-December 17–20, 2024
A four –day visioning workshop was held in Wards 3 and 4 of Jyaku, Gaurishankar Rural Municipality from 17 December-20 December 2024 by District Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN) and the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS). Three community forests were selected based on their large size and number of households, in consultation with the Rural Municipality, FECOFUN, Gaurishankar. Each community forest participated in a one-day session to discuss measures and plans for better forest management in the future.
The workshop began with the Bhatekhola Kamalamai Community Forest with the participation of 25 user group members and committee representatives. During the event, the Community Forest Activist, Bhola Khatiwada shared his insights on the newly introduced laws and policies while Jagannath Basnet, the Chairperson of District FECOFUN Dolakha emphasized on the need for immediate actions in acquiring a PAN number and in the submission of annual reports. The participants in the event collaboratively created participatory maps envisioning the forest’s future over the next decade, with goals such as constructing a dedicated community forest building and planting argeli on the barren lands. Moreover, the Secretary of the Community Forest pledged to highlight important operational points in each community in order to guide them for a collective action.
The following day, members of the Jamakharka Community Forest assembled to address challenges related to the lack of financial reports from the previous committee and on the outdated operational plan. Through active discussion, the participants mapped out the forest’s future, prioritizing on establishing a community forest building and promoting local furniture enterprises to enhance wood processing capabilities.
On the 19 December 2024, the Pandit Community Forest hosted the workshop where higher number of women’s participation was noted. The participants were asked to prepare participatory mapping which further helped in fostering broad individual engagement as well as encourage in dynamic discussions. The participants envisioned the community forest that can better support the Chauri Herders residing within its boundaries and extract valuable Non-Timber Forest products (NTFPs) such as chiraito, dhasingare, argeli, lokta, and mushrooms.
On the final day, i.e. 20 December 2024, the workshop concluded with a session in Singati, Dolakha, bringing together various chairpersons from 18 community forests in the Gaurishankar Rural Municipality. The event was chaired by Indra Acharya (Chairperson of Municipality FECOFUN Gaurishankar). Key addresses were featured by Forest Officer, Kamal Acharya. During the event, various discussions relating to immediate priorities on acquiring PAN numbers, preparation of audit reports, and renewing existing operational plans were done. The participants also explored various collaborative initiatives such as resource sharing in order to establish a Dhasingare oil extraction plant and also setting up other furniture and paper production facilities. Overall, the workshop fostered a collective commitment amongst the community forests to bring their visions into actionable plans, paving the way for sustainable forest management and community-driven development in Gaurishankar Rural Municipality.
