Nepal is, economically, a very poor country in which per capita annual income is only $240. Rural areas especially suffer from a woeful lack of social and economic infrastructure. People in dalit ("untouchable") and janjati (ethnic minority) communities are most likely to be subject to poverty and exclusion and within these groups women suffer the most.

ETC's Integrated Community Development (ICD) model builds self-reliance in dalit and janajati communities by ensuring quality education for children and adults through programs that build awareness and foster sustainable improvements in standards of living. The ICD model has three interlocking components:

CHILDREN's EDUCATION
 

Nepal’s educational system generally is not up to the task of providing students with the skills necessary for carving out a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.  Less than 50% of teachers have any formal training beyond high school.  Many schools lack even basic infrastructure such as benches, tables, blackboards and playgrounds.  The failure rate is very high, and few students make it past 5th grade.  ETC works with public schools to:

  • Establish kindergarten classes, including training teachers in age-appropriate pedagogy (read more)
  • Provide scholarships to the children of poor and marginalized communities (read more)
  • Improve school buildings and facilities (read more)
  • Provide diverse training opportunities for teachers (read more)

WOMEN'S LITERACY AND EMPOWERMENT

Women in Nepal routinely suffer from lack of access to education, money and technology. Barely 25% of Nepali women are literate. They face systematic discrimination due to institutionalized chauvinism and a pronounced cultural preference for sons in Nepali society. The fundamental goal of ETC's Women's Empowerment program is empowerment - working with women to help them gain the confidence and skills to be leaders in their communities. ETC does this by:

  • Providing quality education for women (read more)
  • Facilitating the formation of women's groups and local community organizations to strengthen local capacity and ensure the sustainability of development activities (read more)
  • Improving the health of families through toilet construction and health maintenance trainings (read more)

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
 

ETC works primarily in rural areas where improving agricultural and livestock production is a key to community well being. The goals of the Agriculture Program are to enable women's group members and other farmers to achieve food security, promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and increase family income. The Agriculture Program promotes:

  • Holistic farming strategies that produce nutritious foods for family consumption, sustain farm animals in conditions appropriate for both human and animal health, and use natural resources in ways that promote soil fertility and minimize waste and pollution. (read more)
  • Improved cultivation techniques to produce a marketable surplus of a wide variety of desirable products. (read more)