SIEMENPUU FOUNDATION APPLICATION FORM
| PROJECT TITLE Ecosystem and Community Forestry Management through Rural and Indigenous Women’s Leadership |
A. ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE
| A.1 APPLICANT ORGANISATION | |
| Name: Women Acting Together for Change (WATCH) | |
| Postal and visit address:
572/45 Ram Mandir Marga, Battis Putali, GPO Box 11321, Kathmandu, Nepal |
Contact person and position: Manisha Chhetri, Deputy Director
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| Tel.: 977 1 4402644 or 977 9847259675 | |
| Skype ID: nkajis | |
| Email: watchftp@watch.org.np or m.manishachhetri@gmail.com | |
| Website: http://www.watch.org.np | |
| A.2 BASIC INFORMATION ON THE ORGANISATION | ||
| Legal status: Registered with Kathmandu CDO as an NGO | ||
| Registration ID:
293/048/49 |
Date of registration:
March 8, 1992 |
Date of expiry:
July 16, 2019 |
| If the organisation is not registered, please explain why not:
Every year it has to be renewed. Renewal requires audit, general assembly approval, etc. so it is done by December. |
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| Government authorization to receive foreign funding, if any (e.g. FCRA in India): Approval from the Social Welfare Council, Nepal to use the foreign fund. | Date of registration:
September 3, 1992 |
Date of expiry:
July 16, 2019 |
| X | Compulsory attachment: Copy of the registration document |
| A.3 MISSION AND ACTIVITIES OF THE ORGANISATION | |
| When and by whom was the organisation founded? | Two Americans: Dr. Jamuna Shrestha and Dr. Steve Mikesell visited the Koshi Hills to observe community forestry where they met Dr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Pioneer of CF and discussed if similar process could be followed by NGOs of Nepal. This attracted Dr. Shrestha who helped to initiate WATCH in 1991. With seven Doctors, Nurses, and Social Activists women as founder Board Members it was registered as an NGO in 1992. |
| What are the goals of the organisation? | WATCH’s goal is “to establish a judicial and equitable society where women and poor members can live and pass their lives with honour, dignity and proper recognition. It wants to have Nepali women and men are in control of their own lives.” To do this they need to be aware of the factors affecting their lives and organized to exert influence to alter these factors when needed. WATCH’s objectives to raise awareness and organize people to act are as follows:
1. Help disadvantaged groups and socially oppressed men and women to identify and solve their problems by facilitating, raising awareness, organizing them, and building up their confidence within the communities, thus empowering them to gain more control over their lives. 2. Educate the public about the situation of women and the strife faced by disadvantaged groups and people. 3. Provide information to and obtaining resources for other organizations with similar interests, both nationally and internationally. |
| Please describe briefly the main activities and achievements of the organisation in the last 3 years | Last three years WATCH has been concentrating in strengthening women’s groups by helping them develop charters, keep financial records, change mentality of dependency, etc. About 200 women’s groups with more than 7000 women are helped. Another area of focus is Poverty to Prosperity exercises and plans. About 500 plans are prepared and being implemented and about 200 are supported with investments. About 50 women’s groups are made aware about the ecosystem, who has prepared local level plans and being implemented. Every year 50-60 girls provided scholarships of Rs. 2000 and five chickens as Pewa. With FECOFUN, HIMAWANTI, COFSUN and user groups some actions are initiated to oppose forestry laws trying to restrict user’s rights. 35 prisoners’ children are supported for livelihood and education, and prepared them as Judo champions of Nepal. |
| Does the organisation participate in or cooperate with other national or international organisations or networks? If yes, please list the organisations and describe the nature of the relationship | Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN); HIMAWANTI, Community Forestry Supporters Network (COFSUN), National Federation of Irrigation Water Users Nepal (NFIWUAN), Alliance Against Trafficking of Women and Children in Nepal (AATWIN), Our Iron Fists, Awake Nepali Rural Women’s Coalition, Jagriti Mahila Mahasangh, etc. were envisioned, initiated and supported and still working cooperatively. Thousands of women’s groups and organizations were helped to start. Founder member of defunct International Network of Forests and Communities (INFC), South Asia Regional Facilitator of Forests, Trees and People’s Programme, RECOFTC’s representative in Nepal. Member of GAATW, PMNCH, etc. WATCH believes in “Let Go” approach so even having close relationship it tries not to interfere. |
| How and from which sources have the organisation’s funds been raised? | Initially, founders supported but after six months or so WATCH has been getting funding from donors to conduct projects, It also has created its own trust fund so that it can continue activities even if donors do not fund them. It has created revolving fund for “Poverty to Prosperity” programme, and Girls’ Scholarship so that it can operate smoothly. |
| Total income of the latest financial year of the organisation in euros, specify the year | Rs. 20,834,982.31 (Euro 167,564.59) for the year 2017/18 (2074/75 BS)
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| A.4 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE | ||||
