For Environment, Democracy and Livelihoods
After a year of field-level actions with the community, an annual review and reflection meeting was held on 1 January 2026 with the farming community in Dhusa, Ichhakamana Rural Municipality, Chitwan, where the community led Participatory Action Research (PAR) on agroecology is being implemented. The Dhusa community is composed primarily of Chepang and Gurung households. Approximately 30 farmers participated in the meeting, the majority of whom were women. Beyond reviewing completed activities, the meeting created space for farmers to reflect on their experiences, observations, and learning emerging from the agroecological practices tested over the year.
Ms. Daman Kumari Chepang, one of the lead farmers, shared a detailed reflection on the activities undertaken and described how her engagement in the process deepened her understanding of soil health and the long-term importance of soil restoration through agroecological practices. Her reflections stimulated wider discussion among participants, including community members who were not directly involved in field-level implementation but reported increased awareness and understanding of the ongoing work at the demonstration site. This highlighted how learning and knowledge sharing had extended beyond the immediate group of participating farmers.
The discussion surfaced key learnings related to the relevance of locally adapted practices, the value of integrating Indigenous farming knowledge with scientific agroecological techniques, and the importance of collective experimentation, observation, and reflection. Farmers expressed a growing sense of ownership over the process and emphasized the importance of continuing to learn together through shared practice.
As an outcome of this collective reflection, community members agreed to take the process forward by forming a Community Action Group (CAG) comprising nine core members, including 7 female and 2 male farmers. This group represents a shared commitment to sustain experimentation, strengthen peer learning, and gradually expand agroecology-based soil restoration practices across the wider community.
Following the meeting, participants visited the demonstration site to observe progress and outcomes firsthand.
The presence of Ms Samikchya Poudel (the Head of the Agriculture Section of Ichhakamana RM) further enriched the discussion by connecting community-level learning with local government perspectives, reinforcing opportunities for institutional support and enhancing the long-term sustainability of the initiative.
