When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Back to the land in the cities

Pinki Sris Rana

Who builds Kathmandu?

Eight years ago, at a busy Thamel restaurant, a promising new plan to set up an animal vaccine facility in Nepal was born during a meeting with a professor from the University of California-Davis. The idea was to innovate a cold chain-free viral vaccine that could be transported to rural Nepal without logistical problems and, ultimately, to increase the accessibility of vaccines for small farmers. A government agency in the Netherlands agreed to chip in almost half a million euros to the project as a matching fund. A few Dutch investors along with Nepali companies were interested in the project as well. So a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/alternative-investments-to-attract-fdi">Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) </a>company called BIOVAC Nepal was established in 2017. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times Data from the poultry sector showed that the venture made business sense and had high social impact. So we prepared to get this innovative high-tech company up and running. The Australian government also pledged money for additional research and enhanced manufacturing capacity. Everyone was excited. But very quickly, as happens often in Nepal, that excitement turned into frustration. Ahead of the Nepal Investment Summit 2024 from 28-29 April in Kathmandu, this is an account of how deep the rot has set in. Fix this before trying to attract any investors. Registration for the FDI company alone took almost a year, followed by senseless bureaucratic hurdles. We thought the Department of Livestock was the main agency for permits for an animal vaccine facility, only to find out a year later that it was the Department of Drug Administration (DDA). Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/alternative-investments-to-attract-fdi">Alternative investments to attract FDI</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey There was no clear instruction and guidance and we were kept running around in circles trying to figure out the procedure. Finally, after six grueling years of effort, we set up a state-of-the-art animal vaccine research, development and manufacturing facility. It took another year and half to get a commercial license for our first product.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240210140220_de2e166db4c2b9385179489558c94c9e83ee248a0532d01d2a4ce14b1a44d20f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240210140220_de2e166db4c2b9385179489558c94c9e83ee248a0532d01d2a4ce14b1a44d20f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="entrepreneuship in Nepal"> </figure>  The business culture in Nepal is so primitive that contracts are not worth the paper they are signed on. For vaccine commercialisation, we signed an agreement with a local distributor for exclusive partnership with volume commitments and a joint marketing effort. That did not go according to what was planned and agreed upon. But there was little we could do other than almost beg for help. Recovering money from issued invoices was excruciatingly difficult, if not impossible. After producing our thoroughly researched and tested vaccine, we then had to go the extra mile to prove that it actually worked. We published all our testing and validation data in internationally recognised and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Even then, we had to constantly face the doubts of Nepali farmers as we attempted to convince them that our product was as good as if not better than imported ones. But there seemed to be little faith in ‘Made in Nepal’.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/success-in-nepal-means-not-having-to-work">Success in Nepal means not having to work</a>, Anil Chitrakar Nepal’s poultry industry is inefficient in terms of production. For example, the productivity of the Cobb 500 broiler chicken in the US is almost 99%, meaning there is only a 1% loss due to mortality. The same breed of chicken in Nepal sometimes has a production efficiency of less than 70%. Disease outbreaks due to poor biosecurity and immunisation are the main reasons. BIOVAC provided a comprehensive disease prevention service, but was unable to convince farmers to sign up for measures that would guarantee better production success. There was a resistance to new ideas.&nbsp; The unpredictability in business projections meant that we had to look for additional funds. Local banks, although very approachable, are often boxed into traditional ways of lending money through real estate collaterals. Government directives are often lacking or confusing. Every investment loan is looked at from a real estate prism. Two of Nepal’s major universities produce hundreds of biotech graduates every year. A majority of them eventually emigrate. Over 16 years ago, we opened up one of Nepal’s most modern biotech companies. Since then, many of these graduates have been able to learn and work on cutting edge vaccine research and production. But instead of appreciation, we have been harassed and obstructed by government agencies every step of the way. Even ‘social impact investment’ providers who scrutinised our books told us we did not have a sound commercial plan. Some of the criticism was constructive, but they saw it as yet another ‘hydro’ project. The project was in the national interest, building not only vaccines but also the highly skilled human resources needed to go from a trading and importing nation to a country of cutting-edge innovation. The narrow definition of rate of return meant that the ‘social impact’ was lost in translation. Ever since I returned to Nepal from the US 16 years ago, I have seen a gradual breakdown of governance. The overall mood of the country is cynical and gloomy. Scientists and innovators are valued even less, which is why there is an exodus of our best and brightest. After dedicating almost seven years of my life to build something that we believed the country needed, my entrepreneurial urge is dampened. The odds are stacked against innovation and invention, this has become a land of rent-seekers and traders. Dibesh Karmacharya has a PhD in Conservation and Microbiome Genetics from Griffith University, Australia. He is the Founder/Chair of the Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal, Intrepid Nepal and BIOVAC Nepal.

Killing investment in Nepal in 10 easy steps

Last week, Nepal’s digital media highlighted the news that a Buddha Air flight from Kathmandu to Nepalganj ended up landing in Dhangadi. Many readers did a double-take because they were misled by a sensational title which suggested that somehow the crew had got the destination wrong. Not that such mistakes have not happened in the past, but this was a simple diversion due to poor visibility at Nepalganj. Many Nepali media outlets lack aviation literacy, mistaking aircraft models, getting technical details wrong, or using incorrect aviation terminology, for example calling a normal ‘go around’ procedure an ‘overshoot’ which is actually a runway excursion by an aircraft.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231210071220_90d298964e8c0e99803549a499b1f8f6a38718ed7d34be536e8bf141a2f89fc2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231210071220_90d298964e8c0e99803549a499b1f8f6a38718ed7d34be536e8bf141a2f89fc2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="airline visibility 2"> </figure>  The Kathmandu-Nepalganj flight U4451 was operated by one of Buddha’s ATR-72s and was approaching Nepalganj after a 40 minute flight from Kathmandu when the runway visibility dropped to below minima. The flight crew then decided to land at the alternate airport, Dhangadi which had better visibility and was only 20 minutes away. A Shree Airlines CRJ700 from Kathmandu to Nepalganj also diverted to Dhangadi for the same reason. Both aircraft returned and landed in Nepalganj after the visibility improved there after a few hours. As winter sets in, flights are sometimes cancelled due to poor visibility, but more common are delays due weather conditions. This also leads to traffic congestion at Kathmandu airport, as domestic and international flights have to make instrument approaches, thus leading to mounting delays in arrivals and departures throughout the day. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/onset-of-winter-leads-to-flight-delays">Onset of winter leads to flight delays</a>, Nepali Times In winter, visibility below minimum at airports is caused by temperature inversion that traps polluted air at ground level. Inversion is especially pronounced in the mornings in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Tarai airports. In fact, at the peak of winter, the entire Indo-Gangetic plains including the Tarai is blanketed by thick fog that does not lift for days. “Passengers are understandably inconvenienced for having to wait for hours at the airport because of<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-jam/" target="_blank"> the congestion</a> caused by bad weather, but the airlines have to stick to safety protocols and it is beyond their control,” explains Buddha Air’s Dipendra Karna. It is when Kathmandu has to operate under instrument flying rules (IFR) when visibility falls below 2km that the delays have a domino effect throughout the day. Incoming flights have to hold for an hour or more, and this means outbound flights are also delayed. Under IFR procedures, incoming flights to Kathmandu can only land from the south on the airport’s only runway, and since the taxiway does not extend till the threshold of the 02 end of the runway, incoming planes have to be spaced up to 7 minutes apart. International flights sometimes have to divert to alternate airports like Delhi or Kolkata because Bhairawa and Pokhara airports is not yet open for diversions. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/domestic-aviation-flies-into-headwind">Domestic aviation flies into headwind</a>, Nepali Times  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231211041248_588ea32381eae6b1cbce819d333c8394c08e0eca724c513fad2beb68b03d2264.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231211041248_588ea32381eae6b1cbce819d333c8394c08e0eca724c513fad2beb68b03d2264" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="900" loading="lazy" alt="Buddha Air NT"> <figcaption>Buddha Air has a weather map of Nepal at Kathmandu domestic airport departure lounge with live web cam videos of main airports in the country showing visibility. </figcaption> </figure>  Biratnagar, Bhairawa and Nepalganj also face cancellations and delays in winter because of the north Indian fog mixed with smog. Sometimes flights from Kathmandu to Nepalganj will not be able to fly even if it is clear at the destination because visibility at the alternate airport is below minima. “Biratnagar may be open, but if Janakpur or Rajbiraj are closed due to visibility, the flight cannot take off from Kathmandu,” says Karna. Domestic flights on trunk routes now have a better chance of flying on time if it is a night flight.&nbsp; Weather-related delays are unavoidable because safety comes first, but operations could be improved with better navigational aids like Instrument Landing System (ILS) or RNAV satellite-based approach guidance.

Air passengers at mercy of winter delays

Cycling brings fond memories. Learning to take that first ride with my mother in the small alley next to home. Re-learning with my husband in the streets of Europe.
Both came as a necessity. The first because I had failed several attempts at balancing, and it was a matter of self-pride. The second because cycling was the primary mode of affordable commute for a student overseas.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/no-city-for-cyclists">No city for cyclists</a>, Sewa Bhattarai
I often connect cycling with life, a balance you need to learn, and once learnt can never unlearn. What a beautiful form of experience that already is.
In Kathmandu, I cycle to work each day. Family, friends and acquaintances compliment me for being so conscious of my <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/cycling-to-cop28">carbon footprint</a>. But my cycling was due to forced necessity, I just do not have the fortitude to drive in the city’s chaotic traffic.
I switched to cycling during the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/As-It-Happens/blockade-that-benefitted-no-one,660">2015 blockade</a>. Between daily chores at the office and home with two little girls, the struggle to join the long queues at the petrol station had tired me out.&nbsp;
One evening, my husband brought home a beautiful bicycle. I was a bit angry about buying such an expensive bike. But eight years on I am so thankful because the bicycle continues to run solid and is my best buddy on the road.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/netherlands-to-nepal-by-bicycle">Netherlands to Nepal by bicycle</a>, Ashish Dhakal
Thin traffic during the blockade gave me confidence, and although hard at first, muscle memory eventually kicked in. When the blockade was lifted after six months and fuel was plentiful again, traffic clogged the streets again.&nbsp;
Honking always troubled me, and I wished I could put a banner with bold letters on my bag: Don’t Honk. My wish was answered in 2016 when traffic police declared unnecessary honking a punishable offence.
A lot of people still warn me about the dangers of being on a bicycle on Kathmandu’s roads. That is true, they are not the safest place to be. I have had a few scrapes with bruises and aches, but that does not deter me. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pedalling-for-life">Cycling</a> has become a part of my life.&nbsp;
And there are people who encourage me. One traffic police officer always greeted me at the intersection I crossed every morning during my commute to work. Once a little girl asked me if it was all right for a woman to cycle. I told her I hoped someday she would be a pilot.
One night, the driver of a private car switched on the high beam so I could pedal along the potholed street in torrential rain. Strangers on the sidewalk smiled when they saw me on my bicycle.&nbsp;
However, I am aghast at the utter recklessness and impatience of motorcycle and vehicle drivers on the roads, speeding and overtaking dangerously. On a bicycle one notices such rashness even more.&nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/downhill-all-the-way">Most of Kathmandu is a cycle city</a>. Lalitpur now has bicycle lanes and that has made it easier to negotiate for space with other traffic. Moving slowly at my own pace, I have the opportunity to see and feel the things around me, to savour the beauty (and, yes, also the ugliness and dangers) of my city.
Cycling has become a ritual, and it does not tire me at all. It has given me a perspective on life, on how one needs to keep going no matter how steep the uphill, and keep an eye on the smaller wins every day. It reminds me that I am not in competition with anyone else, and I am only challenging myself to do better each day.
All these years, cycling has given me serenity, peace of mind, and a time for self-reflection. As the cycling culture continues to grow, it is also a reminder to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/re-cycling-kathmandu-is-not-so-easy">make our roads safer for everyone</a>. Fast or slow, all street users are equal.&nbsp;
Cycling teaches us to be civil and considerate of others. My right to use the road also comes with the responsibility to think for fellow citizens. And this could be small, yet meaningful contributions towards reducing my and your carbon footprint.
Eliza Sthapit is the National Director for Habitat for Humanity International Nepal.