| Who are the decision-makers in the organisation? How many persons, how selected? (e.g. board) | WATCH is a membership based organization. It has 56 members now but it can be more but not less than 50. Women who work with WATCH can be a member. The General Assembly which is the highest policy making body selects or elects seven members Board for three years. The Board makes decisions about direction and policies, approves programmes and annual budgets. The Board selects the Executive Director who is over all authority for making decisions about projects and day-to-day activities. There is five members Project Management Committee which provides support to make decisions. The Project Director makes decisions about the project activities. | |||
| Who has the authority to sign the organisation’s official documents? | Organization related documents are signed by the Chairperson. Project level documents are signed by the Executive Director. Checks are signed by any two among the Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer… | |||
| Number of members of the organisation, if applicable | Individual members:
56 |
Other members (e.g. organisations):
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| How can one become a member of the organisation? | Women who are associated with WATCH can apply for membership and the Board makes the decision whether to approve her membership. If approved the member pays Rs. 25 entry fee and Rs. 25 annual fee. | |||
| Number of paid personnel and volunteers of the organisation | Paid full-time:
15 |
Paid part-time:
34 |
Volunteers:
2-10 |
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| Percentage of women | In the membership:
100 |
In the board:
100 |
In the personnel:
70-75 |
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| Name and e-mail of the person responsible for implementation of the project | Dr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Executive Director (Volunteer)
Email: watchftp@watch.org.np or narayanshrestha800@hotmail.com |
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| Name and e-mail of the person responsible for book-keeping of the project | Laxman Shrestha, Finance Officer
E-mail: watchftp@watch.org.np or watchktm@gmail.com |
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| Name and email address of the company/person that will conduct the project audit | Narayan Bahadur Bhandari, Proprietor, For: N.B. Bhandari & Associates, Registered Auditor, Email: dilli dahal <dilli_pdahal@hotmail.com>
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| x | Compulsory attachment: By-laws of the organisation |
| x | Compulsory attachment: Latest annual financial statement with audit report of the organisation |
| x | Optional attachment: Latest annual report of the organisation |
| Optional attachment: Plan of action of the organisation for the on-going year |
| A.5 INTERNATIONAL FUNDERS OF THE ORGANISATION | ||||
| Have you received funding from international organisations within the last 3 years? If so, please fill the details in the table | ||||
| International funder | Amount in Euros | Calendar year(s) | Purpose | Contact person and e-mail in the funding organisation |
| GLS Treuhand
Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung, Germany |
70,000 | 2015 – 2017 | Rural Women Leadership for Eco System Management and Poverty to Prosperity | Dr. Annette Massmann, Annette.Massmann@gls-treuhand.de |
| Bangalore Cares for Nepal India | 45,374.88 | 2016-2017 | Constructing a school demolished by the earthquake | Fr. George Kannanthanam
(director@theprojectvision.org) |
| The Asia Foundation, Nepal | 35,000 | 2017-2018 | DRR, Accountability and Social Justice | The Asia Foundation, Nepal |
| GLS Treuhand
Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung, Germany |
20,000 | 2018 | Women Empowerment through Development Activities | Dr. Annette Massmann, Annette.Massmann@gls-treuhand.de |
| New ERA, USA | 9,000 | 2016-2017 | Support to poor women for income generation | Defunct |
| -please add rows if needed | ||||
B. PROJECT PLAN
| B.1 SUMMARY A brief summary of the project (maximum 2500 characters, incl. spaces). What are the problems to be solved? What are the main activities and expected results? Who are the beneficiaries? |
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Since introduction of the “Develop our village by ourselves” programme, infrastructure development has been focus in Nepal to have access to roads and to initiate other kind of development, but without systematic planning and not without environmental costs. These environmental costs have limited the ecosystem services on which people depend, including agricultural production as well as access to clean water, protection from natural disasters and fertile soils. Nepal also has been adversely affected by the climate change. After formation of three levels of governments local level governments have spent most of their budgets in the infrastructure development so the vulnerability has increased. Also three kevels of governments have also eyed on local resources so that local users from forestry, water, land, etc. are marginalized. They have power to make policies and they are doing so to disempower users having detrimental adverse effects on those resources. Local agencies have power to make policies, rules and regulations so they need to know about the CF, bio cultural rights, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. An ecosystem management approach reconsiders these decisions and aims to move beyond development that ‘does no harm’, to an integrated approach that boosts holistic development including family level development, agricultural production concurrently with other benefits such as soil and water quality, biological conservation, and increased resilience of rural communities. Unless people understand all these factors and do something to prevent and adapt Nepalese