Women Group Cultivating Bamboo Plants in Khudunabari -8
Bamboo takes historical, religious and cultural values as it is widely used building materials in the context of Nepal. Frankly speaking bamboo is used everywhere. In every religious ceremony Bamboo is used for different purpose. From brth to death bamboo is used for various rituals of Hindu, Kirant, Buddhist and other religion. It has nothing that is unusable for human being. Generally it is used to make fence to protect crops, vegetable gardens that get destroyed from animals. For other purpose bamboo is used to make furniture, mat, paper, handicrafts, stationery and so on. Shoots of Bamboo have taken place of most favored food for people. It is also useful for animal food; both for domestic and wild like panda. But with growing population and high demand of bamboo as building materials from village to city. Bamboos are being cut down without planting their supplementary. After projection of future scarcity of Bamboo and to protect the changing adverse environment, Abhiyan Nepal is continuously planting Bamboos in different landscape of its working area with the partnership of Habitat for Humanity International Nepal.
Abhiyan Nepal has already stated that it has been working for the recognition of its working in the region as a capital of Grassland and inputs have been commenced. Bamboo cultivation has reached to more than 100 hectares and around 30000 bamboo plants. Other grasses are growing in either sides of roads, streets, channel, bare and waste lands, where lablab, Ipil-Ipil, Mandola (Name of grass plants), are seen. People say that this is the area of Abhiyan Nepal and which is true in fact. Khudunabari and Arjundhra VDCs of Jhapa district are surrounded by the most disaster prompt rivers of Jhapa district; Tangting and Biring. These rivers used to kill the sleep of people in the area of Khudunabari ward no 2 and Arjundhara ward no 3 during the rainy season. Abhiyan Nepal has started bio-engineering technology for environment conservation. Disaster risks have been reduced where green belts have been built in the riversides.
Visiting Members in the Area of Arjundhara VDC Ward No 3
Recently, we have visited three clusters of Bamboo Cultivation by different community based user groups in the initiation of Abhiyan Nepal and financial support of Habitat for Humanity International Nepal. Area of 14 hectors of Arjundhara VDC ward no 3 have been planted new bamboos where other plants have been growing. This place was quite disastrous due to the flood on Tangting River before 3 years ago and people of this area used to live in fearful situation during summer. After conserving the area by Tangting Watershed Conservation and Tangting river control committee a green belt has been built. The growing plant of Sisau are not permanent they no longer remain after they are affected by a kind of plant disease. Thinking that, women group and Tangting river control committee were agreed to have the cultivation of bamboo plants for sustainable green belt. After growing bamboos they not only protect the flood but also will be good resources for grass of domestic animals and other various bamboo materials as well as sustainable income source.
The other cluster of Bamboo Cultivation is Khudunabari-8 where Chandra Surya Women Group and sister group Bihani Women Group formed under Abhiyan Community Development Project have planted around 2000 bamboo plants and surviving rate has been measured by 95%. They care and protect the planted bamboos by the members of group turn by turn. They think that bamboos are like children and if we protect them they will protect us. They will protect from land erosion and provide many things that are needed for daily living.
The third cluster is Khudunabari ward no 3 Bagre (river’s land) it covers 10 hectors of land where bamboos have been planted by Abhiyan Nepal Multipurpose Cooperative Ltd. Other plants have also been cultivated here for protecting the land from flood. Five thousands bamboos have been planted in this cluster. After three or four years this area will be place for bamboo trade and marketing.
