Eastern Bhutan
Project Site Visit
Team Members: Tirtha Rana, Sonam Tsoki Tenzin,
Gopilal Acharya (Communications Consultant),
Damber Singh
Sites:
Trashigang, Mongar, Bumthang &
Wangduephodrang
7-17 June 2012
Compiled by Sonam Tsoki Tenzin
Communications Officer | UNDP Bhutan
Objective:
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Visit project sites to study progress and lessons learned
Obtain success stories for communications (Annual Report | RBAP
contributions | Administrators Award)
Update photo database
9-11 June Trashigang Dzongkhag
Projects covered: Integrated Livestock and Crop Conservation Project + Food Security + Rural Livelihoods Income
Generation
Gewogs & Chiwogs covered: Uzorong, Samkhar, Bartsam, Mongka, Bepam, Pam, Lungtenzampa, Khabti Bikhar, Bartsam
Mongka and Bepam are two small villages perched on steep slanting hills and home
to 70 households in Uzorong. A young 18 km feeder road that is a precarious 1000
mt drop is the way to access the two villages. Due to the harsh terrain and
geographical location, water is a scarce commodity inevitably restricting their
agricultural activities.
In order to address the needs of the two communities, UNDP provided support in
the form of the ILCCP. Initiated in 2009, the ILCCP is an alternate solution for
communities to preserve indigenous livestock and crop conservation.
The Department of Livestock is one of the implementing counterparts. Through this
collaboration initiated in 2009, the two communities receive substantial support to rear and
raise native livestock.
Each household rears on an average 3 pigs and 15 hens, the cost of the pigpens and poultry
sheds have been funded by UNDP and the Department of Livestock has provided the
manpower for the construction for the pigpens. CGI sheets and cement were provided to
each household for the pigpens. Additionally, basic training on rearing the native livestock
has also been provided to the members.
The two community’s financial status has improved with the sale of pigs and eggs to
neighboring communities. The sale provides them with a steady income and allows
them to be financially secure.
Both communities have set up a savings account where each member contributes a
small sum of Nu. 50 - Nu. 100 on a monthly basis. Their earnings allow them to send
children to school, purchase feed for the livestock and vegetables that are not
cultivated in their communities.
Interestingly, most of the activities are managed by the women. Each group has one
male Chairman who deals with their daily requirements and transportation
coordination. However, due to social and religious norms it has been found that
people are not very eager to expand business as a meat supplying cooperative.
The men have turned to part time construction jobs earning a daily wage. The
women say rearing livestock is not labor intensive and easy to run, they feed the
pigs with kitchen and farm waste besides their feed. In addition, they now cultivate
sufficient crop to feed their families improving their diet.
Lhatu, 60 years old is the Chairman of the Mongka group and says that members are
happy with the option of rearing the native pig and they will continue this business
even in the later years. Meanwhile, he says the government has taken into consideration their water issues. They have been
promised water by the end of 2012 and he says this will improve their agricultural produce.
Speaking to the Bepam Chairman Kinzang Tshering, he says that the poultry group has
immensely benefitted all the members. Since started in 2009, they developed a market and
supply eggs and chicken to the neighboring communities of Kanglung and Trashigang. He is
positive that this initiative will continue and hopes it will be further replicated other smaller
communities as well.
NOT SURE IF WE SHOULD MENTION THE SALE OF POULTRY IS THREE TIMES A MONTH,
10,20, 30 OF THE CALENDAR; SALES OUTLETS; ACCOUNTS KEEPING ETC. AND ALSO
MENTION THE LACK OF INCUBETORS, PROPER COOPS AND FEEDS AND MANAGEMENT OF
POULTRY AFTER THEIR AGE.
Diary Cooperatives Trashigang:
The team also visited the diary cooperatives of Pam, Lungtenzampa, and Khabti Bikhar. These are three small diary communities
located in Samkhar Gewog. Upon visiting the sites, the team noted that the cooperatives maintain daily collection records,
accounting registers and have the basic equipment to collect and store and process milk:
- Milk containers and
measuring cans
- Milk separators and churners
- Deep freezers
- Lactometer (to assess the
quality of milk only in Pam)
- Hired transportation facility
For delivering milk they have hired
vehicles on a contract basis, and
payment is made from the group savings.
In Pam: The Chairman of the cooperative is elected every two years at their general meeting. They also have a 3 member audit
team who conduct an internal audit annually for transparency and disclosure of the income generated. Additionally the cooperative
also has a grocery shop which provides the members with ration saving them time and expenses from having to travel to the main
town center.
