<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02bb9c7e80680e0a3698jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1668"/>The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact was signed in September 2017 between the US aid agency and the government of Nepal promising $500 million worth of funding, with Nepal matching another $130 million.Its stated objective is to ‘increase the availability of electricity and lower transportation costs —helping to spur investments, accelerate economic growth, and reduce poverty’. Over the last four years of contentious debate and polarising ideological arguments, it continues to await endorsement by Parliament.If endorsed, it will be the biggest grant aid Nepal has ever received and the MCC’s first such ‘compact’ in South Asia. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mcc-ball-in-nepals-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mcc-ball-in-nepals-court/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEn9pZ2ftNIdRYkKF4uVeDFtcX2tg">MCC vice-president Fatema Z Sumar</a> and deputy vice-president Johnathon Brooks made a much photographed visit to Kathmandu, meeting senior political leaders from both ruling and opposition parties.What are the two sides to the debate?As in earlier debates on foreign aid, political and public arguments for and against the MCC have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHCP2aK4ngIh6ls7tdgbqhTCLRHpw">polarised</a> between those who see it as a valuable investment in Nepal’s development, and those who view it as an expression of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sino-nepal-ties-in-the-post-afghan-era/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sino-nepal-ties-in-the-post-afghan-era/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHKeftS2HWq64fyZRKW769ovm4MJg">US geopolitical interest</a> in the region.It is difficult to ignore the fact that the MCC Compact coincides with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stuck-between-rock-and-hard-place/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stuck-between-rock-and-hard-place/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFczIUC71Eb-Lo4-YdAkRlE_xuqQw">China’s global rise</a>, and its own massive programme for infrastructural investment through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE537hynIdQB3W7k9FSrlePGF4bFg">Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)</a>.In Nepal, some view the MCC as a magic bullet to reduce poverty through economic growth and investment in infrastructural development. This view, whilst largely held by Nepal’s notable economists and policy advisors, ignores the wider political-economic context of the MCC.It also overlooks the fact that investments like MCC often produce unequal benefits and contribute to growing inequality. It tends to ignore the seven decade long history of foreign aid funded development in Nepal, which has not only failed to reduce inequality, but has further widened it — arguably contributing to increased corruption, as aid is often implicated in political patronage, benefitting some while excluding others.On the other hand, there are those who oppose the MCC as an expression of US hegemony and imperialism, and as effectively undermining Nepal’s sovereignty. In a country once described by Prithivi Narayan Shah as ‘a yam between two boulders’ (India and China), nationalistic sentiment and appeals to the need to defend sovereignty often triumph.This view considers the dangers of accepting this Compact as self-evident, and fails to even consider any possibility of positive change through aid funded development.Given the impasse, the Nepal government sent a letter signed by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma to the MCC on 3 September 2021 that contained <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8carBnFEfGpAbc7CrtEB2L673wQ">17 clarificatory questions</a>.Within five days, the MCC’s Vice President Sumar <a href="https://np.usembassy.gov/response-to-the-goverment-of-nepals-september-3-2021-letter-requesting-clarifications-on-the-mcc-nepal-compact/?fbclid=IwAR0spr_QApmzFFoBDNP3QLxzJ8MNfhdwsrXtyDwMBVXwSbjz09gNlgBLgJ4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://np.usembassy.gov/response-to-the-goverment-of-nepals-september-3-2021-letter-requesting-clarifications-on-the-mcc-nepal-compact/?fbclid%3DIwAR0spr_QApmzFFoBDNP3QLxzJ8MNfhdwsrXtyDwMBVXwSbjz09gNlgBLgJ4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHD1ck0ZPXsZFxHdZGwZzG9Aq4EmQ">sent a reply</a> just before her arrival in Nepal. A few issues stand out: Nepal seems to seek assurance that MCC is ‘selfless’ and has no hidden objective, whether and how it is based on Nepal’s priorities, whether it contracts Nepal’s law and constitution, whether it undermines Nepal’s sovereignty, and assurance that it is not a part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.There is a question on tax exemption, international remuneration and benefits, intellectual property, terms of withdrawal, audit, and whether and how it might impact Nepal’s relationship with other countries.To an observer, Nepal’s direct questions are more telling than the diplomatically toned answers offered by MCC. Yet, it is disappointing to see that this Q/A and the wider debate on MCC fail to engage with some of the most pertinent questions.What is missing?Very few of those involved in the debate over the MCC look at the political-economic context of Nepal in the contemporary world, or at the political economy of aid and development.Firstly, it would be naïve to think that MCC is a selfless investment by the United States. It is very much part of the developing contest between the US (possibly ‘the West’) and China. But this is an inevitable component of the dynamic of global capitalism, and not specific to the MCC. Nepal cannot avoid this.While the instrumental use of foreign assistance in the service of political, economic or military agenda is nothing new, it is increasingly met with domestic resistance in the form of nationalistic and sovereignty based discourses in countries like Sudan, Sri Lanka, Burma — even in Nepal that has been relying heavily on foreign aid since the United States made its debut in 1951.‘Donors’ have not only been criticised for promoting their interests, but also for undermining state sovereignty. One particular implication of such discourse, however limited it may be, is that although the aid is generally welcomed, ‘donors’ can no longer work without considering how their work is perceived locally.The declaration ‘we are here to help’ is no longer enough, as donor activities have important political consequences as well as a political rationale. Given the history of foreign aid and an overwhelming presence of donors as well as emerging systematic criticisms against donors, Nepal offers some insights on how aid is perceived locally and resisted on sovereignty grounds.Secondly, Nepal’s history of foreign aid shows that aid funded development has tended to benefit a minority of people in Nepal and has failed to reduce inequalities – arguably it has deepened them.The implied linear relationship between investment in infrastructural development on the one hand, and economic growth and poverty alleviation on the other, is misleading. Infrastructure is not neutral, it does not benefit all equally.Ever since the 1970s, studies made it clear that roads were not enough to promote development, and that transport infrastructure brought change that was more beneficial to some than others, deepened inequality and even disadvantaged some directly.The debate and critical scrutiny of the MCC should focus on who will benefit in Nepal and, more specifically, whether investment in the proposed infrastructure will benefit the poor. This is a fundamental question given that both vertical and horizontal inequalities have been key concerns in Nepal, and the questions of equality, dignity and rights have been central to the country’s progressive socio-political movements and transition since the 1990s.It is positive that the implications of agreeing to accept the MCC has been so widely debated. But the existing public debate has been largely misplaced, and misses the critical questions. While one side appears adamant to resist it on sovereignty grounds, the other seems complicit in ignoring the most important aspects of any development investment.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDV78GJJzzNLNZFV0Jn7PyAED0rw">Dr Jeevan R Sharma</a> is at the University of Edinburgh, and is author of many publications on migration, development and social change in Nepal.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDV78GJJzzNLNZFV0Jn7PyAED0rw">Dr David Seddon</a> is Director of Critical Faculty, author and co-author of many publications on Nepal. Both are currently working on a book on the political economy of aid and intervention in Nepal.

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Missing links in Nepal’s MCC debate

<figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02999c7e80680e0a368cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>On 9 September, while a US delegation was landing at Kathmandu airport on a four-day visit, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Narayan Kaji Shrestha got together at the residence of Upendra Yadav for an important meeting.The Nepali Congress, which leads a five-party coalition government, was not invited to the discussion between its own partners.The meeting was to discuss a common posture of the coalition members towards a<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-millennium-challenge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> $500 million US grant</a> under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to upgrade Nepal’s electricity transmission lines and highways.Cross-party support for the much-needed infrastructure project should have been a no-brainer, but MCC ratification has become such a political hot potato that it <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">threatens Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s ruling alliance</a>, two months into his fifth term in office.Deuba’s current coalition made up of Dahal’s Maoist Centre, Nepal’s breakaway CPN (Unified Socialist), and the Rastriya Janamorcha parties are opposed to the project. In fact, Rastriya Janamorcha even staged a street protest on 7 September, two days before MCC vice president Sumar landed in Kathmandu.Deuba’s NC has been in favour of ratifying the MCC in parliament since his Nepali Congress-Maoist coalition government signed the agreement in 2017 during his fourth term as prime minister. In fact, Deuba’s political rival KP Oli backed the MCC after he succeeded Deuba in 2018. <figure><img width="1131" height="1455" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d029c9c7e80680e0a368djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>MCC vice-president Fatema Z Sumar with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.</figcaption></figure>Baburam Bhattarai was Prime Minister in 2012 when Nepal was selected for the MCC threshold program. Bhattarai is now with another coalition partner, the Janata Samajbadi Party, but while he has been speaking publicly in support of MCC, his colleague Yadav is hedging his bets. Hence his inclusion in the meeting with Dahal and Nepal on 9 September. Ironically, a bilateral negotiating team was formed for the MCC Compact during Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s stint as Prime Minister in 2017. Dahal later changed his stance and joined up with dissidents from Oli’s own UML, who considered the project as being ‘anti-national’, to ultimately <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/own-goal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remove him from power</a> in July. As internal disputes within the erstwhile NCP escalated, a task force including Bhim Rawal, Jhala Nath Khanal, and then foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali suggested that the MCC could be ratified, but after amendments. Had the process not been deadlocked by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/knowing-whats-good-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feud between Oli and Dahal</a>,  it could easily have been endorsed by Parliament then.Differing views within the ruling coalition towards the United States, as well as individual and party relationships with neighbouring India and China, have stopped the project from moving forward as it nears a deadline for acceptance.