Least Developed Countries

Recent (2011) data from World Bank reveal that among 6.7 billion people living in the world, 5.5 billion (82%) live in developing countries. It means that only about 20% of the people live in developed countries. Another figure shows that about 80% of the world resources are held by developed countries. Comparing the use of resources and the number of people, the result is surprising. 80% resources for 20% people and 20% resources for 80% people.

Those living in developing countries (the 20%) are not homogeneous economically. Actually the gap between  rich and poor is significantly higher than we normally assume. For example, Indian billionaires hold 31% of the national GDP and there are 50-70 billionaires in India. It means that the largest democracy (India) in the world has such scary figure where about 31% of national resources are held by only 53 richest people (June 2012). In other poor economies too the gap between poor people and rich people is increasing. The economy is a significant determiner of ones health, education, and social capital. The figures show that now the problem is not only gap between developed and developing countries but also between rich and poor people. Perhaps, the number of poor people in rich countries is decreasing, we can not be sure that similar changes happening in poor countries. Actually, the so called economic boom in newly developed countries such as India and China doesn't necessarily prove that the condition of its people has improved. A country can become rich leaving millions of people in poverty. Even though this is a very crucial issue, I am not going to discuss further in this posting. The purpose of this post is to highlight some of the facts on the Least Developed Countries.

Looking through the lens of development economics, we can find three types of countries in the world today. They are developed countries, developing countries and the least developed countries or LDCs. Obviously first category is clear as it holds the advanced industrial nations. Normally they are the members of G8 (that includes France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Russia) or the member of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD (that includes 34 developed countries of the world). The list of the second types of countries is not so clear. They are also called the countries in economic transition or transition countries. Mostly they are represented by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, including some oil producing countries. The first four accelerating economies are also called BRIC taking the initials of these four countries.

The third category, which is also my focus here is the Least Developed Countries. They are also called the third world countries but the terms is not used these days because of its derogatory sense and the term "third world" doesn't have exact connotation with the discussion I am going to do here. In 1971 United Nations made a decision to categorise the poorest countries of the world in the category of Leas Developed Countries. Since then LDC has been a popular acronym among development activists and donor agencies. These are the countries categorised in terms of Human Development Index. They are the countries with lowest level of national literacy, fragile and poor economy, poor health facility and basically the number of people living in extreme poverty that is living in 1.25 dollar a day.

There are 48 LDCs in the world today. The majority of LDCs are in Africa. The Least Developed Countries Report 2011 shows that there are 33 in Africa, 14 in Asia and 1 in South America. These 48 countries are:
         

Afghanistan	Madagascar
Angola	Malawi
Bangladesh	Mali
Benin	Mauritania
Bhutan	Mozambique
Burkina Faso	Myanmar
Burundi	Nepal
Cambodia	Niger
Central African Republic	Rwanda
Chad	Samoa
Comoros	Sao Tome and Principe
Congo	Senegal
Djibouti	Sierra Leone
Equatorial Guinea	Solomon Islands
Eritrea	Somalia
Ethiopia	Sudan
Gambia	Timor-Leste
Guinea	Togo
Guinea-Bissau	Tuvalu
Haiti	Uganda
Kiribati	Tanzania
Lao	Vanuatu
Lesotho	Yemen
Liberia	Zambia

Poverty is the major problem in all these countries. Now 36% of the people living in extreme poverty that is less that 1.25 dollar per day (and 78% living in 2 dollar per day) live in the LDCs. The LDCs share 12% of the world population but their contribution to the global Gross Domestic Product remains below 0.9% which is considerably lower than what it was in 1970s. Something to notice here today is that United States alone contribute about 22% of world GDP. Let's analyse the figure once again, 22% by one country and 1% by 48 countries. And this figure is not going to alter. The United Nations for Population Fund predicts that by 2050 the world population will reach 9 billion and 1.67 billion (about 18%) people will be living in LDCs. 

In terms of literacy, the adult literacy of LDCs is only 59.6%. It means that about 60 people in every 100 people can read and write. Because of global movement such as Education for All, Millennium Development Goals and Universal Primary Education the enrolment rate at primary level has reached about 85%, however the enrolment rate of secondary is only 32 percent. It shows that out of 100 only 85 go to primary school and only 32 secondary school age children reach to the secondary level. Looking at the rate of participation at tertiary level, we can claim that there is no progress at all. Only 5.6% people enrol in higher education. There is no data how many of them graduate and how many of them get job after their graduation.


Looking at the trend of Nepal, we can say that now the problem has been shifted to educated unemployed rather than uneducated unemployed. Even those 5.6%, probably the exceptional and brilliant people are not employed, then how can we imagine a better society? Same is the condition for all 48 Least Developed Countries of the World. On top of all problems there is also a burgeoning problem of brain drain. These are the reason why the number of LDCs is increasing and poverty is accelerating in the world. 

Problems are many and questions are even more. What are the solution to all those problems? Can education and qualifications solve these problems? Is investment in education justifiable in those countries? Does human capital formation help to alleviate the extreme poverty those countries enduring since past? How to reduce inequality? Are we educating the citizens of those countries in the right way? What has education done since past about 100 years? Was there not a right type of education or was education inadequate? These are the questions that need to be addressed. This is the time to work together for finding the solution of the problems these countries facing. People may think that the developed and developing countries could provide a panacea as they have been doing as donor agencies. The history of international development assistance shows that no country can achieve sustainable development from donations of rich countries and even from the assistance of World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The individual LDCs should unite and explore the solutions of their common problems.

Defining reality through social constructivism

Reality is a contested issue. What people call a reality seems mere assumption when we try to generalise that in another context. If a reality is not true in all circumstances then we can't claim that as a reality. What was true in the past must be true at present and in future. What is true in Canada must be true in Nepal. Yes some of the assumptions are true such as "we drink water when we are thirsty" but how much thirsty one gets and how much water she needs for saturation is not the same. A question I would like to discuss here is how the 'reality' is defined? The definition of reality is also contested. I would like to be more specific on 'how reality is constructed' rather than defined because I am convinced at least for today is that reality is constructed not predetermined. Reality is fluid, dynamic and contextual. People in a particular social setting construct a reality, probably true for all the members at least for that particular situation.

