Tea is one of the agricultural products for which Nepal is famous. It is mostly grown in the eastern part of the country and is exported all over the world.
Tea has been grown in the Ilam district since the 1860s, and today, as in the past, many women are involved in the process – usually in picking the leaves. The women who work for large plantations frequently get lower wages than their male counterparts. Yet, things are changing, and women are playing a key role in these changes.
In collaboration with the Rural Youth Forum, students at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS) visited the district to analyse the changes which are taking place and to come up with recommendations. They looked at the benefits of specific techniques (like contour farming to avoid erosion) and of other products like cardamom, mangoes, bamboo or amrisho, the “broom grass”. In terms of alternatives, however, their main observations were related to the enormous potential of the area for agro-tourism.
Their discussions with women and young farmers in the district showed that many are already benefiting from it in terms of employment and incomes. With more and better services, the IAAS students also discovered why more and more tourists are coming to Ilam.
Text: Roshan Mehta
