Tunnel vision

Gita Pariyar lives in Lahachok village, within the Kaski district of central Nepal. She is raising 2 daughters and a son while her husband works as a laborer in the Middle East. A member of the disadvantaged Dalit community, she helps supplement her family’s income through agriculture. But she’s noticed a change in the rainfall in Nepal.

“We need rain in June, but now it comes in July and August. It has been like that for 3 or 4 years. April, November, and December are too dry. It rains when we don’t need it and not when we need it—we get flooding in March.”

With her new income, she is able to support her family better, and save for her children’s education. She’s expanding her production with a second tunnel, now that she’s learned how to address erratic rainfall with better farming techniques.