Improved Tunnel farming the source of income for Manju Magar
“We have a huge joint family, four brothers in laws and their spouse their children, father and mother in law. However they all are not here, some of them are in Kathmandu, and most of them are abroad. We are not separated yet and we meet once a year in festival” she presented
the facts of her family structure. Manju Ale of 37, with her family in Malta of Bagmati RM, was weeding cauliflower when we met her.
Wife of third son Manju along with support of other residing family members had been doing subsistence farming for livelihood. As her in laws abroad suggested for agriculture farming and her father in law had some technical ideas she initiated the tunneling however they lacked the
basic idea regarding modern farming practice, exposure and guidance.
One day she heard that the one organization is about to organize the tomato tunneling training from “Shree Chandeshwory Mahila Bachat Tatha Rin Sahakari Sanstha”. As she was interested and had been practicing the tunneling she registered her name. “I was worried that I would be left
out as cooperative had selected the beneficiaries according to cluster and I was in the cluster with many women with interest but later I was selected because I was some of them withdrew their names.”
She along with 15 other participants engaged themselves in 3 days of training (Two days of theory and one day of practical). The training was
very fruitful to her and her family as they needed the basic ideas and techniques for farming. From the training, she learned the different tunneling system than the regular plastic house she was practicing.
In addition to this, she also learned about drip irrigation, mulching, basic ways to identify the pests and their mitigation measures. She also received a set of plastics, and essentials i.e silpaulin plastic, nets, mulching plastic, set of
drip irrigation etc. fur the tunnel from FWEAN while she and other participants managed required bamboo and labor cost by themselves to
construct a tunnel.
“I thought this plastic would function as mulching plastic but is not working like as I thought I see the weeds growing beneath the plastic” Mr. Kul
Bahadur Ale chuckles while sharing the outcome of his trial as he used transparent plastic instead of mulching plastic. I have already sold around
1000 Kg of tomato that I has collected from the village I think I have come up with a new idea of business” Mr. Ale looks optimistic.
