Rural Nepal

Hormonal changes during pregnancy accelerate estrogen and progesterone which is the main reason for periodontal diseases among pregnant women. Lack of oral hygiene maintenance and decreased awareness of routine professional dental checkup further complicate the oral health problems during pregnancy. Oral health is often neglected during examination and counseling compared to other components during antenatal visit of pregnant women in Nepal. Thus, the aim of present study is to identify the practice and attitude regarding oral and dental hygiene maintenance among pregnant women of Lalitpur district in Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2019 to February 2020 among 114 pregnant women who attended the out patients department for antenatal checkup at Lubhu Primary Health Care Center and Imadol Health Post, Lalitpur, Nepal. By using a structured questionnaire, an interview was conducted for all the participants of the study and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that 68.4% of the pregnant women had moderate level of knowledge, 98.2% of the respondents had positive attitude and 92.1% of them had insufficient practice regarding oral hygiene maintenance during pregnancy. The study revealed that there was a significant association between education status of respondents (p=0.001) with the level of knowledge and level of practice (p=0.005). However, no significant association was found between selected socio-demographic variables with the level of attitude regarding maintaining oral hygiene during pregnancy i.e. age, gravida and education. The association between attitude and practice Pearsons' Correlation(r) was found to be significant (r = 0.214, p=0.020). Although most of the pregnant women in this study exhibit reasonable positive attitude to oral health, it was not revealed in their practices. It is necessary to incorporate oral health as an integral component of routine antenatal checkup and oral health counseling is recommended during the visits.

Foreign Aid and the making of Democracy in Nepal brings fresh insight and analytic rigor on the ambivalent contribution that international cooperation and the Nepalese polity has made to democracy and economic growth in Nepal. At a time when the Nepalese people are coping with unfinished institutions -- a democratic deficit --, alongside fiscal, social and economic deficits, and with the prevalent ineffectiveness of foreign aid, Nepal and its donors need now more than ever the kind of dispassionate, rigorous scholarship by Nepalese scholars found in this book.

The contributions in this book show policymakers, researchers and the public why they need to question conventional wisdom about development and democracy, and demonstrate the value of undertaking systematic analysis before formulating policy and deciding development priorities.

The paper presents a general discussion on the various natural and human induced environmental insecurities that often challenges human security in Nepal in general an Eastern Nepal in particular. Though small in size, Nepal is a country with geological, topographical and climate diversities that makes the country favourable to several natural challenges. These challenges range from earthquake to various type of geomorphic processes such as mass wasting and floods. The increase in population and the changes in its distribution also meant that the country is now faced with a new set of natural disaster risks. The UNDP lists earthquake, floods, flashfloods, landslides and drought as the major natural challenges for the country as a whole. While discussing these environmental challenges, a critical appreciation of the literature in the context of the region has been attempted and their present relevance also examined.

Since the 1970s, the implementation of community forestry (CF) programs in Nepal has recognized that local
involvement is a prerequisite for sustainably managing forests and fulfilling local resource needs. Although this
devolution policy of active local participation has halted and in many cases reversed forest degradation, a
comprehensive research on attributes of CF and its impact on local community livelihoods, especially among the
rural populations in the low-lying Terai region- is lacking. Hence, using an institutional analysis approach, this
research attempts to understand changes in forest management and governance. More specifically, this paper
explores major attributes of CF, i.e. the forest, dependency of local people on the forest, institutions that govern
local people interaction with the forest and other actors as well as economic and tree cover outcomes. The overall
results indicated that most respondents were highly dependent on local forests for economic, ecological and
cultural purposes and were collectively involved in creating rules and regulations that defined access to and
distribution of CF benefits. The results also indicated that locals’ main priorities were to improve their income
generation capabilities, whereas CF management primarily emphasized forest protection and local development,
as CF-generated funds were used to improve local infrastructure. Hence, the main constraints to CF sustainability
were identified to be the CF committee’s lack of transparency in fund expenditure and the exclusion of poor and
disadvantaged households in the decision-making process. The study concludes that CF implementation is feasible
in the Terai region and that equal decision-making participation is critical toward future CF sustainability.

