Creating Entrepreneurial Mindset

I feel much closer to our country, Nepal, our people with their story of struggle and success, and our cultural and geographical diversity, than I had ever felt in my life as I write this blog. I got a chance to pursue an adventurous journey to the hills of Palpa, Gulmi, and soon I will be on my way to Ramechhap as a part of  Daayitwa- Nepal Public Service Fellowship Summer, 2016. 

My ongoing research on social enterprise in Nepal, especially in Ramechaap, and interaction with entrepreneurs in Palpa and Gulmi often the target groups brought to attention the fact of how similar training provided to target groups have harmed the local economy. When a community is composed of people with similar skill and training, they start similar enterprises which often create harmful competition between them as was the case of Palpa long ago.

The story of Palpa took place in between the year 2048 to 2050 B.S in a village, named Madan Pokhara.

As usual, a few men were having a tea talk in chautari on a bright sunny day. In between the conversations, one of them started complaining about the same curry, gundruk, he has been eating for the past 3 to 4 days. One by one, all of them voiced out that they have been also eating gundruk in their houses. While investigating the matter, they found out that other vegetables have not been available in the local market for the past few days. They also came to know that their vegetables were always imported from Butwal and Bhairahawa. Since there was a landslide on the way to Palpa, vegetables were not being transported to the local market.

The lack of self-reliance even to fulfill the basic need, hit them so hard that they decided to grow their own vegetables. However, due to lack of proper planning, most of them started growing the same vegetables. Soon, a fight ensued about individuals about who could sell the products in the market. By the end of the year, 17 families in the villages stopped talking to each other.
Learning from the disharmony, the villagers decided to grow different vegetables. They marketed and sold the vegetables among each other and with the neighboring villages. Their vegetables found a loyal market.

This story tells us about the importance of planning training programs by studying the value chain of the enterprise eco-system and researching about how the skill will add value to it.
I also came across people who pointed out the lack of education base and practical uses of business theory among social entrepreneurs. From the conversations I had with entrepreneurs, I realized that rural entrepreneurs have very limited knowledge on market research, the system of demand and supply,and other business tools.

Let me share with you a story of Bishnu Devi Gaire, one of the top forty entrepreneurs of Palpa. She had received a training on cow-rearing despite not being the cow farming business. Six years after her training, she received a training on saving and investment. This was what Bishnu had required the most before starting her venture. At presents, Bishnu wants to expand her business for which she needs a training on market assessment and risk management.

Now imagine if she had received all the necessary training on entrepreneurship. How big would her enterprise have been by now? Maybe she would have been one of the top entrepreneurs of Nepal.

The other problem our entrepreneurs face is the access and usage of modern technology and the ways of sharing the resources to make their enterprise self-sustaining. The lack of ease of access to technology has resulted in their businesses getting overstepped by national and international monopoly markets.

To address this situation, it is important to design a social entrepreneurship and innovation course. Such a course would greatly benefit the rural people which would help them to decide on their field of interest and the ways they could expand their existent business. They would be updated about the progress and innovation based on which they can construct their own project, identify the problematic issues, assess the market, identify the stakeholders and use other business tools for the sustainability of their enterprises.

Such interventions establish a base for people to start their own enterprise by which they can provide for their family, engage their community in enterprise promotion and build community-run enterprises.

As part of my research work, I recently attended a training organized by Heifer, 'Heifer's Cornerstone Training." My interactions with the rural entrepreneurs and various stakeholders made me realize that in order to conduct any skill based training or allocation of work in any sector, you have to have cornerstones. By cornerstones, I refer to the need to develop the sense of self, build self-reliance, develop the nature of sharing and caring, establish gender equity and be accountable towards our responsibility, community and surroundings.

Once such concepts of cornerstones are developed in the stakeholders, any training or jobs or skills development will bear the fruit of success and will be self-sustainable.

Author: Triveni Chand, Daayitwa Summer Fellow 2016

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Livelihood Fellow: Ms. Adity Joshi

           Ms. Adity Joshi is one of the contestant that we interviewed lately to know her thoughts on choosing the disaster management course. Women Development Advocacy Center's (WDAC) initiation alongside Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on providing Post Graduate Diploma of Disaster has had a great response from fellow students. Adity is another energetic youth who believed in herself to become a social worker. Since childhood, her dream was to enroll herself in this field so she started to pursue her career on it. Adity got her graduate degree on social work from St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, Nepal.

