IIDS Graduate Fellowship Program

*IIDS Graduate Fellow (Ms. Ritu Baral) Update*

As an IIDS Graduate Fellow, Ms. Ritu Baral was sent to Patichaur of Parbat district in close collaboration with Modi Rural Municipality. Representing IIDS, she conducted an interactive workshop to gather Budget feedback for FY2080/81 on the 9th of June 2023. This feedback successfully aided and continues to aid Modi Rural Municipality in conducting different programs that are being implemented under the SDG initiatives of the Local Government. In the last few weeks, Ms. Baral had the opportunity to work with a group of women in the municipality. She has been working with Wards 1 and 5 specifically. Both Wards 1 and 5 have prioritized providing capacity-building training on skills such as ‘cutting, sewing and knitting’ alongside ‘agriculture’ with the aim to nudge women of the rural municipality to become more financially independent.

In addition to skills-development workshops/training on ‘cutting, sewing and knitting’ for Dhaka, bhangra and shawls as well as beauty parlor training, women from the municipality have been interested to learn about modern agricultural practices in ‘vegetable cultivation’ and ‘animal husbandry’. With the increase in the overall local budget, women’s group members also suggested adding more healthcare professionals and health posts to address concerns in the municipality such as having easier access to medicines, better transportation for pregnant women and other services. Further, the discussion also led to suggestions for improving traditional stoves by constructing “tin” stoves, making the village a smoking-free zone, encouraging nutritious diets for pregnant women and children and lastly, improving waste management in the ward by proper utilization of dustbins.

The workshop also uncovered a need for checking the land quality for agriculture in Modi-1, based on which more suitable crops and herbs can be grown for sale. As a priority for the municipality, distributing seeds and related items for agriculture, for instance, management of baccara and manure was also strongly emphasized. Improving the water supply and managing water tapes from Naya Pool to Ward 1 was also highlighted at the workshop.

Ms. Baral has also efficiently designed a plan where she can collect feedback or complaints from Wards 1 and 5. This is done through direct meetings with the rural municipality team and the existing women’s group of said wards. Her endeavours continue at the Modi Rural Municipality for another few months. Kudos to the team!

Day 5: IIDS Graduate Fellowship Program Training Session with Professors Without Borders

*IIDS Graduate Fellowship Program (IIDS GFP) - Interactive Session*

The GFP Team (led by Prof. Dr. Sucheta Ghimire) kickstarted the program on 6th September 2022 by inviting all graduate fellows to attend an interactive session at the IIDS Campus, Mandikhatar.

This was an opportunity for all fellows to interact and prepare for the training session taking place in the coming weeks!

Stay tuned for more updates!