Niru Tamang

Niru Tamang (35) residing at Tipling falling on the Ruby Valley Rural Municipality, Dhading located on the lap of Ganesh Himal was not much aware of the importance of vegetable in daily diet of human being. It is true not only in case of Niru Tamang but also in Rural Municipality as a whole. Community people in this area had a very little chance to have a test of various vegetables cooked in their kitchen in the past. Niru Tamang had a great desire to involve in kitchen gardening for fulfilling the need of fresh and nutritious vegetable but desire remained desire only due to lack of skill, knowledge and access to improved seed even local at their area.

Once RIMS-Nepal implemented Restoring Food and Nutrition Security and Building Resilient Livelihoods project in earthquake affected areas entitled “Protracted Relief & Recovery Operation (PRRO 200875 i.e, PRRO I phase) funded by WFP in cooperation with WHH-N and RIMS Nepal in Ruby Valley Rural Munacipality settlers in this area experienced how importacne of vegetable is. Out of its several interventions under PRRO II phase (follow up of PRRO I phase) kitchen gardening promotion was one the important project activities. This activity begun with group formation followed by training on kitchen gardening in Lobdong, Tipling. Once the group was exposed with training group members were supported with improved seeds of different vegetable crops suited to these area from climate, soil and topography of land perspective. Niru Tamang was one of the lucky group members who received a five day long kitchen gardening training. With her sincere effort for the appplication of obtained knowedge from training on ktchen gardening, sooner she had been able to grow a couple of vegeable crops such as cabbage, caulifower, carrot, corrinder etc in her field. With her good leusre time utilization in kitchen gardening volume of production was not enough only for her kitchen but for local market too. ‘I have a plan to sell excess vegetabele at my own village’ Niru Tamang says. Recalling the past Niru Tamang said ‘having varieties of organic fresh green vegetable at our kitchen was a prevarb like a   ‘hanged fruit at sky satisfy just watching them’.  

‘Now, I have been getting taste of various vegetble grown in my own kicthen garden’ she added I have been the source of inspiration to others and my neighbours are showing commitment to follow me in the days ahead she further added.

Min Ghale chairperson of Rural Valley Rural Municalility ward-1 says ‘ we have been impressed with the kitchen garden of Niru Tamang. As we observed the RIMS-Nepal’s noted worthy interventions for the promotion of kitchen gardening in our Municipality, we realized to extend support for kitchen gardening and other agriculture promotional activities following pokcet area developemnt approach in our Rural municipality’. As a result of which our Rural Municipality has allocated Rs 20 lakhs budget toward this and our ward has been included to share this amount Min Ghale further added.

Sharing her future plan Niru Tamang said ‘ Kitchen gardening practices should expanded as a campaign as ‘one home one kitchen garden’ for which my support would be access to all my sisters who have been involved in kitchen and motivated one. One day in the near future we will be in position to say   ‘that food and nutrition security has been increased in our village caused by the seed as catalytic support with technical backstopping of RIMS-Nepal’ Niru further added with a smile.