Building a future Nepal

This video was made by a Dutch couple through GORP Productions (their own documentary project) concerning Nepalese Sanu Kaji Shrestha and his all-volunteer NPO called FoST (Foundation of Sustainable Technology) in Nepal.




Here are some notes I took from the video:


Major problems in rural Nepal:

- deforestation
・only 29% of forests remain
・87% of energy is spent in firewood
・some women spend hours everyday searching for wood
・deforesting results in landslides and other natural disasters in the area

- pollution
・no resources for waste management (leading to dumpage into 'holy' rivers)
・wastes of slaughterhouses are even dumped in residential areas
・goverment has passed bills but actually done nothing yet to manage waste
・even separated trash is dumped in the same place by the same truck
・air pollution results from brick factories and low-grade fuel utilizing vehicles
・lung and eye diseases are frequent from indoor smoke (due to burning firewood and straw)


Projects by FoST:

・Some materials are imported from Germany to make solar cookers but at high cost.
・"Briquettes" are made of forestry and industrial wastes for burning. No smoke and great for waste management.
・Education is offered for rural peoples on alternative energy awareness; also on improving quality of life and empowering women in the areas.
・Training is offered with a fee for briquette making. (Cost of training motivates participants to use what they learned.) Includes business training (calculation, booking, finances, etc.), especially useful for women interested in creating corporations for briquette. (20% of daily living expenses of an average Nepalese family, which are about $1.50 a day, is spent on fuel, mostly firewood. This provides an excellent market for cost- and energy-efficient briquettes.)

See www.fost-nepal.com and www.gorpproductions.com for details.