          The devastating earthquake that occurred a year ago in the region has had taken many lives. This gave Adity a reason to work upon her passion even more. She says that she couldn't bear to see more people being affected. So, she practically got involved to help the victims out. With all the rigorous training and experiences, Aditi wants to do something for the welfare of the community. She gradually wants to build up her expertise into making Nepal a better place to live in.   

           Adity has involved herself in numerous activities such as Psycho-social Training, Dance Therapy, Photo Voice, Narrative Approach, Trauma and Community engagement. She is currently working as a teacher and a field supervisor at Kadambari College of Science and Management. This crafts her role as an effective communicator and a good delivery person. Right now, Adity is at TISS in Mumbai, India to take 2 months course on disaster management. All the other participants including her are very busy with their studies and are piled up with assignments. So, I was lucky enough to take an interview on the experiences that she has been having.

           It was very difficult for me to manage a Q&A session with Adity because of her ongoing hectic schedule. But she still took some time out from her studies for this interview. Here's how the Q&A session went.

What are the different occupations practiced by different groups in your community?

                  With the presence of heterogeneous groups in my community the occupation practiced vary from field to desk work.

      How has the earthquake affected the livelihood of different individuals/groups/communities?
             The massive destruction done by earthquake affected livelihood of whole community for longer than expected. Lives of people, properties and infrastructures were majorly affected by the earthquake. However, the normal life has started to overtake the destruction in recent days but the reconstruction activities are still lagging behind in some areas.

      How severe is the impact?
             The development of the country have been pushed further backwards as the earthquake has created a severe impact around whole nation. The affected people are still waiting for rehabilitation and the infrastructures are still to be reconstructed. The lives of the people seems difficult even after a year.

     According to you which livelihood sector (agriculture, livestock, service, tourism etc.) needs urgent attention for disaster recovery and why?
              In the case of Nepal, tourism has been one of the important industry. With the destruction of various heritage sites and trekking routes of Nepal, tourism industry is the sector which in my view requires urgent attention for disaster recovery. A negative promotion of the earthquake's news has created an impact on the foreign land as well. It is being quoted that the whole nation has been destroyed due to earthquake. This has led to declination in number of tourist visiting here. Hence, to improve the economy and to move ahead with the development works, tourism industry should be quickly addressed.

What are your ideas/plans for facilitating livelihood recovery among earthquake affected communities?

              One of the major problem that was being seen is that the people have been suffering from trauma resulted by earthquake. When it comes down to health problems it is always a serious issue. So, in my opinion health sectors should provide service to infected people. This can make people feel better and fearless by allowing them to get back to their normal life. On this matter, I will try to contact with as much health authorities and ensure people to get the treatment from their sufferings.  Another idea is to move quickly with the reconstruction works and then rehabilitation of the community.


Write your biographical sketch.

             As a child I have always been an average student but with the increase in levels of studies, I was able to understand the importance of it. Gradually moving on with my study, I came to realize I have always wanted to do something for my society. For this, I chose the field of social work. Along with studying, I was able to involve in various organizations. This made me contribute something for my society and I feel proud to give happiness back to the people. After I Completed my studies, I got involved in various training programs and workshops. Among the works that I was indulged in, I was happy to be part of a program which helped children who were affected from trauma caused by earthquake. However, I am also a fun loving person and I love to travel around and explore new things in life.

Why are you interested in pursuing this course?
              Being a social work student, I have always wanted to do something for my society. Along with that I have also worked as trainee in different organizations. During my study period, I have learned to cope up with various unpredictable situations and at the same time I learned to get along with various communities through my field works. Similarly, talking about the place where I live, Nepal has always been a disaster prone area and I believe this course will help me to build up knowledge regarding disaster. And I also believe that it will help me to give something for the society so that the livelihood of people affected by disaster will recover as soon as possible.

Mention any work done by you relevant to the field of study selected by you.
             After the devastating earthquake, I was involved in conducting various recreational activities and TLC (Temporary Learning Center) for children in the affected areas. Similarly, I also went for surveys in various earthquake affected areas of Nepal. There, I was able to analyze the condition of people and provide the relief materials for those in need. For this, I was associated with Nepal Jesuit Society Institute (NJSI) where we carried out methods like Focus Group Discussion, Questionnaire and Key Informant Interview.  On the continuation of my survey, I also went to different schools in Nuwakot, Nepal to analyze the impact brought by earthquake among the school children. 