“Nepal’s political leadership has failed to recognise the difference between ultranationalism and patriotism,” says Khadga KC, a professor at the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at Tribhuvan University. “Geopolitics has now permeated right down the political chain of command of the parties that seek to use the clash between an imperialist America and an expansionist China on the one hand and between China and India on the other.”Deuba has lately been seen to be a bit too eager to please New Delhi by not raising the issue of a Nepali man who was killed while trying to cross a wire bridge across the Mahakali river into India, as well as resurrect an already settled border dispute with China in Humla.  <figure><img width="1800" height="850" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02a09c7e80680e0a368ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepali Congress leader Jeevan Bahadur Shahi's team with security personnel during an inspection of the Nepal-China border in Humla. Photo: JANAK SHAHI</figcaption></figure>In response, the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) associated with the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Maoist Center held anti-India street protests. The significance of the ‘student’ wings of parties in the ruling coalition <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-damned-if-we-do-damned-if-we-dont/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">protesting the policy of the prime minister</a> was not lost on anyone. If Deuba was hoping for New Delhi’s support for the MCC, that has not been forthcoming. The project’s power lines would increase the capacity of future export of surplus electricity to India. In fact, most analysts see China’s hand in behind the scenes lobbying against the MCC they regard as America’s response to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Beijing's Belt Road Initiative (BRI)</a>. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/afghanistan-abandoned/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fall out of the US defeat in Afghanistan</a>, its growing tension with China with last week’s strategic AUKUS pact with Australia and Britain in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing growing global clout have undermined the prospect of the MCC going ahead in Nepal. Diplomatic experts see an attempt by Deuba to use the China border issue and the formation of an investigative committee to ingratiate himself with India so it will openly support the US project. Nepal signed a framework agreement on the BRI in 2017 after the Indian Blockade of 2015 prompted Kathmandu to plan alternative trans-Himalayan trade routes. Critics of the agreement interpreted this as Beijing’s increased influence in Nepal. “Deuba is trying to counter the narrative that Nepal is cosying up to Beijing and the BRI so as to assuage New Delhi,” says Professor KC. In November 2019, India issued a political map that included disputed border areas of Kalapani and Limpiyadhura. In response, Prime Minister Oli got Parliament to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-passes-map-bill-india-reacts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unanimously pass an amendment bill</a> to include the territory in its national emblems and its own political map, much to New Delhi’s chagrin. And while the border issue with China is gaining traction, Professor KC says that the Nepal Congress has failed to offer any criticism to India regarding Limpiyadhura as well as the 2015 blockade. Says Professor KC: “Nepal’s diplomatic relations have unnecessarily jeopardised due to the selfishness and immaturity of the political leadership. Nepal must restore the strategic balance in its stance towards the triangular rivalry between China, India and the US.” Experts say that Nepal has not been able to come up with a coherent response to this changed geostrategic terrain globally and in the region, and its leaders react in an ad hoc manner, allowing a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">development grant like the MCC</a> to become a pingpong in domestic politics.  Former Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey says that Nepal should have a consistent and common foreign policy messaging on matters like the MCC, even though there might be internal disputes. “Nepal’s foreign policy is not fixed and keeps changing as the government changes hands,” says Pandey. “In fact, not only does our foreign policy change based on the political party in power, every political leader seems to want to dictate the country’s foreign policy.” Former Ambassador Dinesh Bhattarai believes that while the NC’s foreign policy has been fairly consistent from the beginning, Nepal's diplomatic relations especially with its neighbours have been affected by other parties using geopolitics for their domestic power struggles. “When parties which are part of a coalition government themselves take to the streets in protest, it affects our international diplomacy and credibility negatively,” says Bhattarai. He says Nepal's international credibility will hit rock bottom if the MCC Compact is not ratified: “It will mark a strategic shift in our relationship with the United States, and affect our relationship with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.”  (Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/125877">original</a> in the September-October issue of Himal Khabarpatrika.)

