IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2010) 1–1

Research article
erd

Building Capacity for Sustainable Rural Development:
Lessons from Nepal
MURARI SUVEDI
Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies,
Michigan State University, Michigan, USA
Email: suvedi@msu.edu
Received 15 January 2010

Accepted 5 March 2010

Abstract Rural development has been a buzzword in recent years among international
development professionals. Numerous programs and policies have been implemented
worldwide to bring about positive development in rural areas. Consistent with such efforts,
we have introduced a series of projects to promote sustainable livelihoods in the village ofHamsapur, Nepal, such as developing a system to supply clean drinking water, a storage
system for potatoes, and a computer lab to improve education quality. The purpose of thispaper is to illustrate the need for building human capacity to sustain benefits fromdevelopment projects. Qualitative data derived from observation and key informant
interviews were used to assess impacts. Findings indicate that these projects did not meet
our expectations of improving livelihoods in a sustainable way. Some changes resulting
from the projects did not last long, and others could not be continued after external support
was withdrawn. The main reason for lack of long-term sustainability was the lack of local
capacity, specifically, a lack of knowledge and skills by locals that are critical to planningand implementing development projects and associated activities. The beneficiaries wereunable to maintain the projects locally.
Keywords capacity building, rural development, Nepal

INTRODUCTION
Over four-fifths of the people of Nepal live in rural areas. Farming is their main occupation. They
grow crops and tend livestock in a small land area. They understand the interdependence between
nature and people. They practice subsistence agriculture that has sustained many generations. For
generations, they followed a social system that governs their way of life. Rural development in thiscontext could be synonymous with agricultural development.
International donor communities have widely recognized the need for rural development as ameans to end hunger, poverty, inequality and unemployment in developing countries. National
planners have adopted various plans and policies to promote rural development through a variety of
programs, such as agricultural extension services for farmers, rural credit and cooperatives forfarmers and entrepreneurs, construction of farm-to-market access roads, and irrigation schemes toincrease crop yields. Development projects were implemented, but in many cases they were
ineffective due to poor implementation and management (Government of Nepal, 2007). Of course,
progress has been made to improve the livelihoods of many millions in rural areas. Policy reforms
contributed to economic growth in the early 1990s. However, the initial momentum generated by
the reforms began to wane by 1995 (Shakya, 2002). The rate of progress has not met the
expectations of development professionals (Mishra, 2006; Panday, 1983). Moreover, some of thechanges made by development projects were short-lived. Many project activities could not be
continued by the local people after the donors pulled out. Local people did not have the financial
and managerial capacity to maintain the development projects in their communities. To put it
simply, although well intended, many development programs or projects have not been sustainable(Panday, 1983; Shakya, 2002; Nepal South Asia Center, 1998).

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Sustainable development has been a buzzword in development literature. Global dialog on theconcept and issues of sustainability began in the late 1970s (Orr, 2002). Scholars and practitioners
continue to debate about what is to be sustained, and how we measure sustainability (Bell andMorse, 2000). Thompson (2007) argues that definition and conceptualization of sustainability havebeen philosophically open ended and continuously evolving tasks. Many tend to agree with thedefinition of sustainability advanced by the World Commission on Environment and Developmentin 1987: “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to do the same.” Similarly, there seems to be agreement on three primary dimensionsof sustainability: social, economic and environmental. To some extent these dimensions overlap.
Michigan State University, in collaboration with a local school and a non-governmentalorganization, introduced a series of micro-projects to promote sustainable livelihoods in the villageof Hamsapur, Nepal. These development programs included development of a system to supply
clean drinking water, potato storage, and computer education at a public high school. This paper
outlines the nature of these micro-projects, describes how they were implemented, and discusses
the lessons learned for sustainable development.
METHODSThis paper is based on a case study approach. A household survey was used to establish socioeconomic benchmarks of the community. A survey instrument developed by the United Nations
Development Program of Nepal was adopted. Trained interviewers conducted surveys of 838
households. Data were coded and entered into SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, including
percentages, range, mean and standard deviations were used to analyze the data.
Observations and informal interviews with key informants were used to describe project
implementation and impacts. The researcher visited the study area every year, taking digital photos,
interviewing beneficiaries, observing changes over time, and listening to key informants about
issues and impacts. Notes were reviewed, organized by project, and analyzed to draw conclusions.
Findings are presented as case studies.
RESULTS
Hamsapur is a typical hilly cluster of villages located in western Nepal near Pokhara. The populationof the village is diverse, comprising Gurungs and Magars (major ethnic groups), Bishwokarma,
Nepali/Magrati, Gharti/Bhujel, Bahuns and Chhetris. Education of the population is a critical factor
for sustainable development. To respond to change, people must be able to read and write tounderstand messages for change. Table 1 show that in 2006, about one-fifth of the population ofHamsapur was illiterate. Although there seems to be an equal proportion of the population
attending primary school and high school, higher caste people (e.g., Bahun, Newar and Chhetri)tend to pursue higher education more frequently than people from other castes or ethnic groups.
Table 1 Educational level of school age population by caste/ethnicity (N= 4,302)
Caste/Ethnicity
Bahun
ChhetriPariyarGharti/Bhujel
GurungMagar
Bishwokarma
Nepali/Magrati
Newar

