BoP FUND
PROJECTS
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.
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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.