Nepal stuck between rock and hard place

<figure><img width="1198" height="1227" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01b79c7e80680e0a3640jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI/ NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>In a step that could be a precursor to the US-backed Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project to upgrade Nepal’s power grid, the country this week signed an agreement with India to increase two-way electricity trade.Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Kulman Ghising on Wednesday signed an MoU with the state-run Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) for the construction of a second, transnational 400kV transmission line from Butwal to Gorakhpur.This new power line will be connected to the 350km transmission line up to Butwal that will evacuate power from 3,000MW of electricity being generated from new power projects in Nepal in the next three years. However, this domestic power line has been thrown into doubt because politicisation of the $500 million MCC project by Nepal’s bickering parties has blocked its ratification by Parliament.Ghising is in New Delhi to sign off on a joint investment agreement. The project is a key subset of the MCC’s main objective: a 315km transmission line between Hetauda-Damauli-Butwal, which will prove crucial as private projects such as the 456MW Upper Tamakosi come on stream, allowing Nepal to have surplus electricity at least during the monsoon.The transmission line from Butwal in Nepal to Gorakhpur in India will be 120km, with 20km of it in Nepal and will cost Rs6 billion. The project will be financed by loans and 20% of it by equity from a jointly-owned NEA-POWERGRID company. Nepal will build its side of the transmission line by itself, while the joint company will be responsible for building the Indian section. Work is underway to finish the transmission line within three to three-and-half years.“With the agreement, the stage is set to create the joint company and write up transmission service agreements.” Ghising said from the Indian capital.Once the Butwal-Gorakhpur line is completed, Nepal will be able to export up to 2,000MW of electricity, much more than the present Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur corridor that can handle only 300MW. The new transmission line will not just be able to export electricity to India, but can also be part of new power deals with Bangladesh in future.“This will prove to be a lifeline for energy trade, as it will have more than double the capacity of the currently operational 400kW Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line,” explains NEA’s director of the Power Trade Department Prabal Adhikari.  Construction of an India-Nepal transmission line is a prerequisite for the MCC’s implementation, and the NEA’s agreement signals a bold move forward by the Deuba administration despite fierce opposition to the American project from his coalition partners, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led Maoist Centre and Madhav Kumar Nepal’s breakaway CPN (United Socialist) faction.In fact, Vice President of the MCC Fatema Z Sumar <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631417436093000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHc1BZYi3I_-MmKqmtnCKyZXJhesA">jetted into Kathmandu</a> on Monday in a bid to convince politicians opposing the project that the MCC had no military or strategic component, and was purely a catalytic initiative meant to kick-start Nepal’s economic growth.The Maoists and other coalition members have whipped up populist opposition to the MCC project saying it is anti-national, against the Constitution and part of US military strategy to encircle China. The MCC responded to a Finance Ministry query ahead of the Sumar visit saying that the project was not above Nepal’s Constitution, and America had no hidden agenda behind it. Translated by Kaustubh Dhital from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/125779">Nepali language original</a> in Himal Khabar.

India, Nepal sign power exchange deal

Many of us former Nepal Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) would agree that our time in Nepal changed in significant but very different ways our perspectives on life if not the future paths we chose to follow. Of no one was this truer than Dorothy Mierow. Dorothy was born in 1920, in Colorado Springs. Her father Charles C Mierow was a classics scholar and Latin professor, who served for ten years as president of Colorado College.&nbsp; Dorothy developed an interest in animals as a child, graduated with a BA degree in natural history from Carlton College in 1942, a Master’s in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and another Master’s in geography from the University of Minnesota.&nbsp; As a young woman, Dorothy traveled with her father throughout Europe, including a visit to ancient Greek ruins, and took a Magellan Tour by cruise ship around the world in 1958.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262" data-rendition-name="original" width="903" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Dorothy Mierow as a college student in her native Colorado.</figcaption> </figure>  She was a college teacher during much of the 1940s, also teaching at a girls’ school in Hawaii. Then back to her native Colorado in 1953, where she became a curator and later director of the Colorado College Natural History Museum. She taught geography classes, and in her free time, Dorothy climbed 22 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Traveling in India in 1960, Dorothy decided to spend two weeks in Nepal. In late 1961, she filled out an application to join the Peace Corps and specified that she wanted to go to Nepal, ‘because I admired the people so much when my father and I were there on our trip’.&nbsp; Dorothy reached Kathmandu in September 1962 as the first group of American Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal. She stood out from the others: one of the few women in that group, surely the oldest at age 41, a world traveler, and a woman who already had established a professional career.&nbsp; One doubts if Dorothy had had a husband and children whether she would ever have gone to work and spend much of the rest of her life in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515" data-rendition-name="original" width="1259" height="910" loading="lazy" alt="How th Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life NT"> <figcaption>Pokhara Bazar in 1962.</figcaption> </figure>  The Peace Corps assigned Dorothy to teach geography at Tri-Chandra College. After the school closed in the winter due to lack of heating, USAID and the College of Education asked Dorothy to help train general science teachers.&nbsp; She taught for two months and became involved in a textbook-writing project, commenting: ‘I would like the children to know something about public health, conservation (the trees are going fast and so is the soil), and learn the names of some of their common birds, trees, and flowers. They are more impressed with electricity, airplanes, and cell structure.’ When a new college opened in Pokhara in 1963, Dorothy was transferred there and lived with a Nepali family. The college boasted 30 students and no permanent buildings.&nbsp; In October 1963, Dorothy wrote: ‘Pokhara is a town of almost 5,000 people … We are in a fertile valley surrounded by foothills … There is a small Mission Hospital … a Leper Hospital and Tibetan Refugee Camp started by the Red Cross and now run by the Swiss. With winter approaching, more Tibetans are appearing in town, often with pack horses or donkeys. Some have been carrying large boxes of powdered milk,donated (by USAID) to the camp from the airport … There is no electricity, and the transportation problems make many items scarce and expensive. I am really a sort of a museum. The landlord brings all kinds of people in to see how I live and count my shoes and dresses. They express amazement at my books, pictures, tin oven, Nepali dolls from Kathmandu, screened food shelves and curtained closet.’ The standard term for Peace Corps volunteers was two years, but Dorothy extended her term and was still at Prithvi Narayan College at the end of 1965, when she wrote that she had 20 Geography students in the first-year class and 6 in the second year preparing for the IA Examination. The college enrollment was 125 students, and the foundation for a new science building was being excavated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29" data-rendition-name="original" width="902" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow and friends at Phewa Lake.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy noted that she ate one meal a day at the (Shining Mission) Hospital but otherwise lived on dal-bhat, momo, and potato curry at local shops. However, she had developed a new passion: to build what she initially called the Pokhara Museum of the Himalaya. In commendable Peace Corps fashion, Dorothy always worked with Nepalis and respected the culture. ‘The greatest joy and satisfaction I have had has been from the building of a Museum-Library in memory of my parents … It has been possible to feel like a wealthy benefactor with the money saved by father for the family’s education and now available for the education of others… (Father) would have loved to be in on the founding of a new college and be able to plan a library. Several hundred of the books to be in the museum-library came from his collection and were carefully selected to be of use for students in Nepal…’&nbsp; ‘The museum part is to satisfy my own inclinations and was thought of when I found how little diversion there was for the people of Pokhara… It is part of the University requirements for the college that it should have a geography and biology museum. The museum building is small but adequate.&nbsp; I have tried to design it in harmony with Nepalese architecture and decorate it with some of the art of the best artists or woodcarvers… Posts holding up the porch roof are carved by Cottage Industries to represent different peoples of Nepal in typical costumes. The door was carved by a local wood carver and has typical birds of Nepal around it. Inside are 10 roof-support carvings designed by the retired Director of the National Museum in Kathmandu, Mr. C.M. Maskey.&nbsp; They were carved by the best wood carvers in Patan very skilfully. The building has three rooms: the library, the exhibition room, and a smaller workroom which can be used by our newly formed Woman’s Club as well as other groups or classes.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8" data-rendition-name="original" width="629" height="599" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow with local women in Pokhara in 1969.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy promoted her project to influential Nepalis connected with organisations whose support she solicited: The Department of Archaeology, the Department of Agriculture, the Godavari Botanical Gardens; Tribhuvan University’s Science and Education Department, Nature Conservation Society.&nbsp; The museum was opened officially in early 1967. The Annapurna Natural History Museum, the building Dorothy designed and had constructed, is still open and features some exhibits which she created many years ago.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>The Annapurna Natural History Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy returned to America in 1967, but she longed for Nepal. In the spring of 1969, she again tried to enroll as a Peace Corps volunteer but was told that as she had spent more than four years, she would not be eligible for another assignment. Undeterred, she persuaded the college in Pokhara to invite her to return as a teacher.&nbsp; UNICEF and the Forestry Department sponsored Dorothy to prepare charts on trees, birds, animals and flowers in colour for distribution to the schools of Nepal. Dorothy, back in the Peace Corps, returned to Pokhara and the Museum in 1972. She formed a friendship with her former geography student from Sikles, Chandra Prasad Gurung, and in 1974, she brought Chandra to America, where he enrolled in Colorado College and studied cultural anthropology.&nbsp; Chandra subsequently earned his PhD in geography from the University of Hawaii and returned to Pokhara to become director of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Gurung actively promoted ecotourism, landscape conservation, and biodiversity conservation in Nepal. His life was cut short along with those of 23 other Nepalis and foreigners who perished in a helicopter crash near Taplejung in September 2006.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow's four books on Nepal and its biodiversity. </figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy worked with several well-known Nepalis to publish her paintings and photos in beautifully illustrated books. She and Hemanta Mishra of the National Parks and Wildlife Service wrote Wild Animals of Nepal (Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1976). More than 400 photos Dorothy took on treks to the Everest region, Gosaikunda, Muktinath, Jumla and Rara Lake, as well as travels in the Tarai, appeared in Himalayan Flowers and Trees (Sahayogi Prakashan, 1978).&nbsp; The botanist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha identified the species. Dorothy and Kesar Lall published This Beautiful Nepal (Sahayogi Press, 1981). Birds of the Central Himalayas (1988) contained Dorothy’s paintings of 250 species of birds found along the areas of the Kali Gandaki River, Pokhara, Chitwan and the central Tarai. Dorothy summed up her life and work in Nepal in Thirty Years in Pokhara (Pilgrims Book House, 1997). Dorothy returned to Pokhara and her adopted Gurung family several times during the 1980s and 1990s to celebrate festivals and meet old friends. Her final years were spent at her mountain cottage in Green Mountain Falls north of Colorado Springs. She died at the age of 79 in August, 2000. Nepal gave new meaning and purpose to Dorothy Mierow’s life. Daniel W Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. The author thanks Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College.

