Initial Impressions of Living and Working in Gaindakot

Kathmandu was grand, but it was time to get to work and gain the momentum required to meet the several deliverables requested of me by VDRC. The three and a half hour drive from Kathmandu to Gaindakot, located in Nawalparasi district, is a windy, reckless one, but time passes rather quickly due to the breathtaking views of lush, green mountain ranges with vivid blue rivers flowing through them, alongside our route. At times, when the mountain peaks envelop travelers, towering high into the atmosphere, it’s impossible to not feel humbled by the magnificence of it all. In a country devoid of political stability and a functioning government, little has been done to prod the country’s development forward. Decades of scandal, violence, and conspiracy among the Maoists, monarchs, and members of parliament has stunted any progress, lending to nearly half the population living under the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. Natural wonders and the reminders they evoke of our insignificance in this universe comprise most of what Nepal has to offer its visitors.

I reached the VDRC office in Gaindakot to find that my accommodation and office space had not yet been arranged, despite the several months’ notice of my arrival. For nearly a week, I have been living in the local training center hostel and conducting most of my work from here with the only luxury of an internet cable that has traveled several meters to connect me to the rest of the world. It has certainly been an adjustment, though the re-acclimation to cold bucket showers and irregular electricity has been rather quick. I suppose I can owe that to the last few years of working in similar conditions elsewhere and to our annual visits to India and Sri Lanka throughout my childhood. Amma and Appa wanted us to always remain connected to our family, culture, and identity, despite having been born and raised in the States, in order to become more grounded individuals. I think in this type of work, a link to those roots has certainly proven to be advantageous.

Still, I can’t deny the frustrations and occasional anxiety that have haunted me this past week. The slow pace of work and lack of an immediate response to just about anything is something I’ve never been able to adjust well to. Things happen at a snail’s pace here, and the concept of timeliness, deadlines, and efficiency is nonexistent. In this environment, at least initially, one is forced to find that required push to keep moving forward from the little pleasures and small victories. I’ve learned the local load shedding schedule and am learning to arrange anything that requires electricity around it. I obtained an electric coil to heat my bucket of water before baths and have learned to set my alarm to get up in the mornings at least one hour before load shedding begins on a given day (because it varies day to day) in order to ensure that the coil has enough time to boil the water to a reasonable temperature. I now begin my day with a morning walk in the mist, among the plantain trees and children cycling or skipping to school, and observe the awakening of this little town. I learned this morning that I can shift to my longer term accommodations this evening. For the duration of my assignment, I will be occupying the second floor of a home just down the street from my office. Progress is good.

Over the next few months, I will be conducting an impact assessment of VDRC’s microfinance programs, primarily focusing my research on VYCCU Savings and Credit Cooperative and two other cooperatives promoted by VDRC in central Nepal. The study will specifically focus on client recipients of income generation loans and the performance of enterprises and other income generation activities that these loans have supported. A heavy part of the research will rely on the continuation of a series of interviews with a select group of clients that I started during my initial visit. While the study will place heavy emphasis on the economic impact of these loans, we’re hoping to also measure the social impact they have had on the target communities, particularly among women and disadvantaged groups.