Focus on Nepal
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Nepalese Displaced In Their Own Country

Nepal is one of the poorest nations in the world and has a history of political instability. In November 2006, Nepal’s royalist government and Maoist rebels signed a historic peace accord, ending a 10-year civil war that displaced upwards of 250,000 people, especially in the midwest region of the country. The Nepalese that were displaced by this conflict are now returning
home. However, frequent bombings, general strikes and upcoming elections in April indicate more volatility ahead for the Himalayan nation.

Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

Settled in southeast Nepal in seven camps, 108,000 refugees from neighboring Bhutan face deteriorating conditions and rising tensions. In the late 1980s, the Bhutanese government began a systematic campaign to deny ethnic Nepali Hindus human rights, citizenship and their land. Expelled from Bhutan 17 years ago, Bhutanese refugees are not allowed to work or move freely and have few options for a better life for themselves and their families.

Only recently has resettlement to a third country presented itself as an option. The Bhutanese refugees have been banned from returning to Bhutan and not allowed to integrate into Nepal. The United States will accept up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees for resettlement within the next five years, with Australia, Canada and New Zealand also offering resettlement options.

Learn more about the situation in Nepal:

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Women irrigate plots of land using the treadle pump, saving time and increasing productivity. Photo above by Dale Buscher/Women's Commission. Photo top right by Lauren Heller/Women's Commission.

Economic Opportunities: A Critical Need

As both the internally displaced people from the Maoist insurgency and the Bhutanese refugees search for permanent solutions to rebuild their lives, as well as to prepare for what lies ahead, economic opportunities are critical so they can support themselves and become self-sufficient. Economic security also has an important protective element that helps rebuild the social fabric of communities and lay the groundwork toward peace.

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children recently returned from a field trip to Nepal assessing economic interventions developed in the context of refugee and internally displaced populations, as part of a three-year global study of economic opportunities, often referred to as “livelihoods,” for displaced women and youth.

The mountainous topography of Nepal and lack of access to roads and markets are major challenges to successful livelihoods for displaced populations in Nepal, particularly during the monsoon season. Women bear the burden of most of the heavy labor.

However, Nepal has many high-value cash crops that are profitable on a small-scale production. Furthermore, a new road being constructed in the west will connect remote areas that were heavily impacted by the conflict and will grant access to markets in previously isolated regions.

One example of a successful livelihoods project for those returning to the midwest is growing off-season vegetables, which can be sold in India in months that they are not traditionally grown in India. Women independently till plots of land to grow and sell off-season vegetables. They share innovative methods like the treadle pump to irrigate large plots of land in about three hours per day, so they can still manage other tasks and responsibilities. The income generated from this project is enough for school fees for children and also boosts household nutritional status, as families eat vegetables they grow and sell the surplus.

For refugees confined to camps in southeast Nepal, relief substitution projects have generated income. Relief substitution is when refugees within the camp produced goods rather than the agency operating the camp importing the goods. The Women’s Commission observed refugees weaving sanitary napkins and selling the materials to the United Nations refugee agency, which then distributed the sanitary napkins to all women in the camp of reproductive age. Chalk-making and soap-making are two other examples.

To learn about more successful, innovative livelihoods projects in Nepal, visit our photo essay.

Our report on economic opportunities for refugee and internally displaced people in Nepal is forthcoming.

Read more Women’s Commission reports on livelihoods: