As per the project agreement, we are required to hold a biannual Central Level Advisory Committee meeting. This committe is to be made up of Government representatives from each of:

• Social Welfare Council; Raju Jose
• Ministry of Agriculture; S.K. Adikhari
• Min of Local Development; Nara Hari Baral
• National Planning Commission; T.P. Panthi
• Min of Women, Children & Social Welfare; Nirma Karkhi
• AHTCS Representative; Dr. Resham Acharya
• VIVA Nepal Representative; Ciarán Göbl

Now trying to find all of these people and their phone numbers was not an easy task, especially when you speak a poor version of the Nepali language and suffer from hours of power cuts, but I managed it and the meeting was organized for friday last, Dec 5th.

I wasn't sure what to expect and I must admit I thought it was a beureaucratic exercise and a break to lovely Pokhara for them. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the constructive criticisms and active input from each member. They left with a very good image of VIVA Nepal and we came away with some very useful contacts!

A couple of weeks ago, our 15 field staff (VAHWs & Facilitators in the photo to the right) undertook the "Training of Trainers" course, ToT. Previously, our project coordinators and 2 assistants carried out most of the group trainings. This course aimed to give our field staff the necessary skills needed to facilitate the training on their own at village level.
The training lasted 7 days and the content consisted of, for example; use of training material and different formats available- dicussion, mini lecture, brainstorming, practicals etc. They also got the chance to prepare a small lecture and present it to the group. We video recorded all the individuals and had a great feedback session afterwards when we reviewed all of them. The power cuts created havock however!!!
We have seen immediate results, with the facilitators already getting involved in group trainings! To the right is Pabitra Goddar demonstrating to her own group, Himchuli in Thumki.

So as demostrated by the chairperson of the Rumja Livestock Group (right), a basic mineral lick is quite easy to put together. Now what do you need?

• 1kg of red mud, available by the mound around the farm. This is a source of iron (although the levels may vary, there are other minerals too- a soil sample will have to be examined)
• Add to this 1kg of iodinated salt- rich in iodine and sodium.
• Crush and grind very finely 10 roasted egg shells, full of calcium and phosphorus.
• Mix in enough wheat flour and water to help bind it all together, in whatever shape you like, leaving a hole in the middle to tie it up
• Sit it out in the baking sun for an afternoon an hey presto- an adequate source of minerals in a tasty lick!

So last week I spent some time with the participants of the Rumja Livestock Rearing Group in the Maachhepucchre region. You can see this beautiful mountain behind me in my profile pic! Awesome 6991m.
This Group were partaking in Animal management training and were learning about better nutrition, better breeding and better housing techniques so that they could improve their levels of production on their own farms. This means more milk and meat for the family and even allowing them to make some monetary income.
So the training was completed and it will be interesting to see how they put their new knowledge to use. I'll find out the next time I visit.
All is going well here as we approach the harvest season, a busy time for the groups, so the next training sessions will resume after that.

On a personal note, the weather is great and the tourist season is in full swing, the leeches and mozzies are nearly all gone and Pokhara is looking beautiful!
Chat soon

Apologies for my poor record of keeping this blog up to date. I don't know if anyone is reading it anyway! It's nigh on October now and I'm nearly here two months. Time flies!

Initially I spent some time trying to get the Irish project approved by the govt of Nepal and we all know how slow this kind of process can be. Now, however, VIVA Nepal is an officially recognized International Non-Government Organization (INGO) with a financial commitment in the country for 3 years. This is in the form of the Community Livestock Production Strengthening Project (CLPSP), which aims to improve the socio-economic status of 15 groups of farmers, mainly female, in the Kaski District. We will do this through skills training and improved animal/farm management. There are around 375 direct beneficiaries.

The project is in full swing now, implemented with the full support of the AHTCS- Animal Health and Training Consultancy Service, our counterpart NGO here in Nepal.