To illustrate the concept, let me take an issue: 'development'. A serious question here would be 'what is development?'. Having more money, roads, vehicles, schools, hospitals, employment opportunities are the present assumption of development. We have called some western countries as developed ones because they were able to manage those facilities before the some of the Asian and African countries had achieved. Based on this definition of development we made categorization among the countries of the world hence some countries became developed, some became developing and some became least developed ones. To be developed in the same fashion as western countries, the developing countries also constructed roads, developed school systems, set up industries and so on. For doing so developed countries became donors and the others became receivers. The number of least developed countries remained the same because the developed countries remained always ahead in advancing those attributes of development. Are the countries in the global south not getting progress? It is definitely not, as far as I believe now, a lot of progresses have been done. For example people's level of thought has changed, people have different world views to view the world and so forth. Then where the problem is. The answer may not be easy and the answers may be many. But an inference I could easily make is the problem in defining the term development. The attributes given to 'development' was a socially constructed reality and the construction of that reality took place in the western world or the global north. The assumptions of accepting the definition of western reality as universal reality was the major problem. All countries and all societies are different. They have their own features and own ways of progression. One of the solutions could be disregard of western definition of development and accept that reality is socially constructed and value the reality that is constructed at individual social context. Nepal can never be Canada no matter how good the schools are, how good the roads are and how industrial the former wants to be. And we should never assume that Nepal is not developed and Canada is developed. Let's decide what counts good for Nepal and take its progression on its own way.

Reality changes on daily basis. Let me find an example to show how it changes. Before coming to Canada, I used to believe that Canada is a western country. Eurocentric beliefs, westernization, modernisation and other similar terms have some negative connotations in the discussion we used to have when I was in Nepal. I was assuming that those criticisms were not applicable in Canada because it is a western country and it believes on westernization, modernisation and all other ontologies based on western thoughts and beliefs. I was also thinking that I may put myself in a difficult situation because of my critical mind set towards those phenomena. But after I came to Canada and started to debate and discuss among scholars, mostly from western world I started hearing same argument we used to make in Nepal. We used to blame European colonisers for the oppression and hardships many developing countries are facing these days. We used to go against Eurocentric beliefs. My utter surprise now is that almost all of my colleagues are talking the same. Two days ago in an interuniversity research seminar a researcher who was Canadian by citizen and looked like an European by skin blamed colonization and appealed for the decolonization of scholarly research. My question was 'where is the WEST in this earth?' what are western countries, and actually what is westernisation? Now my reality of westernisation and westernism has changed. People in Canada are talking the same thing, they are blaming colonisation and westernisation.

The changing trend of my personal reality - probably it is my radical constructivist standpoint - has engendered another assumption and the assumption is that Canada was a colony and here are people suffering from Europeanisation. The issue of Indigenous or First Nations people is so pervasive. Yes this is the time for revitalisation of those values that were suppressed by the British and French colonisers in the past. Yes it is also the time for decolonisation of scholarly activities because we can't understand the reality following the epistemology developed by the western scholars or the colonisers themselves. But in terms of my definition of westernisation and the the question I raised in the seminar, I am wondering how those assumption would be dealt when I go to Europe and ask among the British scholars. Actually, I would like to ask them, we have assumed that 'you are, if not at least, your ancestors were, Europeans, they were colonisers, and the world was universalise on what you thought was true. You defined the word development and asked the world to be developed on the way you wanted to be but do you think this assumption is true? If you think these assumptions are wrong then tell me again where is the WEST and who are westerners, who are colonisers? See how my reality of westernisation and westernism has changed since I came to Canada. I am anticipating that when I go to Britain and have discussion with the British scholar my assumption of westernisation would change.

I may change this post in the future, but for now I would like to conclude that reality is socially and contextually constructed issue, it goes on changing as we find ourselves in changed context and circumstances.

'Concept Mapping' as a mixed method research

Concept mapping is a mixed method research method that allows the quantitative analysis of qualitative data. This method is popular in program evaluation, however, it has been used in the field of social sciences as it allows to explore an area of research in a more organised way. According to Trochim (1989), there are five steps that a researcher follows while following concept mapping as a method for social science research. First, a specific questions is posed to a number of participants and responses are collected. Second, responses are edited for clarity and redundant responses are removed. Third, responses are returned to participants and are asked to group them together into concepts. Fourth, the groupings made by participants are analysed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis procedures. Finally, the groupings made by the participants are combined and most significant clusters are selected for the final concept map. The decisions are made on the basis of statistical and conceptual fit.
It seems like a mixed method research not because it follows some traditional statistical tools such as t test and z test. But because of its inherent quality of being positivist rather than following the principle of construction of new knowledge subjectively. As the researcher counts the concepts repeated and and grouped it looks like a quantitative one. It is a mixed method because it is quantitative in process but qualitative in content. (I will change this post when i will have more information on concept mapping as a research method)

Some of my articles

Click here for more
1.  Completing a Graduate Degree: A Case of a Female Student
Abstract: This paper was written as an assignment for one of my courses while pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Education Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. I have made an attempt to explore perceptions and experiences of a female graduate student on four different aspects of her family and academic life. The four aspects that emerged as the themes while analysing interview transcript are: personal and family life; gender differences; funding and scholarship; and the role of supervisor. The paper also presents how the interview was conducted, how the data were generated and how analysis was done. At the end of the paper I have presented my reflections. This short and single-participant semi-structured interview research concludes with three basic findings as major impeding factors for a successful completion of a graduate programme, especially by a female student. The three findings are: female graduate students still face many challenges--as systemic barriers--that are more severe than their male counterparts face; financial problem is still a strong impeding factor that associate with all other major and minor barriers for the completion of a graduate degree; and finally, the relationship between a graduate student and her/his supervisor and the latter's expertise in the area of student's research interest is one of the significant factors for the successful completion of a graduate programme. Read the article

