Our CSR

Sustainability for Underprivileged Community 

Nepal is a prime destination for travelers that embraces a harmonious blend of nature, culture, adventure, and wildlife tourism, catering to the needs and desires of individuals seeking leisure, exploration, and enriching cultural experiences involving well-known hospitality. Each destination in Nepal offers extravagant memories to travellers.

Hiking Adventure Treks specializes in conducting exemplary trips focused on Adventure Trekking in Nepal, Hiking in Nepal, and the best tour packages in Nepal, Bhutan, India & Tibet. Established in 2011 A.D., the company is driven by an exceptional and deeply committed team whose vision revolves around showcasing the best of these regions.

Recognizing the significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, Hiking Adventure Treks prioritizes its ethical and moral obligations towards society and the environment ensuring long-term sustainability. As part of its CSR initiatives, Hiking Adventure Treks consistently engages in endeavors that contribute to sustainable tourism in Nepal. Uplifting local communities, they acknowledge the boundless potential of sustainable tourism in rising economic growth, and preserving natural and cultural heritage.

Notably, the team at Hiking Adventure Treks has been actively involved in various community initiatives. Their past efforts included providing essential supplies to villages and distributing stationery materials, warm clothes to students in need. Their dedication extends beyond these initiatives, aiming to continue supporting the underprivileged in the community.

It is in this regard, Hiking Adventure Treks has intended the series of initiatives supporting the livelihood of the underprivileged in the Dhading.

Location 

Gajuri is a rural municipality within Dhading District in Nepal's Bagmati Zone. Positioned in the north-western part of Dhading District, it spans an area of 138.66 km², and is situated south of the Trishuli River. The municipality connects Kathmandu in the east and Malekhu in the west via the Prithvi Highway. Among the diverse ethnicities in the area, the Chepang community is one of the underprivileged groups, prompting our intention to extend support to them.

Chepang Community 

The Chepang are one of the more isolated ethnic groups from the rugged ridges of the Mahabharat mountain range of central Nepal. For over a thousand years, the Chepang lived in very poor conditions. In the 20th century, their quality of life began to improve due to the development of progressive agricultural techniques. They still have customs akin to nomadic life, such as using traps to catch birds and gathering various forest products. They predominantly rear various livestock, including goats, cows, pigs, and sporadically, buffalo. Their agricultural efforts sustain them well for about half of the year, providing ample food. However, during the other half, they rely on forest products and often face the threat of starvation. To cope, some Chepang seek work as laborers outside their villages.

The Chepang community struggles with high unemployment due to a lack of necessary skills and confidence needed to actively pursue income-generating activities. There are scarce avenues to empower them, as they face challenges accessing skill development opportunities and essential resources to initiate businesses. They lack access to skill development and resources necessary for starting businesses, leading to dependency, low incomes, diminished self-esteem, and social isolation. It's imperative to empower them by offering opportunities for sustainable livelihoods, aiming to break this cycle of adversity. Hence, various initiatives are being encouraged to uplift and empower the Chepang people.

Objective

  1. Establish sustainable livelihood opportunities for underprivileged communities specially Chepang via environmentally friendly and income-generating activities.
  2. Reduce the environmental impact by advocating for eco-friendly alternatives.
  3. Empower, engage, and encourage active participation among community members with community development initiatives.
  4. Promote literacy among the people through diverse initiatives.
  5. Keep the community occupied with productive activities.
  6. Showcase the village as a prime example of sustainable development and its ideals.
  7. Facilitate with market for developed products by establishing connections with wholesalers, retailers, and online platforms.
  8. Facilitate cultural exchange between visitors and the Chepang community, allowing travelers to learn about local traditions, cuisine, and way of life.

Initiatives

  1. Compost Fertiliser
  2. Nettle Agriculture
  3. Bee Keeping
  4. Chepang Community Homestay

Nepal has tremendous opportunities for the mentioned initiatives and these practices have been increased over the years. With effective methodology and proper education, these initiatives in Nepal contribute to the economic boost of the rural and marginalized landless farmers. It gives mutual benefits to both the local community people and supplier on the economic returns from the selling of these products enhancing the livelihoods of the community through the sustainable practices.

