Like many local residents of Ratmate, Nuwakot, who were affected during the acquisition of land for Ratmate Substation, Mrs. Ram Pyari Rai and her family from Belkotgadhi-7 were sad when they heard that MCA-Nepal would acquire their land for the construction of an electricity substation in Ratmate.
But their experience was totally different after the acquisition process was over.
“I was distressed when my family had to sell the land we were farming for a long time. But later we not only received compensation from MCA-Nepal but also support for livelihood restoration as per our choice.”
As a project-affected person, Mrs. Rai was given an opportunity to select and participate in a four-day-long commercial vegetable production training under the Ratmate Livelihood Restoration Program to be conducted by MCA-Nepal’s Consultant, SAPPROS Nepal.
“I participated in the training very actively and learned basic skills in nursery management, soil treatment and nutrients, crop calendar for seasonal and off-season crops, constructing plastic tunnel houses and using water-smart technologies”, she shared. The training focused on using innovative low-cost and climate-smart technologies for vegetable production.
Additionally with support from the program, she has established a cauliflower and cabbage nursery in the remaining land, and has been taking care of the vegetable seedlings based on the skills and knowledge acquired from the training.
She elaborated the support process with a smile, “SAPPROS Nepal came to our doorsteps to consult with me and my family about the choices for livelihood interventions and offered support to improve our livelihoods. I was suggested that my land was suitable for commercial vegetable production. They also encouraged me to enroll in commercial vegetable production training for the best use of my land.”
Post the training, the program has been supporting her to ensure healthy vegetable crops. She was also provided with inputs and materials to construct a plastic tunnel house for vegetable cultivation and climate-smart irrigation technology (drop irrigation).
Though Mrs. Rai never had an opportunity to go to school due to poverty and lacked awareness on capacity-building services like the training she received, she has started her journey as a vegetable producer now.
She says, “I am confident I will adopt vegetable cultivation as my farming enterprise. I am very thankful to MCA-Nepal for considering the support to help us restore our livelihoods.”