How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer’s life

· On the night of 15 May, two glacial lakes burst in Tharka in Humla and the debris flow washed away homes and bridges.&nbsp; · Last week, a slurry surge on the Kali Gandaki in Upper Mustang caused at least Rs15 million in damage, and was traced to a melting glacier. · Dozens are feared dead after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rasuwa-flood-likely-a-glof">an expanding glacial lake in Tibet overflowed</a>, sweeping down into Nepal and damaging four hydropower plants generating 230MW, nearly 8% of the country’s total grid supply.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2667" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Rasuwa flood"> <figcaption>Miteri friendship bridge connecting Nepal and China was swept away in the Rasuwa flood. Photo: PRAKASH CHANDRA TIMILSENA / NPL</figcaption> </figure>  And those are just in the past month. Climate scientists say Himalayan glacial lake outbursts are becoming more frequent and destructive, and a warning for Nepal not to put all its eggs in the hydropower basket.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">Record precipitation last September</a> unleashed floods that killed 200 people, and temporarily slashed Nepal’s total generation capacity of 3,000MW by nearly half. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster">Melamchi flood of 2021</a> caused by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-not-so-permanent-frost">permafrost melting</a> on a glacier upstream nearly destroyed a $800 million water supply scheme, Nepal’s largest infrastructure project which four years later still has not resumed full operation. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">glacial lake overflow in Sikkim</a> caused by record rainfall in September 2023 that destroyed the $1.2 billion Chungthung Dam and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure on the Teesta River. This was a warning to the cascade of hydropower plants on the Arun and Marsyangdi river basins.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152" data-rendition-name="original" width="919" height="549" loading="lazy" alt="hydro disasters and hydropower plants"> </figure>  Nepal has set a target of generating an additional 28,500MW by 2035 -- out of the feasible 48,000MW -- but how viable is an energy strategy that is exposed to heightened risk due to climate breakdown? &nbsp; “As extreme weather events increase, we must design and build infrastructures respecting river flow and topography,” says former Energy Secretary Dwarika Nath Dhungel. “We must make the best use of our water resources, but not by letting excavators loose everywhere mining riverbeds and building haphazardly where we shouldn’t.”&nbsp; Although no project can be disaster-proof, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">climate smart design</a> can minimise damage from flash floods and landslides. Recent disasters have driven up insurance premiums for energy projects in Nepal, and smaller ones cannot even afford them. The 456MW Upper Tamakosi hydroelectric project which is still not fully functional after the September floods has claimed insurance worth Rs1.8 billion. The alternative to high risk high investment hydropower projects is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-s-cooking-in-nepal-besides-politics">energy diversification</a> to other renewables such as solar, wind or biogas. Nepal gets annual sunlight of 300 days with 6-7 hours on average to total 50,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="solar power"> <figcaption>Farmers in Tarai using solar powered water pump. Photo: GHAMPOWER</figcaption> </figure>  The Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) calculates that Nepal could source 3,000MW from wind energy alone, considering 10% of the area with more than 300W/m2 wind power density. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/decentralising-power-in-nepal">Solar energy</a> stations are cheaper and quicker to build, and would be an ideal alternative to reliance on hydropower.&nbsp; “There has been some investment in solar power, especially from the state sector,” says water expert Madhukar Upadhyay. “But there is an issue of land acquisition since the arrays need a lot of space. It is comparatively easier to get a permit to put up a hydropower plant on a river.” As for biogas, there is simply no incentive to build on past success with household level plants to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-bullshit">promote industrial-scale production</a>. Scaling up biogas by integrating it with urban biodegradable waste would still be a viable alternative to LPG.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684" data-rendition-name="original" width="1419" height="954" loading="lazy" alt="windmill"> <figcaption>A wind mill in Hapsikot in Nawalpur. Photo: WINPOWER NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s public sphere is buzzing with excitement over the discovery of potentially 430 billion cubic metres of methane gas beneath Dailekh district that, if properly harnessed, would meet the country’s energy demand for the next 50 years. Even though a feasibility study is awaited, politicians from the prime minister down see this as a petro bonanza that will make Nepal rich. But drilling, storage and distribution of CNG in the country’s current kleptocratic state make that unlikely. If Nepal was to get rich solely on its hydro-energy potential, it could have done so in the past 50 years. Says Dhungel: “This is not exactly a new discovery, but it is premature to celebrate until its extraction is proven to be cost effective. And let us hope it does not get <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/balance-of-power">tangled in geopolitics</a>, since China is involved in the prospecting and drilling, which could make India uneasy.”&nbsp; The country suffers from the Dutch Disease curse even before its resource is fully exploited. And the same cronyism, corruption and rent-seeking structure cannot deliver the riches we expect from Dailekh’s methane discovery. Now, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/right-climate-for-nepal-s-energy-transition">with hydropower in jeopardy</a>, Nepal’s planners will have to evolve a new strategy for energy security into the future. But first, governance needs to be cleaned up with long-term strategic planning that takes climate risk into account. For example, do we need to mine fossil gas when there are renewable options? Will Dailekh take Nepal away from its climate commitments? Says Madhukar Upadhyay: “Nepal has always been resource rich and management poor. And the larger the resource, the bigger our management incapacity. It is a societal malaise.”&nbsp;