2. Lifelong Learning in Nepal: Contexts and Prospects
Abstract: Learning is a lifelong process. Many countries in the world, basically the European and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, have adopted it as an important vehicle for human development. They have also made it a policy agenda for meeting the human capital need for twenty first century for economic prosperity. However, the concept of lifelong learning is still new in many developing countries including Nepal. With UNESCO's efforts some policy documents have made some provisions to enhance non-formal education in Nepal; however, no specific provision has been made so far to enhance informal learning despite the fact that that has been proved as one of the vital constituents of lifelong learning. This article discusses some of the fundamental concepts attached with lifelong learning and also sheds some lights on the prospects of lifelong learning in developing countries, with particular focus on the Nepalese contexts. Read the article
3.  Promoting Lifelong Learning in Multilingual Context: A Case from Nepal
Abstract: Nepal is a multilingual country with low adult literacy rate (about 57% in 2008). Through different policy documents and motivation from some of the transnational organizations such as UNESCO, Nepal is on the process of adopting lifelong learning perspective as a major educational policy. In this context the article raises two issues: how to preserve and promote linguistic diversity and how to provide lifelong learning opportunities in such multilingual context. For addressing these issues, the article argues that multilingual lifelong learning policy--in all three modes of learning: formal, non-formal and informal--could be a suitable educational policy for Nepal. Read the article
4. Recognition, Accreditation and Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Prospects for Lifelong Learning in Nepal 
Abstract: This study was an exploration on the various issues related to recognition, accreditation and validation of non-formal and informal learning to open up avenues for lifelong learning and continuing education in Nepal. The perceptions, experiences, and opinions of Nepalese Development Activists, Educational Administrators, Policy Actors and University Professors became the major part of this research. Some of the reviews of the good practices in the field of validation of non-formal and informal learning and development of National Qualifications Framework at international level; and the progresses Nepal has made so far in this field were also equally incorporated in the study. It was a two-phased Sequential Mixed Method study in which Survey and Phenomenology representing positivist and constructivist paradigms were used sequentially to draw the findings. The quantitative part of the research dealt with the three themes of the research. The first theme was "providing options for learners to learn through formal, non-formal and informal modes of learning equally"; the second theme was "bringing parity among the three modes of learning" and the third theme was "developing a National Qualifications Framework" to recognize, accredit, and validate non-formal and informal learning to enhance lifelong learning in Nepal. During the analysis of qualitative part of the research eight different themes generated. They were making people free to acquire knowledge; making the three forms of learning equal; recognition, accreditation, and certification of non-formal and informal learning; recognition, accreditation and certification of indigenous knowledge; assessing non-formal and informal learning; adaptability and employability of non-formal and informal learners; developing a National Qualifications Framework; and enhancing lifelong learning. These themes either directly or indirectly are related to validation of non-formal and informal learning to create an environment conducive for lifelong learning in Nepal. From the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data it was found that the Educational Stakeholders were positive and enthusiastic towards enhancing lifelong learning by recognizing, accrediting and validating non-formal and informal learning in Nepal. They opined almost in a similar spirit that the three forms of learning should get equal focus to make one's learning a lifelong endeavor. They had a consensus on developing a mechanism to assess non-formal and informal learning outcomes including indigenous knowledge and skills. They also claimed that non-formal and informal learners are equally employable and adaptable as formal degree holders if the formers were provided with an environment conducive for fostering their knowledge, skills and competencies. Above all, from the triangulation of qualitative results with quantitative data and review of literatures it was found that if a mechanism for recognizing, accrediting and validating non-formal and informal learning is developed on the basis of a National Qualifications Framework, then the goal of enhancing lifelong learning could be achieved. Read all

5. Looking Mother Tongue Instruction through Different Perspectives

Abstract: Mother Tongue Instruction has been a debatable issue since long. There may be two options in the medium of instruction: either to teach especially primary and preprimary schoolchildren in their own mother tongue or continue using second or foreign language as the medium of instruction. Both of the approaches bear some pros and cons. This article tries to explore the perplexing debate in brief by analyzing the concept through different perspectives namely psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, political, cultural, gender, and pedagogical. It also gives a glimpse of the progresses made in Nepal to cater mother tongue instruction. Read the article

6. Evaluation of ELT Program of Kathmandu University 

Abstract: Kathmandu University is one of the leading universities in Nepal. There are different faculties and programs under it. One of schools, namely, School of Education is committed to produce quality academic workforce as per the demanding need of the nation in the field of teaching and learning. It runs English Language Teaching (ELT) Program as an innovative and didactic program with its separate department and faculty members. This report presents a comprehensive summary of the Evaluation of the ELT program. The evaluation was done with particular reference to 2007 February batch according to CIPP (Context, Input, Process, and Product) Evaluation Model. The study concludes that the ELT program has partially achieved its objectives but it is likely that it would take some steps quickly if the implementation phase is made more contemporaneous. Read the article

Allegory of Cave

Composition of research report

Normally, a research report consists of 12 parts: title, acknowledgement, table of contents, abstract, introduction, literature review, research methods, results, discussion, conclusion, appendices and references. All of them are familiar to me but from today’s reading I have found simple but crucial information – we shouldn’t include all the results we get. To make our research more succinct and to the point we should preset and discuss only those findings that relate to our research question(s).

Allegory of parable of cave

Lee Gunderson, my professor teaching research methodology in education, started his lesson with ‘parable of cave’ of Plato. I had heard but didn’t know what it exactly signifies. It was taken from the 7^th volume of Plato’s ‘The Republic’. It talks about the reality and how it is perceived by people. The reality is illusive and we can never know it because we have being changed with some constraints. Perhaps this video will make the things clear

Reality and knowledge

The professor tries to direct the class to the understanding of metaphysics, epistemology and logical positivism. Metaphysics is the study of the fundamental nature of all reality and epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge. I couldn’t say right now the difference between the knowledge and the reality, however, just a plausible guess of my mind. Reality is a relative concept. What is real today may not be so tomorrow and it depends on the perspectives we use to see the things. Something that we take for granted as real, may be wrong for someone who has a different or better perspective to see it. Like in the allegory of cave the prisoner have taken for granted that the world is the shadow moving on the wall in front of them but for the one who went outside he found another reality and that was something more convincing.

