A pioneer in organic farming is Bhairabi Aryal. This 40-year-old woman doesn’t only manage to raise 3 children, 2 daughters, and a son, but has made her farm completely organic! For as long as she can remember she has been farming, she grew up on a farm, got married later in life and started her own farm in Kishandol Tinpiple.
She proudly explains how after she got married she started out with a goat farm and later began to grow vegetables as well. After she got in contact with VIN she got the opportunity to participate in an awareness program and instantly accepted this invitation. The program made her enthusiastic about organic farming and providing clean and healthy crops. With the guidance of the program, she made her organic fertilizer from mainly goat dung and compost and uses insect killers as pesticide instead of chemicals. She got so serious and determined about going organic that she has managed not to use any chemicals anymore and can proudly announce that nowadays her farm is completely organic. This makes her one of the leaders in organic farming in Nepal, it is groundbreaking and an example that hopefully many farmers will follow. It takes a lot of courage to dare go completely organic if you are not familiar with it.
Bhairabi currently grows green vegetables such as cauliflower, gourd, beans, cucumber etcetera. It was not easy getting here, and it is also not that easy to stay where she is right now, because not every year the profit is as good and the market value also changes a lot. This makes her life and income insecure. Because it is such a struggle in finding steady and sufficient means to manage her own farm she has taken a loan from the cooperative.
On her farm she works every day and also her family is of great help to her. Everybody tries their best to help out on the farm. It is wonderful to see how the family works together and depends upon each other, even if they are studying, they try to support Bairabi on her farm.
Bairabi is very proud of her achievements and of her farm but she strives to earn more profit in the future and become not only a successful woman in being organic but also becoming a successful woman in agro farming. Her crops are being demanded by the same usual buyers, yet she hopes to be requested by many wholesalers and markets and thereby expanding her business. Expanding however is very hard as is finding new buyers. But her products are good and it is only a matter of time until the people realize that organic truly is better, for one’s health as well as for our planet’s health.
I have had the great pleasure of meeting Bairabi, a pioneer in organic farming in Nepal, let’s hope that before long many farmers will follow in her footsteps!
By Noralie van ‘t Klooster
Member of