Nettle fiber and cloth is heading towards recognition as a strong and useful sustainable plant fiber. Excavation of graves in Denmark has revealed the usage of nettle fiber in the Bronze Age, and during World War II nettle (Urtica dioica L.) were experimentally cultivated as crops. Although successful, the project was abandoned owing to poor harvests. The last decade’s experimental research of nettle farming in Europe testifies to the growing international demand for organic textiles. The Himalayan nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) grows in forest areas. It produces a high fiber harvest and appears to have significant potential for sustainable use both locally and at the global market.

is a doctoral researcher in Himalayan anthropology, vice president of the Association pour le Rayonnement des Cultures Himalayennes (ARCH; Association for the Promotion and Preservation of Himalayan Cultures), and recipient of a grant from the Fondation Culturelle Musée Barbier-Mueller (2020-2022). An author, film director and photographer, he regularly gives lectures on Nepalese shamanism, publishes articles on the subject, and collaborates on publications.

This report presents the results of sociolinguistic inquiry into the Kham language spoken in the territory surrounding Maikot village in East Rukum district of Nepal. Research shows that indigenous people in the area identify as Kham-speaking Magars. Of particular interest in this work is the linguistic relatedness and intelligibility between Maikoti Kham and the neighboring dialect of Takale Kham. Included in this report is a description of dialect perceptions, a comparison of wordlists, and results of intelligibility testing. The data indicates that Maikoti Kham and Takale Kham are two distinct dialects along a dialect continuum extending from the study area in East Rukum south into Rolpa district of Nepal. While there is notable lexical dissimilarity between them and some speakers report limited comprehension, the two dialect communities can understand one another on a basic level and perceive their speech to be the same language. Language vitality is high in both dialects, and Maikoti Kham speakers have positive attitudes towards their dialect and the prospect of language development.

The first road to be built into Humla, Nepal has connected this once-remote Himalayan region to a market in China. This dissertation research assesses the impacts of this road on villagers’ food security, diet and nutrition, and subjective well-being, and investigates the link between objective and subjective health outcomes. The primary aim of this study is to decipher whether villagers’ ‘proximity to road’ is the strongest predictor of the aforementioned health outcomes, or whether other sociocultural and economic variables play a more significant role. A mixed- methods approach and a case-control ethnographic research design were implemented in order to investigate this question.
Results from the food security questionnaire indicate that due to easy accessibility and low costs, villagers now supplement their agricultural yields with enriched, processed foods obtained via the road. Although villagers perceive their current food security as being significantly higher than in years past, results indicate that food security levels do not always positively correlate with either ‘proximity to road’ or the harvest season. Nutrient composition analysis indicates that differences in both livelihood tasks and prestige ascription by gender and age yield a high variability in both dietary patterns and nutritional outcomes. These differences are also reflected in the anthropometric data, which show that while a portion of the study population is ‘underweight’, another portion is simultaneously ‘overweight’. Villagers’ subjective well-being, in addition to being defined differently from village to village, has a higher correlation with human capital levels and socioeconomic status than with ‘proximity to road’.
This research illuminates the complexity involved with determining whether the introduction of a road will manifest in positive health outcomes.
Using the new road in Humla District, Nepal, a case study, this research takes advantage of a unique opportunity to study human dietary shifts as they are in the process of occurring. By assessing villagers’ decision-making patterns regarding their food consumption, the overall aim of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the dietary sea change that is leaving its mark on the quality of life across the
globe.

BÖN IN NEPAL
Traces of the Great Zhang Zhung Ancestors in the Himalayas
The Light of the History of Existence
by Nagru Geshe Gelek Jinpa
Edited by Carol Ermakova and Dmitry Ermakov

For many millennia, Yungdrung Bön has been practised in the remote mountainous regions of Nepal which once formed part of the ancient Zhang Zhung empire. Although the tradition's fate fluctuated with the changing political tides, many aspects of this rich religious culture still survive today.

"Bön in Nepal" is the fruit of one Bönpo monk's expeditions into these areas to uncover and document living traces of Zhang Zhung's culture and religion. Illustrated with over 200 magnificent full colour photographs, this book opens a window onto the lives of Bönpos in Nepal today, gracefully combining Nagru Geshe Gelek Jinpa's personal diary with his meticulous research to provide the reader with a moving yet accurate account.

