Aliya Bashar finished up her Grade 6 class exams and swiftly walked over to a room next door at her Kanya Mandir Secondary School in Kathmandu. Other students join in and together they offer namaz. This is an important time of year for Bashar, not only because of her annual exams but also because of the holy month of Ramadan. "It is a relief not to have to rush home for prayers at 1 pm," Bashar tells us later. "The school provides a space for namaz, making it easier for us to focus on exams." With a week left for the end of Ramadan, Muslims eat before dawn and fast throughout the day with afternoon prayers at 1pm. They break fast with a collective iftar feast after sunset. Recognising the challenges of its Muslim minority students, Kanya Mandir School provides a dedicated space for them to offer prayers immediately after the exams.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_48e2571556490b496061569a30d8935a7d358b2647feb0935d09cfbe2fb53cc4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240402120448_48e2571556490b496061569a30d8935a7d358b2647feb0935d09cfbe2fb53cc4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  "Having a prayer room makes everything easier,” says Salma Khatun, a Grade 8 student. "And the school also allows us to dress in clothes we are comfortable in.” The school’s inclusive environment has helped students like Bashar and Khatun thrive. They participate in sports wearing the hijab, something not possible at many other schools. Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-column/moving-to-the-mainstream">Moving to the mainstream</a>, Chandra Kishore Jasmin Shaikh in Grade 7 says she faces no hate and discrimination at school. “Students of all religions are treated equally here,” she says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_7d674a06c7ebaf6e5a35f8d19595b55a9f5710bee41fb2243abd9a54a24422d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240402120448_7d674a06c7ebaf6e5a35f8d19595b55a9f5710bee41fb2243abd9a54a24422d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  Muskan Khatun says being allowed to wear the hijab in class makes her feel safe and supported. Khatun who is originally from India says she feels a sense of belonging at the school. “There are no restrictions here, even the school feels like home,” she says, smiling. The Kanya Mandir School’s commitment to inclusiveness extends beyond Ramadan, and extends to the cultural practices of students from all faiths, including Hindu, Buddhist and Christian.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_e2f7573555a66f363ec2927588488ac85b97bbf0d36fa5f95140eeb833c6ac73.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240402120448_e2f7573555a66f363ec2927588488ac85b97bbf0d36fa5f95140eeb833c6ac73" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  "The hijab does not hinder the students in any way," says Assistant Principal Bhagwan Babu Adhikari. “In fact, our top performers are girls from the Muslim community." The welcoming environment has boosted the school’s appeal, and some 245 of the 1,170 students at the school are from Nepal’s Muslim minority.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_47c4d1d60e34acf8be892a28a643edb4eebb0f8b6d3c2887396072705dc2adcf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240402120448_47c4d1d60e34acf8be892a28a643edb4eebb0f8b6d3c2887396072705dc2adcf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  "School is where children develop compassion, tolerance, good behaviour," says Principal Ghanashyam Neupane. "We are simply trying to create an environment that fosters these values."&nbsp; This approach promotes respect for different religions, cultures, and traditions, inculcating a sense of camaraderie among students when young, he adds.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_b14ec82030a573a5bf31ed7d4d2bdb8e46568c9fcd3020686261057632b1c014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240402120448_b14ec82030a573a5bf31ed7d4d2bdb8e46568c9fcd3020686261057632b1c014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  Nepal’s Tarai plains bordering India where there are more Muslims have more traditional madrasa schools which focus mainly on religious studies. Students say they prefer mainstream schools so it helps them get into good colleges.&nbsp; Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepali-muslims-on-the-margins">Nepali Muslims on the margins</a>, Prakriti Kandel Not all madrasa have Nepal’s educational accreditation, and this limits career options for students. Many Muslim girls prefer public and private schools, but not all have a welcoming environment like Kanya Mandir.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240402120448_0cca122211c649b5c57cdad51fbbd2bc41d63abf55dbbd7f2007b21a93873d68.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240402120448_0cca122211c649b5c57cdad51fbbd2bc41d63abf55dbbd7f2007b21a93873d68" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Kanya Mandir Secondary School"> </figure>  "We must uphold the constitutional rights of every child and ensure schools become inclusive spaces," says Seema Khan of the Muslim Mahila Kalyan Samaj. “They should follow Kanya Mandir’s example and adopt an inclusive education policy that reflects Nepal's rich social tapestry."

