greetings from mandarin

Smriti Dhungel

ypically for a hotel named Everest, and there’s no denying this, it offers high wide majestic views of the local landscape and the himalayas. Once entering the lobby, take a short ride up to the seventh floor to allow your eyes to feast upon this.

And untypically, tucked away on the same floor is Mandarin, the restaurant that heartily greets you in Chinese with a ‘Huan Yiang Guang Ling’ meaning greetings and welcome to Mandarin.

As you take your first step inside, you are truly taken aback by the richness of the place, with its bright red carpets and pretty ethnic Chinese decorations and paintings, bringing a sense of China’s rich culture from across the far away northern mountains. What’s most alluring about this restaurant, besides its excellent cuisine, is the landscape, the 360 degree view of the mountains and a goodly view of the city below.

Now to begin with, for drinks and starters Mandarin offers a wide variety of choices of timeless recipes from Sichuan and Canton and even specialties from remote She Jhan (Tibet). In celebration of the Chinese New Year, this year being the year of the snake, we were served from the special menu. That included fried fish in Black Bean sauce (Rs300), Cucumber with Mustard Sauce (Rs250) and fried Beans simmered with the chef’s Spicy Sauce priced reasonably at Rs 185. This was followed by a special Chinese Ginseng with Chicken Soup priced at Rs 200.

The main course included Fried Noodles with Vegetables (Rs160), Vegetable Fried Rice (160), deep fried Fu-Yung chicken (Rs 375), shredded Lamb with Sichuan pickled chilly and shredded potato with green chilly priced at Rs (200). Finally, the dessert of Lychees and icecream was altogether rather refreshing.

At Mandarin the prices are reasonable and the atmosphere warm. Many of its customers are made up of people who live nearby. The restaurant opens between 12:00 to 2:45 for lunch and between 7:00 to 10:45pm for dinner.

Adjacent to the restaurant is the Barbeque Terrace where you could laze around enjoying the cool breeze while sipping on a chilled beer and indulging in mouth watering barbeque items such as Tiger Prawn Brochette (Rs650) or a Farm Raised Chicken Drumstick (Rs500) etc. The terrace also just happens to provide a marvelous panoramic view and its lively jazz music and big shady umbrellas would, most probably, brighten up your day. But then again, it would be a shame if you suffered from vertigo.

demystifying the kamaiyas

he book under review is an amalgamation of the experiences and theoretical orientation concerning the Kamaiya system and peasant movements in Nepal. Entitled "Issues and Experiences: Kamaiya system, Kanara Andolan and Tharus in Bardiya," the book is an outcome of extensive research carried out in the Bardiya district where a majority of the liberated Kamaiyas are residing.

Authored by a team of seven, including Suresh Dhakal, Janak Rai, Dambar Chemchong, Dhruba Maharjan, Pranita Pradhan, Jagat Maharjan and Shreeram Chaudhary, the book attempts to demystify the notion of the Kamaiyas. Starting with a historical backdrop, the book reveals how the original system nurtured into full-fledged bonded labour.

The book analyses the historical roots of the Kamaiya system and makes valuable suggestions. Published after the announcement by the government to liberate the Kamaiyas on July 17, last year, the book points out that the present Kamaiya system is a product of the political and economic process of nation forming in Nepal.

Going through the book, a first time reader would surely appreciate the way in which the chapters have been arranged. In addition, the intricate details of the labour movement in Nepal and about the Kamaiyas makes the book even more worthwhile to read. It also includes plenty of case studies, wherein the injustice of the whole Kamaiya system is reflected. The book has beautifully portrayed, not only the experiences of the authors, where rooms for doubting the authenticity exist, but also those of the free Kamaiyas themselves.

The beauty of the book lies in the lucid language in which the book is written, which is bound to induce adults and students of any faculty to keep reading for hours. Most importantly, the book is a storehouse of knowledge and illuminates major aspects of the labour system in Nepal, not only to those who may remain ignorant, but also to the rest of us.

Priced at just Rs 150 despite the extensive research involved, the book depicts the misery of the marginalised Tharus. The book points out: "The Tharus are one of the most marginalized, deprived and exploited indigenous ethnic groups of Nepal. They have made an enormous contribution in making the Terai arable and habitable.....But instead of being rewarded, they were cheated out of their most precious possession - land.... We need to demystify this present notion of the Kamaiya that blames its very victim."

Despite all the plus points, the book is not without its faults. One of the most important points that readers surely will make note of in the book is the carelessness with which it has been edited. The book contains a number of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Given the fact that mistakes, however minute, will be distasteful to readers, the publishers, editors and authors should have been more careful before sending the final draft to the press.

Finally, does the book demystify the notion of the Kamaiyas? The best thing to do would be to read it.