By matching scriptural texts and historical documents with family histories and local folklore, Geshe Gelek is able to pinpoint several important sacred sites previously lost to us, and through "Bön in Nepal" we, too, can share his excitement as he discovers, for instance, the mountain hermitage of Zhang Zhung Nyengyud Dzogchen lineage master Ronggom Togme Zhigpo, or the ruins of Bönkor monastery.
This book also contains a wealth of information on monasteries, ngagpa centres, family shrines, lineages and rituals regularly performed today in the Bönpo enclaves.

"Bön in Nepal" is sure to become a favourite among lovers of Nepal's rich cultural fabric, as well as among those interested in the origins of Tibetan culture and religion and the historical geography of ancient Zhang Zhung and Yungdrung Bön.

"The present book, meticulously and sensitively translated into English by Carol Ermakova and Dmitry Ermakov, offers a highly readable account of Gelek’s journey – or rather, series of journeys – to the main Bon locations of Central and Western Nepal. The lively narrative leads the reader through the gorges and passes of some of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes, acutely conveying the challenges of travelling in this unforgiving terrain. Our constant guide on these long marches, the author shares with us his sadness at instances of religious decline or sectarian conflict, his joys at small acts of kindness, and his elation at a historical discovery or signs of vitality of the Bon religion."
Prof. Charles Ramble

About the Author
Nagru Geshe Gelek Jinpa was born into a farming family in East Tibet, in 1967 and took monastic vows at the age of nineteen after meeting Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche in Kham in 1986. He then began his monastic studies in Ritro Monastery, starting with the Preliminary Practices and going on to receive teachings on Dzogchen and many other aspects of the Bon tradition. He completed several personal retreats, including a dark retreat and two Tummo retreats of 100 days each, He also practised Trekcho and Thogal. During his time at Ritro Monastery, Geshe Gelek received most of Shardza Rinpoche's Dzogchen teachings from Bonying Rangdrol Rinpoche. He received the introduction to Dzogchen from his root master, Ritro Lama Lhundrub Gyaltsen. Geshe Gelek left Tibet in 1992 to continue his studies, firstly in Menri Monastery, Dolanji, then in Triten Norbutse, Kathmandu, where he received Dzogchen teachings from his root lama Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. He obtained the Geshe degree in 2001 and has since continued his research into the ancient kingdom of Zhang Zhung which once encompassed much of the Tibetan plateau and beyond. Author of sacred Landscape and Pilgrimage in Tibet: In search of the lost Kingdom he has also produced several documentary films, including In Search of Zhang Ghung and Hidden Treasures of Mustang as well as numerous publications in Tibetan. He has been teaching tirelessly both in Triten Norbutse monastery and in the West for many years.

