The project area is located in the buffer zone of Makalu-Barun National Park in the northeast of Nepal. Around 35,000 people inhabit the buffer zone: the majority of them are members of the Rai ethnic group.

The remote project area is located in steep hilly terrain between 700 m and 2200 m, a seven-day walk from the nearest road head. It is characterised by low soil fertility, high rainfall, proneness to landslides, poor infrastructure, food deficit and limited income opportunities.  The inhabitants are mainly dependent on subsistence farming (corn and millet) which does not produce sufficient food for the entire year. Many families supplement their needs from the forests in the form of fuel wood, herbs, and fruit; seasonal migration for wage-earning jobs is common.

Fighting Poverty in the Arun Valley

Starting in 2003, Eco Himal will conduct a rural development project in this area which was developed in close cooperation with the local population based on the experiences gained in the earlier project. The main objectives are poverty alleviation and empowerment of the village communities.

Activities will be focused on infrastructure, agriculture & livestock and income generation. Additional areas of intervention such as education, health & hygiene, natural resource management and biodiversity conservation as well as emancipation of women are part of this holistic concept for improving the living conditions of the local population.

The main strategic feature is the participatory approach, i.e. planning and implementing project activities through the villagers themselves. The so-called Community Development Committees (CDCs) will eventually be registered as cooperatives to ensure that the project ideas will be carried out by the farmers on a continued basis.