ASHA (“Hope”)

Located in Nepal - Founded in 1998 - IDEX partner since 2004

Lal Maya (right) shows off her squash to members of her community group. The crops provide a vital source of nutrition for their families.

Photo: Jan Stürmann

Lal Maya (at right) shows off her squash to members of her community group. The crops provide a vital source of nutrition for their families.

ASHA works with groups of women to preserve organic, heirloom seed varieties and create seed banks.

ASHA’s mission to improve the health, livelihood, education and socioeconomic status of communities in the Nuwakot district of Nepal. As the people in the villages of this area are primarily subsistence farmers, ASHA offers programs on sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship and nutrition.

In response to widespread food insecurity, ASHA works with groups of women to preserve organic, heirloom seed varieties, create seed banks, and provide training on sustainable fertilizing, pest control systems and fruit tree cultivation. These organic cultivation methods provide a wide variety of produce for family consumption and sales while conserving the soil and water quality.

ASHA also works with women’s savings and credit groups that build local wealth to invest in income-generation projects. ASHA provides training on bookkeeping, money management, business planning, and marketing for vegetable sales at local and Kathmandu markets.