Rural livelihood, Cultural values, and Tourism in Nepal – An exploration

Humnath Bhandari

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow

JIRCAS, Tsukuba, Japan

JSPS Science Dialogue Program - Presentation

• Location: Between China & India

• Area: ~ Hokkaido

• Population: 28 million

• Language: Nepali

Basic information of Nepal

Map of Nepal showing Plain, Hill, and Mountain region

Geography of Nepal

• Plain : 23 %

• Hill : 42 %

• Mountain : 35 %

• Elevation: 70 – 8848 m

Climate in Nepal

• Four seasons:Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

• Climate:Winter: very cold Summer: very hot

Government in Nepal

• Head of the state – Prime-minister

• Parliamentary system

National Flag of Nepal

Faces of Nepal

Education system in Nepal

• Primary school: 1 – 5 grade

• Lower secondary: 6 – 7 grade

• High school: 8 – 10 grade(National Board Exam)

• Intermediate: 2 yrs

• College: >12 yrs of schooling

Shuvatara School – An introduction

Meaning: Shuva – Good/luckyTara – a star

• Established: 1989

• Type: Private, day school

• Classes: Up to grade 12

• Students: > 500

• Staff: > 80

Shuvatara School – City view from School

Shuvatara School – Students in a class room

Shuvatara School – Library

Popular sports in Nepal

• Football

• Cricket

Sport – Football

Sport – Cricket

Sport - Elephant polo

National Costumes

National costume - Man

National costume Women

Nepali cap

Food habit

• Main Food crops: Rice, Wheat, and Maize

(Bhat-Dal-Tarkari)

• Vegetable, Milk: Very common

• Meat: Mutton

• Local alcohol: Rakshi

Bhat-Dal-Tarkari

Nepalese Culture

• Culture: Influenced by Tibet, India

(cloth, language, food)

• Ethnic groups: > 70

• Music/Film: Influenced by India

• New year: Mid-April

• Working day: Sunday – Friday

Nepali greeting - Namaste

Women wearing ornaments

Women wearing ornaments

Musical band

Folk dance

Ethnic group folk dance

Traditional Hindu wedding ceremony

Child birth ceremony

Cremation of dead body

Religion in Nepal

• Hindu: 85%

• Buddhist: 10%

Goddess – Saraswati

Knowledge and Wisdom

Hindu Temple

Buddhist temple

Tourism and Trekking

Tourist on trekking

Porters on trekking route

Tourist on trekking

Tourist on trekking

Elephant Riding

Elephant in the national park

Elephant riding

Rhino at the national park

Rural livelihood

A traditional house in the village

A traditional house in the village

Corn store in the house

Drinking water for public use

Washing clothes in public place

People carrying firewood for sale

Means of transport in the Hill

Means of transport in the Hill

Means of transport in the Hill

Yak carrying goods in Mountain

Public transport

Man preparing bamboo basket

Bamboo basket

Child in basket

Local transport

Homemade grinding machine

A boy riding buffalo

Marketing in Rural Area

Fruit shop

Street vegetables and fruits market

Street flower shop

People buying clothes in street market

A village convenient store

Natural Resources

Village near Kathmandu

Lake and city of Pokhara

Top of Mount Everest – SAGARMATHA

Morning view of mountain

Mount Everest – Sunset view

A temple in the mountain

Glacier in the Mountain

Glacier in the Mountain

Cascading waterfall

Mountain river

Suspension bridge

Wooden bridge

Agriculture and rice production

Rice

Rice terraces

Rice terraces

Ploughing for rice transplanting

Rice transplanting

Rice transplanting

School students learning rice planting

Rice ready for harvesting

Manual harvesting of rice

Rice straw in the field

Drying of newly harvested rice

Women making rice straw mat

Sample text in Nepali

Numerals in Nepali

Basic Greetings in Nepali

• Namaste / Namaskar: Hello

• Mero Naam Suzuki Ho: My name is Suzuki

• Tapai Ko Naam Ke Ho: What is your name?

• Dhanyabad: Thank you

• Pheri Bhetaunla: I hope we meet again