AGRICULTURE & WASH
Project for Improving Water Access (PIWA)
PIWA aspired to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water, increase the number of households with access to adequate water, and reduce labor for water access, along with promoting a participatory, bottom-up, and sustainable approach to rebuilding. With the grant assistance from the Japanese Embassy in Nepal, and partnership with Peace Winds Japan, the project rehabilitated 8 of the Water Supply Schemes that were affected by the Nepal Earthquake 2015 in Thumpakhar VDC of Sindhupalchok District.
5 Water Supply Schemes were constructed that supplied piped potable water to 834 people. The average fetching time for water from the household to the tap stand was less than 5 minutes. The Water User's Committees were trained on Operation and Maintenance for them to be able to carry out repair, maintenance, and operations activities of Water Supply Schemes for the sustainability of the project.
Small Agro Farmers' Income Improvement Project (SAFII)
With the aim to promote sustainable and inclusive agricultural growth through the introduction of improved vegetable production technique for small land holding farmers, marginalized community, and other people affected by the April 25th 2015 Nepal Earthquake, ISAP with the support of Peace Winds Japan and JICA has initiated the SAFII project. The various components of the projects mainly comprises of formation of farmers' groups, technical training for farmers including crop selection and seasonal vegetable farming, assistance to purchase agro-inputs, bookkeeping, marketing of the products, and promote network establishment between traders and farmers.
The project created 20 farmers' groups with an overall increase in the farmer's prodcution by 187.66% and the amount of production sold increased by 333.82% by the end of the project. Through the sales of vegetables, farmers were able to increase their agriculture income by 309.79%. Similarly, 45.90% of the farmers have learned new farming techniques from the exposure visit to other farms and Japan experience, 21.31% of the farmers have learned innovative and efficient marketing approach, and 34.42% of the farmers have shared that they have been motivated to scale up their farming practices.
In the second year of the PIWA project, it was seen that beneficiaries of Year 1 (Phase-I) had gotten involved in vegetable production on their own, utlizing the water availed through the project. As both projects were being implmented in the same district, beneficiaries of PIWA were aware of the organizations' agriculture extension project in Chautara Sangachokgadhi Municipality. Considering the vegtable produced by the beneficiaries of Year-1, and after further research on possibility of vegetable production in the district, the components from PIWA and SAFII were fused to design Project for Improving Water Access and Agriculture Income (PIWAAI).
Improvement of Livelihood Situation of Disadvantaged Members through Access to Finance
Improvement of Livelihood Situation of Disadvantaged Members through Access to Finance was a project funded by UKAid initiated by Sakchhyam Access to Finance Project. The objective of the project was to accelerate the economic growth of the disadvatged communities of different parts of the country through access to finance. ISAP partnered with Vijaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha taking responsibility of providing technical backstopping for the beneficiary farmers who were provided with subsidized agriculture loan from VLBS. 130 farmers of Baglung, Parbat, Banke and Bardiya were techncially supported for fresh vegetable production. This project was the first of its kind in Nepal where farmers did not just receive a comparatively easy loan to venure into commercial agriculture but were also provided with adequate skills to ensure they can pay back the loan amount with the income from vegetable production.
Agro- Business Fundamentals for Micro Entrepreneurs
Agro-Business Fundamentals was a 3-day workshop conducted in Rasuwa, Ramechhap and Lamjung, comprising of 100 plus participatns; facilitating aspiring and small-scale entrepreneurs take commercial approaches to their farming activities. Concepts of business cycles, record keeping, planning business, purchasing decision, group membership, monitoring production costs, basic cash flow assessing costs and benefits, and savings and credit were covered through role-playing, simulation and other exercises which are used to develop a business plan that can be implemented upon completion of the course.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & EDUCATION
Udhyami Fellowship (UF)
UF was a 4/8 weeks apprenticeship program on Goat farming, Cow Farming, Poultry, Pig Farming, vegetable farming and mushroom farming, introduced to change the stories of loss and failures that affects the growth of aspiring and small-scale entrepreneurs in Nepal. People who want to establish or scale up a small business were paired with established entrepreneurs, providing a real life practical training in their field of interest, teaching them technical skills, and helping them to link with input suppliers and market.
YouthPreneur
YouthPreneur, similar to SchoolPreneur, challenges youth aged 16-22 to maximize a certain amount of money that we invest in each group by implementing a business idea in three weeks. Eventually, the major economic value that this program holds is mobilizing youth to explore new or value-added economic opportunities to segments of society, such as people with disabilities, often stigmatized by community members and ignored by mainstream jobs and employment providers. YouthPreneur has been successfully held in Association of Youth Organization Nepal (AYON), a youth organization, and in Share and Care Nepal, an NGO, comprising over 68 youths and social mobilizers.