Bhaskar Sharma

what’s rightfully theirs

Shreejana Basnet Thapa

ike most women throughout the Third World, Nepalese women are desperately seeking a life of meaning and dignity based on the universal concepts of human rights. Equality and equal rights are words that evoke powerful images. But the women of Nepal cannot dream to enjoy equal relations with men right now, (what women in the Western countries have already achieved); they may obtain it, in the distant future. Their struggle is still confined within the walls of their hearts and minds as Betty Friedan, an American feminist, once wrote about women in her country, "The problem lay buried unspoken, for many years in the minds...". Besides the enduring physical and mental repression, cruelty, denials and indignity the Nepalese women have to face in their daily lives lower their self-esteem.

In a country where the female population is more than fifty two percent, gender has never been a real issue in Nepal. It is not an issue that rings the halls of the country’s Parliament. Nor is it a curriculum for study in the classrooms of schools and universities. Neither theorists nor policymakers are seriously trying to develop principles and strategies to change the status of women. Their problems are deeply embedded in political, economic issues as well as traditional culture, and educational systems that are antagonistic to change and have forced women to remain not as equal partners but as subordinates to men. Simone de Beauvoir said it right: "Woman is not born a woman, one becomes one." Therefore, freedom and equal rights for Nepalese women is still an elusive dream. The existence of women’s organizations have failed to bring women’s isssues to the forefront of national political debate. Most of the women’s organizations in Nepal have no separate identity with the exception of their names. They are basically affiliated with leading male-dominated political parties and primarily serve their interests. These women have failed to understand that the men will have women as allies as long as they do not have to share power with women. More significantly, there are no movements like the ones the American women had in the United States towards the end of the nineteenth and throughout the twentieth centuries. In the absence of such movements, or a substantial pressure, perhaps, it is unlikely that women’s rights in Nepal will pick up any speed in the foreseeable future. Nobody is just going to hand their rights to them. The Nepalese women must put up a united-front to claim their rights. Otherwise they will simply be ignored.

However, there is some silver lining in all this. Some open discussions about women’s rights among various political parties and women’s organizations have been taking place after the restoration of democracy in 1990. The new democratic constitution mandates political parties to nominate at least three percent women to contest for parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, to nominate only three percent is utterly inadequate and unjust in a country where the majority of the population are women. Through a constitutional amendment, the number must be increased. In addition, a national debate is taking place concerning whether women should have the same property rights as men. To begin with, recognition of women’s property rights will be a litmus test towards the evolution of women’s fundamental rights and equality in Nepal.

Since the advent of democracy, the number of women’s non-governmental organization (NGOs) intended to enhance women’s rights and welfare, have also increased dramatically. Their primary objective is "empowerment" for women. But, as one prominent Nepalese woman, who has been heading a women’s NGO for the last ten years, told me recently, "It is futile to make an effort to change the lost generation. The focus should be on the new generation so that they can learn new values and live by them and act accordingly, not deviate from it. This, perhaps, is the only hope for Nepalese women".

While the problems related to socio-cultural impediments will take time to evolve, women’s rights that can be enhanced through legislation need not take generations to evolve. They should be made into existence now. To this end, as Lyndon B Johnson said, "..freedom is not enough. You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying : Now you are free to go where you want, and do you desire, and choose the leaders you please. You do not take a person who for years has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race and then say, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."

The gates of opportunity for women must be opened through education, the government and administration, as well as in industries and businesses and that too on a preferential basis for a limited period of time until they are able to compete with the rest of society. Above all, women should be encouraged to participate in the political process so that they can play a decisive role in formulating policies and planing. At the same time, women also have to do more to increase their status than their record indicates.

The women of Nepal are not asking for any special privileges. They only want what is rightfully theirs. On the other hand, the Nepalese men have to realize that as long as women are not free, they, themselves, are not free.

caring for people & plants

Basant Subba

edicinal plants stand out as being a very important resource and is extensively harvested for local health needs and trade by the people living in and around Dolpa. For around 3,500 people living within Shey Phoksundo National Park (SPNP), Dolpa, medicinal plants form the basis for health care services provided by "Amchis" (traditional Tibetan doctors) and are highly valued for their medicinal and aromatic properties. The major threats to these medicinal plants are - lack of an effective system of management and pressure from unsustainable harvesting practices for trade in the Buffer Zone outside the Park.

SPNP (3,555 sq. km.) situated in the Dolpa and Mugu Districts in the northwestern part of Nepal, is the largest national park in the country. The larger part of the Park lies to the north of the Greater Himalayas where it borders with the Tibet Autonomous region of China. The unique feature of the park is its Trans-Himalayan ecosystem supporting rich biodiversity, natural beauty, and its ancient cultural heritage. Because of this the park is likely to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

More than 10,000 people living within and around the park heavily depend on plant resources for their survival. Major impacts on forest resources are related to firewood and timber collection, grazing in high pastures, and collection of medicinal plants for trade. Dolpa is one of the major areas for the collection and trade of medicinal plants in the Karnali region, which has played an important role in the economy of local communities. Due to increasing external demand, the survival of some species of medicinal plants is threatened.

