Social Innovation Exchange

          Social entrepreneurship is a fast growing movement going on today world-wide. Social entrepreneurship simply means using business practices for the greater good of the society. And founder Director of Women Development Advocacy Center, Mr. Nanda Kishor Mandal  knows it pretty well. He is also the conference coordinator of 2016 International conference on social entrepreneurship event that happened on june 30 – july 1. The event was organized to bring academicians, investors, entrepreneurs and students into a single platform to discuss about the growing need of social entrepreneurship in Nepal.

          Social innovation, similarly, is an event for sharing innovative ideas and solutions to neglected social problems. This time it’s not about networking and talking but actually creating practical solutions for the good of the society. Mr. Nanda Kishor Mandal has been working for entrepreneurship development in Nepal from grassroots level, conducting programs and events.

            An event such as this is very necessary, especially for Nepal. Nepal has faced quite a lot in past two years and has faced lots of economic downfalls. People who were already in difficult position faced major infrastructural crisis when Nepal faced fuel crisis. Not just in Nepal but throughout the globe it has played major roles. In the United Kingdom, initiatives such as Big Society have been designed to find and scale up the best social innovations. And in Japan, social innovation are rapidly taking root in the rebuilding efforts following the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, which left immeasurable destruction on the country’s physical, cultural, and socio-political landscape. Africa similarly has taken huge leaps in social and economic growth  in last 10 years through social innovations (note: to know more, read the article "path to a new Africa" in ssir.org). Amazingly, it is considered one of the fastest growing continents after Asia. Nepal, in the same way, needs to go through change for economic uplift through social innovation exchange.

             However, I know most people would consider this to be an event for small minority of people and does not mean much for the society. Whether or not they are something for a small minority of people, they are prompted by motivations that most people can personally relate to: to be an active member of society, to take part in social activities, to spend time with like-minded people, to reduce the environmental impact of one’s life, to care for others, and - in the case of downshifting - to have a better work-life balance.

              Lastly, social innovation exchange is a great podium for young students who are smart, driven and motivated for creating change. But that being said, it does not mean it is not for like-minded but lost and curious persons. But I do feel that everyone in the society wants to be more than just consumers. Everyone wants to be appreciated as a person, feel pride and dignity in what they do and this is something that cannot be bought in the market place. Social innovation exchange is such a platform where you are appreciated and have a chance to be part of something bigger that contributes to the society. With this, we, general public here have a chance to address the social problems and suggest possible solutions that can act as a framework for the better change tomorrow.

              Personally, I am definitely going to attend this program. And I can’t help but suggest that to those who have ideas and want to make change. The program is going to be held in Pokhara for a whole week starting august 21. 

For any details and queries you can contact  wdacnpl@gmail.com 

+Bnay Shrestha  - Music enthusiast, blogger, Business student  

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.