Udhyami Insights (UI)
UI was an interaction program designed to help aspiring and existing entrepreneurs find appropriate approaches to their queries and challenges from the insights of established entrepreneurs and experts. Each edition of the program focused on specific areas of a business. The first edition on, “Why Restaurants Fails,” addressed the issues behind the failure of 60% of the restaurants within the first 3 years of operation. The second edition on “Tips and Tricks for Successful Commercial Farming,” focused on turning agro-business into a sustainable source of income. Likewise, the third and fourth were focused on "Financing, Insurance and Subsides for an Agro-enterprise" and "Social Media Marketing for Your Venture," respectively.
Early Social Innovators (ESI)/SchoolPreneur
Early Social Innovators (ESI)/SchoolPreneur, a 15-day program developed at ISAP, aimed to empower children aged between 11 and 18 to solve communal problems by designing their own entrepreneurial solutions. This opportunity harnessed the natural creativity and critical thinking skills of children, and benefits society at large with a bottom-up approach by training next generation to become impact driven problem-solvers. ESI/SchoolPreneur has been successfully completed in 9 public schools, 1 private school as well as in an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp and 1 public school, in partnership with Peace Winds Japan (PWJ).
Project Biswas
Remedial Classes for Literacy and Numeracy at Primary Level
Project Biswas was a program tailored to meet the specific learning needs of public school students from grades 2 to 5 with identified major deficiencies in Nepali and Numeracy literacy. The project is designed by Changing Stories, a Danish non-profit organization, and was being implemented in partnership with ISAP. The Remedial Education Classes (REC) has been already completed in 5 public schools, reaching out to 75 students of Hetauda after the completion of LITNUM, a literacy and numeracy assessment tool.
Uncovering Opportunities: Showcasing Stories of Innovative Entrepreneurs
To make people see the business opportunities in Nepal, ISAP has been sharing success stories of young innovative entrepreneurs through radio shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, and documentary series. The videos are shared on popular video streaming platforms like YouTube while the stories are updated on social media like Facebook, reaching out to more than 30,000 people. Some of the stories and videos shared are on Abari, Maidan, Bhav Products, Himalayan Allo Udhyog, Anthropose, Swiffles, Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures (SHIV) and so on.
RECONSTRUCTION & REHABILITATION
Distribution of Medical and Health Supplies to Isolation Centers in Sindhupalchok District, Nepal
With funding from Japan Platform, ISAP in partnership with Peace Winds Japan, supported in establishing four functioning isolation centers in Balefi, Tripurasundari, Sunkoshi, and Panchpokhari Thangpal Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok District. The main objective of this emergency project was to prepare the rural municipalities to handle COVID-19 upsurge. The project aided the isolation centers with essential medical and health supplies. It also entailed special awareness programs through posters, and PSA broadcast, and mobilization of the community health workers in spreading awareness in the community.
Mason Training
ISAP have been providing two types of training namely, a 45 day On-the-Job training (OJT) and Seven-Day-Mason training. These training increase the ability to construct earthquake resistant buildings with an aim to address the growing need for reconstruction of individual dwellings in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake. ISAP in partnership with Peace Winds Japan and Japan Platform conducted the Mason Training Program in Sanosirubari VDC in Sindhupalchowk as well as in Kathmandu. Similarly, in the year 2017, 4 OJT and a Seven-Day-Mason training, funded by Red Feather, was held in Thulopakhar and Jhethal VDC of Sindhupalchowk.
Rehabilitation of Community Infrastructure
ISAP in partnership with Peace Winds Japan and Japan Platform rehabilitated 38 water supply schemes, restoring access to water for 1311 HHs in Irkhu and Sanosirubari VDCs of Sindhupalchowk. The 38 community-led water schemes include rehabilitation of 19 intakes, 11 stone RVT, 4 tap stands, 12670 m of pipeline, and construction of 2 ferrocement RVT. The infrastructures to be rehabilitated were identified, prioritized and reconstructed through the active participation of the community members, ensured by mobilizing Participatory Approach to Rehabilitation of Community Infrastructure (PARCI) based on human-centered design.
Emergency Response to August 2017 Flood
The heavy and continuous downpour that stared on 11 August 2017 invited severe landslides and floods in at least 35 districts of Nepal, claiming 143 lives, completely damaging 79,812 houses and partially damaging 1,44,444 houses. The districts with the highest numbers of people affected by the floods were Saptari, Rautahat, Mahottari, Siraha, Baridya, Sunsari, Banke, Chitwan, Morang, Sarlahi, Kailali and Jhapa as per the press released by Ministry of Home Affairs. Similarly, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 1.7 million people have been affected and 4, 61,000 people (91,000 families) have been displaced due to the flood.
