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STORY: FAO / NEPAL FOREST LITTER FERTILIZERS
TRT: 03:59
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: NEPALI / NATS
DATELINE: VARIOUS, SEE THE SHOTLIST
23 JANUARY 2025, BETHANCHOWK, KAVREPALANCHOWK, NEPAL
1. Various drone shots, wildfire at night
23-28 FEBRUARY 2025, BINAYI TRIVENI RURAL MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
2. Various drone shots, forest
3. Wide shot, women cleaning forest litter from the forest floor
4. Medium shot, women cut and collect biomass from the forest floor
5. Medium shot, women load a bundle of forest litter onto scale
6. Medium shot, woman looking at scale numbers
5. Medium shot, loading bundles onto the back of a truck
6. SOUNDBITE: (Nepali) Meena Poudel, Secretary, Binayi Community Forest User Group:
“By removing unnecessary litter from the forest, we have significantly reduced the risk of fires. With fewer fires, the environment has become cleaner, which has also had a direct positive impact on human health. Additionally, the bio-fertilizers we produce after processing the waste are ‘organically pure,’ making them safer for human health and more suitable and environmentally friendly.”
7. Medium shot, Meena in the community nursery preparing the soil
8. Close up shot, calabash vine seeds in Meena’s hand
9. Close up shot, hand pushing seeds into the soil in community nursery
10. Medium shot, Meena and women preparing the soil in community nursery
11. Close up shot, hands preparing soil in community nursery
04 MARCH 2025, BHAKTAPUR, NEPAL
12. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Thakur Bhandari, Federal President, Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN):
“We advised them on how to expand the initiative further and identified the need for capital. After discussions with the local government, it has now invested in the project and arranged the necessary capital.”
13. Medium shot, people pushing bundles of biomass into a leaf shredder
14. Medium shot, shredding of biomass
15. Wide shot, shredded biomass emitted and stockpiled
01 MARCH 2025, CHITWAN, MADI MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
16. Various shots, farmer Anant Prakash Shrestha at work on his plot of communal land and administering fertilizer
17. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Anant Prakash Shrestha, Farmer:
“After applying it, we observed fewer diseases affecting our food crops. Additionally, we experienced an increase in production capacity, with better growth and development of our crops.”
23-28 FEBRUARY 2025, BINAYI TRIVENI RURAL MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
18. Medium shot, women packaging the fertilizer
19. Close-up shots, packaging fertilizer
01 MARCH 2025, CHITWAN, MADI MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
20. SOUNDBITE: (Nepali) Balu Puri, President, Binayi Community Forest User Group:
“Our community forest has become a model example. We started with one forest, but we are now gradually expanding to six to seven forests, engaging in interactive discussions to guide our work. We are also open to collaboration with others. Last year, we partnered with six community forests, and next year, we aim to expand our efforts to 42 community forests within Binayi Triveni Rural Municipality.”
23-28 FEBRUARY 2025, BINAYI TRIVENI RURAL MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
21. Wide shot, Meena Poudel working in her vegetable garden
22. Medium shot, Meena Poudel holding a cabbage
23. Close up shot, Meena holding vegetables and putting them in a pan on stove top
24. Close up shot, Meena transferring cooked vegetables into a bowl at stove top
01 MARCH 2025, CHITWAN, MADI MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
25. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Meena Poudel, Secretary, Binayi Community Forest User Group:
“We women have developed the capacity to manage our households, cover family expenses, and educate our children. Personally, I am funding my son's bachelor's degree in Kathmandu while also managing household affairs independently.”
23-28 FEBRUARY 2025, BINAYI TRIVENI RURAL MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL
26. Various drone shots, forest
In Nepal, a women's community forest user group is transforming forest litter into organic fertilizer, creating a sustainable income source while safeguarding the ecosystem.
In the Nawalpur district of western Nepal, fire outbreaks are frequent during the dry season from October to June. This makes preventive measures, such as forest litter removal, essential for conserving the forest and protecting homes, crops, livestock, and wildlife.
Members of the Binayi Community Forest User Group collect forest litter, including bark, leaves, and sticks from the forest floor, which can fuel wildfires, and convert it into organic fertilizer.
Not only are these women building a successful, climate-resilient green business, but they have also contributed to a 70 percent reduction in forest fires over the past year.
Meena Poudel, Secretary of Binayi Community Forest User Group said, “By removing unnecessary litter from the forest, we have significantly reduced the risk of fires. With fewer fires, the environment has become cleaner, which has also had a direct positive impact on human health. Additionally, the bio-fertilizers we produce after processing the waste are "organically pure," making them safer for human health and more suitable and environmentally friendly.”
Meena is one of 20 women in the Binayi Community Forest User Group who began producing fertilizer 10 years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic and an earthquake interrupted their activities, which were later revived in 2022.
At that time, the Binayi enterprise produced 12 500 kilograms per year of biofertilizer. Today, the women generate 60 000 kilograms annually and their target is to scale up to 125 000 kilograms.
To get started, the Binayi Group initially used funding grants which were allocated to them as marginalized women in business and for forest management.
They then sought and received support from the Forest and Farm Facility, a partnership hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its local partner, the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN).
Thakur Bhandari, Federal President of the Federation of Community Forestry Users of Nepal (FECOFUN) said, “We advised them on how to expand the initiative further and identified the need for capital. After discussions with the local government, it has now invested in the project and arranged the necessary capital.”
The municipal government provided a 50 percent subsidy to scale up production by investing in new machinery and specialist advice on soil to help meet the standard required for market expansion.
By supporting the initiative, local government has helped to create employment opportunities. 400 people now have jobs thanks to the enterprise, and local farmers have increased their safe food production by using the organic fertilizer.
Farmer Anant Prakash Shrestha shares 24 acres of communal land, where he grows rice, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables. Anant tested three products before choosing the Binayi biofertilizer.
Farmer Anant Prakash Shrestha said, “After applying it, we observed fewer diseases affecting our food crops. Additionally, we experienced an increase in production capacity, with better growth and development of our crops.”
Local government nurseries are also using the fertilizer to nourish seedlings, meaning waste which once threatened the forest is now enriching forest growth.
Balu Puri, President of Binayi Community Forest User Group said, “Our community forest has become a model example. We started with one forest, but we are now gradually expanding to six to seven forests, engaging in interactive discussions to guide our work. We are also open to collaboration with others. Last year, we partnered with six community forests, and next year, we aim to expand our efforts to 42 community forests within Binayi Triveni Rural Municipality”.
The biofertilizer enterprise has transformed the life and economic circumstances of Meena Poudel, her family and many in the Binayi Triveni community.
Meena Poudel said,“We women have developed the capacity to manage our households, cover family expenses, and educate our children. Personally, I am funding my son's bachelor's degree in Kathmandu while also managing household affairs independently.”
With roughly 43 percent of Nepal covered by trees, protecting forests while creating sustainable livelihoods is crucial for many communities across the country. Other groups from around Nepal are visiting the Binayi women to study their model and explore ways to replicate it. The women’s innovation aligns with FAO’s mission to promote climate resilience, global food security and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It also reflects Earth Day’s call to action to protect ecosystems as humanity's common home, while shifting to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.
Earth Day is an annual global event, held on April 22. It involves activities in over 193 countries which are aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues and encouraging individuals and communities to promote sustainability.