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD: EMPOWERING TODAY, SECURING TOMORROW

Compost Fertilizer:

Nepalese economy is based on agriculture which is also perceived as the backbone of the Nepalese economy. Agriculture as a main occupation, it provides food, income and employment to the majority of the population in the country. Our proposed compost fertilizer initiative seeks to promote organic farming practices and reduce chemical dependency in agriculture. By introducing compost fertilizer, we aim to enhance soil fertility, improve crop yields, and support environmental sustainability. Fertilizer is a vital input in modern agriculture by providing essential nutrients to plants, thereby enhancing crop growth, increasing yields, and ensuring food security. These nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, among others, are vital for plant growth, development, and overall health. Fertilizers supply these nutrients to the soil, supplementing what may be lacking naturally or depleted due to continuous cropping.

The integration of compost fertilizer into agricultural practices supports sustainable livelihoods by promoting environmental stewardship, reducing costs, increasing agricultural productivity, and fostering community resilience. By embracing composting methods, farming communities can build more sustainable and prosperous futures while contributing to environmental conservation efforts.

Despite the efforts of numerous organizations to assist farmers by providing education, training, and access to superior fertilizers, the support rendered has not been sufficient for all communities. Hence, we aim to offer our support.

How Can We support 

  1. Awareness and Training: Conduct educational workshops and training sessions to educate locals about the benefits and methods of composting and utilizing compost fertilizer from waste materials.
  2. Compost Production Facilities: Establish compost production facilities or centers to facilitate the production and distribution of compost fertilizer.
  3. Research and Development: Invest in research initiatives to continuously improve composting techniques and the quality of compost fertilizer.
  4. Production and packaging: Support the production and packaging of compost fertilizer, ensuring quality and compliance with market standards.
  5. Market Development: Collaborate with market stakeholders to create avenues for selling Compost Fertiliser to generate income for the community.

Nettle Agriculture:

The nettle plant (Urtica dioica) called ‘Sisnu’ in Nepali is a flowering plant that people around the world have used to treat a variety of health conditions. Nettle produces an irritating, uncomfortable sensation in the skin, that is why other common names for stinging nettle are burn weed and burn nettle. Nettle Leaf In Nepal, it is called a superfood and has the power to protect kidney and gallbladder health, lower inflammation, increase muscle mass, regulate hormonal activity, prevent diabetes, lower blood pressure, soothe hemorrhoids and improve respiratory conditions. For many years, Nettle has been a part of vegetables in Nepali kitchens and people consume it for health purposes as it holds itself several health benefits. Nettle is rich in Vitamin A, C, D and K. It is a good source of iron, potassium, manganese, calcium, magnesium, silica, sodium and sulphur with the following benefits for our body;

➢ Detoxifies the body ➢ Aids in Pregnancy ➢ Promotes Feminine Health ➢ Improves Circulation ➢ Prevents Kidney Stones ➢ Anti-inflammatory Activity ➢ Osteoporosis and Bone Health ➢ Treats Respiratory Issues ➢ Protect Heart Health ➢ Improve Prostate Health ➢ Skin Care

Nettle holds tremendous market potential, especially in the food/feed, medicinal, and cosmetic sectors. Its commercial viability has sparked significant interest, leading to imports from neighboring countries. However, due to a shortage of farmers, high post-harvest processing costs, and limited technical efficiency, the production output remains below the demand. By involving the Chepang community through targeted training programs and production initiatives, we aim to bridge this gap. This involvement not only addresses the market demand but also uplifts the livelihoods of the community, empowering them in the process.

We believe “Sisnu” Industry as potential industry to utilize the unused raw materials from the forest turning them to a powder. First, local people collect fresh nettle leaves from the community forest. Then, the leaves are brought to a factory where they are graded to remove other plant and are cleaned for drying. The leaves then are spread evenly in trays and are dried in collector. The drying process time may depend upon the intensity of the sun and the weather conditions. The dry nettle leaves are then grinded to fine powder using a grinder. When the Nettle powder is ready then it is packaged in bags and then packed accordingly.

How Can We support 

  1. Training and Capacity Building: Conduct comprehensive training programs on nettle cultivation techniques, post-harvest processing, their development products and efficient production methods.
  2. Resource Provision: Provide necessary resources such as seeds, tools, and equipment to initiate and sustain nettle cultivation projects.
  3. Technical Support: Offer ongoing technical guidance and assistance to ensure efficient production and processing of nettle products.
  4. Setup processing units: Establish processing units for extracting fibers from nettles and converting them into marketable products.
  5. Market Development: Collaborate with market stakeholders to create avenues for selling nettle-based products, exploring both local and wider market opportunities to generate income for the community.

Bee Keeping:

Beekeeping has been in practice since an ancient time in Nepal offering tremendous potential to generate employment and income enhancement for the people. Beekeeping is landless and marginalized based farming delivering economic, nutritional, and ecological benefits.

