This is Kazutoshi Machida (M2). I just came back from Nepal, where I stayed two weeks, and would like to report the visit.
The visit was from 7th to 21th August and part of the expenses was funded by the Hisao Taki Fund for learning abroad Summer 2011. All of the activities were required to organize by myself and I planned to do a volunteer work on energy and environmental issues in Nepal. Major activities include volunteering at NAST (Nepal Academy of Science and Technology) and prototype transfer of the Mondiolog project implemented by IDA Tokyo Tech (an official university club). For the latter activity, please refer to another post here.
1. Nepal
Nepal is a hilly country located in South Asia, just above the India.
The View of Kathmandu Valley from Sudal Village, Bhaktapur District
The country is in the political mess and the prime minister has changed many times (faster than Japan!). Thus, there are frequent strikes and public transportation cannot be used on the day.
2. Energy Issues in Nepal
The energy is one of the most severe problems in Nepal. The electricity generation highly relies on the hydro power plants and they had continuous blackouts last year – even 18 hours a day. Also, the fuels for vehicles are imported from India and the energy security is much fragile since the road from India is quite bad. With those situations, the government of Nepal has been making great efforts to utilize the renewable energies such as small hydro, biomass (biogas, bio briquette) and solar (PV system, solar water heater and solar food dryer). The research and development is done by NAST and AEPC (the alternative energy promotion center) is responsible for the policy and business collaborations.
The task assigned to me at NAST was to assist an experiment on the analysis of a solid catalyst for biodiesel production from a seed oil of a plant called Jatropha curcas, which can be produced in Nepal. I helped Dr. Kojima, a JICA senior volunteer, and did chemical experiment for the first time in 4 years! I was surprised to find myself still enjoying the experiment very much.
The result of the experiment was presented by Dr. Kojima at the First National Conference on Bioenergy. I hope the research there will keep on going well.
3. Microfinance in Nepal
During the stay, I could meet various personnel. One of them was the staff of the center for microfinance Nepal.
From the interview, it turned out that microfinance institutions are making important roles in the rural development in Nepal. They follow Grameen model started by Prof. Mohammed Yunus in Bangladesh and giving training for the local trainers of the borrowers. Although there are lots of criticisms about microfinance, it seemed very effective especially for the country like Nepal, which are facing unstable political situation and common practice of corruption in any jobs in public sector.
Through the visit, I learned many things I could have not obtained without staying the country and interact with local people and professionals there in a grass root level. It is true that Nepal are full of problems. The situations seemed getting worse gradually: Unstable politics caused a vicious circle in every sector. The individual people, however, are really honest and kind. I think they have potential to overcome the difficult situation and I myself would like to contribute to them by the Mondialogo project. After came back to Japan, I happen to know that Ms. Eriko Yamaguchi, the founder of the brand “Motherhouse”, is doing business in Nepal as a second country (Visit here for the story). Their approach is the development from the grass root and through private business and quite different from development projects implemented by aid organizations. Through the research on capacity development, I think the mindsets among practitioners are getting closer. I would like to be a professional who can think in both way and the bridge between them.
Lastly, I express my gratitude to Mr. Hisao Taki for giving me precious opportunity. Thank you.
For your interest, more pictures during the visit can be checked from here.