Nature reflects our nature
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( Patan is a Nepali name for alpine meadows ). During his 17 years long Yarsa harvesting , its only few times he was paid NPR . 1200 / piece , rest for around NPR . 400-500 / piece based on the quality . The highest amount that he has earned during his years of Yarsa harvesting comes around NPR . 1 , 12,000 / - to 1 , 20,000 / - per season while most of the time it is below NPR . 100,000 / - as net income . Besides the income form Yarsa , agriculture produce supports his five member family for almost four months . The harvested Yarsa is sold to a contractor ( middle man ) prior to October at the beginning of the Dashain festival . The income is spent during festivals ; more than fifty percent in buying rice / grains for winter months and twenty-five percent is spent in children ’ s education . Through his years of Yarsa harvesting , he was able to build a mud- thatched house around eight years ago with only two seasons of Yarsa harvesting when there were few people collecting Yarsa . He recalls that he has spent around NPR . 400,000 / - in building the house . However , this year , with the fear of spreading of COVID-19 disease , and the halt in Yarsa harvesting , he and his few friends in village have a different plan . They plan to go to adjoining districts of India in search of work for almost 3 months with the prospect of being paid less than what he ’ d earn from Yarsa harvesting . He adds , it will be otherwise difficult to pay for his three children ’ s school fee and afford other expenses . Like Karki , Tsering Lhamu is a female harvester who lives in the Phoksundo area and has been harvesting Yarsa from 16 years of age . With her three children to support , she is also in a panic stage and finds difficulty in running her house during the lean period and ; support her children ’ s education .
A trader from Dunai has a different story unlike the other two who were involved in harvesting . Chatra Shahi owns a grain shop in Dunai which he has been running as his ancestral business . He has been observing the number of people engaged in Yarsa harvesting and has noted that since the last 10 years , there has been an increasing trend in the number of harvesters / collectors which in turn has increased his business as well . He further adds , with the construction of road it has become easy to bring goods for harvesters and there has been a shift in the choice of food amongst the harvesters . Years back , harvesters used to bring their own ration for the entire period but since last few years , they buy from local market . Last year only , his net income by selling the goods was around NPR . 1,20,000 / - in just 15 days . He spends his income for his children ’ s education who currently study in Nepalgunj . This amount of income has been steady since five years . He adds , Yarsa opens up avenues for business . He cannot travel to Patan to sell his goods unlike other traders who take their ponies with rice sacks for this lucrative business . However , with the current situation , when no vehicles have been running and no Yarsa harvesting this season , he decides to take loan for a year to support his children in Nepalgunj .
Thus , COVID-19 , has had already affected the Yarsa harvest thereby having implications on the lives and livelihoods to these Himalayan communities .
Shrestha , U . B . and Bawa , K . S . ( 2014 ) Economic contribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus to the livelihoods of mountain communities in Nepal . Biological conservation , 177 , 194-202 .
National Trust for Nature Conservation . ( 2019 ) Feasibility Study for Conservation Area in Jajarkot and Adjoining Area ( unpublished ), Khumaltar , Lalitpur
Dr . Shalu Adhikari Freelance Consultant
Nature and Social Concern Society 101