F.a: Women Leadership in Food Sovereignty and Environmental Democracy in Nepal

General

The proposed project is a continuation of an earlier project. The project will be implemented in Rautahat District and it focuses on four major interventions, a) support to involve targeted women in farming, b) support to improve targeted women?s social an d economic entrepreneurial capacity, c) support to include targeted women?s food security, food sovereignty and biodiversity related needs and concerns inlocal government?s policies, strategies and plans, and d) advocate for providing land to the landless Dalits and Dalit women. Through the project it is expected that: a) Dalit women get land and have their ownership, do farming, produce their food by themselves and start to make their lives secured in food, b) Dalit women engage in climate and disaster res ilient farming with the diversification of high value crops so that, they experience impervious, better-off and comfortable lives in the society, and c) Dalit women become able to incorporate their plans into local government?s program and budget and get c ontinue support in future too. Women groups from the earlier project area will continue to produce vegetables in their habitat areas or lease the land. They will also be involved in diversification of nutritious and high value vegetable crops by advancing their knowledge and skills. Continued social mobilization and capacity building process will empower them to raise their voices for land and food rights strongly and also integrate their real needs into local government?s annual programs. The new addition al groups will be capacitated to adjust with the existing groups. The project will continue with existing seven groups of 160 households in Rautahat District. There will be addition of maximum seven groups of the poorest, marginalized and landless Dalits women in Madhesh, totalling more than 150 households. Hence, there will be more than 300 women producers or households as direct beneficiaries and around 150 indirect beneficiaries (elected representatives and citizens). HIMAWANTI Nepal in technical suppor t with WLCN (Women Leading for Change in Natural Resource Management) will cooperate with local government. HIMAWANTI Nepal will also regularly coordinate with district level Land Rights Forum, Dalit organizations, other concerned stakeholders related to a griculture, livestock, land and province government to for effective implementation of the project.