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Inclusiveness not just theory in this school

Ashraf Shah looked forlorn as he knelt in prayer inside the deserted Kashmiri Masjid in the centre of Kathmandu this week. The mosque would have been crowded and noisy during the holy month of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/ramadan-during-the-covid-19-lockdown/">Ramadan</a>. But today, the only sound was the azaan prayer recited five times a day, which echoed through the empty chamber.Since Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-lockdown-to-be-extended/">strict nationwide lockdown </a>went into effect on 24 March, and is likely to be extended beyond 7 May, the country has tested 75 people with COVID-19. Since some of them are from the Muslim community, the religious minority has been singled out for contact tracing especially in Nepalganj, Birganj, Rautahat and Udaypur where the cases were detected.Ashraf is lost for words. “What a world are we living in now,” he says, looking skyward.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-india-connection-in-nepals-covid-19-status/">The India connection in Nepal's COVID-19 status</a>, Nepali Times<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0e6c9c7e80680e0cd46djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"/><figcaption>An employee stationed at the Kashmiri Masjid during his namaaz. All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Ramadan has always meant a time of joyous celebration with friends and family, the coming together in the evenings to break fast. This year, there is anxiety and fear among Nepal’s Muslims because of fears that they will be blamed for the virus. Since many Nepalis watch Hindi tv channels, some of the stigmatisation is due to the Indian media scapegoating Muslims for the spread of the virus there.“Muslims in Nepal are a minority and have peacefully coexisted without any conflict for centuries, but now I dread the future, and the rise of xenophobia and intolerance spreading from across the border,” says Abdul Shamim, head of Nepal Jame Masjid.In early April, 13 men from the Tablighi Jamaat living in a mosque in Udayapur tested positive for coronavirus, and 11 of them were Indian nationals who had come for religious instruction. The district has been virtually sealed off since then, and there has been contact tracing of people who they had been in close proximity with them.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-muslims-on-the-margins/">Nepali Muslims on the margin</a>, Prakriti Kandel<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Muslim-woman-activist-Udaypur%20,3997">Najbul Nilam Khan</a>, a rights activist in Udayapur, is worried. Although a majority of those who tested positive were Indians, locals have virtually ostracised the Muslim community there, she says.“They try to avoid conversation and just look the other way when they see us passing by on the road, neighbours avoid any sort of conversation with us even from distance. Sometimes eyes speak louder than words,” she told us on the phone.While world has been hit hard by the global pandemic, in India and Nepal it is mainly the Muslims in particular who find themselves bearing the stigma – largely because of the social media and tv networks stereotyping them. During such a crisis, Ramadan would have been a time for solidarity and bringing the community together, but even that is not possible because of the lockdown.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0e6f9c7e80680e0cd46ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2520" height="1680">“We work hard and save money for the last 11 months long so that we can lay out the best meals for ourselves for Ramadan,” says Shamim, who blames coverage of the ‘<a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/113042">Corona bomb’</a> on Indian TV for the stigma. The leaked Indian security memo naming Nepali national Jalim Mukhia for being involved in a conspiracy to infiltrate coronavirus-infected individuals to spread the pandemic in India was widely broadcast on Indian tv channels.The stereotyping has spread faster than the virus itself to Kathmandu Valley. Last month, social media posts cited 13 Indonesians who were to travel to Saptari for a religious assembly being moved from a mosque in Imadol to Godavari for quarantine. When locals found out, they came out to oppose it.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Tibetan-muslims-celebrate-ramadan,1505">A minority within a minority</a>, Claire Hennig“There are facts and there are rumours. Spreading misinformation stigmatises entire communities, making the world even more miserable than it is already,” Shamim says.After the Udayapur and Birganj outbreaks, police and other health officials searched the premises of the Kashmiri Masjid in Kathmandu, and nine mosque employees had Rapid Diagnostic Tests. They were all negative. But the fear among Muslims heightened this week after nine among 60 at a mosque in Nepalganj testing PCR positive.Says Abdul Shamim, head of Nepal Jame Masjid: “After these cases, whenever there is news of confirmed cases going up, people are always asking were they Muslims? Were they caught in a mosque? The media highlights Muslim positives, they never says a Hindu or a Christian tested positive.”<h2>Smaller, quieter meals</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0e739c7e80680e0cd46fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ramadan is not the same for 64-year-old Mohammed Israil this year, who has been volunteering as a head chef during the month-long festival in the Kashmiri Masjid since 1982, preparing meals for more than 300 people every day during Ramadan.This time Israil is confined to his home in Thamel with his family. Like others from his community, Israil says he is abiding by the government’s strict lockdown rules which he says is also a religious act which will make Allah happy.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0e769c7e80680e0cd470jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“I love cooking meals for people, I think it’s a blessing to feed those who need food more than us,” says Israil, who recalls preparing rumali roti, chana, keema samosa, aalu keema, pakoda, fruits and firni, a dish made of sweet rice.For the first time in four decades, Israil is at home this month, confined to a small kitchen cooking with tiny utensils on much smaller pans, in comparison to those at the mosque. He says: “I am accustomed to cooking in a big kitchen with big utensils, these look like miniatures.”Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/assimilating-generations-of-Newari-muslims,2937">How to braid two cultures together</a>, Seulki Lee<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/unlock-the-country-in-phases/">Unlock the country in phases</a>, Editorial