Pedalling as a life lesson

Greenhouses are supposed to be hotter than the ambient temperature because the glass or plastic traps heat inside so plants can grow in winter. But one greenhouse here on the southern fringes of Kathmandu is an exception: it is cooler than outside. It feels like an enormous refrigerator, and there is no visible thermostat. The agro-tech company Muttho Nepal has deployed a combined concept of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/garden-walls">vertical layered farming</a> and hydroponics, allowing for plants to grow in a relatively small space with nutrient-enriched water. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/muttha.nepal/">Muttha Agro</a> is the brainchild of Kushal Gurung of Wind Power Nepal and Gandaki Urja, who has also been promoting alternative energy sources in Nepal with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit">Nepal’s biggest industrial-scale biogas plant</a> in Kaski and a series of wind farms.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020940_bd58b85ade5e1929ccaed09cac9c098ab4336f21b012480868f241ae08ce9818.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230916020940_bd58b85ade5e1929ccaed09cac9c098ab4336f21b012480868f241ae08ce9818" data-rendition-name="original" width="5149" height="3433" loading="lazy" alt="Vertical hydroponics"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020940_4642c4b18e3936a530dcfc441b54b926ec69a1d249ba4c53e71419d8b3556458.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230916020940_4642c4b18e3936a530dcfc441b54b926ec69a1d249ba4c53e71419d8b3556458" data-rendition-name="original" width="5398" height="3599" loading="lazy" alt="Vertical hydroponics"></figure>  “This is an alternative to traditional agriculture most suited to cities like Kathmandu with its limited land already crowded with concrete buildings and scarce water,” explains Gurung, showing visitors around his complex. “The once-fertile soil in Kathmandu is also becoming too acidic for crops because of the overuse of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/heavy-pesticide-use-and-low-consumer-awareness-affecting-public-health,1394">fertilisers and pesticides</a>. Muttha stepped into production in March 2023, and its applied demo system has also been installed in the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-is-possible-at-godavari-park">Living Mountain Lab in Godavari</a> for other farmers to adapt to or learn from. After <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">rooftop farming</a> and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mini-forests-to-make-kathmandu-more-liveable">Mikawaki method of forestation</a> where diverse indigenous plants are densely planted in small city plots, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/something-fishy-in-new-nepal-farm">hydroponics</a> can maximise productivity in a limited area while saving water by circulating it again and again.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020928_9594937bc01ae879d754f233d3a48baa46c3849cbba130983f7ab26a4b17063c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230916020928_9594937bc01ae879d754f233d3a48baa46c3849cbba130983f7ab26a4b17063c" data-rendition-name="original" width="3854" height="2569" loading="lazy" alt="Alternative farming in Kathmandu"></figure>  Muttha Nepal goes a step further by integrating the global practice with local knowledge, adds Gurung. “In Nepal, most hydroponics are investing millions and bringing experts from abroad to install their systems. But we installed the whole setup by ourselves, understanding our own needs,” he says. Also unlike most hydroponics that have artificial heating or cooling, Muttha uses the natural temperature balance, bringing down energy cost and making the venture most cost-effective. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming">Back to the future of farming in Nepal</a> “Artificial temperature control is costly whereas sunlight is free," says Erik van Os, a Dutch expert with 40 years of experience in hydroponics. Van Os is helping Muttha Nepal grow sustainably as part of <a href="https://www.carsu.edu.ph/?q=topics/programma-uitzending-managers">Programma Uitzending Managers</a> (PUM), which is committed to the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries and emerging markets. In a natural temperature setup, the topmost layer gets most of the sunlight, which means plants that need more sun are placed above while others go in their shade.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020940_5ce9cb81d68990d2d7458658a417a836a8b7cc3eadc57c8cb1fc593946ce1a5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20230916020940_5ce9cb81d68990d2d7458658a417a836a8b7cc3eadc57c8cb1fc593946ce1a5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="5676" height="3784" loading="lazy" alt="Alternative farming in Kathmandu"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020940_8548ec4c064b9bcd33f3874af495f24525d3ec1612f0aa3bbcde2711f0ce0436.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20230916020940_8548ec4c064b9bcd33f3874af495f24525d3ec1612f0aa3bbcde2711f0ce0436" data-rendition-name="original" width="3749" height="2499" loading="lazy" alt="Alternative farm in Kathmandu"></figure>  Farming is seeing mechanical and technical advances globally, but Muttha is making the most of what it has with inputs from advisers. Gurung and the team do not consider the lack of high-tech appliances as setbacks. Using a mid-tech greenhouse, surrounded by a white net, the vertical hydroponics structure provides enough space for ventilation. The net of the surrounding walls can be covered with plastic during heavy rainfall. The topmost layer below the plastic roof is a shade net that decreases the temperature by 2-3°C. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">Hanging gardens of Kathmandu</a>, Santa Gaha Magar Inside the greenhouse, there are five perfectly aligned separate columns with four systems each of six levels of pipes, each having six pipes with 28,000 holes in which leafy greens are grown. Each row has a 500 l tank half-embedded below ground level. The nutrient-filled water is circulated throughout the pipes through these tanks with the help of a water pump. The plants are high-value produce like lettuce, basil, kale, arugula and celery, and poke out of the vertically arranged holes in the pipes. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/waste-to-value-with-biogas-in-nepal">Waste to value with biogas in Nepal</a>, Sushmita Dulal  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020944_d33e3b643183fbe495a15c6f84e3515a830bf111adea934d61411ec309f7a5e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20230916020944_d33e3b643183fbe495a15c6f84e3515a830bf111adea934d61411ec309f7a5e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="5852" height="3901" loading="lazy" alt="Alternative farming in urban areas"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230916020944_8817163ed3831895da1e4bc0adb4708ff5a93762dea13b99abd20c89cbecd1b5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20230916020944_8817163ed3831895da1e4bc0adb4708ff5a93762dea13b99abd20c89cbecd1b5" data-rendition-name="original" width="4668" height="3112" loading="lazy" alt="Alternative farming in urban areas"></figure>  “We have stuck with salads for two reasons. One, it has been the tested crop of hydroponics worldwide and is a sure success everywhere,” explains Gurung. “Second, it is a perishable high-value crop that cannot be imported.” Muttha is also experimenting with growing strawberries, coriander, and tomatoes but salads are their priority. With an investment of Rs6 in each sapling, it can earn up to Rs30 when it grows. Muttha also runs training workshops to share its knowledge to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-farmers-reap-what-they-sow-and-more">make farmers across Nepal climate-smart</a> to keep up with rising temperature and droughts. Just this monsoon, parts of Nepal’s hills and much of Tarai were not able to plant paddy on time due to reduced rainfall. For now, deploying this combined alternative farming in urban centres is a start to greening <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-lure-of-green">concrete jungles</a>, while increasing productivity of farms. Von Os sums it up: “Integrating hydroponics is the way forward to intensify the produce in places like Kathmandu with limited space but high demand.”

