Nepal's Panchthar district keeps century-old community labor tradition alive

Panchthar, Nepal – In the remote hill district of Panchthar, a tradition nearly a century old is still alive, showcasing the enduring power of community cooperation. 'Harguhar,' a practice of collective labor, sees villagers joining hands to rebuild public infrastructure, a custom that has persisted despite the march of time and technology.

Historically, village leaders would dispatch messengers to mobilize residents for 'harguhar.' Villagers would arrive equipped with hoes, spades, and picks to construct essential infrastructure like tracks and makeshift footbridges. This communal effort was vital for maintaining village connectivity and public structures, especially in an era with limited overseas employment and before widespread communication technologies.

Gangaram Bhattarai, a 96-year-old resident, recalls how this tradition was integral to village life. "Whether it was to make a path for people or build a public structure, villagers worked together," he told The Post. Collective labor was also mobilized for reconstructing school buildings after major earthquakes and for clearing footpaths and horse trails before major festivals.

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Timber and bamboo were laid across big rivers and torrents to make phadke. Whether it was to make a path for people or build a public structure, villagers worked together.

The tradition played a role even in the construction of the Mechi Highway, where villagers from assigned areas worked to clear routes. However, the advent of roads reaching villages and the introduction of machinery like excavators gradually diminished the need for manual labor, leading to a decline in collective development efforts.

Despite this shift, the spirit of 'harguhar' has not vanished in Panchthar. Repeated natural disasters, particularly floods and landslides, have repeatedly brought people together. Rather than solely relying on government agencies, residents have increasingly taken it upon themselves to clear roads, repair crossings, and restore access, demonstrating a modern resurgence of this age-old tradition in response to the district's challenging geography and frequent water-induced disasters.

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At that time, people from each village panchayat were assigned different blocks and asked to build the road.