यो लेख नेपालको अति विकट जिल्ला भनेर चिनिने डोल्पामा सञ्चालित एक मात्र स्टेसन रेडियो डोल्पालाई केस स्टडीका रुपमा प्रस्तुत गर्दै दुर्गममा रेडियो सञ्चालनका चुनौतीबारे केन्द्रित छ । दुर्गम त्यसमाथि पनि कर्णाली भन्ने वित्तिकै सबैको दिमागमा आधारभूत आवश्यकता पूर्ति गर्ने बस्तु समेत नपाएर भोक, रोग र गरिबीमा जीवन काटिरहेका नागरिकको तस्बिर आउँछ । कर्णालीबारे मिडियामा हुने चर्चा परिचर्चाले हाम्रो दिमागमा त्यस्तो चित्र कोरिदिएको हो । यस्तो परिस्थितिमा त्यस्ता ठाउँमा स्थानीय मिडियाको सञ्चालन र विकास असम्भवप्राय नै हुन्छ भन्ने पनि ठानिन्छ । असम्भव नै त छैन तर अनेकन चुनौती भने छन् । मिडिया सञ्चालन गर्न आवश्यक स्रोतसाधन तथा दक्ष जनशक्तिको सहज आपूर्ति त्यहाँ छैन । साथै, उर्जा, सडक जस्ता भौतिक पूर्वाधारको भरपर्दो व्यवस्था नहुँदा त्यसबाट सिर्जित आर्थिक भार थेग्न रेडियोलाई धौधौ परेको छ । यो अध्ययनले डोल्पा जस्तो दुर्गम स्थानमा रेडियोको स्थापना र सञ्चालनका क्रममा आएका यस्तै चुनौतीको फेहरिस्त प्रस्तुत गरेको छ । साथै, रेडियो स्थापना गर्न स्थानीयहरु जति उत्साहित हुन्छन्, त्यही मात्राको आवश्यक तयारी र रणनीति नहुँदा रेडियो आर्थिक हिसावले कमजोर भएको तथा र प्रसारण सामग्रीमा परनिर्भरता बढ्दै गएको तर्क लेखमा गरिएको छ । सुगम र दुर्गमका रेडियोलाई राज्यले एउटै आँखाले हेर्दा दुर्गममा रेडियोमाथि न्याय हुन नसकेको ठहर यो लेखको छ ।
सुगम तथा प्रसस्त आर्थिक कारोबार हुने र सञ्चारका साधनहरुको प्रसस्त विकल्प भएका क्षेत्रमा खुलेका रेडियोलाई राज्यले जस्तो व्यवहार गर्छ, डोल्पा जस्तो क्षेत्रमा खुल्ने रेडियोलाई उसले गर्ने व्यवहार पनि त्यस्तै छ । आर्थिक संकटका कारण कार्यक्रम उत्पादनमा पर्याप्त लगानीको अभाव तथा स्थानीय क्षेत्रमा दक्ष जनशक्ति आपूर्तिको चुनौती आदि कारणले स्थानीय रेडियोको अधिकांश समय काठमाडौँबाट उत्पादित कार्यक्रमले ओगट्ने र स्थानीय विषयवस्तु चाहिँ ओझेलमा पर्ने गरेको अवस्थालाई यो लेखले उजागर गरेको छ । हुन त केन्द्रबाट उत्पादित विषयवस्तु नै स्थानीय एफएम रेडियोमा हावी हुने गरेको अन्य अध्ययनले पनि देखाएका छन् तर रेडियो डोल्पाका सन्दर्भमा त्यहाँको आर्थिक–सामाजिक–भौगोलिक परिस्थितिले यो चुनौती अझै पेचिलो बन्न पुगेको छ ।
लेखलाई तीन खण्डमा बाँडिएको छ । पहिलो खण्डले रेडियो स्थापनाको पृष्ठभूमि प्रस्तुत गरेको छ । लेखको दोश्रो खण्डले विकट क्षेत्रमा सञ्चालित रेडियोका आर्थिक, प्राविधिक र व्यवस्थापकीय चुनौतीको वर्णन गर्छ । आर्थिक अभाव, प्राविधिक कठिनाइ र दक्ष जनशक्तिको आपूर्तिमा भएको समस्याले रेडियोको कार्यक्रम उत्पादनमा पारेको असरलाई अन्तिम खण्डमा देखाइएको छ । अन्तमा निष्कर्ष दिइएको छ ।

Tourism has a wide range of impacts on the economy, the natural environment and the people living in a destination. In the context of poor, rural societies, many scholars have
emphasized the positive impacts of tourism on local economic growth. Concern has been voiced, however, about the social and cultural impacts of tourism due to observed changes in local norms, values and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of social capital to analyze the social and cultural effects of tourism in Nepal. Empirical evidence from a household survey and four village case studies reveals a decline of bonding social capital and an increase in bridging social capital in the concerned communities. Tourism can exacerbate local conflicts and reduce the relevance of indigenous self-help mechanisms. At the same time, tourism has promoted the formation of new institutions and offers opportunities to develop and expand hierarchical, extra-community networks, which are an important precondition for upward economic mobility. Highlighting the interdependencies and trade-offs between economic advancement and changes in social capital, the paper
calls for a more pragmatic and less normative academic debate on the social and cultural impacts of tourism in developing countries.

Veicolo di comunicazione con l'Aldilà, fedele compagna nella meditazione, l'uso cerimoniale della canapa è attestato fin dall'Egitto faraonico come risulta da una tavoletta di Assurbanipal dell'VIII secolo, dove la pianta è denominata Qunnapu. Ad avvalorare questa testimonianza, c'è il fatto che Seshat, dea egizia della scrittura e degli annali faraonici, è rappresentata con una foglia sopra il capo intenta a scrivere. Sembrerebbe proprio una fogliolina di canapa. Ma le tesi, come sempre, sono controverse. Infatti, alcuni studiosi ritengono che si tratti di un fiore stilizzato o di una stella a sette punte. Guarda caso. Il bhang, che è una bevanda lattiginosa ricavata dalle foglie e dalle cime della canapa; il charas, che è un tipo di hashish fatto dalla resina di canapa; e la ganja, ossia le cime da fumare. Bere il latte di bhang per pulire e purificare il corpo durante una festa religiosa è considerato un atto sacro. In India e in Nepal la pianta ha svolto e continua a svolgere un significativo ruolo religioso.

Mountain agriculture in Lamjung has changed over the last six decades from a subsistence agro-pastoralism to a mixed-farming system. This transition is significant from the perspective of land-use and land-cover dynamics, as it has resulted in alterations in forest coverage, livelihoods and overall ecosystem services. This transition is also emblematic of the long-term environmental, economic and socio-cultural changes occurring in the Nepal Himalaya. Using multi-temporal spatial data (1976 to 2010) in combination with socioeconomic data, this study has detected, quantified and analyzed the land-cover trajectories in Lamjung District during the last four decades, matching the time period of a highly contested debate on the Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation. The results of this study reveal two significant patterns of change: (a) trade-offs and dynamic transitions occurring among forest, agricultural land and shrubland categories, showing more complex patterns than the common story that massive, irreversible deforestation has occurred in the Himalayan region due to increased population pressure, and (b) land-use intensification significantly increasing in the irrigated lands of the lower valleys, accelerating the competition for prime lands, but disintensification and, in some cases, increasing land abandonment of the upper ridges and remote lands, emerging in recent years. Finally, using a spatiotemporal, place-based analysis of landscape level transitions, this study strove to develop a better understanding of environmental change in the Nepal Himalaya – widely considered one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world, where we lack sufficient knowledge of the extent to which agricultural land-use modifications are contributing to land-cover change and vice versa.

Very little is known concerning the local people understanding of climate change and the consequences it places on their health and well-being. This paper analyzes how the people of the remote areas of Nepal perceive climate change as a human health risks. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 195 randomly selected respondents in ward number one, eight, and nine of Sardi Khola VDC of Kaski District between September and December 2012. Large percentages of respondents identified diarrhea (89%), allergies (69%), asthma and respiratory conditions (67%), malaria (65%), and sunburn (59%) as being associated with climate change. In addition, a large majority of respondents said that climate change poses a serious danger health impacts in their family (93%) and their community (92%). The study also showed that the respondents were more likely to see people in developing countries (93%) as being at risk than people in their own nation (90%). Increasing rates of serious disease (worldwide, 91%) and water shortage (in Nepal, 86%) were seen as the most likely consequence of climate change over the next half century. Overall, this study shows that people have higher risk perception about climate change as a human health risk. Those who were literate (72%) and concerned about the issue of climate change (81%) perceived higher risk than those who were illiterate (25%), and not concerned about the climate change issue (18.2%). It is recommended that the government and the NGOs need to strengthen public health awareness about climate change.

This study attempts to understand the role of ICTs on adoption of climate change adaption options among the Nepalese rice farmers, using data from 773 households from seven districts—3 from Terai region and 4 from hilly region. Individual Farmer's Awareness Index was developed to categorize the respondent knowledge of climate change adaptation and Ordered Logit Model was used to examine the factors influencing their adaptation options in present of ICTs. The result revealed that 65% farmers perceived knowledge about temperature, rainfall and other relative information from various ICT devices that they pose. Farmers received such information mostly from Radio (71%), TV (69%) and mobile phone (62.5%) and argued these three devices are the most prominent, easy access and practical devices to receive such information. 86% farmers used such devices on the daily basis and 90% and more users opined that the information provided from such devices is in their own language and fully understandable. From ICT devices they pose, 71% of the farmers are receiving climate change information and 61% received agro-related information and the majority of them argued that such available information is very much informative and supportive of their resilience to climate change and use of available adaptation options. From the Farmers Awareness Index, this study found 19.8% farmers are high aware, 65.1% medium aware and 15.1% were less aware of the changing climate and its anomalies. Similarly, result from Ordered Logit Model shows that age (0.45***), gender (0.48**), market center (0.32*), bank access (0.54***), availability of subsidy (1.0***), agro-extension services (0.71**), access to TV (0.67***) and membership to a social network (3.20**) played a significant role in increasing

