Spring seems to have settled at the heart of Pharping, certainly infatuated with its vast fields, clear blue ponds and beautiful monasteries.
Until two years ago, there used to be piece of barren land where a farm is situated today. One may wonder what may be so unique about a regular farm at a rural locale like the Shesh Narayan-3 Village of Pharping, named after an ancient Vishnu Temple located in the vicinity. The answer pops up as soon as the visitor’s eyes fall upon two bottle houses situated at the entrance itself.[break]
Neeraj Shrestha, the warm and amiable General Manager of A School for Community (ASC), sits down with a glass of tea prepared with the milk from their cowshed, also known as “Kaamdhenu Niwas.” The cool breeze feels heavenly in the scorching afternoon.
“We run schools, colleges and training programs for farmers, mothers, adults and dropouts for nominal fees,” he explains. “Regular students are also welcome to our educational institutes.”
ASC is a non-profitable organization established under the concept of Community Learning Center, a campaign initiated by the Government of Nepal in 1998 as part of the Literacy and Informal Education Program. It is being run by some highly motivated and selfless locals of Pharping and exemplifies the triumph and transformation that can be achieved by people’s participation at the local level. The farm, operated under ASC, has resources that are utilized to generate income that helps in running the educational institutes.
Photos: Chandra Shekhra Karki
The major attraction of the farm is the pair of bottle houses which are the first of their kind in Nepal. A bottle house, as Shrestha explains, is “a poor man’s house.” They are cost-efficient as they use simple, local materials. They are made up of bamboos, clay, sand, straw and waste bottles. Built in pure Nepali style, the mud houses are thatched with straws. Wine and whiskey bottles, which have been collected by volunteers from different colleges and organizations, are used as the substitute for bricks.
These houses are designed by the American eco architect engineer Bill Hutchins as an example of eco-friendly architecture. Even if there were to be an earthquake, these houses would cause and bear minimal damage. Those hundreds of bottles used to build the houses would have polluted the earth for decades as they take ages to decompose. Out of the two bottle houses, one is used as a training hall for farmers. The other house is used as a resource center and office.
Shrestha then points at the plastic bottles filled with a liter of water each, poking their heads through tiny openings on the roof. The people of Pharping call them the “liter of light.” When sunlight falls on them, they reflect the light and illuminate the house. In a country where so many people still live in the traditional type of houses that are relatively darker and colder, this could be a convenient and economical method of lighting and heating.
“These bottle houses have no doors and windows at the moment,” Shrestha points out. “We’ve asked the community forest to provide us with wood for that.”
ASC is well equipped with a number of volunteers. In addition to the local enthusiasts, there are students from Nepal and India who come to Pharping to volunteer at ASC. There seems to be no lack of spirit and sense of service.
What these people require, in reality, is budget. Whatever little donation and prize money they receive is not enough to fulfill their goals. They are working with extremely limited resources. Bank loans too require a lot of documents, and the procedure is quite lengthy and complicated. However, their hearts have not forgotten to dream, and their hands have not ceased to work.
ASC operates with a creative approach to development. In a country like Nepal, which is suffering from economic crisis and brain drain, this seems to be an appropriate model of economic independence within the nation. The major mission of ASC is to bring Nepali youth into the world of agriculture and familiarize them with the latest techniques and technology of farming. The motto is to utilize everything and waste nothing.
The farm, which is the economic core of ASC, is a lovely place to be at. Everywhere you look around, you see endless stretches of surrounding fields. There are red dots of women working on them under the blazing sun. The farm itself has greenhouses for cash crops like tomatoes, capsicum, brinjals and pumpkins which are a good way of earning. There are tractors that can plough 5,476 sq feet of land in an hour which increase production.
In the present-day context when the world is crying out for environment preservation and conservation of natural resources, this place appears as a model of environment-friendliness. Almost everything over here is natural and nature-made. There are the bottle houses to start with. The other eco-friendly projects include a briquette production unit. Waste papers from schools are soaked in half a drum of water and stuffed inside these small machines. The tiny blocks that come out can be used as fuel for cooking. Then there are the solar ovens and the eco san toilet which would produce manures out of human urine and excreta.
ASC is driven by the concept of a human made creative chain.
“We call it the cycle of self-sustenance,” explains Shrestha. “The manure for the fields comes from the animals. The food for the animals comes from the fields. The human resource at the farm comes from our educational institutes. And the income for the institutes is generated from the farm.”
Shrestha, who has a Masters degree in Social Work, has bequeathed his days and nights to ASC along with a group of likeminded social workers.
He finishes his tea and comments with a serene smile, “All of us can do a lot by doing our bit. We’re fulfilling our share of social responsibility and will continue to do so.”
ASC has long-term future plans like pisciculture, horticulture and beekeeping. This place will soon have hostels, volunteer camps and Wifi.
ASC is an excellent paradigm of passion and hard work. It demonstrates the positive changes that the members of a community can bring about with their dedication that is truly inspirational and motivational.
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