people will go through the calamities very frequently. It may be quite difficult to overcome this mentality and make people responsible and accountable to their own work, livelihood and safety. The main victims, however, are indigenous poor, dalits, women and children. WATCH has been working with user groups from its inception. WATCH’s Advisor Dr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha being proponent of community forestry users’ groups with their inherent rights over their local resources WATCH got involved in the process in his direction, which WATCH is still continuing to do so. WATCH has been organizing women’s groups and other disadvantaged groups for empowering them to access their rights. Because of rigorous inventory focusing only on timber three-fourth operational plans are not renewed. The project will develop process of plan ensuring supremacy of user rights and considering bio cultural rights, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. CF awareness and campaign have stopped so new generation is not aware of it so CF groups are almost defunct and committee or chairman is taking CF as their own property. The project will develop reformulation process. |
| B.2 TIMING AND AREA | |
| Duration of the project in months: 20 | Planned starting month: January 2020 |
| Project area (country, district, village, etc.):
The project will be piloted in Tinau Rural Municipality of Palpa and Devadaha Municipality of Rupandehi in Terai. Tinau has 86 CF user groups of which six women’s CG and an active network, and quite a number of women’s groups and mothers’ groups. Tinau has indigenous groups mainly Magar and some Gurung. Devadaha municipality has several CF user groups and more than 50 women’s groups and mothers’ groups. Devadaha has indigenous groups mainly Tharu, and Musehar, Kumal, Gurung, etc.
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| B.3 IMPACTS, OUTCOMES, OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES Please refer to the Results Chain description in the instructions | ||||
| What are the desired long-term impacts of the proposed project?
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Recognition of bicultural rights of indigenous people in resource management.
Mitigation and adaptation of disasters induced by climate change and unplanned development. |
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| What are the outcomes you aim to achieve during the proposed project? | 1. Local level policy and plans formulation considering rural and indigenous people’s bicultural rights, and climate change and development induced disasters…
2. Inclusion of plans and programmes in the local government’s planning |
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| What are the expected outputs at the end of the project?
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1. 10 each group level ecosystem management plans and one each area level consolidated plans in two areas.
2. Five each community forestry management plans of the area 3. Coordination and cooperation with local governments for plans implementation 4. Awareness of bio cultural rights, ecosystem and community forestry |
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| Please list the planned project activities
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1. 10 each group level ecosystem management plans and one each area level consolidated plans in two areas.
2. Five each community forestry management plans of the area 3. Coordination and cooperation with local governments for plans implementation 4. Awareness of bio cultural rights, ecosystem and community forestry
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| How do you measure whether you have reached the expected project outcomes and outputs? The table below contains the indicators Siemenpuu uses during its Programme 2018-2021. Please fill in the project specific information for at least one of the given indicators and add other indicators relevant for your project, if necessary. | ||||
| Description of the indicator | Unit | Number/amount anticipated by the end of this project | What is the starting situation (baseline)?
How will you collect the data showing the change? |
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| Members of local communities, who have received information about their rights to bio-cultural heritage, natural resources, food sovereignty or sustainable energy |
Number of people |
2000 (70-80% women and available disable people in the area) | It is assumed that the local communities are not aware of them. Detailed pre-tests for baseline will be developed in ecosystem, community forestry and conceptual situation before orientation and post test will be done at the end of the project. | |
| Members of local communities, who have obtained tangible benefits (such as rights to land, heritage, food sovereignty, clean energy, etc.) | Number of:
– women and girls – men and boys – of which people with disabilities |
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| Improved management systems on land areas currently designated for conservation or under ecologically sustainable use |
Areas in hectares |
10 community forests covering about 200 Has | Baseline will be collected having meetings with the Users Committee and selected women users. Similar exercise will be done to assess changes after intervention. | |
| New forest areas and other important ecosystems are formally included in regimes that maintain or improve their biological diversity and positive carbon balance |
Areas in hectares |
200 Has. of CF
500 Has of community land
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Existing operational plan will be the baseline and Changes in the new operational plan will be the changes.
