Nepal needs more spaces for initiatives that encourage people to rethink, reuse, and revive what already exists
Like any other human being, I feel the full range of emotions. Most days, it's anger, happiness, gratitude, sadness, and regret as I still don't think before I speak. Every week, it's guilt or embarrassment. Rarely, very rarely, it's pride or envy. But recently, something happened. I felt something new. And I'm guessing it's pride.
I've worked in the development sector for almost four years. Like any other field, it has the good, the bad, and the ugly. Of all the tasks, conducting interviews with "beneficiaries" is what I find most painful, especially twisting their stories to fit donor-driven narratives. But I keep doing it. This is how I earn my living.
But months ago, I joined a new organisation. During a field visit, I felt an unexpected sense of relief: this project has no "direct beneficiaries". It's a private market sector development initiative that works within the system, supporting small enterprises, strengthening the economy. No parallel structures. Just a strong backbone helping create an entrepreneurial ecosystem sustained by the private sector, financial institutions, and local systems.
Now, back to that new emotion – "pride". What triggered it? A story from my recent visit to Karnali.
For seven years, a large honey-processing unit had been sitting idle in Nalgad Municipality in Jajarkot. It was a perfect picture of Karnali itself: immense potential paired with wasted opportunity. Purchased with Rs 2.5 million in provincial government funds in 2075 BS, the machine was supposed to transform local honey production. Instead, it sat unused – too large for the cooperative's space and completely unsuitable for processing small batches of honey.
Then, in the eighth year, something happened.
The InElam project, which supports entrepreneurs across Karnali Province, including many local beekeepers, conducted a joint field visit to Nalgad. During the visit, we came across the long-abandoned machine and immediately recognised its potential. The team soon learned why the machine had never been operational. First, it required a three-phase electrical connection, something the area did not have. Second, its processing capacity – 500 kilos per batch – was far too large for the modest honey volumes typical of Jajarkot, where Serena bees dominate and produce less honey. The machine had been donated to Jwala Sana Kishan Krishi Sahakari Sanstha Limited, a cooperative in Jajarkot and one of InElam's partners, but had remained a burden rather than a resource.
However, the real driving force behind resolving this issue was Ms. Chandra Thapa, the administrative manager of the Jajarkot cooperative. Frustrated by watching the machine gather dust while local beekeepers struggled, she took matters into her own hands. She collaborated closely with our team and proactively approached the ministry, the Agriculture Directorate Office, and the Nalgad Ward Office in search of a solution.
It was a local person identifying a local problem, seeking support, and working to fix it without relying on external funds or resources.
Because our project operated in two districts, we could clearly see the bigger picture. While the large honey-processing machine was impractical for a single cooperative in Jajarkot, it had the potential to serve beekeepers across the entire province if placed in a more strategic location. Drawing on insights from our work in Jajarkot and Birendranagar, our team helped facilitate negotiations to relocate the oversized machine to a central hub where it could finally be put to productive use.
The machine has now been successfully installed and is fully operational at the Karnali Honey Processing and Sajha Subidha Kendra in Biruwabari, Birendranagar. The centre now serves as a shared resource for beekeepers across Karnali, offering integrated services for processing, packaging, and labelling. An operational manual has been developed, and once a few final arrangements are completed, the facility will function at full capacity. This will allow local beekeeping entrepreneurs to process and market honey, one of Karnali's most promising products, with far greater efficiency.
It may be too early to claim major impacts. But for now, the oversized machine –the former white elephant – has transformed into a shared provincial asset. There were no grand investments, no flashy new equipment. Just local actors recognising a problem, thinking creatively, and working together.
This entire experience made me breathe a little easier. A fuller breath. A warm swelling inside. Probably pride. Pride in being part of a project that creates space – space for local people to identify their own problems, to design their own solutions, and to lead change from within.
A bit of data helps illustrate Nepal's real development needs. According to the mid-term review of the 2024/25 fiscal year, Karnali Province spent only 15.14% of its Rs 31.41 billion budget in the first six months. So, is pouring in more aid the solution? Hardly. What we need is to make existing investments work.
That begins with communities taking ownership, finding alternatives, and refusing to accept waste as the final outcome. Too often in Nepal, development follows a predictable cycle: funds are spent, equipment is handed over, and when challenges emerge, the project is abandoned, labelled a "failure" and quietly forgotten. This cycle persists not due to lack of money, but because of systemic gaps in accountability, transparency, and meaningful participation. The real solution lies in strengthening local capacity and creating systems that empower communities to sustain investments, turning idle machines into engines of local enterprise.
Studies and reports will eventually document the outcomes. But for now, the lesson is already clear: Nepal does not need more money thrown at problems. It needs more spaces for initiatives that encourage people to rethink, reuse, and revive what already exists.
As for me, I am grateful for the warmth I felt through this experience – an expanded, almost swelling feeling. I think I'll call it pride.
Upadhyaya is with InElam/HELVETAS Nepal
