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Naugad is a remote rural municipality in the mountains of far west Nepal with poor accessibility and limited economic opportunities, especially for women and marginalized communities
. Promotion of the natural resource-based value chain for allo (the Himalayan nettle, Girardinia diversifolia) was identified as an innovative livelihood strategy by the local community. Value chain development started in 2014. The project was designed to focus on women and include participation by the private sector. This paper analyzes the impact of the project, especially on women's lives, using primary and secondary data. A community-owned enterprise was established with private-sector support from the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation's Business Association of Home Based Workers (SABAH) Nepal. The enterprise now has 82 members (69 of them women), with 150 households benefiting directly and indirectly. SABAH Nepal provided training in sustainable harvesting and processing techniques and promotes the products in high-end international markets. A buyback guarantee scheme provides security to local artisans. The quality and range of allo products have increased markedly, as has the share in benefits for local people. Skills training and visits to trade fairs have helped women build their capacity and take a leading role in the value chain process. The community-owned enterprise members have earned up to NPR 4000 per month from sewing, more than the local rate for day labor and sufficient to cover general household expenses. More than 25 women entrepreneurs have started microbusinesses related to allo. Allo has become an important economic asset, transforming the lives of mountain women in this village area. The approach has potential for scaling up across the subtropical to temperate areas of the Himalayan region in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal
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Natural fibers have attracted considerable attention in recent years because of their low cost, renewable, and eco-friendly nature
. The study investigated the economic, social, medicinal, and traditional use of Himalayan Giant Nettle commonly called ?Allo? (Girardinia diversifolia) in Nepal. The fiber extracted from ?Allo? is one of the income sources for people living in rural mountainous region of Nepal. The traditional fiber processing techniques, use of locally available materials, and medicinal value helped to preserve ?Allo.? Nevertheless, the resource stock is declining from its natural habitat due to changes in traditional grazing practices, rapid expansion of plantation of cash crops like large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) and Chirayito (Swertia chirayita) where ?Allo? grows naturally. Cultivation, sustainable harvesting, and policy formulation on ?one-door taxation? system are important to preserve this important natural fiber species
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Indigenous knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) play an important role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
. Himalayan giant nettle (Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis), locally known as ‘allo’, has economic and cultural values for IPLCs living in the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL-Nepal) (comprising Humla, Darchula, Baitadi, Bajhang Districts) of Far-Western Nepal; and Makalu Barun National Park (comprising Shankhuwasabha and Solukhumbu Districts) of Eastern Nepal. This research discusses indigenous and local knowledge of the traditional use and practice of ‘allo’ linked with the sustainability of resources. The study investigated the cultural linkage among ‘allo’ harvesting and processing techniques, traditional medicinal practice as well as conservation practice adopted on ‘allo’ by IPLCs of Far-Western and Eastern regions of Nepal. Different parts of the ‘allo’ plant species are traditionally being used by local healers (Vaidhya) and local communities such as Bohora, Dhami, Thagunna of Darchula District use ‘allo’ as medicine for treating gastritis, joint pain, headache, tuberculosis and asthma. The Kulung Rai people of Sankhuwasabha district use clothes made of ‘allo’ fibre in their rituals. The study revealed that IPLCs use the fibre of ‘allo’ as primary material to make ropes, fishing nets, coats, pants, bags, shawls, purses and many more items to sustain their livelihoods. The traditional harvesting techniques; use of locally available materials such as wood ash, white soil; and locally made equipment like hand spindle, wooden hammer, wooden handloom help in sustainable use and conservation of ‘allo’. Increasing market demand had led to a higher supply of ‘allo’ products, hence, people started to harvest it extensively. The natural resource ‘allo’ has been declining due to high habitat competition with cash crops like Amomum subulatum. Therefore, this study identifies the existing status of ‘allo’ for management and sustainable utilisation to meet the increasing demand for resources, and attempts to share the management practices followed in two different regions of Nepal
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