N
2,194
114
64
197
566
137
656
135
241

Illiterate
Literate/
High School(%)
Primary (%)
(%)
17.1
27.7
28.1
16.7
43.9
25.4
17.2
29.7
18.8
23.4
35.0
23.4
15.0
38.5
31.6
24.8
34.3
32.1
33.8
43.6
8.7
31.1
33.3
16.3
20.3
25.3
26.1

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Higher
Education (%)
21.2
10.5
4.7
5.6
7.4
7.3
2.6
4.4
17.4

Currently
Studying (%)
5.9
3.5
29.7
12.7
7.4
1.5
11.3
14.8
10.8

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Over 90 percent indicated that they are engaged in farming. Respondents were asked toindicate their total household incomes, derived from various sources. Crop yield and livestock
production, salary and wages, including pension and remittances of all family members, were
included in the household income computations. Table 2 shows the total household income forvarious caste and ethnic groups. It should be noted that some households did not report income.
Table 2 Household’ annual income by caste/ethnic group (N=802)
Caste/Ethnic Group
Bahun
ChhetriPariyarGharti/Bhujel
GurungMagar
Bishwokarma
Nepali/Magrati
Newar

N
415
23
10
41
102
18
123
28
42

Mean Household Income(Nepali Rupees)
131,309
113,842
142,280
99,893
177,993
199,642
69,684
98,13690,876

SD
219,932
114,172
153,169
88,693
336,149
266,290
97,30061,44448,928Exchange rate as of January 25, 2010: USD 1 = Nepali Rupees 74.4

