Rural Mutual Development Nepal's initiatives are focused mainly within Nepal at present. In almost 5 years of working experience in Nepal, Rural Mutual Development has periodically shifted program focus to address the current needs of the country. Keeping with the organization's global mission: 'To work with people to build a better world by increasing agricultural productivity and rural development while protecting the environment', the present day Rural Mutual Development Nepal conducts activities to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment under the following programs: Agriculture; Democracy and Human Rights; Health; Education; Clean Energy; Leadership Development; and Natural Resource Management.
Contact Information
Our Focus
Targets of 2010 4500 Improved Cooking Stoves of 46 Village Development Commeettee of Dhading District ofNepal and Model of Indoor Air free VDC Murali Bhanjyang of Dhading.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
Addressing social/cultural barriers is one of the main approaches by which households will adopt improved and cleaner fuels and technologies in Nepal. Rural Mutual Development Nepal is interested in awareness raising among all stakeholders and conducting social marketing to overcome such barriers.
Rural Mutual Development has established a network of NGOs for creating awareness in the minds of the rural inhabitants about improved cooking technologies. The program fits into the aims and objectives of most NGOs working at grassroots level in the villages. They are requested to select potential entrepreneurs and to send for training to Rural Mutual Development. These enterpreneurs will be trained in whichever technologies they wish to start a business (e.g. fuel briquettes made from charred biomass, new compact biogas technology, production of feedstock for the new biogas technology, production of improved cookstoves, etc.). Whenever the concerned NGO organizes a meeting in villages for awareness raising of improved cooking technologies, the trained artisans and entrepreneurs accompany the representatives of the NGO and participate in the program. In this way, the artisans and entrepreneurs reach new customers. Rural Mutual Development also informs representatives of banks about these programs so that the banks may finance the entrepreneurs. In case the users of these technologies lack money to pay the artisans, local women's savings groups are encouraged to lend money to the users.
National level programs on biogas and improved cooking stoves have developed standardization for biogas and improved cooking stoves. However, there is a need to diversify and develop standards for other types of improved cooking stoves to meet the demand of peri/urban areas and Rural Mutual Development Nepal hopes to contribute to this activitiy in partnership with the government and other related organizations.
Monitoring of indoor air pollution levels with and without intervention is one key area where Rural Mutual Development Nepal attempts to get involved in the coming years. However, focus will be given to partnering with the government, and other related organizations to maximize the use of limited resources and avoide duplication.
Relevant Publications or Studies
Booklets in local language on technologies developed by Rural Mutual Development; Brochures and pamphlets in English.
Our Contribution to the Partnership
Rural Mutual Development has developed many technologies, which are quite new and not yet available to other PCIA partners. They encompass new types of cookstoves, processed fuel, as well as techniques of monitoring indoor air quality. Therefore, RMD can conduct training courses to transfer the technologies to other partners. RMD has also been successfully marketing these technologies. The marketing techniques can also be transferred to other partners.