In addition to local people’s utilization of firewood, fodder, food, fiber and raw materials to make handicrafts and tools, medicinal plants are extensively harvested for local health care needs and trade. According to a survey carried out with the support of the People and Plants Initiative, 375 plant species out of 400 species found in the southern valleys of SPNP have medicinal and aromatic properties. Some of the important medicinal plants used by Amchis are: wanglak/panchaule (Dactylorhiza hatagirea), honglen/ kutki

(Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora), yartsa-gumbu( Cordyceps sinensis), sendu/darim (Punica granatum), ligadur (Geranium pratense), balu/sunpate (Rhododendron anthopogen), bashak ( Lagotis kunuwarensis), wolmose (Podophylllum hexandrum), tsenduk/bikh

(Aconitum spicatum), khurmong ( Taraxacum tibetanum), kyerwa (Berberis aristata) etc.

Apart from the local’s use of the medicinal plants for health care purposes, people living in the outer Buffer Zone and from the neighboring districts of Jumla, Mugu and Jajarlot are known to encroach into these areas for illegal harvesting of medicinal plants.

Indigenous knowledge of the local people has been very useful in resource management in Dolpa. The religious belief of the people with Tibetan ethnic origin who live in the Phoksundo area and practice Bon - the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet - have played a major role in shaping their relationship with the environment. Generations of close interactions with the environment has enriched the people with a precise knowledge about plants, their life forms, habitat distributions and use. The scale of their indigenous knowledge is reflected in the number of medicinal and aromatic plants locally known. The Lamas and Amchis have a broad knowledge regarding sustainable harvesting and cultivation practices drawn from Tibetan medical texts.

Historically, there were two traditional local institutions directly or indirectly related to natural resource management in the Pungmo area of Phoksundo VDC - the Dratsang - (Lama hierarchic institution) and the Yulgigoje (Village Institution headed by a "Mukhiya" or customary chief designated through his lineage). These two institutions still exist in the area. However, the resource management activities of the former institutions are confined to Gunasa area, whereas the latter is active in Pugmo village area. Though the traditional system of resource management was strictly maintained until the National Park was established in 1984, several rules and regulations are still followed by the communities in the area regarding the management of forests and the pasture resources.

While the Lamas and the Amchis follow harvesting practices which have no negative impact on the environment, the laymen do not generally follow such sustainable harvesting practices due to lack of knowledge.

WWF Nepal Program has collaborated with the People and Plants Initiative and has launched the project in Shey Phoksundo National Park and its Buffer Zone. Its main aim is to strengthen the capacity of people involved with the management of plant resources in an integrated way for conservation and community development. The long-term objectives are to: facilitate biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of plant resources through the application of ethnobotany; identify the major conservation and development issues relating to plant resources and search for practical solutions for their resolution; utilize Shey-Phoksundo National Park as a site for training in applied ethnobotany for young professionals, park staff, WWF project staff and members of local communities, and arrange workshops to share knowledge and experiences for people engaged in conservation and development works at similar sites in Nepal.

The activities of the People and Plant Initiative, so far, have been related to promoting Amchis’ profession and primary health care in Dolpo; exploring women’s health status and plant-related knowledge; facilitating the sharing of knowledge between Amchis ; preparation of a primary health care training manual; construction of the Traditional Health Care Center; training in medical theory; community management of medicinal plants; exploring ethno-ecological knowledge and monitoring of Bhutle and Kutki (two medicinal plants); providing training at the site level involving decision makers and specialists at the national level, and returning results to the local community.

A major focus of the medicinal plants conservation part of the overall project is to gather data on population dynamics and the determination of sustainable harvesting levels of Bhutle and Kutki .

High altitude regions such as Dolpa, Jumla, Humla, Manang and Mustang are areas where medicinal plants are harvested for local health care as well as for export outside the districts and to India. Studies show that no proper measures have been adopted in these areas for the domestication and sustainable harvesting of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Though the Amchis and Lamas have greater knowledge about the distribution, abundance, and harvesting techniques of medicinal plants, the increasing trade pressure and unsustainable practices of the lay men and commercial collectors may endanger the recovery of some valuable plants. In this context, the best option for the Park management would be to jointly manage these plant species with the local communities. A joint community-based medicinal plants management system has already been discussed in a participatory meeting participated in by local communities, traditional resource management institutions, and the National Park. The overall goal of the community-based medicinal management system in the park is to promote ex situ conservation of populations of medicinal and aromatic plants for their protection as a genetic resource as well as for sustainable utilization by the local people for livelihood purposes.

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