Greening a concrete jungle

Thakur Das Shrestha, originally from Nepal, established the famous Das Studio in Darjeeling in 1927. Since then, his descendants have been documenting the changes of their home country through photography.&nbsp; Their work will be displayed in Postcards from Kathmandu’s Past, an exhibition of photographs by three generations of the Das family, with works by Dwarika Das Shrestha (1926–2004), Gyanendra Das Shrestha (born 1955) and Kashish Das Shrestha (born 1982).&nbsp; The exhibition opens on 28 April and will go on till 4 May at Wind Horse Gallery located at Moksh Bar in Jhamsikhel. One particular image has an expressed commentary: The Basantapur AI Blue Sky, produced two weeks ago, on a day when Kathmandu city ranked as one of the top most polluted cities in the world.&nbsp; The sky and some colour tones of the smoggy day with fiery sunset has been deliberately AI enhanced to emphasise how blue-sky spring days in Kathmandu valley are rapidly becoming rarer.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-archive-of-nepali-heritage">An archive of Nepali heritage</a>, Ashish Dhakal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_b235d6d0371004c3e1790a4146dea9cfd1627465d14bbfdc7f0d4d9a3d364b22.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230428090420_b235d6d0371004c3e1790a4146dea9cfd1627465d14bbfdc7f0d4d9a3d364b22" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1751" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>1960s Parked in Patan. Photo: DWARIKA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_9a5a47250fdee06803a7aa69a1f6ff7731c99dad8c12748990b9bdd83166d2f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230428090420_9a5a47250fdee06803a7aa69a1f6ff7731c99dad8c12748990b9bdd83166d2f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>1980s recreation of Parked in Patan. Photo: GYANENDRA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_f68feaaf4402e1a082852ee153a78e3095579ad8d2f8600ff227c30e98750c2e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230428090420_f68feaaf4402e1a082852ee153a78e3095579ad8d2f8600ff227c30e98750c2e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2750" height="1833" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>2023 recreation of Parked in Patan. Photo: KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;Dwarika Das Shrestha was the second of four sons of Thakur Das in Darjeeling. By 1950s, Das Studio was already a popular social hub for locals and visitors. People stopped by to have conversations about current affairs and photography.&nbsp; They bought Das Studio’s postcards and posters of Darjeeling and Sikkim which were &nbsp;immensely popular in the days before the Internet. Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark regularly spent time there, and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and French monk Matthieu Ricard were close family friends.&nbsp; Dwarika was active with the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and went on several expeditions with Norgay from Darjeeling. Although he had wanted to join an Everest expedition, his grandmother convinced him to abandon the idea because of the risks involved.&nbsp; In 1960, Dwarika moved back to Kathmandu permanently and set up the Das Photo Store in Khicha Pokhari, just off New Road. Apart from studio services and documentary photography, he also offered photo and video classes, and volunteered as a photography teacher at St Xavier’s School in Jawalakhel.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-nepal-s-history-colourful">Making Nepal’s history colourful</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_a26565105dad1a7d9a214ca68c4acc0962d2c695bfa7c7c3454c0f608b2c8344.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230428090420_a26565105dad1a7d9a214ca68c4acc0962d2c695bfa7c7c3454c0f608b2c8344" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>Dharara, circa 1960. Photo: DWARIKA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_0240e60ef0eb6c8b7fe0a969538cd75b9bebdae73e0577596238bd7e8e860568.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230428090420_0240e60ef0eb6c8b7fe0a969538cd75b9bebdae73e0577596238bd7e8e860568" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>Dharara after the 2015 earthquake. Photo: KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  Dwarika helped introduce the country to the outside world during the 1960s and 70s as he was the first person to produce commercial postcards of the country for visitors to mail back home. Dwarika maintained an active social life in Kathmandu, which included the royal princes of Nepal whom he had known since their boarding school days in Darjeeling. He also met Nepal’s former Prime Minister B P Koirala, who was at that time an underground national leader spearheading the pro-democracy movement against the monarchy. Dwarika took a photo of Koirala and printed it as a poster for his supporters to use. &nbsp; Dwarika’s image of Swayambhu, photographed from the stupa’s west face, had become immensely popular in the 60s and 70s as a postcard. His son Gyanendra re-created and published an updated version of the image in the 80s and 90s with equal success. It remains a defining frame and this angle on the stupa has been reproduced by countless professional and hobby photographers and, more recently, Instagrammers and TikTokers. Gyanendra Das Shrestha was born in Kathmandu, and is an internationally published award-winning photographer. In 1976, aged just 21, he won his first international photography award, the Koishikawa Rotary Club Prize, organised by the Asian Cultural Center for UNESCO. Two years later, he won the Asian Cultural Center for UNESCO Prize itself. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-way-we-were">The way we were</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_685d3a86237b764b87274f2abc2bda56da41cc45f97f4f7e4c77721a8c56362e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230428090420_685d3a86237b764b87274f2abc2bda56da41cc45f97f4f7e4c77721a8c56362e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="2395" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>1960s Swayambhu postcard that helped define the most popular framing of the stupa. Photo: DWARIKA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_2b78871c45c09c1cdf4f2d925166c892686fb616d495fdab8e195f5afbfa3912.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230428090420_2b78871c45c09c1cdf4f2d925166c892686fb616d495fdab8e195f5afbfa3912" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1965" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>Recreating original Das postcard of Swayambhu 3 days after the earthquake. Photo: KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  Gyanendra opened his own photo shop, Das Color Lab, in early 80s, pivoting from documentary to commercial photography, and focused on expanding the studio services and postcard and poster market his father and grandfather had pioneered. His ‘Top of the World’ poster of Mt Everest rom Kala Pathar became the defining image that popularised the Everest Trek and that vantage point. His Annapurna panorama from Pokhara lakeside taken in the 80s became another instant classic and the view has been replicated endlessly by photographers since.&nbsp; &nbsp;Das Color Lab closed its shutters for good before Gyanendra joined his family in New York in 2006. But the posters and postcards it produced through the final decades of the 20th century continue to influence and define the market for commercial photography today. His son, Kashish, is in turn an internationally published writer and photographer with 25 years of print and broadcast media experience. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reliving-analogue-photography">Reliving analogue photography</a>, Suman Nepali  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_ca26dbda68f45a529f752f84dd32610991c43f47db58a3f04385e4934b0cb117.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20230428090420_ca26dbda68f45a529f752f84dd32610991c43f47db58a3f04385e4934b0cb117" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="608" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>The classic Top of the World photograph from Kala Pattar that became the iconic view of Mt Everest. Photo: GYANENDRA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230428090420_d52b8cbe5238ee7fc506189ca72ad577d0f8b6c8e014692971e8e6017a47ec07.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20230428090420_d52b8cbe5238ee7fc506189ca72ad577d0f8b6c8e014692971e8e6017a47ec07" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1327" loading="lazy" alt="Postcards from Kathmandu NT"> <figcaption>The Old Pokhara panorama, the city has changed but the mountains have not. Photo: GYANENDRA DAS SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  Kashish picked up photography and writing as a teenager because it was in his blood, and also because he wanted to document the youth culture he was part of in the 90s. He also photographed Bhutanese refugee resettlement in eastern Nepal and the Maoist conflict, and later in North America. Kashish traveled to Rolpa and spent a week with the Maoist rebels, many of whom were teenagers. As the conflict continued to grow, he photographed and wrote about the rebels extensively for Nepali Times from deep inside their strongholds in the western plains and the eastern hills. Kashish uses his writing and photography to fund independent research and pro bono policy work on sustainable development in Nepal. His works have been exhibited at various venues over the years, including at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Stanford University in California, and all seven Bhutanese refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. His 2009 solo Americana exhibition, ‘Marfa to Manhattan’, was supported by the US State Department. Kashish is currently working on a food anthropology and pop culture project on the history of momo. “The transformation of spaces, as small as a public square, or as large as the valley, gives us much to think about,” &nbsp;he says. “These transformations have been shaped by us, and affect us. This is not to say that old was good or new is bad. Nepal has rapidly urbanised in the last decade, and it can fairly be said this transition has been neither thoughtful nor sustainable. It has simply just been.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/portrait-of-a-photographer-in-rural-nepal/">Portrait of a photographer in rural Nepal</a>, Monika Deupala &nbsp; Postcards from Kathmandu's Past Friday, 28 April 3PM till 4 May, 2023 Wind Horse Gallery with support from Photo Concern Moksh, Jawalakhel Limited Edition Prints from the Das archives on Hahnemühle paper. The first editions on display at the exhibition are Giclée prints.