Nepal’s Resource Curse

चौतारा rest stops have long been an integral part of scenic touristic town of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-six-decades-ago">Pokhara </a>but are now rarely seen as the city bursts at the seams. They say inhabitants of Pokhara saw a plane before they saw cars. Indeed, the grass airfield was built in the 1950s, while the Kathmandu highway 20 years later. Before roads, people walked to get around, pausing to rest or even nap under the shade of banyan-pipal trees. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-desperation-and-hope">Pokhara airport’</a>s ‘terminal’ in those days was a shady chautara where passengers waited for their flights. The chautara bore silent witness to daily life, whether it was travellers seeking a brief respite from the summer heat or villagers gathering for a chat in the mornings and evenings. But with the roads came vehicles, and then houses started filling up spaces, even farmlands. Pokhara began transforming from a serene village to a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">bustling city</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2147" height="1581" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  The banyan-pipal trees were chopped down to make way for wider intersections and buildings. The once-iconic rest stops that carried Pokhara’s identity had all but vanished. “Building chautara was once considered a religious duty, which is why so many of them were constructed across Pokhara,” says archivist Sunil Ulak. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10927">Ekai Kawaguchi</a>, a Japanese Buddhist monk, who visited Nepal 120 years ago en route to Tibet, documented <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/no-visitors-in-pokhara-to-admire-view">the landscape of Pokhara</a> and its surroundings. In his book, Three Years in Tibet, he reflects on the natural beauty of the town and its shady trees. A chautara used to be surrounded by ponds, where shepherds would bring their cattle to drink from while they took a nap under the shade. The gentle rustling of leaves in the cool breeze lent a soothing melody as did the chirping of birds, while the insects took refuge in the branches and leaves. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-800-years-ago">Pokhara 800 years ago</a>, Kunda Dixit This ‘nature’s breeze’, as botanist Kalyan Panta puts it, is now history due to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">haphazard urbanisation</a>. “When the wind strikes against one leaf, it creates a domino effect and other leaves start waving as well,” he explains. There were 632 chautara in the city until 1977, and by 2000 the number had fallen to 278. But in some wards the number of trees fell from 55 in 1984 to only five now.&nbsp; The gradual loss of these resting places has meant habitat <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal">destruction of birds and insects</a>, it has also damaged the environment and natural beauty of the city.&nbsp; Researcher Jagannath Adhikari’s study showed that infrastructure projects ignored the environment, and concluded that that urbanisation in Pokhara was unsustainable.&nbsp; The destruction continues to this day. Recently, old chaurata in wards 6, 13 and 14 were cleared to make way for a sacrificial ritual. In fact, ward 6 got a permit from the local government to clear its remaining trees.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  But in wards 13 and 14, the Human Service Foundation cut down some 33 trees for which it is in a dispute with the metropolitan city as there is no unclear jurisdiction regarding who gives the permit. The Kaski Division Forest Office is currently investigating the matter. Elsewhere in ward 19, the ward office had launched ‘मेरो रूख, म काट्छु’ campaign due to an alleged chaos caused by monkeys in the area. The decision was rescinded after an all-around opposition.&nbsp; To be sure, there are policies in place to protect trees such as the Gandaki Province Forestry Act, 2080, and the Regulations, 2081. The province government also introduced an act in 2019 per which no tree, including pipal, silk cotton and other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/trees-trees?%2F">trees of natural and historical importance</a> shall be damaged, eroded or removed. But the local government, responsible for implementing the Act, is doing the opposite. “If this rapid rate of tree felling continues, neither trees nor chautara will survive for the future generation,” conservationist Ram Bahadur Poudel tells us, adding that old trees are being cleared under the pretext of pruning branches. Interestingly, Ulak notes that Pokhara-8 was called सिमलचौर in the past because there were so many majestic silk cotton trees, but there are very few left, if any, and hence altering the identity of a place. With modernisation, people have questioned the significance of chautara in this day and age. But they still have relevance. Urban centres in Pokhara and Kathmandu are much hotter than the outskirts because of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-5xcycyot">urban heat island effect</a>. Says archivist Ulak: “While their original purpose was to provide rest, today they continue to play a crucial role in regulating temperature, beautifying the city, and preserving our environment.”

