Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2015
Abstract
Western Nepal is a remote region home to a wide variety of traditional small farm and livestock production systems. Communities here lack direct access to a suitable road infrastructure and thus are isolated from the modern world. Farm families are often poverty stricken. Western Nepal is also enduring significant climate change, resulting in warmer and drier conditions that negatively affect crop and livestock productivity. Here we report findings from a novel, quasi-experimental approach where the residents of two communities were provided with an intervention package and their perceptions of change over a 16-month period were contrasted with those from residents of two paired “control” communities that lacked the interventions. The goal was to assess the impact of interventions in promoting well-being, agricultural innovation, and climate-change adaptation. Research efforts included baseline surveys conducted in December, 2013, as well as endline surveys conducted during May, 2015. During the interim period a series of informal, educational inputs and technical demonstrations was implemented based on needs assessments from Participatory Rural Appraisals and expert input. Results indicated that the educational interventions had a very positive impact on nearly all of the 24 attributes that were assessed. The implications are that a concentrated and relatively low-cost educational effort—based on community felt needs—can enhance well-being, innovation, and adaptive capacity of the rural poor in a relatively short period of time
Recommended Citation
Coppock, D.L., N. Pandey, S. Tulachan, D. Duwal, M. Dhugana, B. Dulal, and D. Davis. 2015. Targeted informal education promotes Improved Well Being, Innovation, and Climate Change adaptation among residents in Bajura District, Nepal. Research Brief-26-2015, Feed the Future—Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA. 6 pp.