Postcards from Kathmandu

<figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0229c7e80680e0d7022jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>A Yeti Airlines ATR72 aircraft from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday morning crashed near its destination. The plane had 68 passengers on board and four cabin crew led by senior captain Kamal KC. Six of the passengers are children, 15 foreigners, of which five are Indians, and 53 Nepali nationals, including eight members of a single family.The 72-seater took off at 10:30AM from Kathmandu before it crashed into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/setis-gorgeous-gorges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Seti gorge</a> between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport in Ward 15 near Sitaram Bridge. The plane was engulfed in fire immediately after.An eyewitness video showed the nose-up plane seemingly in a stall, banking in a steep dive before crashing.According to rescuers, 32 bodies have been recovered so far. But onlookers say it is unlikely anyone survived the crash given the accident site being in a deep narrow gorge. Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police teams had not been able to douse the fire even 2 hours after the crash.A crowd of spectators at the crash taking photos and videos with mobile phones have made the rescue more difficult and added to traffic in the area. <figure><img width="640" height="1241" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0269c7e80680e0d7023jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="750" height="796" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02a9c7e80680e0d7024jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This is a rare instance where a plane on a trunk route crashed during a good weather. The plane was landing at Pokhara's new international airport that was only inaugurated on 1 January 2023. One aviation expert who did not want to be named, told Nepali Times: "It is too early to pinpoint the cause of the crash, but from the eyewitness video the plane appears to be in a nose-up altitude prior to a stall."The expert said what needs to be determined is what caused the stall: either a bird strike, mechanical issue, or a steep nose-up that bled air speed at low altitude.One of the reasons the inauguration of the new airport was delayed was because Pokhara's landfill site, which is located in the Seti River near the runway, posed birdstrike danger to landing aircraft. <figure><img width="843" height="483" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02c9c7e80680e0d7025jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02f9c7e80680e0d7026jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0339c7e80680e0d7027jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0379c7e80680e0d7028jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-opposition-less-parliament/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a> and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane who had visited Kathmandu airport's control room for the details are going to Pokhara on Sunday itself. Dahal had previously called an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers while Lamichhane has directed authorities for immediate rescue and relief. Nepal is one of the most challenging countries in the world for aviation because of treacherous terrain and weather. It has seen 67 fatal air crashes in the last 60 years. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-jomsom-flight-with-22-missing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The most recent accident</a> was the May 2022 Tara Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom crash killing 22 passengers. But the nature of Saturday's tragedy would make it a crash with the highest number of casualties on a domestic flight in Nepal's aviation history. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">See: 60 years of Nepal's aviation history</a>. Most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aviation accidents in Nepal</a> between 1952-2022 were caused by planes flying into mountains hidden in clouds, known as Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). But this was in broad daylight, in good weather, near a new airport with modern navigation facilities.

Pokhara bound flight crashes in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd5129c7e80680e0d30d1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Architect Götz Hagmüller and his wife Ludmilla have made the 18th century Kuthu Math in Bhaktapur their home for three decades. Photos: THOMAS L KELLY</figcaption></figure>The Himalaya may be famous globally for the world’s highest mountains and the people who climb them, but this 3,000km range has also evolved its own distinctive <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/niels-gutschow-leaves-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">art and architecture</a>.Kathmandu-based photographer Thomas L Kelly and author Claire Burkert have collaborated to document the elegance of the built environment of the Himalaya in a new edition of their coffee-table book, Himalayan Style: Shelters &amp; Sanctuaries.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Himalayan-style-kelly-burkert-book-review,2032" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">First published in 2014</a>, the 2022 edition updates the content with new museums that preserve art and precious objects, and public gardens that are oases in the urban sprawl of Himalayan towns.‘Himalayan styles are not static, it is ever-evolving, absorbing the ideas of cultures within and outside the region,’ writes Burket in the introduction.This lavishly illustrated book combines photographs by Kelly, a former US Peace Corps volunteer with meticulously researched text by Burkert, who set up the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/colour-play-mithila-art-janakpur,796" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Women’s Development Centre</a> in Janakpur. The final product is a record of Himalayan design, style and culture across Pakistan, India, Bhutan, China and Nepal some of which is disappearing, and others are being revived.The first chapter features monasteries, dzongs, temples, palaces, and houses of nobility that have outlasted their original purpose and found a new one. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/Patan-town-as-a-museum-piece" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patan Museum</a> in Kathmandu Valley is a model of adaptive reuse of a historic structure, with the former royal palace preserved and converted into a hub for art and history.So is the 17th century house of a royal secretary in Ladakh which is now the Ladakh Arts and Media organisation, and the Tower of Trongsa Museum, a transformed watchtower of Bhutan’s Trongsa Dzong.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd5159c7e80680e0d30d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Himalayan Style has a chapter dedicated to the faith, rituals and objects of devotion of the people in the mountains. Another chapter highlights building materials and technologies suited to the mid-hills and high Himalayas including the dressed or undressed stone with mud mortar, mud brick, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/foundations-for-sustainable-buildings-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rammed earth</a>.Kelly and Burkert’s attention to detail is reflected in their portrayal of hand-crafted metals and wooden utensils in the homes and buildings. A section on Mustang in particular is a tribute to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/robert-g-powell-1948-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Robert Powell</a> who passed away in 2020.But no book on the Himalaya is complete without looking into their trails and retreats that cater to tourists. Burkert notes that hotels and restaurants in the Tibetan town of Gyalthang in China’s Yunan combine local design with Western elements adding to the comfort in a high-altitude environment.The clean, simple design of a mountain resort 360 Leti in Kumaon in India marks a new direction for Himalayan architecture — something that Nepal’s hotel architecture could emulate.But much of Himalayan Style, in fact, one-third of it, is dedicated to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-making-of-kathmandu-valley-style/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the style of Kathmandu Valley</a> and its various forms of art — from ceramics and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Putting-it-down-on-paper-nepali,3750" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lokta paper</a> maps to Tibetan carpet and cashmere shawls.The chapter also details the inner workings of some of the restored neo-classical Rana-era structures including the Baber Mahal Revisited and Garden of Dreams. Leslie Shackleford’s movable house and Taragaon’s modern Buddhist architecture inspired design with exhibition spaces, a café and specialty shops also make the cut.But the readers will have to get until the very end for the main highlights. In the chapter on Bhaktapur is a section on the 18th century <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/remembering-robert-powell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kuthu Math</a> which has been lovingly restored by German heritage specialist <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-guardian-of-the-shadows-%20G%C3%B6tz%20Hagm%C3%BCller,3352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goetz Hagemuller</a> who has lived there for the past four decades.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd5199c7e80680e0d30d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="273" height="377">Kelly and Burkert painstakingly document the architecture and objects of art from Kathy Math’s living spaces and stairways to metal idols, rugs and its elegant garden.A chapter on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/preserving-patan-post-earthquake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patan brings its artisans to the fore</a>, from skilled painters and stone carvers to a lost wax-casting master. The Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) building gets a special mention as does its director Rohit Ranjitkar’s family home, founder Erich Theophile’s penthouse near the palace complex and co-executive director Thomas Schrom’s revamped six-storey house in Patan Bahal.A book by non-Nepalis to remind Nepalis about the richness and treasures of Himalayan style and our way of life.

