Wilko Verbakel and Susan van Klaveren

Kathmandu:

In a time when big donors are leaving Nepal, villagers who are in need are actually left behind when support is more important than ever. In such a time small Nepalis NGOs with the help of a foreign partner are indispensable. They are the organisations that are better able to continue their projects and help the rural areas. In Sindhupalchowk, for example, rural development in several villages is organised on a small scale by ISARD (Integrated Self-help Association for Rural Development) with funding from the Dutch NGO ICFON (International Council for Friends Of Nepal). Under guidance of the founder and organiser Ebindra Neupane, ISARD supports local people in the hills of Sindhupalchowk to raise their income and allows them to stay also in the village in a time when many people flee to Kathmandu from outside the Valley.

ICFON, run by Dutch volunteers, supports several projects in Nepal that arise from local initiative. In the early 90s, they were pleased by the request from Ebindra Neupane, founder and manager of ISARD, to help establish a rural development infrastructure for the people from his own region in Sindhupalchowk. Ebindra had a history of studies in both agriculture and social studies. This combination allowed him to use his knowledge to help the people from his own district. Already in his late 80s, Ebindra started community development activities in the village Sikre, introducing new kinds of vegetables, crop and fodder growing and the use of better seeds. Over the years, this resulted in a continuous increase of agricultural yield. These structural improvements that he could show were exactly the kind of projects ICFON was looking for and this led to a long term collaboration between ISARD and ICFON.

Now, Ebindra has worked many years, partly as a volunteer, to set up and guide ISARD. His dream was to become a pioneer of rural development in his own region, hoping that in future he could advise the government. Though not under the government, collaboration with ICFON provides the finances for his ISARD projects. Another strong point for the collaboration is that ISARD is not only bringing money, but it facilitates villagers to organise their own development. By offering training, workshops and advice, Ebindra stimulates the people in many villages to try new ways of generating income. The local community plays an important role: ISARD can give advice, some funding and training, but the community is the hero.

The ideal collaboration between ICFON and the partner organisation is that ICFON finances, advises and verifies the project, while the Nepalis organisation writes the proposal, manages the project and the expenditures and does the reporting. In 2003, Wilko Verbakel from ICFON visited the project villages in Sindhupalchowk. He talked with the villagers (via an interpreter) and this way he came up with an evaluation. Wilko was amazed to what ISARD had managed to establish during the past 10 years. Nowadays, two villages have schools for non-formal education; day-care centres allow both parents to work in the fields; there are courses teaching sewing and mat making as well as a cottage industry in soap. At the same time, savings and micro-credit systems have been introduced in the communities. Though this latter doesn’t require much finance, it is an important item as it allows villagers to borrow money for starting business without paying interest. ISARD provides the necessary advice and training. Farmers get explained how they can improve the soil and they get new seeds. Coffee, tea and cardamom have been introduced. With a budget of only Rs 4,00,000 per year, the enthusiasm of Ebindra allows over 2,000 people to profit from the ISARD projects. In collaboration with ICFON, Ebindra has established the reimbursement system. Instead of receiving aid for free, villagers can now get a goat, pig, bull or even a bee farm with the provision that the first born has to be returned to ISARD. This way, ISARD can help more families with the same amount of money. Furthermore, it gives a higher chance that the poorest people will profit. The new system contrasts with many other projects where NGOs make villagers dependent on their support as they give it away like Santa Claus. This looks nice in the beginning, but it takes away local responsibility, initiative and accountability. With his long experience, Ebindra, knowing the area and the local customs, has managed to establish a system for rural development that answers the needs of ICFON.

In fact, all over Nepal devoted local people should organise the development of their region themselves. Collaborations with small foreign NGO’s like the Dutch ICFON can provide the funding and the Nepalis can organise their own development.