Harvesting Hope in the Hills of Nepal

IIn the rugged hills of Makawanpur, Nepal, the Chepang people have long maintained a semi-nomadic existence deeply tied to forest ecosystems. Though slash-and-burn agriculture (Khoriya) was once a key survival strategy, land policies and ecological limits have forced a shift toward settled farming, forest dependence, and ancestral subsistence practices.

Chepang women stand at the centre of this ecological bond. They cultivate millet, maize, and bananas, gather chiuri butter (an edible fat extracted from the seeds of the chiuri tree), and forage wild greens and tubers such as yams, taro, and cassava, so-called “forgotten foods” that nutritionally enrich household diets and conserve biodiversity.

Chepang communities live close to the earth and close to the poverty line. In fact, the overwhelming majority live below the poverty line, with per capita income barely reaching NPR 6,000 (EUR 36) per year.

According to the latest figures from 2012, educational deprivation is stark, with over 75% of Chepang illiterate, and female literacy sitting at just around 1%. Girls often drop out of school to fulfil care and domestic work or face early marriage, cutting short access to education and deepening gender oppression. Latest national census figures from 2022 do not break down literacy data for the Chepang.

Geographical inequalities amplify these challenges, which have disproportionate impacts on women and girls. Many villages lack access to basic services, healthcare is remote, teen pregnancies are common, and over 90% of settlements in the Chure and Mahabharat range are at risk of landslides and erosion. This all contributes to a precarious situation that women are helping to solve.

Chepang women face deep systemic inequalities and also hold extensive ecological knowledge. They weave bamboo baskets and Bhakari containers for storing grains, craft straw mats called Gundri used in rituals and daily life, and process highly nutritious Gundruk—a traditional food of fermented and sun-dried greens. Each of these practices is rooted in local knowledge and sustainable resource use.

These traditional activities support agroecological resilience: they help preserve biodiversity, reduce waste, promote food sovereignty, and allow women to use their ecological heritage for their livelihoods.

Chepang women also rear goats to supplement family diets and provide income. They manage feeding, care, and manure use, integrating livestock into local agroecological cycles. In Raksirang, early mornings often begin with women tending to goats, feeding and nurturing them according to practices passed down through generations. These animals supply both nutrition and additional income, offering stability during seasonal food scarcity.

Their value goes beyond that, too; as one woman explained, “Feeding our goats is not just a chore. It’s our strength and survival. These animals are part of our family.” These acts of care are also an ecological practice that is embedded in daily routines and in the socio-ecological fabric of the community.

These practices form living agroecological systems driven by women. Each activity builds ecological diversity, optimises local resources, and strengthens community food systems. By transforming ancestral knowledge into sustainable income and resilience, Chepang women are powerful agents of ecological stewardship and human rights.

In Raksirang’s Ward 7, the Khusiyali Farmer Group, a collective of 25 Chepang households, has transformed banana cultivation into a community livelihood anchored in women’s leadership. With support from local organisations, women in Khusiyali organise collective banana farming and produce banana chips to sell. This ensures a reliable income and strengthens agricultural knowledge, reinforcing bonds of cooperation and financial independence. “Before, we depended on others. Now, with our bananas, we stand on our own feet,” one woman said.

Commercial banana cultivation is increasingly recognised as a viable strategy for smallholder farmers across Nepal. In other districts, producers have converted fallow land into banana groves, generating significant income. For Chepang communities, banana production is a way to earn income and reclaim agroecological space in traditional food systems.

In Chainpur and surrounding villages, NAFAN’s support has enabled the establishment of a community-owned market, designed in collaboration with Raksirang Rural Municipality and local community organisations, as a space for selling agricultural and forest-based goods. The market supports community sovereignty and cultural recognition. Chepang women now engage directly in trade, selling bananas, crafts, gundruk, and goats’ produce without intermediaries.

The impact reaches deeper: households that once travelled long distances now sell within their own community. The solidarity economy shifts power, retains value locally, fosters income streams, and builds agency among marginalised Indigenous families.

Projects supported by local civil society have trained Chepang women as resource persons in social accountability tools, enabling them to engage in local governance, advocate for gender-responsive policies, and use community radio and forums to raise visibility.

Women’s leadership in village planning, forest management, sanitation awareness, and agroecological budgeting has become a powerful force driving climate justice and community empowerment.

The Didi Bahini Agriculture Farmer Group has also grown into a powerful women-led collective driving sustainable farming and community resilience. Initially reliant on subsistence plots, the women received training, exposure visits, and technical assistance that enabled them to transition to collective commercial agriculture, cropping vegetables and grains, sharing resources, and practising natural farming methods

Over time, they have emerged as leaders in local governance, becoming involved in planning and budgeting, hygiene campaigns, and advocating for women’s land rights and decision-making power. From farming in isolation to cultivating confidence, production, and solidarity, the Didi Bahini group now plays a central role in promoting agroecological livelihoods, food security, food sovereignty, and gender justice in Raksirang, standing as a model of how women can lead change from the ground up.

Advocacy led by women farmers has also introduced technologies that ease the workload and improve productivity. Such tools free up time for leadership roles, education, and civic participation. Meanwhile, community-based renewable energy initiatives led by women and youth have expanded access to electricity in previously unconnected Chepang villages, reducing reliance on biomass fuel and opening new economic possibilities.