Chepang women turn to vegetable growing

CHITWAN, Oct 21 : Women of the indigenous Chepang community, which is still leading a semi-nomadic lifestyle and relies partly on wild fruits and tubers for food, have started to take up vegetable cultivation as a novel way to earn a living.



With the forests dwindling, Chepang women in the remote parts of the district, who are habituated to collecting wild yams and air potatoes for food, have now started nursing their vegetable saplings. [break]



The Chepangs, who are adopting a more settled way of life in favor of their nomadic past, are lately becoming increasingly attracted to farming to make ends meet. Since coming out of their nomadic ways, members of the Chepang community have been practising slash and burn agriculture, growing mostly maize in areas near the forest.



Dil Bahadur Chepang, a father of five, is now learning about the cultivation of non-seasonal vegetables on the steep hills of Kaule. “I have been learning about vegetable farming to raise my five children, for which I have no other option,” Dil Bahadur said.



Dil Bahadur, who was brought up in a shed in the forest by his parents, wants to see his own children go to school, become more cultivated and live a settled lifestyle like other people. “I don´t want my children to go through life like I did during my childhood and youth,” he added.



According to him, he made a good income last year growing tomato, chili, french beans and other vegetables where he used to grow maize.



While the male members of the community have started to leave the village and go in search of work, the women have come forward to learn farming methods and earn some money at home. “We don´t have enough land for farming. However, I am learning vegetables cultivation in the hope of earning some money,” said Hastamaya Chepang, whose husband has also left home in search of work.



Chaukimaya, an elderly Chepang woman who was busy weeding her vegetable patch, said that farming has been the only means of raising her children after her husband died some years ago. “When we were ignorant about farming, we went hungry for days. So, I am happy to learn vegetable farming,” an elated Chaukimaya said.



Some 50 Chepang households live in Kaule of Hattiwang.VDC. Ramchandra Puri, a local, underscored the need of a separate program to encourage Chepangs to take up vegetable cultivation and other income generation activities.



Meanwhile in Siddi VDC, the Poverty Alleviation Fund has been funding income generation activities for the Chepangs. “Earlier, we used to farm in a haphazard manner. But we have learnt to do agriculture properly,” said Dal Bahadur Praja, a chepang leader.

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