Nepal's Muslims face stigma after COVID-19 tests

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d319c7e80680e06b337jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari and his son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms on the first day of Ramadan. All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari, 42, and his 17-year-old son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms of their house in Kumaripati on the first day of Ramadan while Ansari's 16-year-old daughter Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran in her room.Normally after breaking their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, the Ansaris would go to the Kashmiri mosque at Bagbazar for a communal prayer. But with places of worship closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramadan this year is a bit different for the Ansari family, and for other Muslims around the world.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d359c7e80680e06b338jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d389c7e80680e06b339jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3b9c7e80680e06b33ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran inside her room.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3e9c7e80680e06b33bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1123" height="748"><figcaption>Food laid out for the breaking of the daily fast. Worshippers fast from dawn until sunset during Ramadan</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d419c7e80680e06b33cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Jamshed Ansari offers prayers as he prepares to break his fast.</figcaption></figure>

Ramadan during the COVID-19 lockdown

<h5>Rohingya refugees feel safe in Nepal, but have not given up the dream of returning to Burma</h5>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQLZdOuuAMY&amp;feature=youtu.beIt’s just a little before 7PM, and there is excitement in the Rohingya camp, a settlement of about 30 tin sheds at Kapan on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu. There is sound of cooking, and an enticing aroma of spicy curry wafts from Jafar Alam’s kitchen separated from his bedroom by a partition.“Just one minute left,” says a child breathlessly, bringing the message from the makeshift mosque in one corner of the camp. It is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the 169 Rohingyas in this camp, one of four refugee neighborhoods, are eager to break their fast.After an entire day without even a drop of water, Alam, his wife and three children dig into plates of chickpeas and rice.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/there-are-muslims-in-tibet-too/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tibetan Muslims in Kathmandu celebrate Ramadan</a><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d7189c7e80680e0314c2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="936"/><figcaption>Bikram Rai</figcaption></figure>“Back home in Rakhine, we had a different dish each day during Ramadan,” recalls Alam, 27, wistfully. “Goat one day, chicken another, and maybe buffalo the next. That is impossible here, even a kilo of apple costs more than 300 rupees.”Like hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled Rakhine state in eastern Burma to Bangladesh and India and southeast Asia, Alam has horrific tales of persecution in Burma. There are said to be only 318 Rohingyas in Nepal with ID cards, but there may be many more who are undocumented.“First they told us not to use loudspeakers to call people to azaan (prayers). Then they didn’t let us sacrifice animals for our festivals. Then they drove us out of our homes,” says Abu Takir, 26, who was in the first wave of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/rohingya-in-kathmandu,2339">Rohingyas to come to Nepal in 2012</a>.Takir and Alam have friends and relatives scattered all over the subcontinent: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/burmas-final-solution-regarding-rohingya,1057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some in squalid camps in Bangladesh, some jailed for alleged human trafficking in India</a>. They are relieved they do not face that kind of persecution here, though their life is full of daily struggle because they do not have work permits. Paying the rent on their living space is their biggest struggle at the moment.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-on-the-margins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living on the margins</a><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d71b9c7e80680e0314c3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2808" height="1872"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Most Rohingya men here work in construction, which is particularly difficult during the month of fasting. “Back home, nobody worked during Ramadan,” says Alam. “Our entire village of Riyaz Uddin Fara gathered in our huge 45-pillar mosque to celebrate Iftar.”Alam does not feel like going to the improvised mosque here, and says the community cannot afford a big evening feast for everyone.In a small tin shed which was designated a mosque, some men still gather to break their fast with fruit, and pray as the sun sets. Jame Masjid in Bagbazar has helped by sending a teacher who guides the rituals and offers spiritual support.Other than complaints from neighbors when they sacrifice buffaloes, the Rohingya say they face no other problems regarding religion. “The good thing about being in Nepal is that all the religions are equal here,” say Takir and Alam together. “Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, they are all free to practice their faith.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d71f9c7e80680e0314c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2808" height="1872">Though they finally feel safe as Muslims, they have no wish to stay in Nepal longer than they have to. But they have no long term plans to seek asylum or citizenship anywhere.“Why would we want to be labourers, when we have acres of land back home?” asks Takir, wearing a Burmese sarong and speaking in halting, accented Nepali. “If all was well in our country, there is nowhere else we would rather be.”His only worry at the moment is that the children will be stateless. Rohingya children have blended right in, speaking fluent Nepali which they learn in school. Noor Kalima Begum, 11, is in Grade 4 and her best friends are Nepali classmates.She says: “We had orchards full of mangoes, guavas, and jackfruits. We did not have to buy anything. Life was so good in Burma, I want to go back home.”Also read:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Nepal-lhotshampa-rohingya,1046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lhotshampa, Rohingya</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/the-south-asian-cauldron,1025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The South Asian cauldron​</a>

