reflections on nepal capacity 21 initiative - Department of Applied ...

4. Environment and Natural Resources ManagementGidhiniya multipurpose nursery, KailaliThen (1997)38Gidhiniya multipurpose nursery, KailaliNow (2003)CBOs are even running a school from the income generated from the nursery management.Sadly, this is not the case with all the 27 nurseries. According to a recent assessment,perhaps only 14 nurseries can continue independently - 3 each in Kailali, Myagdi andOkhaldhunga, 2 each in Dang and Surkhet and 1 in Humla. A sign of sustainability hasbeen that these nurseries stopped applying for SCDP seed grants after the initial years.Some of them have started expanding their market to adjoining VDCs as well.For the remaining nurseries, many reasons can be attributed for not being able to sustainthe activities. The purchasing power remains low in many of the communities. Even if themen and women had the desire to plant, e.g., multipurpose species on their land, they werenot able to buy the seedlings. Some nursery functional groups were rife with conflictsamong the group members on management and profit-sharing issues. In some othercommunities, the demand for nursery products was low after the SCDP-supported plantationactivities had been completed. For instance, the nurseries were able to produce only timbersaplings instead of multipurpose species seedlings although the latter would have a widermarket. The failure to diversify products had its toll.