Farming transforms Nepali Chepang settlement, lifting families from poverty

Tek Bahadur Chepang returned home to Chitwan, Nepal, after three years in Malaysia, finding his family still trapped by poverty and uncertainty. The earnings from his overseas work were insufficient to improve their lives.

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Cucumber is my main crop. I have also been raising goats for the past four or five years. Together, these activities generate around Rs1.5 million annually.

Now, Tek Bahadur stands amidst thriving cucumber vines in Hapani, a Chepang-majority settlement. He represents a new story of self-reliance and rising incomes. On a single Friday morning, he sold five quintals of cucumbers, with much more ready for harvest. He expects his next harvest to exceed a tonne and plans to plant tomatoes afterward. "Cucumber is my main crop. I have also been raising goats for the past four or five years. Together, these activities generate around Rs1.5 million annually," he said.

Tek Bahadur's success mirrors a broader transformation in Kaule Hapani. Commercial vegetable farming has redefined the identity of the marginalized Chepang community, long associated with hardship. Eighty-one-year-old Dil Bahadur Praja Chepang recalls a time when maize was the primary crop, and food shortages forced families to forage in forests. "Such hardships are now largely gone," he said.

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In the past, maize planted in February would only be ready around August. We grew maize and a little millet on the slopes. Once the grain ran out, families suffered shortages. People had to search the forest for wild tubers and other wild roots to survive. Such hardships are now largely gone.

The shift began a decade ago, with farmers now cultivating cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, and coriander for markets in Fisling, Tandi, and Narayanghat. Ward chair Panch Bahadur Praja Chepang, who also farms tomatoes, earns around Rs500,000 annually. "Most farmers cultivate cucumbers, while I focus more on tomatoes," he said.

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Most farmers cultivate cucumbers, while I focus more on tomatoes. I sell tomatoes worth around Rs500,000 each year.

With about 35 households in Hapani involved in farming, many earn between Rs100,000 and Rs200,000 annually. "The situation where people had to migrate simply to feed their families is no longer common here," Panch Bahadur noted. Tek Bahadur, chair of the Hapani Farmers’ Group, added that visible success encourages others. "When people saw that hard work in agriculture could generate income, more households began growing vegetables," he said. Infrastructure improvements have also been vital to this change.

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There are around 35 households in Hapani. Every family is involved in some form of farming. Many earn at least Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 annually. The situation where people had to migrate simply to feed their families is no longer common here.