Two members of a Chepang community in Brusbang of Dhading prepare wild yams to cook, in May 2016. They are currently living under an acute food shortage.
BRUSBANG, DHADING: Sanumaya Chepang of Brusbang village of Dhading district is worried what to feed her aging parents and three little children.
Like her, members of tribal Chepang community in her village, which is two hour drive from the highway commercial hub of Malekhu, are reeling under an acute shortage of foods for last two months.
They are living on different types of wild yams and nettle leaves.
Now, the Chepangs are worried that even the yams and nettle leaves are falling short to appease their appetite.
“Since mid-April, we have been living on just wild yams and nettle leaves,” Dilmaya Chepang says, “Now, we are so tired that we even cannot go to search them.”
Locals in the remote village grow maize in their farms. But, it is so insufficient to meet their annual needs.
“While it takes eight months to grow maize, it only lasts for next four months,” another local adds.
On the other hand, these Chepang people have a very low income.
For example, Dilmaya’s husband weaves wicker baskets (dokos) which are used to carry loads on backs; but he can earn only Rs 8,000 in a year.
“That is not enough, even for our clothes,” he says, “How can we buy other things?”
“Also, other human settlements where we could work are also very far,” he laments.
Local community leader, one of the very few literates of the village, Tek Bahadur Chepang, comments that the government does not help them make a decent living.
The government has introduced the Praja Bikas Karyakram, aiming to serve Chepang people, but it has done nothing substantial, he claims.
