By Prem Adhikari, Pashupatinagar, Dec. 27: Biraj Tamang, a resident of Suryodaya Municipality–4, Ilam, worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia for 28 months. Enduring several hardships due to a lack of skills, he returned to his hometown. Suryodaya Municipality provided strong support to Biraj, who sought to undertake a productive initiative in his village.
He started poultry farming after receiving a revolving loan of Rs. 100,000. Adding another Rs. 100,000 from his own savings to the three-year loan, he built a well-organised poultry coop. Initially, Biraj kept 400 chickens, and he has now grown into a successful businessman.
When sold in small quantities in the village, chickens fetch Rs. 700 per kilogram, while bulk sales bring Rs. 600 per kilogram. Tamang said, “With many cottages, hotels, and homestays opening in Antu, there is no problem finding a market.”
Initially, Suryodaya Municipality’s Employment Service Centre provided Tamang with training in entrepreneurship development and poultry farming. After the training, Biraj gained a good understanding of investment, income, and savings management.
Biraj has not only become a businessman himself but also encourages youths to start enterprises locally. He now inspires young people planning to go abroad to instead search for opportunities at home.
“Similarly, Sapana Subedi, who lived in Saudi Arabia for three and a half years, shared her bitter experience of not knowing Arabic. “It’s very difficult to adjust in a foreign land. I find it more enjoyable to raise chickens in my village than to endure hardships abroad,” she said.
Sapana, a resident of Suryodaya Municipality–4, has been associated with the municipality’s Employment Service Centre for the past two years. After receiving a grant of Rs. 100,000 from the municipality, she has become a poultry entrepreneur.
“Not everyone who wants to do something in the village has the investment. After the municipality provided interest-free funds, it has become easier to raise goats and chickens,” she said. Employment Service Centres at the local level have also been entrusted with the responsibility of reintegrating returnees from foreign employment into society.
To fulfil this responsibility, the Reintegration of Returnees from Foreign Employment (REMI) Project has been supporting 20 local-level Employment Service Centres in Koshi and Madhes provinces, including Suryodaya Municipality.
REMI Helvetas is a project run under a bilateral initiative of the governments of Nepal and Switzerland, with technical assistance from Nepal.
After Suryodaya Municipality introduced a self-employment procedure to economically reintegrate returnees, many young people like Sapana have been empowered to start businesses in their villages.
Mayor of Suryodaya Municipality Rana Bahadur Rai said, “There is a provision for in-kind grants with a 50 per cent cost-sharing requirement. The revolving seed capital grant can be used for three years.
Individuals can receive up to Rs. 100,000, while groups or cooperatives can receive between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 1,000,000.”
Rabin Kumar Lingdam, a farmer from Suryodaya Municipality–14, went to Qatar after facing difficulties supporting his family of five. However, due to a lack of skills, he did not receive the salary promised and returned after six years. He later went to the UAE for foreign employment.
In the UAE, he worked as a cook’s assistant. Even after two years, he did not receive the promised salary and could only repay his loans. Disappointed with foreign employment, he returned to Nepal, determined to work hard in his own country.
After returning, he began animal husbandry and agriculture, but struggled due to poor planning and a lack of skills. When a social worker from Suryodaya Municipality visited him, he shared his difficulties. After joining the programme, he has now become a professional vegetable farmer in his village.
The REMI Project has been conducting intensive programmes in 14 wards of Suryodaya Municipality. In the first year, the programme was piloted in wards 14 and 4. Last year, it expanded to Ward Nos. 9 and 13. This year, it is being implemented in Ward Nos. 8 and 12.
Ishwori Tamang, team leader and employment consultant of the REMI Project, said that around 100 people have already received services under the socio-economic reintegration programme.
Mayor Rai added that reintegration after returning from abroad, which was once challenging, is no longer a major problem.