ICA Nepal mourns for heart-breaking incidences caused by the global catastrophe of COVID-19 and offer our sincere condolences to the bereaved families who are grieving at the moment. In these uncertain times, the public needs our presence more than ever before.
Once the Nepal Government relaxed the lockdown to some extent, ICA Nepal resumed work physically by adopting the appropriate safety measures since June. We have aligned with WHO guidelines for restarting the workplace, such as practicing hygiene and cleanliness, measuring body temperature, maintaining social distancing, and wearing masks.
Construction of irrigation
ICA Nepal kicked off its preparatory activities to construct a brand new water storage tank and renovate the existing storage tank for irrigation purposes. Tatwa P. Timsina, along with project staff, Jhamak Mahat and the Engineer, visited the project site, located at Thulosirubari, ward no-13 of Sindhupalchok district.
As Nepal is an agricultural country, the majority of the people are involved in the traditional technique of farming. We must embrace modern farming methods, and increase our productivity to benefit from agriculture. The availability of irrigation facilities is a modern farming technology that helps to increase agricultural yield. This irrigation plant will directly benefit the 200 households of the village. Seti Devi Secondary School provided the land for building water storage.
During a stakeholder meeting, ICA Nepal committed that in the coming days, ICA Nepal will be working to support the school. The stakeholder meeting was conducted in the presence of the president of ward no. 10, and was facilitated by Atma Ram Timsina. This construction of irrigation schemes is financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Japan through the Embassy of Japan in Nepal. ICA Japan and ICA Nepal implemented the project jointly with its local partner Rural Youth People Concern Forum (RYPCF).
Construction of Compound Wall at Community Training Centre, Sindhupalchowk
ICA Nepal received support from Province No. 3 Government for the construction of the compound wall of the Community Training Centre. The Local Town Improvement Committee of Sindhupalchok district is carrying out the construction work.
Construction of Retaining Wall and Road Maintenance at Women and Children Learning Centre, Changunarayan
Progressive Women Society, the local partner of ICA Nepal managed to receive support from the Changunaryan Municipality Government for the construction of a retaining wall and road in front of the Learning Centre. The construction of the retaining wall is finished and the road maintenance is being carried out.
Webinar on Prospects of Development through Nepal – Italy Friendship
Discussion panel consisting of delegates from Nepal-Italy Friendship Association and Italy-Nepal Friendship Association explored the potential for joint initiatives that will promote the development of Nepal. Agro-Tourism Pvt. Ltd. and ICA Nepal organized, and Moody International and IIQA sponsored the online ZOOM WEBINAR.
There were 36 participants from Nepal, Italy, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, the USA, and the UK, who joined the webinar. Experts in the field of Information Technology, Civil Society, European Union, Agriculture, Waste Management and Journalism were present in the webinar. They contributed their ideas and commitments through dialogues that aided the identification of future strategies for strengthening Italy-Nepal friendship. Italian delegates disclosed their interest in promoting the agro-tourism sector of Nepal as its first step towards friendship. Agro-tourism is a sector thriving globally.
Italy is willing to invest their time, energy, skill and resources to develop Agro-tourism in Nepal because of the availability of abundant natural resources. Though Nepal is an agricultural country and also admired for its potential in tourism, the link between agriculture and tourism has not been fully explored yet. Italy commits to support Nepal for linking agriculture and tourism to exploit underlying economic opportunities. Both countries hope that Agro-tourism will support economic growth in rural societies of Nepal. In an initiation towards the agriculture development, ICA Nepal is exploring potential partnerships with various like-minded organizations. In this regard, a series of virtual meetings are being carried out.
This article was first published by ICA USA and in the Global Buzz, July 2020.