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for women worldwide. Cervical screening and early treatment can help to prevent cervical cancers. Cervical screening programs in Nepal are often associated with a number of socioeconomic, cultural, and ethical challenges. This paper discusses some central ethical challenges in providing cervical cancer screening in the Nepalese context and culture. It is necessary to address these challenges for successful implementation of such screening programs.

This is the first in a multi-part series discussing sacred landscapes and religion in the Himalaya

I recently returned from a month of fieldwork and research in Humla, the northwestern district of Nepal bordering Tibet and India. I was there as part of a research initiative focused on the concept of sacred landscapes in the Himalaya, with special interest in the pilgrimage routes leading to Mount Kailash (Kang Rinpoche in Tibetan) and Lake Manasarovar. These two geographic features, located on the Tibetan Plateau northwest of Nepal, have served as the focal point for millions of religious pilgrims from a wide range of traditions for centuries. Both are considered sacred sites by Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Bönpos, as well as many syncretic and animist traditions still thriving in the region.

"J’espère qu’aucun être humain, aucune religion, aucune culture, si petite soit-elle, ne disparaîtra sans avoir laissé une trace claire."
Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller.

La Fondation Culturelle Musée Barbier-Mueller soutient des missions d’observations anthropologiques, des publications et des conférences.
Nous vous proposons aujourd'hui (en collaboration avec notre annonceur la Galerie Franck Marcelin) un article d'Adrien Viel consacré au peuple Chepang du Népal dont la culture est en voie de disparition. Dès que les conditions le permettront, il se rendra à nouveau sur le terrain pour collecter des informations, des photographies et autres documents, qui feront l'objet d'une publication financée par la Fondation, consacrée à la culture de ce peuple (en français et en anglais séparément).

Migration from Nepal to India, a major issue in contemporary Nepal, has a wide range of consequences, including significant implications for the performance of masculinity. Remittances, and the associated pressures to send or bring money home, form a central part of the gendering of such migration, but many men are unable to remit to the levels expected of them. Consequently, this overshadows the cost/benefit analysis of migration for many families and brings into question the extent to which migration remains a viable income diversification strategy. The article, based on a multi-methods approach within an ethnographic framework, examines the potential range of effects that migration trajectories may have on males that migrate and are then finding themselves under pressure to remit and perform locally specific forms of masculinity.

In 1986, according to ancient tradition, Nepalese farmers of Dolpo, Tarap valley, and Lo Mantang area, in Mustang district, in the northern par of Nepal, were bartering barley against the salt of the Tibetan highlands, as part of their usual life.
But today, in 2015, du to the tourism influence, and the chinese control over the tibetan country,  this barter system is virtually gone, and this work therefore figure historic document.

In order to reveal how Kulung (an Himalayan population living in Nepal) think their geographical environment, this article focuses on the study of ritual practices named natabom. These immobile travels, these verbal routes are mainly composed of a listing of names in large part localizable. The purpose of these travels is to seek benefits or reject misfortunes. The article present the places traveled, what Kulung say about them, and then it compare and contrast this natabom to others rituals practices (territorial cults and pilgrimages). It shows an ambiguous and complex relationship to exteriority and otherness.

Nepal may need to wait for several weeks to calculate physical and infrastructure damage of the April 25 earthquake. It may take even longer to estimate social, economic and psychological damages. The devastation, however, provides some clue on future recovery and reconstruction efforts that could take several years. The earthquake struck when the country was suffering a sluggish political transition. It means we will have to face a double whammy: as it recovers from the armed conflict and the recent disaster.