Trees of life and living

Nepalis are living longer than ever. By 2028, the country is set to join the ranks of other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-demographic-window-is-closing">ageing societies</a> around the world, and by 2054, 1 out of every 7 people in Nepal will be over 65. Life expectancy at birth has risen dramatically from just 55 in 1990 to 71 today, &nbsp;thanks to improvements in public health and access. But as more people live longer, the country must also prepare for a parallel rise in age-related illnesses and the complex social and medical needs that come with an <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/need-to-prepare-for-ageing-society,3624">ageing population</a>. Extended families have always acted as a safety net for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/home-sweet-home-for-older-nepalis">the elderly</a>, with children and grandchildren shouldering most caregiving duties. But with more than 1,600 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">Nepalis migrating </a>every day, older parents are left behind with no one to care for them. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-equaliser">Remittances</a> from migrating youth, which account for nearly a third of Nepal’s GDP, have kept the economy afloat. But money sent home cannot make up for the chronic departure of kin and caregivers, who are often the first to catch the signs and symptoms of disease in elders. In rural areas where over 85% of Nepal’s elderly live, the absence of this daily vigilance means early signs of illness often go unnoticed until they become debilitating. As a result, chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and depression are left unmanaged.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1064" height="701" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Geriatric medicine is largely absent from medical curricula and there is no national plan in place to manage cognitive decline, memory loss and confusion. These are often mistaken for signs of normal ageing, instead of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dementia-brings-new-problem-that-families-have-little%20knowledge-of,2151">dementia</a>, delaying care until it is too late. The same pattern plays out with strokes, osteoarthritis, and vision problems — conditions that could be managed early but are instead allowed to spiral into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-disability-to-this-ability-h68f6sq2">disability</a>. Nepal is not ready for an older future. It needs a strategy for ‘smart ageing’ where the focus is not adding years to life, but enhancing years lived through the intelligent application of policy, infrastructure, and crucially, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">technology</a>. Many models of smart ageing, however, are sculpted around modern societies where independent living in later life is the norm. Furthermore, eroding traditional family care and an underdeveloped formal care system means there is a large gap that can’t simply be filled by copy-pasting from foreign models. Nepal must shape its own version of smart ageing. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/healthcare-moving-from-hospitals-to-homes?%2F">tech boom</a> has led to homegrown digital healthcare apps such as Hamro Doctor, Cura Health, Jeevee and Health Yaad Ayo which offer teleconsultations, online appointments, and at-home test bookings. As <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/nepal-s-new-digital-landscape">smartphones and internet access</a> extend to the most rural fringes of the Nepali countryside, geography is no longer a barrier to the use of these digital tools. What limits their use is the lack of digital proficiency among the older generation. Others find the idea of turning to a device instead of a familiar, reassuring face unfathomable. That is why <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/addressing-nepals-digital-divide?ref=blog.togglecorp.com">digital literacy</a> efforts must be paired with guided human support to build trust alongside technical skill. Such a model of community-led digital mediation is already gaining traction elsewhere. In the UK, ‘digital health ambassadors’—often young people or even schoolchildren—are trained to co-design and advocate for online platforms that resonate with peers who might otherwise feel excluded from automated health services. A Nepali version could engage cohorts of nursing students, tech-savvy youngsters and returnee migrants to assist elders in navigating digital health platforms and troubleshooting problems, and most of all, normalising the idea of health apps being a reliable recourse.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431" data-rendition-name="original" width="2246" height="1590" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Nepal’s own network of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), whose credibility is rooted in long-standing relationships across rural communities, could be similarly upskilled, their roles in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">maternal and child health </a>expanded and repurposed to also include geriatric tech support. However, there is a limit to how much older adults can adapt to new technologies. So, Nepal should simultaneously invest in passive technologies—tools that monitor and act for the elderly, instead of demanding active use. That is where wearables and in-home smart health devices collectively known as 'gerontechnology' come in. Picture an 82-year-old in far-flung Rolpa, away from the facilities of an urban hospital. Installed in her home are low-cost motion sensors that monitor prolonged inactivity or signs of a fall, instantly triggering alerts to the nearest health post when necessary. On her wrist, a wearable bracelet continuously tracks her sleep, vital signs, oxygen saturation, and glucose levels. This data is encrypted and synced to a digital dashboard accessible by health staff at the local post. If the system flags an acute risk—such as a potential stroke or hypoglycemia—a nearby health worker is dispatched immediately to her home. If her readings over time indicate a trend toward a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-do-so-many-nepalis-have-high-blood-pressure">chronic condition</a> like diabetes, community health volunteers step in. They help schedule a virtual consultation with an endocrinologist in Butwal. Based on the advice received, she gets a prescription and picks up her medication from the local community pharmacy, along with a smart dispenser to ensure she sticks to her treatment plan without missing doses. This is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Many of the individual devices forming this connected medical system called an Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) already exist in Nepal as imported commercial products. What is missing is a stronger framework for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/public-health-partnership">public-private collaboration</a>: one where health tech companies continue developing locally adapted tools, and the government actively integrates these innovations into public health delivery. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/nepal-as-an-ai-power-bank">Nepal’s tech ecosystem</a> is maturing, but policymaking must evolve in tandem, especially when it affects an older generation largely resistant to change. The backlash against the recent mandate requiring National Identity Cards for accessing social security benefits revealed the pitfalls of imposing top-down reforms without adequate preparation or support for seniors. For Nepalis to age well, community caregivers, doctors, innovators, and above all, the state, must step in where families have stepped away. The goal is not to replicate traditional care, but to build a coordinated system of support that connects everyone through technology. The future is older for Nepal, let us be wiser too. The writers are pursuing their undergraduate studies in biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.