The word knowledge, in my understanding has related but a bit different semantics. It is something that we know or understand. Even though the reality is the same, the understanding we make over it may differ from person to person. So knowledge is related to epistemology and reality is with metaphysics, nonetheless both of them are the branches of philosophy.

Logical positivism

Auguste Comte was the first philosopher to propound the concept of positivism. He claimed that theory must be based on observed facts. Several branches of research developed after the induction of positivism or logical positivism. The studies on plants and animals started to be called naturalistic research. Similarly lepidopterists (for the people involved in Insect that in the adult state has four wings more or less covered with tiny scales), botanists, and biologists emerged as researchers. Some of them studied the physical world and their field were geography or astronomy. The areas of research involved in the study of human beings were known as ethnography, anthropology, and epidemiology.  

Anthropological researches sometimes have been the subject of ethical discussion. For example the study in Ishi – the only found living man from Yahi tribe. The following video will give more information on Ishi and his life after he was found. 

Case studies, patient interviews, experiment and quasi-experiment, survey, conceptual analysis (the analysis of the concepts found in literature), action research, historical research (though some people say it is not a research as it lack facts...the facts of histories are just the interpretations of historians), feminist research are some of the examples of research methods/designs.

The best statistics teachers: Prof. Gunderson

I found the way Prof. Gunderson teaches is so fascinating, to the point and simply the best. He has been the first teacher to provide the basic concept of statistics to me. I have been trying to learn some of the fundamental concepts of research statistics, basically after starting to do my MPhil thesis from Kathmandu University. I have read few books and few pages on the web and have also used SPSS package as a tool for analysing the quantitative data of my research. I still don’t have confidence on the statistical operations that I carried out two years ago.

As a matter of fact, Gunderson became the first guru today to make me clear the basic concept of ‘statistical significance’. He made me a reporter of Vancouver Sun and asked to write a report on a woman who can guess rightly whether tea or milk was put on the tea. I went to the women and asked her to make her guess on 1^st cup – she got right. The chance was ½ , again I asked to go for another cup and she made it right the chance or probability became ¼ that means there is 25% chance that she made it correct by accident. He asked, “Kapil, now are you going to write the report?” I said “no” because I couldn’t take that risk. It could be only chance. Let me give a next trial – the third one. Wow! With my utter surprise the women guessed that rightly. I went on asking her to make guesses and she got all right and I came to a certain point that I had less than 5% chance that her right guess was just an accident. As a social science researcher I decided to take that risk. Now I know that that as the statistical significance at 5%level which is acceptable. In another words I am 95% sure that the guessing expertise of the woman was 95% sure and decided to report to the Vancouver Sun. In the field of medical science the significance level is generally taken at 1% level because the risk factor may bring devastating consequence if that comes to be true. This applies to the normal distribution data.

He also gave the basic concept behind mean and variance. Mean is average value and the number that we get by subtracting the mean from the data is residual error whose summation has to come to zero. In statistics minus (-) numbers are often not kept so to eliminate them the residual errors are squared and the summation of squared numbers when divided by the number of items (N) taken into consideration gives the Variance or standard deviation. Hat off Prof. Gunderson, you made the things clear for me.

Heading towards the setting sun!!!

On the way of getting the end she is lost in the horizon

There are ways to go but without destination

She is dragging her workless body to ups and downs

There is no chance to find the end

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

There is nobody to give company to her journey

The journey that nobody has traveled yet

She doesn’t know who and what is leading her

To the horizon without conclusion

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Under the asylum of black and white clouds

She is lost, as she never knows where she is

Trying to find the real man inside her

She is traveling the journey of her own

So she is heading towards the setting sun

She doesn’t know who she is and what she has done

She wants to go where nobody has gone

She wants to be what nobody has been

But still she has not figured out who she is

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

How far she should go and how long does it take

Did she travel the difficult and tough parts?

Or is it still far to be reached?

She doesn’t know whether she should stop or go on

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Is she dreaming or is this the reality?

What role is she playing?

How long does her acting take place?

Is she the audience or the actress acting on?

Or just she is heading towards the setting sun

Feels there is no easy part to travel

She has never found a place to rest

Neither anyone came to give a pal

Can almighty god bless her to born again?

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Budhathum

Where is Budhathum?
Somewhere among 170 billion galaxies … somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy … somewhere in the Solar System … somewhere in the Earth … somewhere in Asia continent …somewhere in South Asia … somewhere in Nepal… somewhere in Dhading district there is a small village … people call it Budhathum. 

I don’t know where was Budhathum when the Big Bang occurred about 13.7 billion years ago … I don’t where was it when Pangaea separated into continents about 250 million years ago … I don’t know where was it when a big asteroid struck the earth about 65 million years ago killing dinosaurs and 70% of earthlings …I don’t know where was it when human beings separated from primate chimpanzees about 4.1 million years ago … I don’t know where was it at the time of Manu and Adam …and I don’t know who was the first person that first walked on the land of Budhathum and when he/she settled … as every small place in this vast and complex universe Budhathum has a long history shrouded in the mysteries – unraveling of which will be interesting but is impossible due to the limit of human mind… … … . I have tried to describe the present day Budhathum i.e. the Budhathum of my time with some of the empirical evidences so far available.
 

There are 75 districts in Nepal. Among them Dhading is a hilly district that lies in the Central Development Region of Nepal. Budhathum is one of the 50 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Dhading. It is about 15 miles far from its headquarters Dhading Besi and about 39 miles from Capital City Kathmandu.
Budhathum borders with Mulpani to the East, Phulkharka to the North, and Baseri to the South. To the Western edge of it Budhi Gandaki River flows, which is the boarder river that separates not only Gorkha and Dhading Districts, Bagmati and Gandaki Zones but also Central and Western Development Regions of Nepal. Budhathum is one of the extreme parts of Central Development Region.
 

