Seeds for Family Nutrition and Income Project
Asta-Ja USA in collaboration with Asta-Ja Research and Development Center (Asta-Ja RDC), Kathmandu, Nepal, is implementing the GreaterGood.org funded “Seeds for Family Nutrition and Income Generation in Tanahu” in Vyas Municipality, Tanahu. Specific objectives of the project are to (1) improve nutritional status particularly of children and women of the target households, (3) increase household income of the target communities by selling fresh vegetables, and (3) enhance capacities of marginalized communities in improved vegetable production. The project will identify 300 households and provide vegetable seeds, give training on improved vegetable production, establish demonstration plots, and provide orientation on importance of vegetables in improving family nutrition, particularly of women and children. It will also take daily records of vegetable consumption of 50-100 households and conduct baseline, midline and endline surveys to assess project impacts. Expected outputs of the project include: (1) improved nutritional status, particularly of children and women of the target households, (2) increased household income of the target communities through vegetable sales, (3) increased vegetable production, and (4) enhanced capacities of marginalized communities in vegetable production.
Environmental Pollution Community Awareness Seminar Series
Asta-Ja USA in collaboration with Asta-Ja Research and Development Center (Asta-Ja RDC), Kathmandu, Nepal, and a public group Community Environment Academy has implemented the Non-Resident Nepali Association, National Coordination Council (NRNA-NCC) USA funded “Environment Pollution Community Awareness Seminar Series” project in Kathmandu. Environmental degradation of the city of Kathmandu is accelerating in an alarming rate due to rapid, but unplanned, urbanization, increasing number of vehicles and energy consumption, emissions from industries, heating, and burning woods and other trash materials; trans-boundary air pollution, chemical uses in agriculture, poor and failing septic systems, exposed ground surfaces leading to excessive dust in the air, poor disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, and other activities. Environmental pollution has not only threaten public health, it is adversely affecting the aesthetics, tourism, ecological integrity, and economic activities in the city. Unsafe disposal of hazardous waste, e-waste, and biomaterials is spreading highly toxic substances which are often long lasting in the environment. City inhabitants are already experiencing nontrivial impact of geometric growth of contaminants in air and water, and, there is a strong public call for immediate control on environmental pollution and ecological restoration. This seminar series focuses on raising community awareness on environmental pollution in Kathmandu Valley targeting primarily student communities representing both Colleges and High Schools. There will be four seminars in this series. The first three seminars will be on a smaller-scale focusing on air, water, and flooding, and the final seminar will be on a larger-scale with a comprehensive view of environmental pollution in Kathmandu.
Three smaller-scale workshops on community awareness will include:
(1) Dusty Air, the second week of March, 2019,
(2) Dirty Water, the second week of April, 2019, and
(3) Ugly Floods, the second week of May, 2019.
The final large-scale workshop on “Our Polluted Kathmandu” will be held in the first week of June, 2019.