Although many government and non-government agencies were swift to respond with aids, many households were yet to receive any aid materials upon our arrival. After a week of pre-assessment to avoid work duplication and reach the most vulnerable groups, Relief Distribution for Flood Victims was organized in Saptari, Sunsari and Morang district which were among the 10 most affected districts hit by the flood.
The distribution program was organized with support from Peace Winds Japan and Japan Platform in Saptari and Sunsari. Total of 628 households of Saptari and Sunsari received relief materials, including Kitchen Kit, Hygiene Kit, Shelter Kit and Food Ration. As the winter brought danger of cold wave, total of 586 mattresses and quilt was distributed in Pragati Tole, Shiva Narayan Tole, Bargachhi, Gairigaun and Sunaulo Tole of Saptari, helping the people keep warm this winter. Similarly, ISAP in collaboration with Asia Pacific Alliance (APAD Japan) distributed CGI sheets and bamboo sticks to 59 households for shelter preparation and mattress and quilt to 642 households in Morang district.
Emergency Response to April 25 Earthquake
After the 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25 2015 which was followed by another earthquake of 7.3 magnitude on May 12, thousands of schools, health facilities and public buildings have been damaged. Institution for Suitable Actions for Prosperity (ISAP) in partnership with CrossRoads Foundation, Peace Winds Japan and Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster management responded immediately to the disaster. Relief operations were carried out in Dhading, Sindhupalchowk, and Kathmandu, one of the hardest hit regions of Nepal.
Food Item Distribution
Dhuwakot VDC, Dhading
ISAP and CrossRoads Foundation distributed relief material to 19 House Holds of Jatekharka Village, Dhuwakot VDC in Dhading district on May 13, 2015. In this village, not a single house was in usable condition. Each household had an average of 5 family members.
Ichok VDC, Sindhupalchowk
Ichok VDC is one of the remote areas in Sindhupalchowk. All of the houses in the village were fully destroyed and three people had died. The people had managed to get some tents for a basic temporary shelter, and they also had clean source of drinking water in the area. What they lacked was food supply as all of their harvested crops were buried in the collapsed houses. Hence, the main aim of our relief effort was to provide them with enough food items that would last for at least two weeks.
Kubhinde VDC, Sindhupalchowk
ISAP visited the village of Kubhinde. The emergency response included distribution of relief goods to 500 people in Kubinde village, Sindhupalchok District. We delivered basic and necessary food items such as rice, salt, lentil, oil to 700 households.
TLC Support
ISAP in conjunction with All Hands Volunteers (AHV) constructed three TLCs (Temporary Learning Centers) in 4 public schools of Melamchi so that classes can resume as soon as possible.
Toolkit Support
ISAP along with PWJ distributed 300 tool-kits to be shared between 1030 households. The kits included shovel, chisel, hammer, pick, saw, helmet, gloves and wheelbarrows to help people demolish and clear sites.
Support for Transitional Shelter
ISAP in association with PWJ distributed CGI sheets to 1475 households in Chautara ward no. 3, 4 and 7, and 030 households in Sanosirubari VDC in Sindhupalchowk. The support was also given to 120 internally displaced person households of Listikot and Tatopani VDC, who were residing in temporary shelter camp in Danchi, Kathmandu.
Training Demolition Engineers
ISAP with assistance of Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) partnered with All Hands Volunteers to train three Nepali engineers on safe demolition of structures in response to the disastrous 2015 earthquake in Nepal. After the training, ISAP engineers handled over 50 demolition sites and led small mason groups to safely demolish buildings that were up to 3 stories high.
ISAP Woolen Flower Training
The pilot project on woolen flower training was initiated to restart the livelihood of people affected by the earthquake. The training was simple enough that anybody could learn it within a few hours by mobilizing easily available materials. Three-day training was given to 20 women from earthquake affected families in the Kathmandu Valley. We also leveraged the existing market linkages to sell the products that were made by the participation in this training. WEAN and ISAP collaborated on this woolen flower training. WEAN took the leadership in participant recruitment, sales and evaluation whereas ISAP led the training.
Bloom Nepal
Most of the students in Bloom Nepal School are from the remote districts of Nepal and are studying as residential students. ISAP in support with Crossroads Foundation supported 50 mats for resuming schools.
Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA)
Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA) is a participatory method of disaster risk reduction (DRR) related to shelter safety. The aim of PASSA is to develop local capacity to reduce shelter related risk by raising awareness and developing skills in joint analysis, learning and decision-making at community level. The awareness program was conducted in Ramechaap district of Nepal after 2015 earthquake.