Geography
    Budhathum is a slope land surrounded by hills and hillocks. The hills of Murchok, Mulpani, Thumi, Khatri Swanra (of Gorkha district) surround it and it seems that it has been hidden inside the hills. There are many places in Budhathum each having unique settlements in terms of culture, language, tradition and festivals. Some of the important settlements are Jagarboat (my exact birthplace), Pithe, Galane, Budhathum Besi, Ambate, Banskharka, Bhorle, Dadagaun, Dandaghar, Kalimati, etc. Budhathum is divided in 9 administrative divisions known as Wards. Each ward is separated by small streams and rivulets. There are some important streams such as Manpang Khola, Khahare Khola, Narkate Khola, Budhi Khola, Andheri Khola, etc. 

Transportation
Though Dhading seems to be at the center of Nepal, the village Budhathum is far from the imagination of ordinary people who have not gone there. Though the distance is not so long, because of uneven land topography the trek to Budhathum becomes really exhaustive. Few years back people could hardly reach to this place from Dhading Besi. But now, a graveled serpentine road links it with the district headquarters and it has become easier for everyone to reach there within a single day. Every day 1-2 buses reach Budhathum these days. However, as the road becomes muddy and the streams do not allow vehicles to move during rainy months, you have to walk on foot from Dhading Besi that takes 7 to 9 hours.
During non-rainy seasons (November to May) commodities are carried by trucks which are owned by local villagers of Budhathum these days.  But when the stocks run out and the legacy of traditional vehicles mules and even porters are responsible of carrying goods. There is no ambulance facility yet. Cycles, motor cycles and cars are rare sightings.
 
Demography
According to the official website of District Development Committee, Dhading (http://www.ddcdhading.gov.np/) the total population of Budhathum is 10, 390 with 5119 females and 5271 males. The number of household is 1747. It seems that there is a high birth rate when we compare the data with the data of Census 2001.

According to Census Report 2001 total population of Budhathum was 4575. There were Chhetri (1446), Gurung (1101), Newar (662), Brahmin-Hill (488), Sarki (315), Magar (255), Kami (166), Damai (117), Thakuri (17), and others (8). Majority of the people speak Nepali (4182) as their mother tongue including Sarkis. Some of the other languages include Ghale (156), Newar (129), Magar (72), and Tamang (20). The number of people following Hindu religion is 3841 which is followed by Boudha (722) and Islam (4). Sarkis claim that they follow Hindu religion but the rituals they perform are different from Brahmins and Chhetries.
 
Language and culture 

Almost all of the people of Budhathum speak Nepali as mother tongue. There are a large number of people of Gurung and Newar culture, but their languages have almost disappeared for the young generation. It is a sad story as the diversity in culture and other symbolisms are reflected through diversity in language.
The Nepali language spoken in Budhathum is almost similar to the standard variety of Nepali language except some local terminologies. People great with “Namaste” and ask “how are you” in local tone to greet anyone in the village. There is less caste discrimination and the gap between rich and poor is also reduced to a heavy extent in recent days. 

Dashain, Tihar, Maghe Sankranti, etc. are important festivals. There are important places such as Kot (the temple of goddess Kali), Budhathum Kulain (the major god of Adhikari clan of Budhathum), Besare Devi (the goddess) etc. are the places in which local festivals are celebrated which are known as jatra in local jargon. 
People were simple dress. Among adults daura and suruwal are still popular where as youths and children prefer fashionable cloths but they are not completely westernized as every traditional eye can observe it. 

Socioeconomic status
Most of the people of Budhathum are farmers. There are irrigable fields in every part of the village where farmers are found working for planting seasonal crops. During the time of planting and harvesting crops the farmlands look really beautiful.
The people in the village used to be very poor, even unable to feed their children, but these days there is no such condition. The remittances from foreign countries have helped them to ameliorate their economic condition very much. There is no official data; however it can be guessed that the next occupation after agriculture is the job in Nepal Army and Nepal Police followed by teaching and foreign employment. 

In the past the economy of Budhathum was held by few Chhetries and Brahmins, but now dalits have become equally prosperous with their involvement in different jobs and purchase of land for agriculture. There is no caste, religious and even notable political conflicts in the village.   
 
Education 
In comparison to other VDCs of Nepal Budhathum has a good educational status. Almost 95% of the children attend school and there are more than hundred graduates in the village pursuing different jobs in and out of the country. There are schools in each Ward and all these schools are led by Shree Badri Vishal Higher Secondary School that was established in 2029 BS. It provides Higher Secondary (+2) courses in Education and Commerce streams besides regular classes from Grade One to Ten.
 

Lakuwa: My Birthplace
In the middle of Budhathum there is a small beautiful village called Lakuwa. The word 'Lakuwa' comes from Nepali word 'Lukuwa' that means 'hidden itself'. Lakuwa is hidden inside beautiful green hills. To the western part of Lakuwa you can see a hill of Gorkha District. It is covered by snow during winter. It is called the hill of Thumi. To the eastern part of Lakuwa there are small hills of Mulpani and Ganga Jamuna. To the northern part there lies Danda Gaun of Baseri VDC. 

Nearby my village there is a forest. Few years ago it was going to be barren but now we can see Sal trees growing faster to cover the whole forest area. It is protected by the community of Budhathum. To the west part of my village there is green pastureland. Almost all people have small piece of farmland where they grow rice, maize, mustard, wheat etc. 

In the middle of Budhathum VDC there is a Secondary School. The name of this school is Shree Badri Vishal Secondary School. The teachers are friendly and co-operative. The school runs class 11 and 12 with the initiative of local people these days. 

A health center is set up to the western part of the village. In the middle of thin community forest the white buildings of the health center attracts everybody's attention. People get health facilities from this health center.
To the northern part of Lakuwa village there is temple of goddess Kali. Which people called Kot. People worship Kali during Dashain. People in my village are theist. They believe that goddess Kali has a great faith on them.

