|
Empowering Low-Caste Women's Cooperatives Nepal
Setting up a women's cooperative business based on the cultivation
of sea-buckthorn, improving livlihoods and safe guarding traditional
knowledge of medicinal plants and biodiversity in Nepal.
The aim of project is to set up a cooperative business
based on the cultivation of sea-buckthorn. The project will safeguard
traditional medicinal plants as a source of sustainable income for
rural communities, especially women.
In collaboration with local Buddhist monasteries/convents and women's
groups (whose members are mostly from disadvantaged lower castes),
this venture aims at setting up a cooperative business based on the
cultivation of sea-buckthorn. Sea-buckthorn is a highly nutritious
and vitamin-rich plant widely used in traditional Tibetan medicine.
The initial product is the juice derived from seabuckthorn berries.
The remaining pulp and seed oil may be used to make tea or jam, as
well as for herbal medicine and cosmetics. The initiative services
local stores, trekking lodges, and supermarkets in Kathmandu.
 |
 |
The venture generates sustainable income for community
groups, especially lower caste women, as well as for local monasteries
which traditionally play a key role in educating the younger generation.
For harvesting, people will be recruited from adjacent villages,
creating further employment opportunities.
Nurseries are located in monasteries, teaching locals sustainable
gardening techniques. Moreover, plantations will be cultivated in
an area of the Himalayas threatened by soil erosion and landslides.
Planting sea-buckthorn has the potential to play a significant role
in addressing such environmental concerns.
|