Ramadan in exile

<figure><img width="1400" height="986" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110711110/6368d7249c7e80680e0314c5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>One of the Rohingya camps in Kapan. Currently there are four such camps in Kathmandu, housing Rohingyas who started arriving in Nepal after 2012 in waves, after every fresh military crackdown. Pic: Lindsey A Hedges</figcaption></figure>The arrival of Rohingya refugees in Nepal earlier this year was just the latest wave of the Muslim group fleeing violent persecution in Burma – in fact hundreds of Rohingya families have fled to Nepal each time there is a fresh crackdown by the military.The Rohingya have made harrowing and sometimes treacherous journeys across from Burma to Bangladesh and India and into Nepal, finding this country by far the most hospitable to them. The first wave of refugees six years ago sent word back to those fleeing the latest violence that Kathmandu was a safe bet.In fact, Muslim refugees are not new to Nepal. After the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, Bihari Muslims were hunted down for collaborating with the Pakistanis and many thousands fled to India and Nepal. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Nepal-lhotshampa-rohingya,1046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This country also has a reputation for not turning away refugees</a>, having given sanctuary to Tibetans in the 1950s, more than 100,000 Bhutanese, and later even refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.The Rohingya today have been called the most persecuted minority in the world, and started arriving in Kathmandu in 2012, while others have come as recently as six months ago. For most refugees like 15-year-old Sahat, Kathmandu is safe because “there are no checkpoints” and he can move freely.Sahat has big dreams to go to university, but with no refugee status this may be difficult. Though they are safe and free from violence, some say their quality of life has deteriorated since their time began in Nepal.The Rohingya established themselves in a flat in Kathmandu when they first arrived overland via Bangladesh and India, but the rent became too expensive. At the time the UNHCR was helping families with education and medical costs. However, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/compassion-fatigue-for-rohingyas-in-kathmandu,2760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">since December 2016 UNHCR has dropped the funding</a>, claiming it would rather see the community become ‘self-sufficient’.That is something the Rohingya are striving for, but their lack of refugee status makes it difficult to get by in an overcrowded and under-resourced camp in Kapan (pictured, above). They try to survive day-to-day, working as carpenters and plumbers to be able to afford food, water and medicines. Because of the earthquake, there is a demand for construction workers.Noor Jahan is a young mother who is happy her children are doing well in school, but says she has to sometimes send them hungry to school. Rohingya children being raised here in Nepal have integrated well into local schools, learning Nepali and helping parents communicate.Saitara, a mother of two, is happy her husband has found work even though it is in reconstructing homes in Gorkha and he can come home only once a fortnight. His absence has added strain to an already burdensome life. The workers say they are paid less than Nepalis doing similar work.The Nepal government strategy seems to be to let the Rohingyas be, leave them to their own devices, allow them to stay and work as long as they do not become too dependent on the state. Many have hopes of receiving official refugee status, at least for their children.The community has arrived bearing the weight of physical and emotional trauma, they are stateless, fighting disease, and the pain of loss. Though the Rohingya of Nepal have a hard road ahead of them, they are all grateful for the community they have been able to build in Kapan, even though it is made up of tin sheds. By leaning on one another they have been able to survive in attempts to make a better life for their future generations.Also read:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Nepal-lhotshampa-rohingya,1046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lhotshampa, Rohingya</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/the-south-asian-cauldron,1025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The South Asian cauldron​</a>		
		Readers write:<a id="js_3ko" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/vishma.dekeyzer?fref=ufi&amp;rc=p" target="_self" data-ft="{" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=100002611674980&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Atrue%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" aria-describedby="js_3kn" aria-owns="">Vishma de Keijzer</a> Refugees are not new to Nepal, but when a government neglects its own people... hostility towards refugees seems logical. The earthquake of 2015 brought thousands of rupees. All for rebuilding the country. Not a bad idea to finally use that money for a good purpose...