While developing ecosystem management plans by transect walk participants will see the existing situation and developed plans will show the changes |
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| Community based groups and local civil society organizations develop their knowledge and skills related to the rights-based approach to ecologically
sustainable well-being and organisational management. |
Number of:
– community based groups (CBOs), including informal groups – local NGOs |
10 community forestry user groups
20 women’s groups |
Pre and Post Test | |
| Popular movements and civil society organisations formulate popular demands and policy initiatives to advance their rights to sustainable living | Number of initiatives:
– local – national – international |
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| Your additional indicator/s
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| B.4 BENEFICIARIES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS | |
| Who and how many are the direct beneficiaries of the proposed project? Please define, describe and give their number as well as their role in the project.
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10 community forestry user groups (comprising about 25000 users) and 25 women’s groups (comprising about 1000 women) will be the direst beneficiaries. Both are main actors and decision makers in developing ecosystem Management plans and community forestry operational plans. Attempts are made to identify people with disabilities in the are and include them. |
| Please define and describe the other stakeholders (people, groups, communities, organisations, companies, state authorities, etc.) | Local level government authorities and CF user committee members will also be aware about the policies, programmes and processes. |
| How does the project take into account gender equality and vulnerable groups (e.g. indigenous peoples, ethnic, religious or sexual minorities, people with disabilities, etc.)? Are they involved in project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation? | As the project focuses on women and indigenous communities they are the main beneficiaries. They are organized in groups so that their voices are heard and they can collectively access their rights and resources. Even though women and girls have become important in the policies but in the rural and disadvantaged areas they are still suppressed. They even were not made aware of their opportunities and services. The project will promote women’s leadership so they learn leadership skills and practice them. It is expected that they become local CBOs to take charge of development activities in the area.
The project focuses on users or local people who will include all the people including sexual minorities, people with disabilities and the poor. The project plans to promote consensus decision making WATCH knows that voiceless needs to be empowered and elites need to ne pacified. Basically local people are sovereign who will make decisions for planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. |
| B.5 RISKS, MONITORING AND EVALUATION | |
| Please identify different factors, which could prevent the project from achieving its outcomes. How are you prepared for these risks? | Nepal is pushing for making policies, rules and regulations in all three levels of government. All levels of government are eyeing to utilize natural resources for fund collection. It may be detrimental to rights of users and indigenous people. The mentality of government itself a risk. The project plans to make them aware about indigenous peoples and users’ rights to minimize the risk. |
| Can you foresee any potentially negative environmental or social impacts of the project? How could these risks be avoided or mitigated? | It is not expected to have such negative impacts from the project. |
| How do you plan to monitor the project progress? Do you plan to carry out any internal or external evaluations? | WATCH does regular monitoring of its projects. It develops annual planning and monitoring indicators during the Team Building/Planning. One person is assigned to do regular monitoring. Each staff develops two weekly and quarterly planning’s. Based on that they fill in daily activity form and summarize in monthly reporting format which are submitted regularly. It is mandatory to have external evaluation by the SWC. Internal evaluation is done regularly and discussed in weekly Program Management Team. |
| B.6 SUSTAINABILITY AND SHARING OF LESSONS-LEARNED | |
| How do you intend to make sure that the outcomes of the project are as permanent as possible? | CF is in disarray because of imposition of rules neglecting peoples’ interests. Policies are not addressing development of CF process. They still focus on conservation. Whereas the need is for utilization. Originally CF focused on fulfilling basis forest product needs which have changed now because of changes. The project plans address them, which can be a model for others to follow. |
| How are you planning to share the outcomes and experiences or lessons-learned of this project with other people, groups or organisations? E.g. media-work, networking, public awareness-raising? | Lesson learning and dissemination workshops are planned in the project for local level government and other agencies. The project plans to utilize local FM and newspapers to publicize project activities and raise awareness. |
| What else would be needed to achieve the desired long term impacts? | Trained facilitators who can change mentality and behaviour, dialogue with the government agencies will be needed, Sound and simple plans developed by the people’s decisions themselves are also needed. |
| After this project, do you plan to continue the process? If yes, how, and with which resources? | There is need for the project. If the pilots become successful, they will be required everywhere in Nepal to utilize and manage forests and local resources to guarantee ecosystem services. WATCH believes in the project so it is committed to continue with inclusion of feedbacks from learning. |