Sonia Awale

Style and substance

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd48e9c7e80680e0d30afjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="591" height="431"/><figcaption>Using oxen to plough a field in 1979 and in 2010 (right). All photos: ZDENĚK THOMA AND TOMÁŠ BERÁNEK</figcaption></figure>The Prague Spring democracy uprising had just been crushed by Soviet troops in 1968, and many Czechoslovaks fled the country. Photographer Zdeněk Thoma also left, but not as a refugee – he travelled overland to Istanbul, Tehran, Kabul and Kathmandu to discover the world.He went on to Calcutta, and in Singapore hitched a ride on a Polish cargo ship to Osaka. Thoma’s life-long love affair with Japan began then. He has been to the country 12 times and has since published three photo books, the latest on Japanese gardens.But after Japan, it is Nepal that Zdeněk Thoma is most fond of, and especially the valley of Manang which he first trekked to in 1979. He spent three weeks photographing the scenic trans-Himalayan valley and on return to Prague, held a photo exhibition ‘Village in the Shadow of Annapurna’.Czechoslovakia was still one country then, and the Communist regime had made it difficult for citizens to travel abroad. Which is why the dramatic photographs from an exotic corner of the Nepal Himalaya was an instant hit, were exhibited in galleries and museums in Czechia and Slovakia, inspiring a generation of mountaineers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4919c7e80680e0d30b0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="919" height="686"><figcaption>Three self confident girls Thoma encountered while trekking Manang Valley in 1979. Right: Nearly 40 years later the women are now in Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure>If it was any other photographer, that would have been the end of the story, and Thoma would have gone on to explore and photograph other parts of the world. But in 2008, he got his son Michal to retrace his steps to Manang, carrying with him an album of black and white photographs taken thirty years earlier.“The idea was to document and interpret the changes that had happened in Manang in the intervening years,” Zdenek Thoma, now 84, said during another visit to Nepal this week. Thoma went back to Manang on this trip, and the transformation has been even greater. In 1979, he had to walk for two weeks from Dumre up the Marsyangdi to Manang, today there is a road right up to Manang village.The road is rought, but has further altered the livelihoods and architecture of this once-quaint valley at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Even so, a lot of things have also remained the same.“When my father first came to Manang in 1979, I was just six months old,” says Michal. “I grew up listening to his stories about Nepal instead of fairytales. The photographs were imprinted in my mind, so when I finally got to Manang myself in 2008 I was already familiar with the place.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4949c7e80680e0d30b1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="501" height="409"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Michal went house-to-house in Manang and surrounding villages trying to locate some of the people in his father’s photographs. A young Dalit girl carrying her baby brother on her back in 1979 was a young woman. Already in 2008, there were a couple of motorcycles in Manang that had been carried over since the road to Besisahar had not yet been built.Before the road (and concrete) got there, the terraced houses of villages like Braga, Chame, Humde looked unchanged in 30 years. But it has been 14 years already since 2008, and that is not the case anymore. In 2008, mobile phones had already got to Manang and Michal has a photograph of women carrying a load of buckwheat on their back, and one of them is texting while she walks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4979c7e80680e0d30b2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="525" height="760"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The mountains seem eternal, and do not change much. But the impact of the climate crisis are now visible. The Gangapurna Lake at the terminus of the glacier did not exist 50 years ago. By 1979 it was a large pond. In another 30 years, the lake had expanded and the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Repeat-photography-of-Gangapurna-glacier-shows-glacial-retreat-over-32-years-A-A_fig5_281320415">glacier has retreated</a> up the north face of Mt Gangapurna. Today, the lake is gone -- covered by debris after heavy monsoon rains in 2000 washed down fragile glacial deposits no longer held together by permafrost.When Michal returned to Prague in 2008, he organised another exhibition ‘Manang: 30 Years Ago’ with before and after pictures by his father and himself. In 2010, Zdenek and Michal exhibited the photographs at the<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd49c9c7e80680e0d30b3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="460"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF), and after that father and son <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18132#.Y3mbqnZBy3A">took the photographs to Manang</a> where the photos were entrusted with a family to be exhibited.“When I first came to Manang, the people I photographed said they felt like the yaks that tourists took pictures of,” recalls Zdenek. “So we wanted to give the photographs to the people there. People there could see how much their villages had changed, sometimes for better sometimes for worse, so that Nepalis could decide how its remote mountains valleys should be developed in future.”<h2>Kathmandu Calendar</h2>1979 – 2023<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4a09c7e80680e0d30b4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3372" height="2619"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Czech photographer Zdenek Thoma first visited Kathmandu in 1979 in his overland travel from Prague to Singapore. But that brief visit to Kathmandu Valley fascinated him, and he returned several times after that.The photographs he took of Manang are part of a father-son exhibition with his son Michal of the transformation of the HImalaya (see main story). But the Kathmandu photographs represent a valuable archive of the Valley then and now. The changes in the architecture, the skyline, the people’s attire and livelihoods is documented in black and white photographs.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4a69c7e80680e0d30b5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1415"><figcaption>Bhaktapur’s skyline in 1979 and today. Tile roofs have been replaced with concrete, terraced farms with terraced roofs.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4ac9c7e80680e0d30b6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1422"><figcaption>Nyatapola Temple Square in Bhaktapur has not changed much in 43 years, on the dresses of people.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4b09c7e80680e0d30b7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1415"><figcaption>An all-purpose pond in Bhaktaphur in a span of nearly half-a-century.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd4b69c7e80680e0d30b8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1421"><figcaption>An ancient Hiti in 1979 and today where the water still flows.</figcaption></figure>Now, Thomas has brought out a 2023 calendar where he has juxtaposed some of the photographs with more recent colour images of the same places or street scenes by Tomáš Beránek and Jan Zalud. Proceeds from the sale of the calendars will go to <a href="https://www.namastenepal.cz/kontakt/">Namaste Nepal</a>, a Czech non-profit that focuses on development aid to Nepal and helps underserved children with education. It has also helped with rebuilding primary schools after the 2015 earthquake.