The cooperatives supply their milk and products (cheese, butter, butter milk and skimmed milk) to the Sherubtse College located in
Kanglung, hotels and other neighboring communities. They hope that they will be able to set up an outlet in Kanglung as it will
reduce transportation expenses for them.
Lungtenzampa Diary Cooperative (Khabti Bikhar) is a butter and
cheese manufacturing outlet for the Khapti Bikhar milk collection
point. It is the central collection point for 3 rural communities and was
established in 2009. The cooperative initially collected milk and
manually churned butter and cheese. Since then, they have
progressed and enhanced their production by investing in mechanical
churners and a separating machine to process their cheese. In the
past it took them 2 hours to manually churn 100 liters of milk. With
their machines, they now churn over 135 liters in less than half an
hour. The rates for their products:
- Cheese per ball Nu 25
- Butter per cube Nu 270
- Butter milk per liter Nu 25
Chairman Kencho says that the Lungtenzampa cooperative has been used as an example and they have also received visitors from
other Dzongkhags on feasibility studies. The Department of Livestock will soon be replicating their success in the remote
dzongkhag of Gasa.
UNDP assistance has been in the form of training and expanding the cooperatives by ensuring that the Cooperatives Act was
drafted and endorsed. Although the cooperatives are doing well, they do face some challenges, like lack of technical knowledge, proper
trainings or exposures, lack of facilities and knowledge in diversifying their products.
Bartsam Incense Production Unit | Trashigang:
In Bartsam, the team visited the Incense Production Unit which is supported by the
UNDP Rural Micro Enterprise Project. Established as Pem Tenzing’s initiative, the
production unit has grown into a successful business venture with support from
UNDP. From a time when incense was produced manually and intensive labor
actitivies, he has today procured a set of incense blending machines which have
eased workload by more than half in his factory.
In addition to 3 staff, Pem Tenzing also hires school dropouts as employees. He
supplies incense to Thimphu, Mongar, Trashigang, Samdrupjonkhar, Yangtse and
Lhuentse. This business has proven successful and he is able to meet his supply
demand mainly due to the support provided by UNDP in procuring the heavy duty
machines.
His main challenges lie in obtaining the ingredients required to make the incense.
Most of the materials are imported from India and what is available in Bhutan, has to
be cleared by the Forest Department.
In turn he has been able to have a small impact on the economic development of his
village as he purchases ingredients and provides employment to the people of his
community and neighboring ones.
Yayung Chamomile Pilot Plantation | Mongar:
During the 3 days in Mongar Dzongkhag, the team
visited the ongoing UNDP assisted projects.
The first visit was to the pilot chamomile plantation at
Yayung. It is a three year pilot project and the only one
of its kind.
48 year old Ugyen Wangchuk is the volunteer farmer
who has taken up the proposal from the government.
In return for testing chamomile cultivation on his land,
he receives a stipend during the cultivation and harvest
season.
He has dedicated 7 terraces of his fields to this project and 2 years of the pilot have been completed. He has also been provided with
one distillation plant to produce oil from the harvested chamomile. However, he says the distillation process is very slow and the
release of oil is very less.
Chaskar Incense Production Unit | Mongar:
Initiated by 30 year old Tenzin Dorji, the Chaskar Incense Production Unit is a
thriving business today. It is supported by UNDP’s Rural Micro Enterprise project
and was established in 2009.
In addition he has been able to support his local community by purchasing some
indigenous ingredients and employing young people from other communities as
well.
With the purchase of machines through the UNDP project, he is able to
manufacture more incense and increase his supply to the capital and neighboring
towns of Mongar, Trashigang, Samdrupjonkar, Phuentsholing and Lhuentse.
Diary Cooperatives| Mongar:
The team met with the members of the Chaskar Diary Cooperative which was one of
the first diary cooperatives established in the late 1990s. Currently with 24 members
and little over 2 lakhs in their group savings, the cooperative is very successful.
The cooperative serves both as a milk collection point and a milk processing unit.
They produce cheese, butter and butter milk as well.
Out of the 24 members, 17 are females. The Secretary of the cooperative is also a
young girl who manages their daily records and keeps accounts of sales as well.
Ngatsang Diary Cooperative| Mongar:
The Ngatsang cooperative functions as a sales outlet where rural products like
cheese, butter, dried maize and banana chips among other local items are sold. It
comprises of 10 members and their monthly sales total close to Nu. 40,000.