| B.7 PROJECT CONTEXT | |
| How was this project idea born? How and by whom has the project been planned? Did you consider other approaches or strategies to address the project issue? | Right after the earthquake of 2015 in Nepal, WATCH was approached by donors do something. WATCH provided some support immediately. While doing this WATCH realized that affected people are made beggars and dependent by the donors. So WATCH decided to work differently. It emphasized on changing mentality from bedding to self reliance. There were big changes in the ecosystem also. Community forests were also in disarray. So WATCH piloted to prevent disasters through women’s groups strengthening, ecosystem management and community forestry revival. This was the idea of Dr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha. |
| What is the relation of this project to your previous work, other stakeholders’ initiatives or government policies? | As proponent of Community Forestry movement in Nepal and elsewhere Dr. Narayan Shrestha utilized WATCH’s platform to continue it. So WATCH was involved in expanding community forestry in the Terai (formed the Terai Community Forestry Action Team) for this. WATCH pushed for users’ rights in policy making and programmes, It also helped create FECOFUN, HIMAWANTI, COFSUN, HIFCOM, etc. to safeguard users’ rights and still they are being supported. |
| x | Compulsory attachment: List of planned project staff |
| Compulsory attachment (for energy projects): Technical specifications of the planned system |
| x | Optional attachment: Timeline of the project activities |
| Optional attachment: Logical framework document or other project planning tool document |
| x | Optional attachment: Monitoring and evaluation plan |
| Optional attachment: References |
C.BUDGET AND FINANCING
| C.1 PROJECT BUDGET SUMMARY | ||
| COST ITEM | Total project costs in local currency (incl. Siemenpuu funding, self-financing and other financing) | Amount applied from Siemenpuu in local currency |
| 1. Staff Salaries and Benefits | 2,950,000
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2,150,000 |
| 2. Capacity Building | 1,343,000
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1,118,000 |
| 3. Travel Per-Diem | 705,000
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385,000
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| 4. Office Expenses | 580,000
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530,000 |
| 5. Development Activities | 500,000 | 494,750 |
| Compulsory SWC Evaluation (Included in the office expenses) | ||
| Compulsory Audit (two years) (Included in the office expenses) | ||
| TOTAL | 6,078,000 | 4,677,750 |
| C.2 FINANCING PLAN OF THE PROJECT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please note: Projects supported by Siemenpuu must include minimum 10 % self-financing counted from the Siemenpuu grant. |
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| Details of self-financing
Please note: Other donor funding or local public funding cannot be included. More information in Siemenpuu’s Project Management and Financial Reporting Manual, annex 2: Self-financing. |
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| Where does the self-financing in cash come from? | Cash as such does not envisioned but along with the project Poverty to prosperity exercises and girls scholarships will also be continues. For them cash from the Revolving funds from WATCH will provide. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What kind of materials and services will be received or used as self-financing? How has their value been calculated?
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Self-financing in this project comes mainly from the volunteers who are experts in their fields. Values for their services are calculated based on what they had been getting as consultants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please give details on the voluntary work to be done for the project. Please explain the nature of the work and by whom it will be done. How the value of voluntary work was calculated (value per hour/day per number of workers)? You can use the table below if you find it useful. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name of volunteer | Nature of work | Value per hour/day | Planned working hours/days | Planned total value | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha | Overall direction, training, planning,, supervision, etc. | 10000 per day | 30 days | 300,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shyam Kaji Shrestha | Training, planning, supervision | 5000 per day | 40 days | 200,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manisha Chhetri | Monitoring | 500 per hour | 600 | 300,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Have you applied for financial support for this project from other sources? If yes, from which source and when? | WATCH has not applied to other donors for this project but similar project focusing poverty to prosperity and ecosystem management is being implemented in two other areas. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| x | Compulsory attachment: Detailed project budget |
SIGNATURE Signature(s):
Name(s) in capitals: MANISHA CHHETRI
Position: Deputy Director
Date: September 29, 2019
Place: Kathmandu, Nepal
We kindly ask you to sign and send the application and the attachments by postal mail or by email (with electronic signature or scanned copy of the signed application).
SIEMENPUU FOUNDATION
– MANISHA CHHETRI –
LINTULAHDENKATU 10
00500 HELSINKI
FINLAND
| FEEDBACK Please give us comments or suggestions related to our application process |
| Good format to work and think carefully while developing a project.
|