Back to Manang after 43 years

Earlier this month, Nepal received Rs1.6 billion from the World Bank as part of its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/will-nepal-ever-be-paid-for-saving-trees">Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)</a>, rewarding the country for increasing its carbon sink capacity. Nepal is the first in South Asia to benefit from this facility, and it is specifically to recompense the country for increasing forest cover in 13 Tarai districts between 2018-2024. “We are also trying to get another Rs13 billion from the facility while also preparing for free market-based carbon trading in the international market,” says Nabaraj Pudasaini of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) Implementation Centre. Big emitters of greenhouse gases are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, and many have signed agreements to do so by investing in decarbonisation projects in developing countries. Countries that emit more than a specified amount of carbon would be able to buy emission rights from countries that emit less. Nepal is internationally known for its community forestry program which has been largely credited for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">increasing tree cover to over 45%</a> in less than three decades. But this achievement had not been adequately recognised or rewarded internationally before. Forests, especially in the tropics, absorb and store large amounts of carbon while releasing oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. <a href="https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/">Preventing deforestation</a> and increasing canopy cover is considered a much more achievable goal than reducing emission in the scale necessary to limit global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. COP11 in Montreal in 2005 first proposed reducing carbon emissions by improving forest quality by halting degradation. By 2015, a new mechanism of financial assistance was created to help less developed countries with sustainable management of forests <a href="https://www.un-redd.org/">(called REDD+)</a>. Under this new mechanism, countries receive aid based on their efforts to prevent forest degradation and increase carbon sink, and in 2021 the World Bank was entrusted with implementing it. Nepal’s FCPF receipt this month was calculated on the basis of 2.4 million tons of carbon stored at a rate of $5 per ton. In the second phase, Nepal will receive more than Rs4 billion within the next year for storing an additional 7 million tons of carbon. Eighty per cent of this amount obtained from carbon trading needs to be spent on local beneficiaries and indigenous communities.&nbsp; But carbon trading is not easy, Nepal needs to prove that protected forests will not be destroyed in future.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="Greenbacks for greenery NT "> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Explains carbon trading expert Yugan Manandhar. “Forests should be handed over to the community and shown that they are managed sustainably. Proving this will be particularly challenging; forest encroachment and degradation is rife in the Tarai.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke">Deliberate forest fires</a> have also added to the challenge because they increase carbon emissions and reduce the sink capacity of forests. The basis for the amount that Nepal received was set five years ago by calculating the carbon reserves of forests in the 13 Tarai districts. In the meantime, sustainable forest management, tree plantation, forest destruction and erosion control were prioritised to increase carbon reserves in those forests. Nepal is signing another carbon trading agreement during the ongoing Baku climate conference. The <a href="https://www.leafcoalition.org/">Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF Coalition) </a>proposes to sell the carbon stored in the forests of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. For this, Nepal signed the letter of intent three years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. The target is to store 70 million tons of carbon in 32 million hectares of forest in the three provinces per which Nepal will receive Rs13 billion in four years at $10 per ton with provisions to increase the rate if various conditions are met. However, the agreement in itself doesn’t guarantee the amount. According to the targets set by Nepal, forest degradation should be stopped and carbon reserves increased by protecting tree cover. Preparations are also underway for clean air carbon trade because it has offset fossil fuel use by introducing 30,000 electric vehicles. Nepal has been selected for the first round to receive $40 million within one and a half years through the Clean Air System of the World Bank. Given that most of Nepal’s energy mix is from biomass, replacing them with electric stoves can significantly improve health by reducing indoor pollution as well as strengthen the country’s capacity for carbon trade. “Nepal's goal now is to sell carbon in the free market where carbon credits are bought and sold based on supply and demand in an open and transparent manner,” adds Pudasaini of the REDD Implementation Centre. “Nepal can now set its own price and bargain with interested buyer countries and organisations.” Lately, India has been discussing setting up a carbon market. Nepal has exported Rs12.72 billion worth of electricity to India so far this fiscal year, which can be traded under Nepal’s carbon market. “Carbon trading can create significant economic benefits for Nepal, which will help reinvest in development and environmental protection projects,” says Manandhar. “But we must prioritise sustainable management of forests, cutting older trees and allowing regrowth as well as promoting electric stoves and electric vehicles.”

Greenbacks for greenery

Khukri Rum is <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3719#.WurBk6SFPIU">one of Nepal’s most iconic brands</a>, and is now launching a new Cask Series premium product to sell in Nepal and abroad. The Cask Series Smoked Finish Khukri Rum is a limited edition sipping rum with only about 5,200 bottles made for export and rum connoisseurs in Nepal. Each bottle is numbered and will mention the cask from which it is derived. “We are taking a classic Nepali liquor to a premium, luxury rum category. Each Cask Series flavour line will only be produced once,” explains Shuvash Lamichhane, General Manager of The Nepal Distilleries that first started making Khukri rum in 1959 in Balaju and has never stopped. Fermented from molasses in the Tarai after the annual sugarcane harvest, the rum is matured for at least eight months during distillation. The distillery bottles the classic Khukri XXX, Coronation Khukri XXX, Khukri White Rum and Khukri Spiced Rum. It is now adding this limited edition of the Cask Series. While the original rum is stored in huge wooden vats, the rum used for this more exclusive line is in smaller casks made from oak or sal, with charred insides that give the rum a smoky, smoother flavour. The Cask Series rum is indeed smokier than the classic, while the spiced rum tastes toasty and mostly of cardamom. These flavours are carefully crafted by blenders and tasters who have to pass regular palate tests.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1498" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum"> </figure>  The packaging for the Cask Series is as special as the process. A sturdy patterned box that opens up to a black glass bottle with gold lettering, and an indication of which cask the rum is from. These are then shipped to premium customers around the world One of the reasons this is the more expensive premium line is because the casks are smaller than the vats and the blenders reject more than half of the rum in the casks when the aging period is complete. The trick for the blender is also to decide when to take the rum out of the cask. Says Lamichhane: “If we have 25 casks, only ten might match the flavour profile for a certain series.” Over the decades, The Nepal Distilleries has created and maintained a brand that feels quintessentially Nepali, and serves as Nepal’s ‘ambassador’ with exports to Germany, Korea, Belgium, Finland, the Czech Republic, besides the existing markets among Nepalis in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Its unique <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khukri-rum-sharpens-its-act">khukri shaped bottle</a> first introduced for King Birendra’s coronation in 1975 has been a collector’s item. The bottle and rum have been a staple for Nepalis and visitors to take as gifts when they leave the country, and is used as decoration on bar tables around the world. Now, nearly 40 years later, even that bottle will soon be getting a makeover with a sharper design and sleeker handle. “Our bottle design has always been instantly recognisable,” says Lamichhane.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum NT"> <figcaption>Christopher Armes, master blender of the Cask Series.</figcaption> </figure>  The Himalayan restaurant at The Hague, for example, has a Khukri Coronation bottle<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-the-himalaya-to-holland"> adorning its bar</a>. In Washington DC, Himalayan Heritage Restaurant &amp; Bar offers a ‘Nepalese Khukri Rum’ mojito with fresh mint, soda water, lime juice and sugar syrup, for $12. A distinct element of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/khukri-rum-gets-award">award-winning classic Khukri rum</a> is its 'modern auburn' colour from caramel sourced from cooking sugar and blended with the raw rum. The spirits are then stored in a warehouse with floor-to-ceiling vats which are not just for storage, as the wood imparts flavour into the rum, and removes a lot of the harshness. &nbsp; On a visit this week, the bottling room was just about to begin for the day and the production line was churning out different shapes and sizes of Khukri bottles. Most of the process is automated, including screwing bottle caps, sticking labels, placing the government seal, and packaging. The only manual intervention is quality control where bottles are held against the light to check for sediment and colour.

Khukri goes premium with new rum

Turkish Airlines has introduced a new amenity kit collection designed in collaboration with French fashion house Lanvin for international business class passengers on flights more than five hours. It consists of five pieces designed for sustainability and elegance. Bags are reusable and will consist of Lanvin cosmetic products like hand and body lotions and lip balm. Eye masks and socks are made from recycled materials, earplugs are packaged in paper and the toothbrush is bamboo.