Foreign Aid and the making of Democracy in Nepal brings fresh insight and analytic rigor on the ambivalent contribution that international cooperation and the Nepalese polity has made to democracy and economic growth in Nepal. At a time when the Nepalese people are coping with unfinished institutions -- a democratic deficit --, alongside fiscal, social and economic deficits, and with the prevalent ineffectiveness of foreign aid, Nepal and its donors need now more than ever the kind of dispassionate, rigorous scholarship by Nepalese scholars found in this book. The contributions in this book show policymakers, researchers and the public why they need to question conventional wisdom about development and democracy, and demonstrate the value of undertaking systematic analysis before formulating policy and deciding development priorities.

This paper examines the role of social capital in the sustainability of induced community-based organizations (CBOs). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 14 villages and 129 CBOs in Southern Nepal. This paper argues that social capital can be both positive and negative, affecting collective action and the sustainability of CBOs. Major problems include rule breaking with impunity and elite capture of resources, especially during the transition phase from external to internal management. While external agencies play an important role in inducing and sustaining CBOs, they should also address the complex issue of social capital and its downside.

Key words
social capital and its downside; sustainability; community-based organization; Nepal; Asia

Tourism has a wide range of impacts on the economy, the natural environment and the people living in a destination. In the context of poor, rural societies, many scholars have emphasized the positive impacts of tourism on local economic growth. Concern has been voiced, however, about the social and cultural impacts of tourism due to observed changes in local norms, values and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of social capital to analyze the social and cultural effects of tourism in Nepal. Empirical evidence from a household survey and four village case studies reveals a decline of bonding social capital and an increase in bridging social capital in the concerned communities. Tourism can exacerbate local conflicts and reduce the relevance of indigenous self-help mechanisms. At the same time, tourism has promoted the formation of new institutions and offers opportunities to develop and expand hierarchical, extra-community networks, which are an important precondition for upw...

Women continue to dominate the agriculture sector in most non-industrial, low income societies around the world. Despite their significant contributions in agriculture, their work is undervalued and they are marginalised due to social norms and traditions. Based on this reality, the paper investigates the current socioeconomic status of women farmers through two descriptive case studies based in rural Jamaica and in rural Nepal. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyse the data, using the women's empowerment in agriculture index, including education, resources, production, income diversity, and workload. The findings reveal that access to education, resources and income diversity are crucial to improving the socioeconomic status of women farmers.

Background: Cow urine has been widely used as therapeutic or additive agents in different parts of Nepal, mainly to treat infections, cuts, burns, etc. Cow urine has been considered as sacred and holy water and used in many rituals and worshipping purposes. Apart from therapeutic and rituals ceremony cow urines are also used in purification and disinfecting the houses. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the in-vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of cow urine from different altitudes across Nepal.
Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activity of cow urines was carried out by using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as free radicals. The antibacterial activity of cow urines was tested by the agar  disc  diffusion  method  against Escherichia coli(gram-negative)  and Staphylococcus aureus(gram-positive).

Results:The  urine  sample  from  Muktinath  (Subalpine  region)  showed  the  highest  44.8±0.21% inhibition  against  DPPH  free  radicals.  The  urine  samples  from  Jajarkot  and  Marpha  (Temperate zone)  showed  39.70±0.43%  and  37.30±0.15%  inhibition  against  DPPH  free  radicals  respectively. The  urine  samples  from  Palpa  and  Shyangja  (Subtropical  region)  showed  30.00±0.24  and 34.4±0.01 percent inhibition of DPPH radicals. The samples from Butwal and Dhangadhi(Tropical region) showed the  least percentage inhibition  of  23.9±0.08  and 21.12±0.1  respectively.  Amongst the  entire  sample,  the  subalpine  region  of  cow  urine  (Muktinath  3710m)  made  known  the  highest inhibition zone such as 10.56±0.05mm against S. aureus and 7.46±0.15 against E.coli.

Conclusion:Our  study  has  concluded  that  cow  urines  have  the  antibacterial  and  antioxidant activities  and  vary  in  potency  according  to  altitudinal  and  climatic  differences.  Hence  cow  urine from  the  subalpine  zone  has  better  antibacterial  and  antioxidant  activity  thanthat  of  lower altitudinal climatic zones.