The East is supposedly the more developed part of the country compared to the west. The major cities in the region are Biratnagar, Dharan, Rajbiraj, Itahari, among others. Ilam, Namche Bazaar, Lahan are some other notable areas in the eastern development region of Nepal.[break]
Ilam is the leading district of the nation in dairy production. It can also be called “the” cheese producer of the country. The Pashupati Cheese Production Center in Pashupati Nagar in Ilam is the biggest cheese factory in Asia. It was established in 2042 BS (1985/86) and is owned by the government’s Dairy Development Corporation (DDC).
Though it has the capacity to produce 300 kg of cheese a month, currently it makes only 160 kg. The reason behind this is DDC has to compete with local private sector cheese makers to buy milk.
Gopal Prasad Bhattarai, chief of Pashupati cheese production center, says that there is a lot of market for cheese but they are struggling because of shortage of milk.
“There is a higher demand than production. Most of the cheese we make here gets sent to Kathmandu. We have a store in Lainchaur,” says Bhattarai, adding that eight workers are involved in the factory out of which four are local residents.
In Ilam, cheese is also produced by some private production centers. Tulu Tamang and Lucky Yalmo are two such people who are involved in cheese production. Yalmo used to be a teacher but she quit her job to start her own business.
“It’s not just about the profit but I get to work from home and it’s good to have a business venture of your own,” says Yalmo, adding that they have five workers to help them out and make around 55 kg of cheese on a monthly basis. Tamang adds that though they make cheese, they themselves don’t eat it much because over time they’ve become saturated by just the pervasive smell of cheese that surrounds them.
Apart from cheese production, the eastern side of the country also has the beautiful Kanyam, associated with Nepal’s finest organic green tea products. Since it also offers spectacular views of the Kanchanjunga and Kumbhakarna Ranges of the eastern Himalaya besides views of the plains of the southeastern Terai, Kanyam is an enticing tourist destination.
The tea gardens also add to the grandeur. Deurali Danda, which is 1,800 meters above sea level, offers great views of Kanyam. The Deurali Danda and Maney Danda are also of religious importance for the indigenous Lepchas of Ilam.
Tea plantation in Kanyam began in 2028 BS (early 1970s) and since then there have been tea pickers at work. Almost 60% of the tea pickers are women as men choose to work on their own farms.
Uma Basnet is one such woman who has been working as a tea picker after she got married. Her husband is a driver and she makes Rs 150 per day working in the tea plantation.
“I ran away with my husband and got married a few months ago and have been working as a tea picker ever since,” says Basnet. There are many others like her who work as tea pickers in the same area.
Tea farming is possible in 23 districts of the country but the Gorkha Tea Estate in Sundarpani of Kanyam is the largest tea garden whereas the Budhkaran Tea Estate located in Jhapa is the first tea plantation of Nepal and was established in 1959. Planned development of the tea industry from the government side also started the same year with the establishment of Nepal Tea Development Corporation.
The 8th installment of the TV blog also takes you on a virtual tour of a tea factory, showing you the step-by-step process of tea production.
Overall, the episode is an interesting watch and provides you with some detailed information about Nepal’s eastern development region.
• Nepali–A TV Blog airs on Avenues TV every Saturday at 8:30 am and on Sundays at 9:30 pm. The series, hosted by Yubakar and directed by Tsering Choden, will also be available on YouTube <youtube.com/user/nepalitvblog>
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