Turkish amenity kit

Nepal now generates a surplus of electricity and it is all from renewable hydropower. Nearly half the country is under forest cover. Despite meeting these decarbonisation goals, Nepal’s hydropower plants are threatened by increased risk due to climate impact.&nbsp; Till <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">28 September</a>, Nepal was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-nepal-sign-power-exchange-deal">exporting just over 1,000MW</a> of electricity to power-hungry India, when flash floods and landslides unleashed by historically heavy rains damaged over 30 hydropower plants across the country, temporarily <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/power-to-the-people">slashing nearly half the power generation.</a> The 456MW Upper Tamakosi in Dolakha was the hardest hit and it will take six months and Rs2 billion to repair. This has significantly reduced exports as well as domestic generation. Two months later, Nepal has still not been unable to fully keep its export commitment, and is actually paying Rs100 million in fines to India. Thirty-seven existing and under construction projects under the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) suffered Rs2.5 billion in damage. One of them is the 22MW Bagmati project in Makwanpur which was almost completely buried in flood debris. Even before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">record-breaking rain in September</a>, 15 other hydropower projects had been damaged by floods. Last year, floods caused by heavy localised rain damaged 28 hydropower plants. World governments met in Baku for COP29 to discuss the Loss &amp; Damage Fund and the Adaptation Fund, but for countries like Nepal the commas and brackets are meaningless until they are turned into $ and €. And likelihood of adequate compensation for climate-related damage is a long way off, if ever. Nepal’s national strategy is to use its vast hydropower resource as clean energy to spur economic growth, job creation, and boost export revenue. But the plants are located in narrow Himalayan valleys prone to landslides and floods even at the best of times. Now, those <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-climate-for-investment-in-nepal">risks have been heightened by weather extremes</a> due to climate breakdown. At present, Nepal generates over 3,300MW of clean hydropower, and the target is to reach 12,700MW in the next five years. Projects equivalent to 6,000MW are under construction or ready to start. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has an Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan with the target of producing 28,500MW by 2035 by when more than half of it will be exported.&nbsp; “The climate crisis will further change the rainfall patterns making hydropower generation a big question mark in the future,” Manjeet Dhakal in Baku, who is also the Nepali adviser to the LDC Chair at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We are building hydropower projects on rivers without evaluating risk. This whole process needs to be reviewed and reconsidered.” The report of the National Adaptation Plan published by the Ministry of Forest and Environment last year mentions that hydropower production, transmission and distribution will be at risk from flash floods, debris flows, glacial lake outbursts and rising temperatures.&nbsp; This risk is not confined to Nepal. Average global temperatures have increased by 1.3°C compared to the pre-industrial era. Worse, the Himalayan mountains are warming faster than the global average by 0.7°C because of elevation-dependent warming. A study conducted by our own Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in 2017 showed that the average temperature in Nepal has increased in the last four decades. Scientists say this is leading to extreme weather unleashing floods and landslides on slopes already destabilized by seismicity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Right climate for Nepal’s energy transition NT"> <figcaption>BIBLICAL RAIN: Photo taken during catastrophic rain on 27-28 September at the Upper Tamakosi project site that destroyed the control room, killing four staff and burying the sedimentation tanks. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Increased atmospheric temperatures has made the monsoon rains more erratic. It does not rain when it is supposed to, and it comes down in torrents when it is not supposed to. The September floods happened two weeks after the monsoon was supposed to retreat from central Nepal. Kathmandu Valley received half its annual precipitation in just over a day. &nbsp; Winter precipitation has also failed, especially in the high mountains and trans-Himalayan valleys. Thirteen of the past 19 years experienced winter drought. This impacts on dry season flows of the rivers, reducing hydropower generation. Nepal’s power capacity normally goes down by one-fourth during winter, but the gap is widening. The Kabeli corridor could only generate 20MW November-March even though plants there have an installed capacity of 200MW. Similarly, Upper Tamakosi only produced 65MW at most against its 456MW capacity last winter. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) pays producers double the price for winter electricity, Rs8.40 per unit. Even though winter operation is highly profitable the rivers run low and NEA has to import from India to meet the winter demand. “This is not just a weather problem but a serious challenge also for the country's energy future, good climate-friendly design should be combined with policy and effective implementation,” says Subarna Das Shrestha, a hydropower investor and CEO of Sanima Mai Hydropower. “Insurance premiums have gone up as well, and settlement for damage is not timely.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment">Hydropower investment</a> at one time was regarded as having a high rate of return. Now, some investors have become <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">wary of the risks involved</a>. Says IPPAN’s Uttam Blon Lama: “Hydropower projects expected to give stable returns are now looking risky. Not only is climate adaptation design and planning expensive, but future repair and maintenance costs will also skyrocket.” Nepal has only one storage type dam <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">in Kulekhani</a> and another one is being built in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">Tanahu</a>, but they are also at risk. In September, the sluice gates of Kulekhani Dam had to be opened causing loss of life and destruction downstream. Nepal has to learn lessons from the deadly collapse of the $1 billion <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Chungthang Dam in Sikkim</a> in October 2023 cause by a glacial lake burst. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Nepal pose potentially catastrophic risk to infrastructure. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">Thame flood in August</a> was a relatively minor debris flow that damaged half of this village in the Everest region when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">two glacial lakes at 4,760m burst</a>. Luckily there was no loss of life. Of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">47 high-risk glacial lakes</a> in the eastern Nepal Himalaya, 21 are in Nepal and the rest are in rivers in China that are tributaries of the Arun and Bhote Kosi where Nepal has major hydropower plants under construction, or planned.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="871" height="648" loading="lazy" alt="Page 10-11 map #1236 NT"> </figure>  Global temperature rise is accelerating the melting of Himalayan snow and ice, increasing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">number and size of glacial lakes</a> so that we do not even have names for them. Imja Tso did not even exist in the old trekking maps until 25 years ago, but is now a 2km long lake. “Natural moraine dams in the mountains are weak, and the projects downstream can face major destruction if they burst, and the risk will only increase in future,” warns climatologist Arun Bhakta Shrestha at the <a href="https://www.icimod.org/">International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a>. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting">An ICIMOD assessment in 2019</a> projected that if present heating trends continue, as they probably will, the Himalaya will lose two-thirds of our glaciers by the end of this century. “Generally speaking, hydropower developers hand over the project to the government after 30 years but by that time given the climate risks, they may not be an asset anymore,” says Manjeet Dhakal. Indeed, the cascade of expensive projects India is building on the Arun River are supposed to be handed back to Nepal in 25 years, but there is a big ‘if’ about whether they will survive that long. &nbsp;&nbsp; Planning of hydropower projects is still based on historical hydrological data, and does not take into account future temperature rise and its consequences. Investors, on the other hand, say that planning hydropower projects with climate components would make them even more expensive.&nbsp; “It’s not that we aren’t preparing for climate risk, we design keeping in mind the once-in-100-year flood,” says Blon of IPPAN. “But if we start designing based on once in 1,000 years flood, the cost would be so high that we won’t be able to build them at all.” Nonetheless, Subarna Das Shrestha of Sanima Mai Hydropower says that there is no option but to go for climate smart infrastructure despite the higher cost. Sanima Mai's powerhouse, for example, is completely underground. The strategy could also be to spread the risk by building less expensive plants located on rivers all over the country. Nepal is also diversifying away from its sole reliance on hydroelectricity, which at present supplies 92% of the power in the grid. Most of the rest comes from solar plants, where the total potential has not even been scratched. &nbsp; This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>  &nbsp;