Support 200 Nepalese farmers to become food secure

This month, we bring you different project updates than we had hoped for. As mentioned in the last reports, our partner in Nepal was collaborating with the Global FEWture Alliance, based at the University of Maryland. This partnership also included financial support for the continuation and further development of the project, together with knowledge sharing and expertise collaboration among partners. However, amid the latest funding cuts that have severely impacted the development sector globally, the Global FEWture Alliance have also lost their funding. 

Even though this has inevitably resulted in the alteration of the short and medium-term action plan of the project, work does not cease. Earlier today, EWB participated in a meeting together with our partners in Nepal, Sanskriti Farms and Kathmandu University, and the University of Maryland to discuss synergies and a potential consortium around biochar. It has been agreed that the first collaborative project of the consortium could be the development of graphical resources on the use and importance of biochar, avoiding the use of any technical or academic jargon, to facilitate the understanding of the concept to every individual regardless of origin, background, language or type of expertise. The consortium is exploring meeting monthly to share progress, knowledge, and discuss next steps.

The team in Nepal has conducted the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey with all 30 biochar kiln users as well as with other non-users. In total, there are more than 100 surveys. We will discuss with the team the best way to assess the results. The outcomes are key to improving the kiln and further developing the project.  

Despite the uncertain times the sector is experiencing, we continue working with the same motivation and purpose, and we hope to bring you exciting updates in our next report. As always, thank you for supporting the project!