In Sarlahi, a district in Nepal’s Terai region, women farmers are rebuilding control over their food supply by taking back ownership of their seeds. Their work is helping to protect generations of agricultural knowledge at risk of being lost forever. Until the 1990s, Nepal was a seed-exporting country. Today, it imports 90% of its vegetable seeds, and of the 4,300 rice varieties its farmers cultivated over decades, only around 150 remain. The shift began in the 1980s, when hybrid seeds … [Read more...] about In Nepal’s Terai Region, Women Farmers are Taking Back Control of their Seeds
South Asia
How This School Kitchen Garden Is Transforming Meals and Homes in Bihar, India
At Utkramit Madhya Vidyalaya, an upper middle school in Bihar with just over 250 students, learning now stretches beyond the classroom walls. In a small garden beside the school, children crouch between rows of local vegetables, their hands dusty with soil as they water, weed, and harvest. The patch of land, once unused and barren, has transformed into a living classroom where tending the earth is becoming as much a part of children's education as reading and math. Learning by … [Read more...] about How This School Kitchen Garden Is Transforming Meals and Homes in Bihar, India
Restoring Ancient Ahar-Pyne Water Systems: A Rebirth of Traditional Farming Practices in India
In the flat farmlands of Surungabigha in Southern Bihar, a dry body of water had been quietly fading into memory. The ahar-pyne — a traditional irrigation system developed by smallholder farmers — had long been abandoned. The land around it was barren, weeds growing in clumps where water once flowed. For local farmers, it was a visible reminder of colonial times, when British-imposed “modern” irrigation methods and land policies pushed aside community-built systems and the knowledge … [Read more...] about Restoring Ancient Ahar-Pyne Water Systems: A Rebirth of Traditional Farming Practices in India
How Joining a Women’s Savings Group Helped This Farmer Survive Cancer
Farmers in Nepal, especially women, face a host of intersecting challenges. Many work with limited resources under difficult conditions, while also managing livestock, household responsibilities, and their children’s education from a young age. This burden takes a toll on their health and ability to sustain a livelihood. Women farmers are also particularly exposed to toxic pesticides—a result of structural inequality and poor regulation. As Nepali Times reports, "women and Dalit households … [Read more...] about How Joining a Women’s Savings Group Helped This Farmer Survive Cancer
Strengthening Agroecology in Nepal: A New Partnership Between Groundswell International and Tribhuvan University
Groundswell International is proud to announce a new partnership with Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, to advance natural farming and agroecology in Nepal through collaborative research, education, and field-based learning. This partnership is a promising step forward for sustainable agriculture in South Asia, deepening academic-practitioner collaboration, equipping the next generation of food systems leaders, and strengthening climate-resilient food systems rooted in ecological … [Read more...] about Strengthening Agroecology in Nepal: A New Partnership Between Groundswell International and Tribhuvan University
This Women’s Group in Nepal is Restoring Soil Health with Biofertilizers
In a small farming village tucked in Nepal’s hilly countryside, women in pink and red saris crouch in tidy rows of plump tomatoes, their hands feeding the soil. Nearby, a group of women—the Jwaladevi Women Farmer Group—gather in a circle around a pile of green leaves to prepare biofertilizers. One of them chops aromatic herbs—nettle, neem, and bitter Artemisia—while another stirs them into a muddy mixture in a large plastic drum. Older women sit cross-legged, observing the process with keen … [Read more...] about This Women’s Group in Nepal is Restoring Soil Health with Biofertilizers