This endeavor is a promise due to the distribution of highly diversified bee flora and suitable climatic conditions for honeybee diversity. Regarded as a high value income-generating agriculture activity. Nepal’s varied topography, climatic, and floral varieties create an ideal setting for beekeeping.

The local farmers in Nepal engage in beekeeping not only to meet the demand for honey in the local, national, and international markets but also for the pollination of some crops such as Oilseed crops, Buckwheat, and fruits to increase the yield. The bee species plays a crucial role in the conservation of biodiversity by pollinating the entire region contributing to ecotourism development and income generation in the poor, rural, and landless populations in Nepal. It helps to enhance agricultural productivity and conserves biological diversity and ecosystems through ensured pollination services. The practice of Beekeeping is crucial as it is considered as one of the income-generating activities for resource poor farmers including women, youth, and underemployed sections of the community.

 How Can We Support 

  1. Training and beekeeping: Conduct training and resources for community people on beekeeping techniques, safety, management of beehives and honey extraction to educate locals.
  2. Honey production and processing: Assist in establishing honey extraction and processing facilities to produce high-quality honey and other bee-related products.
  3. Equipment Provision: Provide necessary equipment and materials such as beehives, protective gear, and harvesting tools to kickstart the beekeeping enterprise.
  4. Technical Support: Offer ongoing technical guidance and support to ensure the success and sustainability of the beekeeping initiative.
  5. Market access: Help in connecting the community's honey products with local markets, as well as exploring export opportunities for a sustainable income stream.

Chepang Community Homestay 

Community Homestay programs could be a platform for mutual learning and exchange. Travellers have the opportunity to share their own culture, knowledge, and skills with their host families, while simultaneously gaining insights into the local way of life. The homestay has begun to grow in numbers across Nepal as it provides them authentic organic foods, niche tourism experience in experience price and homely environment. Specific to its geographic locations and ethnicity/caste and available local resources, homestay evolved with distinct characteristic and features.

Establishing a Chepang Community Homestay in Dhading offers an excellent opportunity to elevate its tourism appeal. This initiative not only enhances the region's touristic value but also provides visitors with a chance to immerse themselves in the area's natural beauty, join in local cultural experiences, and listen to the captivating life stories of the Chepang community. By engaging in these homestays, travelers directly contribute to supporting the livelihoods of the Chepang people, bringing smiles to their faces while fostering a mutually enriching cultural exchange.

How can we support 

  1. Infrastructure development: Develop infrastructure for homestays, including basic amenities and accommodation facilities, while preserving the community's cultural authenticity.
  2. Hospitality training: Provide training to community members in hospitality, guest management, hygiene standards, cultural sensitivity and other necessary skills for running homestay operations effectively.
  3. Promotion and marketing: Develop marketing strategies to promote the Chepang Community Homestay program through various channels, including tourism boards, travel agencies, and online platforms to attract visitors and generate income.
  4. Visitor Experience Enhancement: Organize cultural activities, guided tours, and interactive experiences to enrich the stay for visitors, ensuring a memorable and educational experience.

Implementation Plan for initiatives

  1. Secure Funding to implement these initiatives
  2. Collaborate with our associates, experts, governments and concerned organizations to provide necessary training, resources, and guidance.
  3. Conduct regular monitoring and evaluation to track progress, address challenges, and ensure sustainability.
  4. Create awareness programs to educate the community about the importance of sustainability, environmental conservation, and the benefits of these initiatives.
  5. Establish partnerships with private enterprises, tourism agencies, and marketplaces to facilitate product sales and market access.
  6. Distribute the goods we produce by selling them in various markets (national and international). These products will be made available through wholesale channels, retailers, and online platforms.

Expected Outcome

  1. Improved sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment for the underprivileged community.
  2. Increased environmental sustainability through organic farming practices and utilization of natural resources.
  3. Enhanced community resilience and self-sufficiency.
  4. Preservation of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage having a profound impact on the local community.
  5. Boost in local tourism and economic growth.
  6. Foster entrepreneurship and community development

Conclusion

This proposal aims to uplift the livelihoods of underprivileged communities by introducing sustainable and environmentally friendly initiatives. By implementing these projects, we firmly believe that these initiatives align with the goals of economic empowerment, biodiversity conservation, agricultural enhancement and tourism. We aspire to create a positive impact. Therefore, with your support and collaboration, we aim to turn this proposal into a successful and impactful reality.