People have generated hydro-electricity from the water of Manapang Stream. Besides this people of my village involve in various developmental activities such as irrigation, clean drinking water, etc. I feel proud of my village.

Tihar in Nepal

Remembering Tihar from foreign land...
Tihar is one of the two great festivals in Nepal. Though Dashain is taken as the greatest one, Tihar brings a lot of happiness and solidarity among brothers and sisters. Another reason, perhaps the most effective one these days, that helps Tihar to outsmart Dashain is that it is the festival of only vegetarian items. A typical Nepali family does not make any animal slaughter like in Dashain. The special food item typical to Tihar is a type of circular bread knows as cell roti.
Instead of killing animal, during Tihar many animals are worshiped. Actually this is the festival of animals too. There are five days known as yam panchak (which I will discuss later) five different animals including brothers are worshiped. That is why this festival is getting more and more popularity among the increasing number of populace who are opting vegetarian diet leaving their habit of eating meat. Above all Tihar has the following features worth mentioning here.

1. Tihar is also known as Laxmi Pooja. Laxmi symbolizes for money or the economy. Economy is the first factor that determines many factors related to socioeconomic and other related aspects of a family. There is no doubt that ancient Harappa civilization and subsequent Hindu philosophy was aware of this fact. In every civilization of the world every aspect of social life relates with a deity and economy is the no exception. Tihar is the festival of goddess Laxmi who provides wealth to her devotees. People worship her and ask for prosperity of their family on the third day of Tihar.
2. Tihar is the festival of brothers and sisters. It keeps an endless bond between the two siblings sharing same blood. Sisters, normally, depart from their beloved brothers when they are married as they belong to the family of their laws after that. Tihar brings these sisters in a warmly kinship with their brothers. On the fifth day of Tihar, brothers receive garland, tika and gifts from sisters. The garland is the symbol of bonds that their parents had arranged then giving births one after another.
3. Tihar is the festival of singing and dancing. Two typical songs with their unique melody, unique lyric, and unique tune are sung among Nepalese youths during Tihar. They are known as bhailo and deusi in Nepal. Bhailo is especially of girls and deusi is of their boy counterparts. Bhailo song is sung before the fifth day i.e. bhai tika by girls. They visit every household, especially, during the night and sing the song if praise and give lots of blessings and receive some bread, money and fruits from the house owners. On the other hand, the boys of the village gather, make a team and start playing deusi. They also sing songs but a repeated phrase ‘deusi re’ is drilled after every clause of blessing uttered by the leader of the team. The celebration of deusi lasts for more than a week visiting every nearby village. These days, the occasion is utilized for collecting money for a social and communal development such as setting up a school or hospital.
4. Tihar is also the festival of lights. There is a special evening on the day of Laxmi Pooja. The cleaned and decorated house illuminates with hundreds of lights. The lights are holy and calm. A kind of small pot known as pyala (oil lamp) which is made up of china clay is used to illume the house. Some amount of mustard oil is poured into the pyala and it is ignited with the help of a small piece of holy thread. People, normally, do not sleep, neither do they close doors and windows throughout the night because Laxmi needs these opening to get inside. The whole village seems like a sky full of twinkling starts.
5. Tihar is also the festival of games. Even some of the illegal games such as cards and gambling are made free during Tihar. In a typical Nepali house it is simply a family game that involves pleasures and enjoyment. Money counts nothing – it is just for fun. Brothers including father, uncle even grandfather sit in together and play cards – the items of games that make fun such as dahar mara.

The five days of Tihar are special for five animals including brothers:

1. Kag Tihar (the Tihar of crows): It is the first day of Tihar when crow the messenger Yam god – the god of death – is worshiped. Food, roti, flower etc. are given to the crow before eating them by the family members themselves. It seems that the crows come hovering over the house and take the food on top of nearby tree and eat happily.
2. Kukur Tihar (the Tihar of dogs): This is the second day of yam panchak when dogs – the security of every household is worshiped with a garland on their neck, tika on their forehead and sweet foods on their tongue. They seem to be so happy. It feels early in the morning, because of their activities of roaming around, as if they know this day.
3. Gai Tihar (the Tihar of cows): Cows are worshipped as the symbol of goddess Laxmi herself. With ablution of whole body the senior family members worship cows followed by all junior members. They are given special granulated grain food called dau. They look so happy and beautiful with garland, tika and decorated stamp on their back.
4. Goru Tihar (the Tihar of oxen): On the fourth day of Tihar the most contributive animal of human civilization, the genesis of agricultural invention is worshiped with full respect. Actually the oxen are the animals that are used for cultivating lands that yields subsistence to almost 80 percent of Nepali people.
5. Bhai tika (the Tihar of brothers): This day needs not much description here. Sisters put tika and garland and give delicious food items to their beloved brothers. This is the most important and the last day of Tihar.

Notes on Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

What is IK?

• - Knowledge passed down from generations and internalized by the communities through a process of socialization
• - Part of their lifestyles
• - What is suitable Indigenous knowledge or indigenous education: education is the transmission of values and the accumulated knowledge of a society whereas knowledge is state of knowing or understanding gained or retained through experience or study
• - Over many generations IPs have developed a holistic knowledge of their lands, natural resources and environment, which has been recorded within oral traditions
• - IK refers to detailed and complex systems of knowledge the IPs have gathered and developed of their natural environment, including plant and animal ecology, climate and other local conditions and resource management
• - IK is key element of the social capital of the poor and constitutes their main asset in their efforts to gain control of their lives. It is an integral part of the culture and history of a local community
• - IK is not confined to IPs alone – all communities have developed their own body of knowledge over generations
• - IK systems are dynamic: new knowledge is continuously added. Such systems do innovate form within and also will internalize use and adapt external knowledge to suit the local situation
• - IK systems are cumulative, representing generations of experiences, careful observations, and trial and error experiments
• - Biodiversity and indigenous nationalities are indeed very much interconnected and sociocultural diversity is characterized by diversity in caste, ethnicity, language and religion, culture and region

Use of IK

• - Disaster management – human practices that evolved over centuries i.e. IKs have been tested by time and proven to be sustainable and effective in both reducing disasters and avoiding unavoidable hazards
• - Promote sustainable development
• - To solve global environmental, social and economic problems in the forms of increased poverty, human induced climate change, depletion of natural resources, spread of infectious diseases, violation of human rights
• - Developing IK as career. Some of the careers can be – trapping, hunting, fishing, guiding, skinning, wood-making, herbal medicine, wild-rice harvesting, etc.