Prajwol Wagle  is a football fanatic, a blogger and an undergrad at King's College.

  

Navigating Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal: Departures

Source: Getty Images

Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) will still be the only international airport in Nepal for few more years to come. That is, until (if) the construction of Pokhara Int'l airport or Gautam Buddha Int'l airport is completed. It is the focal point of aviation industry in Nepal and the hub for all carriers in Nepal. We all know the two terminals it has, domestic and international terminals, but do we really know how to easily navigate probably the most bureaucratic international airport we may ever encounter?

In a country where international travel is a luxury, we Nepali people do export a lot of young people. One set of youth travel for higher education in India, China, Europe, Americas, East Asia, and Australia whereas other set to work as un/semi skilled labor in the Arabs or East Asia. For most people (including myself) the first time out through this airport is one or the other of these two instances.

Outside TIA

First of all, as you drive into the airport, you will see a VERY (with uppercase letters) large crowd outside the airport. Three reasons:

•  the entire family members/friends come to see their beloved ones off (because we don't get to go abroad often)
• visitors are not allowed inside the airport building unless you have a pass from the airport authority (did I say bureaucratic?)
• Solicitation of some sort.

 No wonder, visitors are not let inside. Imagine that crowd indoors.

Once you are dropped off and ready to go inside the building, know that trolley/cart are free and you do not have pay anyone to use it (and it says so in the trolley itself). Make sure that you have both your passport and TICKETS or confirmed itinerary handy. It is hard to explain police that you do not have a printed copy of itinerary. There will be a security check before you enter the airport and that is your only way into the check in counter. Once you are actually indoor, you and your bags (including your carry on and backpack) go through x-ray screening. Same rules as everywhere on your cabin bags, no exceptions here. I've also seen some people being questioned over things inside their checked- in bags. If you go through this stage smoothly, half the troubles are over.

Line at the check in counter. Sorry for bad picture

Then you head over to the check in counter, collect your boarding passes and drop off your bags. Like everywhere in Nepal, if you are claustrophobic, it will be a struggle to wait in the line.

People will greet you nicely and ask you about your stay or travels because we are always curious to know about you. Your nice answer will always be appreciated. Also, the check-in desks are staffed by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) staffs and not your airlines staff. Two rules about baggage here - "USA two suitcase 25 kilos each, other countries one." One time I was able to check in two bags to US without paying extra even though I was only allowed one free. If you know people who work at NAC, you can have a lot of perks here like, free seat upgrades, overweight bags, etc.

After you have your boarding pass (note pass, not passes, you collect others  when you reach to your layover airport). You take the escalator upstairs, fill up some immigration forms get your passport (and sometimes boarding pass) stamped, pay fines or collect Value Added Tax (VAT) Refund (with original receipt, if you got one and are temporary visitor). I had to run back to this desk because my boarding pass was missing that "departure" stamp. And if you do buy anything at the "Duty Free" make sure the receipt is inside the sealed bag as it should be. Sometimes the process can be gruesome but people are generally nice. And you do have to talk to the employees nicely if want to get into your flight quickly.

 

 Pictured: Escalator to immigration, area to fill form, and immigration area.

Then you walk straight where the actual security check is and you will have to take off your belt and shoes and everything. You have made it this far and you will smoothly pass through this as well.

Security at the TIA

Towards departure gate

There is only a couple of gates at TIA so you do not have to worry about not finding your flight. Once you arrive to your gate and have some time, wait patiently and watch how people rush to the gate to board the plane. Actually to board the bus that will drive around for a few minutes and take you to the plane which is literally few yards away the whole time. If you are lucky and are not flying an Indian airline, you will not have to go through another security check outside the plane. And once you are inside your flight you can kick back, relax and enjoy. And you can call yourself lucky when you look outside your window for this view.

pic: viewthrumygolballens

pic: chasingplaces

Hope you enjoyed flying out of Kathmandu.


(Disclaimer: Not all pictures are mine. I've tried to address the source wherever I can.)

+Parash Upreti