As shown in Table 2, Bishwokarma (traditional blacksmith caste) had the lowest householdincome. Magar households had the highest income, followed by Gurung. The Bahun and Chhetri
households, although they belong to a high caste, had incomes lower than Magar, Gurung andPariyar but higher than those of Bishwokarma, Nepali/Magrati, Newar and Gharti/Bhujel.
Micro-development Projects: We introduced a series of micro-development projects in Hamsapur.
These projects included the construction of a drinking water system, bee keeping, raising of goatsand pigs for income generation, promotion of coffee for cash income, potato storage, anddevelopment of a computer lab with Internet access to improve education. The following sections
present three of these projects as case studies.
Case I - Drinking Water System: Drinking water is the major problem for Hamsapur residents
during the dry season. The village is situated on the southern slope of an independent mountain andthe mountain does not have a permanent spring to supply drinking water via gravity. Beginning inNovember, most water holes and springs at higher altitudes dry up as the monsoon ceases; thevillagers are forced to go farther down the slopes to collect water from permanent springs/waterholes. During December through May, women spend about three hours daily carrying pots ofdrinking water to meet family needs.
The shortage of drinking water has forced many households to migrate to the Terai region of
Nepal or relocate their houses to the lower valleys. However, many villagers have neither the landin the valleys nor the resources to move their households. Needless to say, the poorest of the poor
have no place to go for an improved quality of life.
In February 2000, the Mothers Group of Hamsapur approached the author of this paper toassist in finding appropriate help to address the drinking water situation in this village. During avillage gathering, the local people agreed that a water user committee would be formed. The wateruser committee was tasked with setting policies for water distribution, mobilizing local people tovolunteer for project implementation, and collecting monthly water user fees for managing thewater supply.
The Rotary Club of Traverse City, Michigan sponsored this drinking water project. The Rotary
Club of Pokhara, Nepal worked closely with the local Water User Group and an NGO, Indragufa
Community Development Foundation, to implement the project. The author of this paper facilitatedcoordination of all partners for the project’s implementation.
The major project activities included construction of a collection reservoir at Kurlungkhola;construction of a small pump house adjacent to the intake reservoir; and installation of a pump tolift water to the first reservoir (325 meters from the intake tank) and to the second reservoir (294
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meters from the first reservoir). During the monsoon season, the electric pump may not need to be
operational because water pipelines from a natural spring are connected to the second reservoir,using gravity to send the water to the reservoir. This system should provide a year-round watersupply to almost 80 percent of water users in the village. To reach the remaining population,
primarily in upper Syaklung, a third pump was installed at the second reservoir. Construction work
started in May 2001 and was completed in February 2004. The supply of clean drinking water
began in March 2004. A local person was trained to operate the system. Approximately 240
households benefited from the drinking water supply system.
One of the major problems for the system has been lack of a consistent supply of electrical
power. Frequent lightning in the area and the fluctuation in electrical voltage blew the electricalfuse at the control panel. Every year, lightning damaged the motor or burned out the coiling inside
the pump. The local people spent significant resources repairing the pump. Other problems
included lack of timely payment or non-payment of water user fees by some households. In
absence of an appropriate incentive for managing and maintaining the water system, the leadershipof the local Water User Committee became dysfunctional. Despite the frequent interruptions inwater supply and lack of leadership, the system was operational for five years. In 2009, the water
pump at the base station was damaged badly and the water supply was not operational for the entire
dry season. In January 2010, a new submersible pump replaced the old one, and the water supply
has been restored. Challenges of maintenance, management and responsible fee payment are still
to be addressed.
Case II - Potato Storage: Potato is a relatively new crop in the middle hills and valleys of Western
Nepal. Farmers began planting potatoes in the 1970s. Many farmers of Hamsapur now growpotatoes. They harvest their potato crops in April and sell them at a low price, but they buy seedpotatoes in October/November at very expensive prices. If farmers could store their potatoes forabout six months, they could significantly increase their income from the sale of potatoes when
demand is higher and supplies lower than at harvest time.
A group of farmers requested this researcher to demonstrate potato storage. The cost of
constructing a community-based potato storage facility was funded by the Empower Nepal
Foundation. Local farmers agreed to pay a small fee for the storage of their potatoes. It was
proposed that the storage fee collected would be reinvested to build additional storage facilities forneighboring farmers during the second year and so on. Indragufa Community Development
Foundation agreed to work with the local farmers’ group to mobilize their resources and to build
the demonstration potato storage facility.
The potato storage facility was constructed in 2001. The farmer who owned the storage facility
indicated that he would begin storing the potato crop in 2002. He, however, was concerned if theright temperature and humidity could be maintained inside the storage facility. Once the storage
facilty was complete, it stayed idle for a few years. No farmers used the potato storage facility.
When asked why they did not use the storage facility, farmers said:• “Needed cash, so I sold my potato crop immediately after the harvest. I did not need the storage.”• “I grow potato only for my family’s use. I did not need the storage.”• “We don’t know if the potato stays good for 5-6 months. What would happen if the crop got
rotten? Who will pay for the loss?”
Case III - Computer Lab to Improve Education Quality: Ramkot Higher Secondary School islocated about 35 kilometers southeast of Pokhara. It has over 400 students in grades 6 through 12.
The school has 13 teachers and two support staff members. English, math, science, social studies,
Nepali languages, and health studies are taught at the school. Twelve elementary schools and two
middle schools in Hamsapur Village Development Committee feed students to Ramkot Higher
Secondary School.
In March 2007, this researcher met with the Ramkot Higher Secondary School Management
Committee to jointly develop a master plan for systemic educational quality improvement. The
master plan included the use of technology in teaching and learning, construction of newclassrooms and lab facilities, engagement of parents and volunteers in school improvement
activities, and offering of technical training to enhance employment opportunities for graduates.
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A computer lab having nine computers, access to wireless Internet, and a printer was
established at Ramkot Higher Secondary School. The computer lab was intended primarily for use
by the school teachers and students. Other professionals working in the area such as healthtechnicians, agriculture extension workers, and Village Development Committee staff members
