Why this project ?

Products of the farmers are either under-priced or undersold.
Support small landless farmer- via cooperatives- secure marketfor the product .

Specific object: Strengthen the capacities of farmer or forest user groups, cooperatives, and agribusinesses involved in the value chain for better functioning of the whole value chain, especially the direct benefiting rural poor.

Workign Area: 17 VDCs of Surkhet district in 6 clusters

Activities:
Feasibility study in 25 potential VDCs
Inception Workshop with line agencies : DFO, NGOs, District coop

Some of the major activities:

• Market search and selection : (Alternative Herbal Products AHP), Kathmandu.
• Business negotiation meeting with Cooperatives and AHP for price fixation of Chiuri seeds.
• VDC level interaction meeting for cooperative selection : 11 coops were selected from 17 VDCs
• Agreement between Cooperatives and AHP. With eight cooperative from 17 VDCs
• Agreement with minimum 25 mt from 8 coops
• Radio advertisement for awareness raising on chiuri business, collection and drying method and preservation of chiuri trees.
• Construction of plastic house & drying rack. (nine houses and twenty-one drying racks in first year 2009/10 constructed
• Chiuri collection card.For 38 groups with 1040 farmers
• Training on “Quality maintenance of chiuri seeds” by AHP
• Collection, sorting, cleaning, drying, grading and storage of chiuri seeds
• Preparation of legal papers to dispatch the seeds
• Collction and (agreement-24100Kg , collected-31288 Kg)

 Involvement of marginal group and women in Chiuri seed business

• Same location for both residence of those people and Churi production.
• No more economic effort to produce the Chiuri seeds as well as its collection.
• Women can collect the seeds by using less physical effort compare to other work ( as cooking)
• No need to use advanced equipment and technology to collect and dry the seeds.
• Seeds are purchased by local cooperatives at their own VDC, So, it is more reliablejob for collectors.