Nepal - Bhim Khaling Rai - 2015 Graduate
by Bhim Khaling Rai
National Development Organization Nepal
submitted April 2020
Let's Go Back to the Origins
A Village Campaign to Move to Organic Pesticides
https://gyazo.com/52b2501307724aecae8e6762a9d1f162
Bhim behind a bunch of bananas
In Nepal, villagers have left and moved to the city. Arable lands have become barren or forested, old-fashioned farmers have grown old, and the younger generation does not like to work as farmers. But now that the world is suffering from the corona virus, people who have gone to cities and abroad have lost their jobs and are returning to their villages.
People around the world are now dying of the corona virus and starvation. The situation has become critical, especially for those earning daily wages. The government has locked down the country; the poor have not been taken care of.
We need to pay attention to the fact that the ups and downs of the world economy are sure to cause more problems for the poor people in poor countries in the days to come. I am worried that if the farmers stay at home in lock-down and do not cultivate in time, there will be a shortage of food grains. As a result, the survivors of the epidemic will suffer from starvation for a long time and may die.
Therefore, the government should reconsider the policy of lock-down and protect and assist the farmers. The government should encourage farmers by investing in agriculture. Farmers can get a good harvest if they are able to cultivate with the right seed at the right time.
Those who work in gold mines do not fill their stomachs with gold. Bankers who fill the banks with money can't fill their stomachs. Even astronauts must eat the farmer’s produce. Every human being born with a mouth and stomach needs food. Farming is a profession that most people do not like, but it is a must for everyone.
https://gyazo.com/f52b0caae3ae2b5962a58dee5c356a43 https://gyazo.com/d734586fbc23a4bd3c076b9880ae29a1
Seedbed for garlic, onion, hot chili / Avocados from my garden
A heartfelt request
I have a heartfelt request to my esteemed farmer brothers and sisters: Farmer friends, do not forget our ultimate duty! If we do not sow the seeds, the treasures of the country will be emptied, and many people will starve to death. Therefore, let us cultivate the seeds by encouraging the farmers and sharing a helping hand, cultivating vegetables, plowing the fields, harvesting abundant food crops, eating organic, and becoming healthy.
Humans are using a variety of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides to provide more food for a growing population. In modern times, the path of organic farming is extremely beneficial. It serves the ever-increasing population, reduces environmental pollution, and conserves the fertility of the land and human health. It is essential for the all-round development of human life.
An agricultural campaign has been started all over the country saying that farming should be done in a way that does not degrade the soil, does not destroy the vitamins and minerals of the crop, does not spoil the environment, does not disturb the environment and does not adversely affect health.
On the one hand, due to increasing urbanization in Nepal, the land for vegetable cultivation is declining, while the use of pesticides is resulting in a lack of pure, fresh, and healthy vegetables. On the other hand, some youths in Kathmandu are beginning to gravitate towards organic farming, saying that acquiring land for organic farming can be a step towards improving public health and the environment.
How to make biological pesticides
Organic pesticides are made from a mixture of plants found in local villages, including timur, ansuro, hattiwar, simli, garlic, hot chili, titepati, tobacco, bakaino, godavari flower, bojo, and sisnu. All these plants should be cut into pieces and put in a drum. After keeping them in the open air for a month, the urine of a cow should be mixed in, in the amount of one part urine to one part plant mixture. Then the organic pesticide should be applied in the fields by adding 20 parts water to one part of the urine-plant mixture.
The pesticides made in this way help in controlling the pests and diseases in crops. Farmers have started using organic pesticides after realizing that the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides poses a serious problem not only to the fertile soil but also to those who consume the crops. Farmers also have started using compost and organic manure as an alternative to chemical fertilizers such as urea and DAP. Almost everyone in a village raises cows. Organic fertilizer can be prepared from cow manure and urine.
Organic farming
We have now grown timur, hattiwar, and simli in our organic fields. Seasonal plants like bitter gourd are also abundant. We have started cultivating these plants using organic biological pesticides suitable for crops.
Farmers have increased the use of biological pesticides, realizing that such pesticides cost less and do not cause any harm. The use of chemical fertilizers in crops and vegetables is declining. Once the farmers understand the merits of organic, biological pesticides, they themselves start to campaign in favor of using organic pesticides.
I have been making and using organic pesticides myself for the last three years. After teaching other farmers in the village about the organic pesticides they can make, the whole village is now becoming known as a village with organic pesticides. Farmers in our village have started using organic pesticides for ginger, hot chili, cardamom, potato, apple, banana, pea and other vegetable and fruit crops.
A village campaign
The use of chemical fertilizers including urea will be banned in the cultivation of maize and other crops. Farmers have started using organic fertilizer by making it themselves. There is a competition for organic products in the village, with everyone making and using their own organic pesticides, I am very happy to report.
The farmers of BASA village, which has about 200 household farmers in the community, have launched a campaign to make the entire village free from chemical pesticides. It has become our campaign to prohibit the use of chemical pesticides in all the crops we produce and to develop agritourism by producing organic products using organic manure.
https://gyazo.com/2da0b3b94d23a884d57b32d27d2a57f7 https://gyazo.com/7025425fbfccdb5daa95fd4aeec1574d
Organic coffee in the village: (1) 1-year-old coffee plants (2) Coffee starts to fruit after 3 years
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Nepal - Bhim Rai Khaling - 2015 Graduate
National Development Organization Nepal
submitted by Bhim Rai Khaling, June 2019
Network e-Bulletin No. 3, June 2019
Honeybees Inspire Us to Gain Knowledge
The Bible says that when we study God’s creation, we can see His truth. I am learning from bees the lessons of creation. Bees play an important role in our world: We can learn a lot from them about being better members of our families, churches and communities.
https://gyazo.com/ca80f7d118ce3aafd95f4b94736020d0
Top-bar hive from Summer Individual Project at ARI (2015)
I think the Lord made the honeybee for a very special purpose, pollinating flowers, which helps us grow crops so we can have something to eat. He created them to give us special insight into His nature and what He wants from us.
