Pickle-Making Training for Livelihood Improvement
Two days of “Pickle Making Training” was successfully organized in Gangajamuna and Khaniybas municipalities of Dhading district from 1-4 December 2022. The training was organized aiming to develop skills in pickle-making and improving livelihood through small businesses. It was organized in coordination with respective rural municipalities. Further, the training was effective in demonstrating the importance of value-addition skills and utilization of locally available resources for livelihood improvement. A total of 35 people (32 women and 3 men) participated in Gangajamuna and 27 people (23 women and 4 men) in Khaniyabas RM. The training was delivered by Rekha Sharma Chaudhary, a known face in the pickle industry who has a decade-long experience in entrepreneurship in the food-based small industry.
Photo 1: Chopping vegetables for mixed vegetables.
Basically, participants learned to make pickles of mixed vegetables and Nepali hog plums (Lapsi), Gundruk + soybean, Amaro (Hog plum/ Spondias mombin) pickles, and Masaura. Meanwhile, the resource person provided additional recipes for Akabare chili and Amala too. Participants were requested to bring vegetables and other materials from their households, most of them brought Gundruk, Amaro, and seasonal vegetables. The pickle made during the training was presented as a gift to the local leader in the closing ceremony. Participants expressed their happiness while sharing experiences and their plans for utilizing the skills they have learned in this training. They emphasized that the training would help them to utilize local resources which are easily available in the area, and in some cases, they are being wasted i.e., not used properly, for example, vegetables like chayote, and wild fruits like Lapsi (Nepali Hog Plum), Amaro (Hog Plum), and Amala (Indian gooseberry).
Photo 2: Demonstration at the closing ceremony
Facilitator Choudhary along with LANN+ project team members highlighted the importance of income-generating activities for women’s empowerment. She further added that improving women’s access to resources including money has a positive impact on the food and nutrition security of the family. Most importantly, local government authorities from both rural municipalities appreciated this initiative and committed to providing necessary support to the group who approaches them with business plans. They are positive towards agriculture-based entrepreneurship and meanwhile, it supports the local food system as well. As a follow-up work to this training, the project’s staff (social mobilizers) will be facilitating a meeting with the farmer group/participants and note and support them in preparing an initial plan. The group will be encouraged to share the plan with the local government for any support.
Note: Access to financial resources is equally important for improving the nutrition security of the household because it improves the purchasing capacity of the family. Hence the family can invest in nutritious food, better education, and health care services. Therefore, income generation is of the key pillars of the LANN+ approach along with agriculture, natural resource management, nutrition education, and WASH. The projects developed around the LANN+ approach have activities on income generation mainly in the agriculture sector.