could also access the computer lab on a “fee for use” basis.
The computer lab was originally set up in a small classroom at Ramkot Higher Secondary
School. It was under direct supervision of the school administration. It was agreed that Ramkot
Higher Secondary School would identify one or two teachers having basic knowledge of computer
and/or showing strong interest in using computers. These teachers would be sent elsewhere forcomputer training. Upon their return, they would serve as instructors. They were expected toreceive periodic upgrading courses as needed. The school would be expected to formulate policies
and guidelines for the day-to-day operation of the computer lab. It was agreed that the computerlab would be open for students during school hours and open to community members andprofessionals during weekends and after-school hours. A small user-fee was proposed to sustain theoperation of the computer lab.
It has been three years since the computer lab with Internet access became operational and thecomputers are kept covered to protect from dust. However, no teacher has been given full
responsibility to manage the computer lab and/or offer classes to students and teachers. One teacher
is assigned to look after all hardware and software on an ad-hoc basis. This teacher is asked to sende-mails for the school and uses word processing software to type examination questions andimportant school communications. The lab has never opened its door to students and not manyteachers have made use of this facility. When asked why the lab is not made open to students andteachers, the head master and members of the School Management Committee said,· “We had limited classroom space, so we had to move the computers to our office area. Now
we have new classrooms and we hope to have one room dedicated to the computer lab. Soon,
we will start offering computer training to students and interested teachers.”· “Computer is not required in the curriculum, so there is no position for a computer teacher. As
a result, we are unable to offer computer classes.”· “The classes are scheduled from 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. There is not free time to schedule acomputer class. It is possible that we could offer computer classes either before or after the
regular school classes to interested students. We can offer computer classes if we have a hostel
at our school.”
It should be noted that a few teachers and the school librarian have shown interest in learning
how to use the computer. During a recent visit to the school, many students approached thisresearcher indicating that they are truly interested in learning the use of computer for word
processing and Internet access.
CONCLUSIONS
Hamsapur is a typical hill village of Nepal. Most households are subsistence farmers. Althoughschool participation has improved in recent years, local people lack skills to manage technologicalaspects of rural development. For example, graduates from local high school have not skills inusing electrical tools or plumbing equipments, and there is no easy access to receive training. Most
development projects focus on technologies that require the use of electricity, operation of amachine or equipment. Thus, building local capacity is imperative.
We have found that human capacity is the fundamental factor in the sustaining benefits ofrural development programs. Despite the fact that drinking water is a real need of the people ofHamsapur, local capacity to maintain the system was missing. The project did not include trainingof the local people as electricians and plumbers. They did not receive proper training on how to use
the plumbing and electrical tools and equipments. Instead of building local capacity to prevent
possible problems in the operation of the drinking water supply, the project depended on outside
expertise for repairing the broken pumps. This increased the community’s dependency on theoutside world and reducing local capacity for development.
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The case of potato storage suggests that we, as development professionals, tend to movequickly to address problems without fully studying the nature and scope of a problem. It seems that
long-term storage was not a real need of most of the farmers, who grow potatoes mainly for homeconsumption. Further, farmers having low levels of education are unable to comprehend the need tomaintain stable room temperature and humidity for potato storage. Their perceived and real risk oflosing the crop was greater than the potential long-term financial benefit of the storage. It would
have been appropriate to demonstrate potato storage for a couple of years at no cost so the local
farmers could learn from the experience, and adopt the practice after a few years if perceived as
valuable to them. Again, building local capacity through a demonstration project would help thetransfer of technology.
Use of computers has changed the way we do business globally. All businesses and industriesof the modern world use computers for their operation. Teaching computers at high school has
proven to be necessary for graduates to find employment. Many educational resources are now
made available online. However, in the context of rural Nepal, most public schools have no
infrastructure or resources to offer computer education to students. School teachers who never used
computers have little appreciation of computer education. The school curriculum does not require
use of computers. Accordingly, the government does not support computer teacher positions inpublic schools. In such a context, how can public schools begin offering computer literacy to theirstudents? Questions abound. Who is responsible to develop computer literacy among high school
students? What should be the role of the government? What should be the role of local schools andparents? Do development planners and policy makers realize that that students’ ability to use
computer is a corner stone for building local capacity for rural development in the 21st century?
In our work in Nepal, we emphasized community needs assessment, allocation of resources toaddress needs identified by the community, and insurance of participation by local people inproject implementation. Nevertheless, our projects did not achieve their potential, particularly overthe long term. We learned that participation in project planning and implementation is a necessary
but not sufficient condition for sustainable development. Developing local capacity to manage thechange over the long term is imperative, and should be addressed specifically during projectplanning. We suggest that development projects should develop the skills of the local people
through training so they could operate and maintain machinery and equipments. More importantly,
keeping the capacity in the village, either by incentivizing trained people to stay or by developing asystem for training others to replace them, is essential for sustainable rural development.
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Bell, S. and Morse, S. (2000) Sustainability indicators. Measuring the Immeasurable, Earthscan, UK.
Government of Nepal (2007) Three year interim plan: 2007/08-2009/10. National Planning Commission,
Nepal.
Nepal South Asia Center (1998) Nepal human development report 1998. Nepal.
Mishra, C. (2006) Development and underdevelopment, A preliminary sociological perspective. Capitalism
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Shakya, S. (2002) The squandering of a promising economy. State of Nepal, Himal Press, Nepal.
World Commission of Environment and Development (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press,
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