Living on the margins

<h2>Tibet’s Muslims settled in Nepal in waves, but they all have one thing in common: Ramadan</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6d79c7e80680e0314aajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Ahmed Dulla with his 20 month old daughter Meherin, enjoying his iftar meal after fasting all day. Pic: Bikram Rai</figcaption></figure>Mention Tibet, and the first thing that comes to mind is the Dalai Lama and Buddhism. However, Muslims have been as much a part of the fabric of Tibetan culture as their Buddhist counterparts.It is hard to distinguish <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Tibetan-muslims-celebrate-ramadan,1505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Muslim Tibetans</a> from their Buddhist compatriots since they share the same language, food, clothing, culture and heritage. Tibetan Muslims have also contributed to the preservation of Tibetan culture wherever in the world they have settled. It is only their faith that sets them apart.Historically, Muslim traders from Kashmir and Ladakh settled in Tibet in the 17th century, during the time of the fifth Dalai Lama. They were granted permission to build mosques and have burial ground along with other privileges such as being able to buy land and continue their trade. They started marrying Tibetan Buddhist women, who later converted to Islam. As the community expanded, it later included Tibetans of Nepali origin.Lhasa still has four mosques, the first of which Bada Masjid was built in 1716 with a smaller one built in the 1920s. The remaining two mosques are in Gyangda Linka, where the burial ground is located. There are two more mosques in Xigatse and Changdu.Tibetan Muslims in Lhasa were always allowed to freely practice their religion. But after the Chinese annexation in 1950, most Muslims migrated to Nepal and lndia with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6da9c7e80680e0314abjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Business was always good in Tibet, and it was booming even during the Cultural Revolution. The political tension did not hamper our trade, but we moved out of Tibet because of concern for our religion,” recalls Abdul Rehman (pictured above), 68, who was born in Lhasa but moved to India in the 1960’s. After university, he moved to Kathmandu 28 years ago to start his own jewellery business in Thamel.Returning from the afternoon prayers at Jame Masjid, as he settled down in his antique jewellery boutique, Rehman echoed the feeling of most Tibetan Muslims in Nepal: "In all these years, I have never ever been made to feel like an outsider here in Nepal. The tourist business is good, and the people too are very friendly."There are about 120 Tibetan Muslim families in Kathmandu, of which some like Rehman are of Kashmiri ancestry who moved to Kathmandu for trade and business. Tibet, Nepal and India have always shared a special connection because of interlinked trade which translated into new communities such as Tibetan Muslims who trace their ancestry mainly to Kashmir and Ladakh.Tibetan Muslims in Nepal are further categorised as 'Khache' (from Kashmir and hold Indian passports) and 'Khazar' (who have Nepali ancestry and nationality). The only difference between the two is that the Khache regard the Dalai Lama as the Tibetan leader and mark his birthday. Most of them have now intermarried, blurring the distinction between the two.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Dulla%20,345" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ahmed Dulla</a>, 30, born in Nepal, belongs to the ninth generation of Tibetan Muslims. His family moved from Lhasa to Kathmandu in the 1970's, because their ancestors were from Nepal. Dulla studied in India and returned eight years ago to start a shoe business. His wife Bushra Yusuf is a Tibetan Muslim of Kashmiri ancestry.