The group savings has a little over 1 lakh and they have invested in billet mushroom
plantation to raise their income and expand their business.
Over 50 households benefit lucratively from this initiative which is supported by the
Royal Government as well.
Thengnabi Diary Cooperative| Mongar:
Thengnabi cooperative is a small cooperative with 13 active members who deposit
milk at this collection point. As with the other cooperatives practice, here too they
have a chairman, secretary and staff.
180 liters of milk is collected daily and sold in the town area of Mongar. The team
was informed that there are 10 similar cooperatives in Mongar.
However in Thengnabi, they are yet to receive the refrigerators, cooling tanks and
other equipment required for processing milk. They hope to expand their
cooperative into a more lucrative business.
Income Generation Support Programme (IGSP) Beneficiaries | Mongar
The team visited the IGSP beneficiaries in the Mongar Dzongkhag. Rinzin Wangmo (24)
graduated from the entrepreneurship course that was supported by UNDP in 2009. By 2010, she
selected Mongar as her venue to set up her business. Today she is one of the 5 tailors in Mongar.
Business continues to boom for her and she is grateful that with UNDP support she is able to
provide for her family. Interestingly, she was also able to support her husband’s education.
Tashi Tshomo (24) is another beneficiary of the IGSP who has the advantage of running one of
Mongar’s two IT stores. Her background was in hardware maintenance and with upon completing
the entrepreneurship course, she initially set up a photocopy store equipped with one desktop
computer and one printer. At present, her business has expanded into a store that additionally
supplies computer parts and accessories stories as well.
Khandu Ongmo (27) used to be a freelance tourist guide. However her interest lied running a
successful bakery. In 2010 she completed the entrepreneurship course and invested in her bakery.
Together with her husband, they produce 20 items for their bakery.
With UNDP support she was able to procure her heavy duty oven, baking moulds and other items
which helped her turn her business into a successful venture.
Pema Jugney (28) is another successful recipient of the IGSP. He runs a successful carpentry unit in Mongar
supplying chairs, beds and shelves among other items. His monthly sales generate over 20 thousand which
permits him to repay his loan.
In turn he has also trained local school students as apprentices.
Kinzang (27) completed the entrepreneurship training and set up his tailoring shop
in Gyelposing, Mongar in 2010. In addition he was also trained by the UNIDO and
Singapore International Foundation in western designs.
SHOULD WE MENTION ON THE MESSAGE THAT WE GAVE THEM TO TRY AND
BUILD UP THEIR BUSINESS AND TRY TO ENGAGE THE OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTHS
OR ANY OTHER INTERESTED ONES SO THAT THEY NOT ONLY SUSTAIN THEIR
BUSINESS BUT ALSO TRY TO HELP OTHERS TO SECURE A JOB AND IF ANY
ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED IN THE FUTURE TO APPROACH MOLHR FOR
GUIDANCE.
ILCCP Bumthang
The ILCCP projects supports indigenous livestock and crop conservation. In
Bumthang the team visited the organic buckwheat group which was established in
2009.
By the end of 2011, the group has successfully launched their outlet where they
function as a bakery and a sales outlet for their organic products.
According to the District Agricultural Officer, the group is doing extremely well and
has created a market for themselves.
The team also visited the organic farm plantation where members of the same buckwheat group also grow organic vegetables. The
farm leases 4 acres of land where in addition to growing organic vegetables, they have also started a straw mushroom plantation.
The group is also very successful and supply’s the local hotels and market in Bumthang. THEY HAVE ALSO PLANS TO REPLICATE
THEIR ORGANIC VEGETABLE FARMING IN URA. SINCE THE GROUP HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, THEY HAVE EXPANDED TO THREE
GROUPS AND MORE FARMERS ARE SHOWING INTEREST TO GO ORGANIC FARMING.
The ILCCP is a joint programme supported by UNDP GEF and the Dzongkhag Agriculture Sector, DoA, DAMC, NOP and NBC.
ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT THEIR PRODUCTS BE PACIKAGED PROPERLY WITH PROPER MESSAGES, SO THAT QUALITY OF
PRODUCTS WOULD BE MAINTAINED, AND ENSURE INCREASE SALES BY THE GROUP.
NOT SURE IF WE SHOULD ALSO MENTION ON THE LEMON GRASS OIL DISTILLATION WHICH IS DOING A LITTLE BETTER THAN
CHAMOMILE OIL EXTRACTION.
SHALL WE MENTION ON THE HUMAN WILDLIFE MEETING THAT WE HAD DURING OUR LAST LEG OF JOURNEY??