Western Knowledge System (WKS) and Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS)

• - Amalgamation of WKS and IKS can bring a paradigm shift in education – indigenous scholars have discovered that IK is far more than the binary opposite of western knowledge. IK fills the ethical and knowledge gaps in Eurocentric education, research and scholarship
• - The authorization approach of most education systems imposed on IPs didn’t take into considerations the importance of the traditional and cultural values these societies. Rather, the educational system emphasized assimilation of indigenous peoples into the national mold. Most indigenous children failed to adapt these systems and, as a result, indigenous communities have very high illiteracy rates and poor educational qualifications
• - Although there are apparent attractions in meaningful dialogue between western science and IK, in reality there remains tensions

Incorporating IK in formal education system

• - There is a need for new lines of communication between WKS and IKS for valuing indigenous knowledge in formal education system, examining governments’ efforts to indigenize curricula
• - We need to explore the academic performance of indigenous children at their school and compare it with non-indigenous counterparts
• - Teacher must understand the unique background knowledge of indigenous students in order to best help them meet the learning needs
• - The best way of teaching is helping students know how to apply what they already know to novel learning opportunities
• - According to Ignas (……) curriculum design should be based on
• a. Community based research
• b. Understanding of students (what they know already
• c. Unique situation of indigenous communities
• - Many course books and its contents are ethnocentric, Eurocentric and sexist which are harmful for indigenous children in building their confidence and self-respect
• - The western knowledge has been documented and has become easy to include in curricula. If we have to do so to IK then we must identify and document them. It needs more research
• - The new paradigm in education emphasize the localism and globalism, making the enshrinement of indigenous and traditional knowledge in national curricula – an ideal situation from which to begin developing the necessary social, cultural and educational capital necessary for indigenous, rural and local peoples to become the participants in the global community
• - The education system of developing countries like Nepal has been unsuccessful because curricula are designed for a mainstream and largely urban populace. It has limited utility for remote rural communities. This tendency has ensued rampant unemployment.

Fusion of IK and western science

• - Western science and IK are represented as two different, competing knowledge systems, characterized by binary divide, a divide arguable evolving out of the epistemological foundations of the two knowledge systems.
• - Education and knowledge existed in the form of IK and skills before the intrusion of WKS into our educational practices
• - Sustainable development can be achieved by integrating the two
• - Education is the most elementary and important tool for the revival and application of IK. Education can establish linkage between IK and modern technology, and also bring about the connections with local context and knowledge
• - A solution to soothe the conflict between Eurocentric knowledge and indigenous knowledge is to recognize the existence of different knowledge systems, different world views, and sciences and aims at making a contribution to education with multicultural face
• - The two knowledge systems may in fact be closer than the dichotomy implies. The critical difference between IK and scientific knowledge lies in their relationship to power that it is not the holder of IK who exercise the power to marginalize
• - Knowledge is too vast and exalted a subject to be compartmentalized into watertight chambers with names like indigenous or scientific. Nor are the terms indigenous and scientific mutually exclusive
• - We need to explore traditional native knowledge and western science, then we should find common grounds between them – neither we can neglect western epistemology, nor can we leave indigenous knowledge in the same stage
• - Keeping all three options of learning (formal, non-formal and informal) open, we need to make a fusion between western science and indigenous knowledge. Challenges are many, but it is the only option we can take for sustainable development and proliferation of all forms of knowledge and skills so far neglected due to a hegemonic and colonial influence western world

Valuing/promoting Indigenous Knowledge

• - “When a knowledgeable old person dies, a whole library disappears” – An old African proverb
• - IK has an advantage over western science in the context of poor communities, in that information is tested in the context of survival and the means of existence

Practices

• - Hybridization of WKS and IKS has been taking place in some forms: a farmer uses both natural and chemical fertilizers
• - In recent years IK has been the subject of congresses, conferences, meetings, as well as countless papers, articles and reports
• - Traditional economies are the basis of indigenous and tribal people’s economic survival. IK is supporting rural economy through the expertise of farmers in animal breeding
• - Longing for genuineness, Eurocentric scholars are now struggling to respect IK
• - The interests of outsiders in the IK have emerged in tandem with the politicization of indigenous groups and the indigenous-rights movement. Many IPs are demanding that their rights to be heard in development decisions
• - Development efforts that ignore local circumstances, local technologies, and local system of knowledge have wasted enormous amount of time and resources

Prospects

• - Indigenous students need the opportunities to explore and study how their culture constructs its own knowledge
• - We need to learn from local communities to enrich the development process
• - If IK is leveraged with modern technologies, it certainly help to enhance development activities
• - IK is very much driven by the pragmatic, utilitarian and everyday demands of life
• - In IK development there exist a real danger of over-valorizing and over-romanticizing indigenous knowledge in practice
• - The IK is an autumn seed (covered with Eurocentric snow) and when spring comes it will emerge to nourish nations, languages, heritages and communities. The autumn seed lies within the mind of and spirit of every child, it lies inherent and latent. The autumn seed requires only a nourishing educational system and direct experience with the good road to unfold its ancient wisdom and teaching
• - The countries like Nepal, where majority of the people live in rural areas, acquiring IK of how to navigate and survive on the land, and how to use local resources to feed, clothe, and provide one’s family, may be much greater relevance for the context in which many indigenous groups continue to live today