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6dd9c7e80680e0314acjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>"We Tibetan Muslims have relatives all over. We still have family in Lhasa, Ladakh, Kashmir, and in Kalimpong and Darjeeling. It is only geographically that we are apart, otherwise we are all the same, culturally and religiously," Dulla tells us.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6e09c7e80680e0314adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Dulla's uncle Karimullah, 55, was born in Lhasa and moved to Kathmandu in 1969. His grandfather was a Nepali Hindu who worked at the Nepal Consulate in Lhasa, and grandmother was a Nepali Buddhist. They both converted to Islam while in Tibet and mingled with the Tibetan Muslim community.Despite being a small group, Kathmandu’s Tibetan Muslims are a strong, tightly-knit community who this month are observing Ramadan like Mulsims all over the world, not eating all day and breaking their fasts after sundown with a feast."The purpose of Ramadan is to purify your thoughts and have control over yourself. It helps bring self awareness within us," says Dulla as he breaks his fast with customary dates, followed by a great variety of kebabs, curries and desserts like sewai and kheer.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19550#.Wwb7_TSFN0w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ramzan Kareem</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2047#.Wwb7lDSFN0w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Muslims</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/assimilating-generations-of-Newari-muslims,2937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to braid two cultures together</a>

There are Muslims in Tibet, too

<a href="https://www.qatarairways.com/en-np/homepage.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG1fWHVLPRqIZmfXOvQa4SiMOKAexOtPFkpcNnsbiIj5BdZWDcbGnp4aAtVKEALw_wcB&amp;s_kwcid=AL!3739!3!166932896822!e!!g!!qatar%20airways&amp;ef_id=WsBryAAABZFueGUg:20180517103510:s">Qatar Airways</a> passengers fasting during the holy month of Ramadan will be offered a nutritious Iftar meal box filled with healthy options to break their fast. Making the travel between time zones less daunting, the Airways has scheduled an appropriate time to serve the meals.Passengers in all travel classes can enjoy a selection consisting of dates, laban, sandwich wraps, Arabic sweets, mixed nuts and bottled mineral water, amongst others. The food offering is well-balanced and has been carefully selected by the airline’s menu development team to ensure the inclusion of traditional and nutritious items.		
		<img width="1396" height="1030" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d67b9c7e80680e031488jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Extending wishes for Ramadan Kareem, Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam Al Shawa says, “We invite our passengers to embrace this significant time of year by enjoying our special Iftar boxes, designed especially with the fasting passenger in mind.”Iftar boxes are offered on selected flights to or from Basra, Kuwait, Muscat, Shiraz, Sohar, Amman, Khartoum, Mashad, Najaf, Sulaimaniyah, Baghdad, Salalah, Erbil, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Algiers, and Tunis (outbound only). Depending on schedule changes, additional destinations may apply.

Break the fast with Qatar Airways’ Iftar meal

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

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>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.