJune to August 2011.

Interaction Programme on “IPoA, Changes and

Challenges in LDCs”

An interaction programme on “IPoA, Changes andChallenges in LDCs” was organised on 05September 2011 at the LDC Watch InternationalSecretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal. His ExcellencyUnder Secretary General Cheick Sidi Diarraattended this programme while he was on his visitto Nepal from 04-06 September, 2011. Thisprogramme was attended by senior leaders ofpolitical parties, government officials, academia,civil society actors and media.

Pacific Least Developed Countries Civil Society

Forum

The Pacific Least Developed Countries Civil SocietyForum was held on 04 September 2011 inAuckland, New Sealand. This conference was anopportunity for representatives of Pacific civilsociety groups to discuss the outcomes of the UNLDC IV Conference. The dialogue allowed issuesthat were common to LDCs in the Pacific to be


RRN/SAAPE/LDC Watch participants at World Social Forum (WSF), Dakar, Senegal


identified and addressed. Bringing Pacific civilsociety leaders together with common aims andobjectives enabled the formation of workingpartnerships and beneficial relationships betweencivil society groups in the Pacific to supportcollaboration and implementation of the IPOA.There are five LDCs in the Pacific- Samoa, Tuvalu,Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati.

3.2.3 Other global level initiatives

RRN is very much engaged in the monitoring ofimplementation of the declarations and actionpoints of the World Summit for SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) and World Women’s Summit(WWS) through an international civil societynetwork- the Social Watch. Similarly, RRN is also anactive partner of international and regional antidebt campaigns, mainly opposing the illegitimateand unethical debts. We also oppose the debts thatfurther aggravated the situation of poverty in thename of development and created climate crisis.Different events –seminars and demonstrationswere the ones where RRN showed its strong

presence in 2011. RRN is a founding member ofJubilee South (JS), Social Watch and Jubilee SouthAsia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development(JSAPMDD). We are also the member of globalClimate Justice Network and BetterAid, the civilsociety formations that demand accountability tothe people, climate justice and aid as well asdevelopment effectiveness in the developing worldof the South.


Inaugural Ceremony of LDC-IV Civil Society Forum, Istanbul, Turkey

Planning meeting of JS/APMDD, Kathmandu



4.0 FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

4.1 Independent Auditors' Report

Rural Reconstruction Nepal has a well established finance and audit system. The accounting systems arefully computerised. RRN applies FAMAS software to systematically manage and keep up-to-date all thedocuments related to finance and procurement. While the RRN’s Finance and General AdministrationDivision employs the internal financial controls of the organisation, the external audit of the financialmatters is done by the authorised independent audit firms (Chartered Accountants) dully appointed bythe Annual General Meeting of the organisation. The financial statements of the year are given below.


4.2 Balance Sheet



4.3 Income and Expenditure Statement



4.4 Cash Flow Statement




Executive Committee

Mr Arjun Karki, PhD PresidentMs Mana Dahal Vice PresidentMr Ratna Karki SecretaryMr Hari Tamang TreasurerMs Rashmi Shah MemberMr Netra Timsina, PhD MemberMs Radha Tamang Member

Central Management Committee

Mr Arjun Karki, PhD PresidentMr Sarba Raj Khadka, PhD MemberMr Ratna Karki MemberMr Neeraj N Joshi, PhD MemberMr Kul Chandra Dahal MemberMs Seema Luitel MemberMs Mana Dahal Member

RRN Research CommitteeMr Neeraj N Joshi, PhD CoordinatorMr Sarba Raj Khadka, PhD MemberMr Ratna Karki Member Ms Seema Luitel Member

Gender and Social Inclusion Committee Ms Seema Luitel CoordinatorMr Neeraj N Joshi, PhD MemberMs Laxmi Karki Member