Bees inspire us to share the good news
Some months ago, I set up a honeycomb to feed some bees that had a hive a distance away. To start the process, I captured one bee in a plate, placed it over the honeycomb, and waited until the bee discovered the treasure. When it was filled and satisfied, it flew directly back to the hive. After a moment, the bee returned with others. These in turn brought many more, until finally a swarm of bees covered the comb and soon had carried all the honey into the hive.
What lesson does this teach us? After a while, I remembered the very beautiful story about the four lepers, who sat just outside the gate of Samaria. After they had found food in the tents of the Syrians who had fled in the night, they passed on the good news. (Then they said to one another, "what we are doing is wrong. This is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, we will be found guilty: therefore lets us go and tell the king's household." (2 Kings 7:9).
Are we telling others about the One we have found? Christ has committed to us the proclamation of the “good news.” Shall we who have found honey in the Rock Jesus be less considerate of others than the bees are? The gospel of Jesus is something very important, and the natural, loving response to Jesus’ offer of grace isn’t to keep it all to ourselves.
Bees inspire us to Share and Serve
Honeybees like to share good news with each other, and they don’t like to waste time doing it. When they get back to the hive and start to dance, that tells all the other bees where they found the nectar. Honeybees spend almost all of their time feeding other bees, rather than themselves. And not only will you find a bee always ready to feed another bee, they’ll even feed bees from another colony!
https://gyazo.com/67beab6344ec242d8c4bd6be6b4af607
Sharing knowledge with farmers about beekeeping
This is a beautiful example for us in our church, families and communities. Not only do we need to help other people in our “hive” hear and understand the good news, we need to serve them. Of course, worker bees first have to feed themselves before they have the energy to feed others. Likewise, we need to read our Bibles and pray before we serve others.
The Bible also says that the disciples gave five loaves and two fish to Jesus, who blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it back to His men. Then they took this blessing and fed thousands of people! They even had 12 baskets of food leftover!
Well, what can we learn from this miracle? We first have to receive something from Jesus before we can give it to others. But when we do share it and serve others, we begin to create enough through service and sharing. Jesus and His Word are just like that: When we share the Bible in service to others, they’ll take what we give them and serve others with the abundance, and the message of peace from Jesus will overflow to even more souls.
Bees inspire us to work together
Teamwork is the secret of a bee’s success. In a single colony, there can be thousands of bees that need to work together in order to survive. They are totally focused on obtaining the betterment of the entire colony, not just specific individuals. Working together, they produce more honey than they need, and even people can benefit from its healing properties. When bees have a full load, they fly back to their hive. There, they pass the nectar on through their mouths to other worker bees who chew it. It’s passed from one bee to the others, until it gradually turns into honey. Then, the bees store the honey in honeycomb. The honey is still a bit wet, so they fan it with their wings to dry it out until it becomes stickier. When it’s ready, they seal the cell with a wax lid to keep it clean.
https://gyazo.com/d07118ed28e1ac7b900da98e715d20d5
Bees hard at work
Bees inspire servant leadership
Bees best communicate in dances and pheromones. Bees live together in well-organized hives where every bee has a role to play in its community. The queen bee lays the eggs while worker bees clean the hive and keep the hive’s temperature cool. Some bees protect the hive from intruders while others fly for miles to collect nectar. The queen bee isn’t a commanding leader laying down laws. She is a servant to her hive, laying eggs and producing more quality bees to help ensure the hive continues. The queen knows her role within the colony and performs her duties while trusting the hive to do their duties.
People are exactly the same: we need to take care of our responsibilities and work with others to create harmonious and productive societies. As much as we are leaders in our community, guiding others to achieve our vision for the community, we are also servants to our team.
Bees inspire us to be hard workers
There is a very good reason for the saying “busy as a bee,” as bees are some of nature’s hardest workers. The American Professional Beekeepers say that for one tablespoon of honey, a bee has to visit 4,200 flowers! A worker bee will make up to 10 trips a day, visiting 400 flowers. To make just one pound of honey, worker bees need to visit more than 3 million flowers and travel the equivalent of three times around the world! Of course, they don’t mind doing it, because they care about their hive. The harder they work, the happier and more productive their colony can be.
The Bible tells Christian workers, “Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth” (3 John 1:8). God’s church is a lot like a beehive. The Lord wants us to be workers in our homes, churches and communities, being “busy bees” who do our part to make life sweeter for those around us. The Bible also says that Jesus will recognize us by our love for one another.
Bees inspire us to respect others
Honeybees are very loyal to their queen. They will go wherever the queen goes, do whatever is needed to make sure their leader is healthy and happy, and work hard to help the queen do her part for the hive. Her main job is to lay eggs so the colony will grow. Everyone else works to feed the larvae and protect the queen.
In the ARI community, everyone calls each other "san." It means all of "Mr., Mrs., Miss and Ms.," a title of respect. In the same way, it is not good for workers to be disrespectful or critical of their leaders, which can mean your parents, pastor, and teacher
https://gyazo.com/c679089473b143e68d9445104e5f1b27
Bhim ready to visit the bees