Between June 2022 and January 2023, RECOFTC collaborated with the Kavrepalanchowk Division Forest Office in Nepal to implement a district-level Grassroots Gender Leadership Development Program.
Nineteen women from four community forest user groups participated in this three-part pilot. They were provided training on gender sensitization, leadership, planning and communication under the larger umbrella of community forest management. The trainees were also provided information about local government budget lines set aside specifically to provide support to women.
After completing the trainings, participants from Bhagwanthumki and Gosaikunda community forests created women’s groups that have successfully advocated for gender-specific funding. The local government is supporting a number of women-led income-generating activities. To strengthen income generation at the household level, it has provided buffalo calves and goat kids for rearing. At a more strategic level, the local government now consults with these women’s groups regularly and sends their members to various skills development trainings.
The district-level program that yielded these results was led by Sarita Lama, an assistant forest officer and gender focal point for the Kavrepalanchowk Division Forest Office. Lama is a graduate of a training program initiated by three Nepali gender leaders supported by RECOFTC’s Weaving Leadership for Gender Equality (WAVES) program. She replicated the program with women working in forests at the local level within months of taking the WAVES alumni-organized training.