Staff

Central Office

1 Dr. Arjun Kumar Karki Chief Executive Officer 2 Dr. Sarba Raj Khadka Director 3 Mr. Ratna Karki Programme Director 4 Mr. Kulchandra Dahal Project Director, CSP II 5 Ms. Seema Luitel Project Director, PBB 6 Mr. Bhanu Parajuli Project Manager, EVMCN 7 Mr. Birendra Adhikari National Programme Coordinator, RtFN Project 8 Mr. Shyam Upadhyay Human Resource and General Administration Manager 9 Mr. Suman Bahadur Khatri Finance Coordinator10 Mr. Padam Budhathoki Account Officer 11 Mr. Pralhad Karki Finance Officer 12 Mr. Som Kumar Rai Communication and Documentation Officer 13 Mr. Shirish A. Adhikari Senior Project Engineer 14 Mr. Nirajan Pokhrel Project Engineer

RRN PEOPLE - 2011



15 Ms. Laxmi Karki Programme Manager 16 Ms. Vishruta Singh Rana Monitoring Officer 17 Mr. Yadab Katwal Account Officer 18 Mr. Rameshwor Khadka Monitoring Communication and Documentation Officer 19 Mr. Dipak Karki Account Officer 20 Mr. Mahesh Khatri Account Officer 21 Ms. Selina Kharel Account Officer 22 Mr. Dinesh Ghimire Finance Officer 32 Mr. Rakesh Khadka Accountant 24 Ms. Priti Shrestha GESI Officer 25 Ms. Swikriti Khadka Accountant 26 Mr. Kamal Tamang Logistics Officer 27 Ms. Manju Baral ECD/Technical Officer 28 Ms. Sushila Thapa Communication and Documentation Assistant 29 Mr. Madan Karki Network Administrator (IT) 30 Ms. Pratima Lamsal Administration Officer 31 Mr. Kishor Sharma Store Keeper32 Mr. Praman Adhikari Programme Officer 33 Ms. Suna Pyakurel Programme Officer 34 Mr. Kamal Khanal Information Management Officer 35 Ms. Prabha Rana Receptionist 36 Ms. Sayam Moktan Assistant Advocacy Officer 37 Mr. Bhoj Raj Ghimire Office Assistant 38 Mr. Laxmi Dahal Office Assistant 39 Uddhav Karki Transportation Mgmt. Assistant 40 Mr. Asha Kaji Maharjan Transportation Mgmt. Assistant 41 Mr. Shiva Gurung Cafeteria Assistant 42 Ms. Mira Thapa Cafeteria Assistant 43 Ms. Ganga Shrestha Cleaner

Regional offices

Biratnagar

1 Mr. Navin Kumar Karki Regional Monitoring Coordinator2 Mr. Bhumi P. Kaphle Regional Monitoring Officer (Dhanusha) 3 Mr. Ram Chandra Bastola Logistics Officer, PBB4 Mr. Chhatra Chauhan Accountant

Nepalganj

1 Mr. Balkrishna Chaudhary Regional Monitoring Coordinator 2 Mr. Surendra Neupane DRRM3 Mr. Surendra Karki Regional Accountant

Tumlingtar

1 Nir Bahadur Jirel Regional Coordinator, PBB



District Coordinators

1 Mr. Ananta Ghimire PBB, Sankhuwasabha2 Mr. Rajendra Adhikari PBB, Bhojpur3 Mr. Chhabi Lal Tamang Solukhumbu 4 Mr. Binod Kumar Sharma Salyan5 Mr. Dinesh Aryal Saptari6 Mr. Basanta Bhandari Sankhuwasabha7 Mr. Bishwo Mani Khanal Kanchanpur8 Mr. Bikash Chaudhari Dang 9 Mr. Duryodhan Adhikari Jhapa10 Mr. Deepak Bohora Rolpa11 Ms. Bimala KC Banke12 Mr. Lil Bahadur Karki Morang 13 Ms. Saraswati Koirala Sunsari 14 Ms. Meena Thapa Sarlahi 15 Ms. Kalpana Shrestha Bardiya 16 Mr. Ravi Gyawali Ilam 17 Ms. Ranju Yadav Mahottari 19 Mr. Pemba Tamang Khotang 20 Mr. Thaneshwor Sodemba (Limbu) Bhojpur21 Ms. Tej Lal Yonjan Ramechhap 22 Mr. Tanka Uprety Dolakha 23 Mr. Hom Raj Bisural Dailekh24 Mr. Manmohan Bhakta Shrestha/

Mr. Manoj Manandhar Chitwan25 Mr. Gokul Adhikari Makwanpur


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