Climate-Smart Farming Transforms A Farmer and Her Community in Nepal

In the early morning light, Dev Kumari Chaudhary walks barefoot through her spinach rows, gently inspecting leaves for pests and checking the moisture in the soil from her home in Surkhet, in southwest Nepal. Her land is quiet, but not still—each patch of compost and each homemade insect trap is helping change her future. 

At 42, Dev Kumari has lived most of her life as a farmer. Married for more than  three decades, she raised two children while working the land alongside her husband. “I only knew how to grow cauliflower and cabbage,” she told iDE in March.  “That was all I had seen and done growing up.”

Like many farmers in her community, Dev Kumari had long felt the need to improve her farming practices to better support her family. Over the years, she had experimented with new agricultural methods, learning what worked (and what didn't) through trial and error.

In 2024, Dev became part of the training program, under iDE’s Market-led Nutrition Initiative, and in partnership with a local non-profit organization, Sundar Nepal Sanstha. The Nutrition Initiative works to improve the wellbeing of communities across 25 municipalities in four provinces of Nepal. Through an integrated approach combining nutrition, health, WASH, food security, market systems, and women’s empowerment, the program strengthens local health services, promotes safe care and feeding practices, improves food security and hygiene, and advances women’s leadership and economic participation. In Surkhet, the project has positively impacted 2,554 households out of its target of 3,600 households to date.

The iDE training helped introduce Dev Kumarito to sustainable techniques like organic composting, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and a range of climate-smart tools and practices that boosted her crops while driving her passion for resilient agriculture.

Climate-Smart Innovation in Action

In recent years, regions like Surkhet have faced erratic rainfall, hotter summers, and longer dry periods. These shifts have made farming riskier and more unpredictable, especially for women farmers who rely on traditional methods.

iDE Nepal’s commitment to building climate resilience from the ground up began in 1992, from Kathmandu.  Today, 33 years later, the organization is still committed to helping smallholders adapt, fortifying an ecosystem of affordable, practical solutions that are easy to adopt and maintain. 

Rainwater-harvesting tanks, organic inputs like Jholmol and vermiwash, IPM tools such as sticky traps, pheromone lures, and neem repellents, plus training in eco-friendly pest control—all tailored for low-input farming.

These climate-smart solutions are also farmer-smart: rooted in local knowledge and built to help rural families thrive.

Tools alone aren’t enough. iDE Nepal’s Market Systems Development (MSD) approach helps integrate these innovations into local markets, making them accessible and sustainable for the farmers who need them most.

iDE Nepal serves as a catalyst and connector in the rural market system—building a foundation that links farmers, suppliers, service providers, and markets.

Through its MSD approach, iDE Nepal strengthens supply chains by supporting local agro-vets and retailers to stock climate-smart products. It drives demand by training farmers and showcasing proven results through demo farms, while also building local capacity through partners like Sundar Nepal Sanstha. Finally, it connects farmers to markets by improving access to buyers, cooperatives, and value chains that value sustainable produce.

This creates a virtuous cycle: farmers improve their practices, see results, invest further, and influence others—building a community-level shift toward resilience.

New Climate Smart Practices Boost Crops And A Passion for Learning 

“I had never even heard of things like jholmol or sticky traps before,” she said. “Now, I prepare my own compost, use organic pesticides, and manage pests naturally without harming my soil or crops.” 

What is Jholmol?

Jholmol is an organic liquid fertilizer traditionally used in Nepali agriculture, made by fermenting a mixture of cow urine, dung, water, and locally available plant materials. It enriches the soil with nutrients, enhances plant growth, and acts as a natural pesticide, promoting sustainable and eco-friendly farming practices.

 Dev Kumari also began incorporating vermiwash into her framing. The liquid fertilizer, which is the organic byproduct of  earthworms, is rich in micronutrients and beneficial microbes that make plants strong and  naturally deters pests. “It’s amazing how much healthier my crops are now,” said Dev.  “I spray vermiwash regularly—it’s like giving the plants a tonic.

Dev Kumari learned how to fight back against  common farm pests like leaf miners, aphids, fruit flies, and cutworms using low-cost, effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools. These include pheromone traps, yellow and blue sticky cards, and locally made botanical solutions like jholmol—a fermented organic mixture that deters insects while enriching soil.

The installation of a soil cement tank —a low-cost structure that captures and conserves rainwater— helped Dev Kumari plan ahead against the unpredictable rainfall and water storage which had been a  consistent issue in her community.  “We used to wait for rain and sometimes lose crops when it didn’t come on time,” she said. “Now, with a water tank and better soil practices, I can manage my farm even during dry months.”

Today her plot serves as a thriving demonstration farm where she grows multiple varieties of greens, manages a ‘Poshan Bagaicha’ (nutrition garden), and raises poultry.

More Than a Farmer—A Teacher, A Leader, A Catalyst

As Dev Kumari’s skills expanded, so did her sense of purpose. Today her farm brings her him, while supporting her wider community as a demo farm. Women from neighboring villages visit her to learn about composting, pest control, poultry rearing, and preparing healthy meals with homegrown produce.

“Many women in our village want to do more but don’t always know how,” she shares. “Now they come here to learn, just like I once did.”

Her sessions emphasize the link between agriculture and nutrition—teaching mothers how to grow and prepare diverse, nutritious foods that help prevent malnutrition and improve family well-being.

“Good nutrition starts from the farm and reaches the plate,” she said. “When mothers learn this, they can raise stronger, healthier children.”

iDE Nepal’s approach goes far beyond tool distribution. It focuses on building capacity, fostering entrepreneurship, and turning smallholder farmers into local leaders.

“We’re not just learning how to farm differently—we’re learning how to think differently. Everything is connected now, from our soil to our market.”

With each connection forged—from a farmer to a vendor, or a learning session to a sale at market—iDE Nepal is laying the groundwork for sustainable, inclusive growth in Nepal’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

By connecting farmers to markets, offering ongoing mentorship, and promoting climate-resilient agriculture, iDE Nepal is helping ensure that people like Dev Kumari are not just coping with change—they’re leading it.

Story by Thinley Ghale and photos by Subarna Budhathoki for iDE.