By Elizabeth Stevens

When it comes to adapting to the climate crisis, women in rural Nepal are taking matters into their own hands.

The climate emergency is unleashing powerful forces—storms, floods, fires, and relentless droughts—on vulnerable communities. But if you practice the martial art of judo, the power of your adversary is what fuels your success, and women in rural Nepal are learning the moves. Once confined to quiet lives of domestic labor, the women working with Oxfam and partner NEEDS have become lifelines for their communities—thrust out of obscurity and into leadership, in part by the intensity of the crisis.

Solidarity and garlic

On a summer afternoon in the village of Gaudi in the far-western lowlands of Nepal, women gather to greet visitors and celebrate some big wins. In 2021, they explain, with help from Oxfam and NEEDS (the National Environment and Equity Development Society), 24 women of the community formed a self-help group. The organizations provided the group with trainings in disaster management, gender equality, farming techniques, and how to engage with local authorities.

Extreme shyness was the norm among the women. “It used to be that we wouldn’t come out of our houses,” says Laxmi Khadka. But solidarity, workshops, and a sense of purpose helped them find their voices. Soon they were taking the initiative to address issues that were making life in Gaudi precarious —isolation, and the impact of extreme weather on their crops and incomes. They helped form a disaster management committee and convinced the local authorities to provide Gaudi with a road and electricity. Meanwhile, to ease the growing struggle to make a living as farmers, they worked with Oxfam and NEEDS to introduce a new cash crop—garlic—that is suited to the current conditions.

“We learned so much, and we’ve been able to use our minds in new ways,” says Juna Devi Rokaya.

Life for the farmers of Gaudi in the climate crisis is still hard, they say. “We carry heavy responsibilities and worries,” says Sunita Rawal, “but when we’re together, we can take a load off our shoulders for a while.”

Our community is much safer

In the village of Kutiya Kabar, the community faces threats to its very existence, in the form of water. It is located on a small peninsula, connected by land not to Nepal but to India. Two great rivers rush past on either side, and when the water rises, crops and houses go under. Women in the community formed two self-help groups that are now supported with trainings by Oxfam and NEEDS; like the women of Gaudi, the women of Kutiya Kabar were unaccustomed to life outside the home, and fearful of speaking in groups. “It used to be that we couldn’t even speak outside our homes,” says Kaushila Sunar. But they persevered, and once equipped with information about how they could take their concerns to local authorities, they began to negotiate for badly needed services for their community.

“The entire community was dark,” says Maya Devi Sunar. “NEEDS taught us how to speak up for our rights, so we asked the government to give us electricity.” Not only electricity but the community’s first road, and investments in disaster preparedness.

“It used to be that our local government wouldn’t glance at us,” explains Pabitra Sunar. With the help of NEEDS, she says, they have ended their isolation.

At a gathering with visitors from out of town, the women told their stories in the presence of village men, who sat in the back row, speaking up only to voice their support for the new roles the women are playing.

Now, said village leader Tek Bahadur Sunar, “our community is much safer.”

(Read more about the women of Kutiya Kabar.)

We don’t have to spread our hands to anyone

The Dalits of Nepal, as in India, are targets of caste-based discrimination. For the Dalit community of Bijay Tol, it has taken the form of owning land that until recently was barely cultivatable. When floods wiped out an irrigation canal more than a decade ago, there were no resources to repair it, and with the risk and reality of drought on the rise, farming practically came to a halt. From then on, residents were forced to migrate seasonally to other countries, where they were often subject to abusive employers and poor labor conditions. The missing fingers on the hand of one farmer tell a story. But things have changed in Bijay Tol.

Residents have formed a disaster management committee that works with local government to reduce the chronic risks they face, and with support from NEEDS and Oxfam, the community has constructed five irrigation wells—water sources that are enabling families to grow, consume, and sell crops. After a series of trainings to, among other things, boost and update their farming knowledge (introducing the practice of tunnel farming, for example, in which crops are initially protected by fabric covers), residents are growing rice, lentils, mustard, corn, bitter gourd, pumpkins, beans, okra, cucumbers, and more.

Jharana Rasaili is a member of a local women’s self-help group, which has been instrumental in the new developments, and at a community gathering, she talks about their impact. “These programs have helped women a lot,” she says. “We used to be dependent on our husbands and other family members. Now, we can work our own land and make our own businesses. We can do something for ourselves.”

What’s more, says Jyoti Rasaili, “now, our families can stay together.”

“The most important thing is that we don’t have to spread our hands to anyone,” says Kabita Luhar. “We are so happy.”

Women should be respected

When pregnant women needed to get to the hospital quickly, Anjali Devi Bohora used to hoist them onto a basket on her back and carry them seven kilometers through the forest to reach help. One of the women delivered her baby on the way. It should come as no surprise that Bohora became a trusted leader in her community, the village of Khalla Maseti, but there was a time when she herself wouldn’t have predicted it. She was once so shy, she says, that she could barely speak a word in public. Then came the floods that swept away everything she owned—a disaster, but one that proved to be a catalyst for change.

In 2021, Bohora worked with NEEDS and Oxfam to create a women’s self-help group in Khalla Maseti; as elsewhere, Oxfam and NEEDS provided trainings on an array of topics related to upholding their rights and protecting their community. After getting accustomed to speaking in their group, the women became teachers—training residents in everything from first aid to search and rescue to flood early-warning systems. And by learning how to work with local government, Bohora and the other women were able to bring electricity and a road to the community. With each success, the status of women in their homes, their community, and their own minds has shifted.

Now, Bohora is an elected official in local government. She no longer has to carry women to the hospital, but she’s still shouldering big responsibilities. She helps direct local aid to preparing for and averting disasters, and she keeps women’s rights front and center.

“As an elected official, I get everyone together to talk about the issues,” she explains. “I tell them that women should be respected and not treated as if we are weak or insignificant.”

At the heart of the program: strong local partners

The projects in Nepal are part of a program to reduce disaster risks is known as ACT (Asia Community Disaster Preparedness and Transformation) in Asia and ATECA (Acción Temprana Comunitaria Centro América) in Central America. Oxfam has joined hands with partner organizations to help low-income communities hit hard by the climate crisis adapt to the new realities, and to support women in their work to bring about positive change.

A top priority is to strengthen partner organizations like NEEDS, and boost their ability to lead in emergencies.

“Oxfam has supported us with financial software and training, writing funding proposals, and developing the board of directors, and with our strategies around women’s leadership, advocacy, and disaster preparedness and response,” says Bhawa Raj Regmi, director of NEEDS. “Through an emergency response fund, they helped us create a stockpile of emergency supplies. They have improved our exposure by helping us travel to different countries for workshops.”

It’s all part of our effort to keep disaster management in the hands of those who are close to disaster-affected communities and will be present for the long haul.

No option but to swim

The rural women who are participating in the ACT projects in Nepal and beyond have broken with tradition to become visible community leaders, facing down their fears along the way and winning over the men who once held them back. At stake are the futures of their families and communities, as the climate crisis unfolds.

“When you are underwater, you have no option but to swim,” says Pabitra Sunar.

But despite the struggles of their lives on the front lines of the climate crisis, they have seen to it that their time together is satisfying. Even joyful. A visit with every women’s group is full of easy laughter.

“We have fun working together,” says Sunita Rawal. “We share our happiness and sorrows.”

“It might flood at any time,” says Maya Devi Sunar, “but here we are talking and smiling, leaving our fear behind by being together.”

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