Why IK deteriorated

• - The authorization approach of most education systems imposed on IPs didn’t take into considerations the importance of the traditional and cultural values these societies. Rather, the educational system emphasized assimilation of indigenous peoples into the national mold. Most indigenous children failed to adapt these systems and, as a result, indigenous communities have very high illiteracy rates and poor educational qualifications
• - Indigenous youths are often forced to leave their traditional communities and move to urban areas to pursue employment or education opportunities. Young people who wish to learn and engage in traditional careers frequently leave school at early age. This detachment is not only the economic obligation of supporting their family but also the overemphasis on Eurocentric education and neglect to the indigenous knowledge possessed by these youths
• - IK is often undervalued relative to western scientific knowledge, both by nonlocal project managers and local communities themselves
• - WKS caused IPs to be viewed as backward and passive recipients and IK became invisible to Eurocentric knowledge in latter’s theory and global science
• - Erosion in IK has occurred due to rapid population growth, growth of international markets, educational systems, environmental degradation, and development pressures related to rapid modernization and cultural homogenization
• - More and more knowledge are being lost as a result of disruption of traditional channels or oral communication. Neither children nor adults spend as much time in their communities anymore. It is harder for older generations to transmit their knowledge to young people
• - In the past, outsiders (for example, social, physical, and agricultural scientists, biologists, colonial powers) ignored IK, depicting it as primitive, simple, static, and “not knowledge”. This historic neglect has contributed to the decline of IK systems
• - Eurocentric thinkers dismissed IK in the same way they dismissed any sociopolitical cultural life they didn’t understand; they found it to be unsystematic and incapable of meeting the productivity needs of the modern world (Battiste, 2002, p. 5)
• - Besides western science that is formal education, the colonial language as the medium of instruction has further hastened the decline of indigenous language, culture and knowledge itself
• - ILO (2005) found that IPs were generally not involved, their priorities were generally not involved, not reflected and the PRSPs were therefore not likely to solve the poverty situation of IPs.

Globalization, industrialization and IK

• - Industrial countries should bear the brunt of climate change impacts where the indigenous peoples will share their knowledge on bio-diversity and land management to develop national mitigation strategies
• - The globalization process facilitated by the western/global education system, is systematically universalizing the world knowledge system and weeding out all other forms of knowledge systems, institutions and resources that are not western in origin
• - The balanced education system will incorporate both indigenous and Eurocentric knowledge – this should be reflected in world education systems. It will be a harbinger for creating a balanced globalization
• - IPs represents about 5% of the world population, but over 15% of the poor.

Gender and IK

• - In indigenous communities, women have taken on the great responsibility of transmitting traditional knowledge, skill and intangible heritage from one generation to the next, however, when foreign values are introduced, this conception is severely affected or even destroyed. As a result there is negative impact on the relationship between men and women
• - Male to male and female to female transfer of generational indigenous knowledge is one of the practical phenomenon in some parts of the world
• - Through their daily works, rural women have accumulated intimate knowledge of their ecosystem, including the management of pests, the conservation of soil and the development of plant and animal genetic resources
• - Women farmers are largely responsible for the selection, implementation and adaptation of plant varieties. In many regions, women are also responsible for the management of small livestock, including their reproduction. Women often have highly specialized knowledge of wild plants used for food, fodder and medicine than men.

IK in Nepal

• - At the time of contact with European colonizers the Nepalese had achieved true civilization: they (Nepalese) didn’t abuse earth, they promoted communal responsibility, they practiced equality in gender relations, and they respected individual freedom
• - We need to resurrect Nepalese indigenous epistemology
• - In a ‘food for work’ program in Nepal, IK has been a more effective agent of development than modern technology (WB, n. d.)
• - Indigenous peoples (or Janajatis as they are known in Nepal) make up at least 36.31% of the population and comprise of 59 officially recognized distinct groups with their own languages, cultures and belief systems
• - GON initiatives: protection and development of IPs (Interim Constitution); National Committee for Development of Nationalities (1997); Formation of National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities (2003); social inclusion, participation of IPs in decision making, special programs for IPs, positive discrimination or reservation in education, employment, etc.; proportional representation in development; socially exclusive economic framework, etc. (Three Year Interim Plan).
• - Although the modern development indicators show that Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is very rich in bio and sociocultural diversity

Some questions

• - What legal provisions should be made to enhance indigenous knowledge to ensure sustainable development?
• - What are international practices to promote indigenous knowledge in order to avail them for reducing some pertinent global problems?
• - What are the challenges in incorporating indigenous knowledge in environmental education and science education?
• - How to develop traditional occupations as careers?
• - Should we commercialize IK?
• - What type of Nepalese traditional knowledge should be taught or included in the curricula?
• - How to leverage technology for promotion of IK in the digital age?
• - How recognize the knowledge and skill of IPs?
• - How to harness indigenous environmental knowledge?
• - What should be the role of education to preserve and maintain the knowledge of IPs and local communities?
• - Should we pursue international legal measures to extend intellectual property rights to cover IK or to treat it as a public good?
• - How to enhance IK research in higher education in Nepal?
• - How effective are the contributions of INGOs such as ILO, UNESCO, WB, etc. to preserve and promote IKs?
• - Have the member countries been following ILO Convention No. 169 that deals with the rights indigenous and tribal peoples?
• - How much intervention is acceptable in the idyllic IKs?
• - Have IPs participated in the development of MDG strategies? What is lacking in MDG strategies?

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

• - IPRs are mechanisms to protect individual and industrial inventions and are usually in effect for a specified period. Legal rights prevent others from copying, selling or importing a product without authorization. In essence there are six forms of IPRs: patents, plant breeding rights, copyright, trademark, industrial design, and trade secrets. Among them, patents and plant-breeders’ are most relevant to IKS.
• - Some scholar’s argue that for IPs, life is a common property which can’t be owned, commercialized and monopolized by individuals…Accordingly, the patenting of any life forms and processes is unacceptable to indigenous peoples
• - We reaffirms that imperialism is perpetuated through IPR systems, science and modern technology to control and exploit the lands, territories and resources of IPs – CS Canada, (1996a) as cited in Grenier (1998)