Nepal experienced unprecedented post-monsoon rains. An entire year's worth of rice crops was ruined in a matter of days.
During our visit to the Lumbini area, members of Universal Love spoke with a family of farmers in the Kapilvastu township who gave us a tour of their farm and explained how the recent rains ruined their rice crop. The family's inner strength was revealed in their optimism, despite not knowing how they would survive the coming winter season without sustenance or income. After this experience we felt called to help the farmers of this region and the Jiri area of Nepal.
In our meeting with Rajkumar, we learned that the beginning of October marks the end of the rainy monsoon season and the beginning of the dry season. Typical rainfall in October measures less than five millimeters in this region. That week it rained continuously for six days, causing three types of crop failure:
Rice that had been cut to dry for harvest was impregnated with water, causing the kernel to sprout in situ, preventing it from being dried and harvested.
Rice that was nearly ready for cutting had been crushed by the weight of the rain and spoiled.
Even rice that remained standing had taken too much water and would turn brown if harvesting were attempted.
The outcome has been a complete loss of their rice crop. With tourism in the region nearly non-existent at the time, the family did not have access to their typical alternative source of income.
As all of these families are part of our universal family, we would like to express solidarity with their situation and share what we can. Our plan is to provide 25kg of rice, 2kg lentils, 2kg sugar, and 500g of tea leaves to each family at the combined price of $20. Although these limited goods will not address the full scale of the loss being suffered by our brothers and sisters, our hope is that they will be nourished and heartened in this period of hardship by this reminder of our universal connection.
Just $25 can feed a family of 8 for two months.
We can't bring back the destroyed rice, but we can grant these villagers some time to figure out what to do. Relieving them of the immediate challenge of feeding their families creates space for creativity, while the community joins together and finds a solution.
Support our Rice Crop Disaster Relief project