Annual Report of Martin Chautari, 1999-2000
The following report summarizes the activities of Martin Chautari (MC) during the fiscal year 1 Shrawan 2056 to 31 Asar 2057 (17 July 1999 to 15 July 2000). It has been prepared by the Managing Committee of MC.
Long-term Activities
Discussion Series: A total of 55 discussions were held at the Martin Chautari during this fiscal year. A complete list of the topics and the names of the discussion leaders is attached to this report as appendix one. Most of the discussions were held on Tuesdays (except on two occasions due to major holidays) and some on other days of the week. Average attendance was about thirty people. Some of the discussions were specifically focused on issues being raised by social movements (i.e., the movement to free Kamaiyas from the bonded labour system, amendment to the Muluki Ain, etc.). Other presentations dealt with political parties and their ideologies, nationalism, economic liberalization, globalization, issues raised by the feminist movement in Nepal, the census of 2001, literary and aesthetic developments in recent times, community and janajati movements, media, the NGOs, the education system, and philanthropy. Some academics also spoke about their research. The themes of some discussions were later covered by the print media or were taken up in talk programs in various radio stations.
The Kathmandu Post Review of Books: As part of the agreement between Chautari and Kantipur Publications, a total of 24 issues of the Review were published in The Kathmandu Post. A total of 17 essays and 81 book reviews were published in these issues. Each coordinator was responsible for putting together the two issues of the Review for a designated month. The team of coordinators included Manjushree Thapa, Shizu Upadhya, Ashutosh Tiwari, Anil Baral, Seira Tamang, Pratyoush Onta, Dinesh Prasain, and Ajit Baral. A file containing all of the issues since April 1998 and few of the previous ones is being kept at MC.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Advocacy Project: Coordinated by Anil Baral, Ramesh Parajuli and Bimal Aryal, this project promotes the use of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) in Nepal. The first two phases of the project were undertaken during the previous fiscal year. In the first phase of this project, MC conducted a comprehensive study to identify the major bottlenecks (legislative, financial and infrastructure problems) that are hampering the further growth of the EV industry in Nepal and made a number of recommendations regarding what could be done to overcome them. During the second phase of the project that ended in late spring 1999, an advocacy campaign to raise public knowledge about EVs was conducted. This campaign included the distribution of 30,000 pamphlets to the public, publication of articles and letters to the editor in the print media, several radio discussions, and postings in the Internet. It also included meetings with officials at the ward and the central level of the municipalities of Kathmandu and lectures and discussions with high school students about options for combating air pollution in Kathmandu. The advocacy campaign was highly effective and was one of the reasons behind the decision by the Nepal government to ban highly polluting diesel-operated three wheelers from Kathmandu.
In the third phase of the project, MC monitored the gradual increase of EV manufacturing capacity, public interest in investment in EVs and associated developments. In addition to maintaining an email list with over 200 addresses for dissemination of information related to these developments, the group has kept a close eye on various moves of the government, and businesses promising micro-bus replacements for diesel tempos.
During phases IV and V of the EV advocacy campaign, MC organized several interactive programs with EV manufacturers, donor agencies, traffic police, transportation management department and green activists. MC team lobbied the government and different agencies to enforce the Euro I standard. The government of Nepal introduced Nepal Mass Vehicle Emission Standard 2056, equivalent to Euro I, from 23 December 1999. Notwithstanding the emission norms, different business groups tried to import substandard vehicles. MC tried its best to stop their wrongdoing. MC delayed the import of the microbuses which helped the EVs to capture the vacuum in the market caused by the expulsion of diesel tempos. It published a brochure that illustrated the various aspects of Safa tempos especially management/ maintenance of batteries.
One of the agendas of phase five of the project was to encourage women's involvement in the EV industry as owners of charging station and drivers. The number of the women driving safa tempos increased to about 15. With a view to promote electrical vehicles outside the Kathmandu valley a feasibility study tour in different cities (Pokhara, Birgunj, Hetaunda, Bharatpur, Biratnagar, Butwal, etc.) of Nepal was also undertaken. The responses from some cities were positive. Martin Chautari along with some other pro environment organizations celebrated a week-long Earth Day 2000 with the theme of 'clean energies for the fight against climate change.' MC fed information to the media pertaining to issues of clean air/ clean transportation. The list server which disseminates news about Alternative Fuel Vehicles to about 400 subscribers is being continued in this phase.
The sixth phase of the EV advocacy project started from May 2000, with support from the same agency that has supported MC's work on EVs all along, Renewable Energy Program Support Office of Winrock International. In this phase, some exploratory visits and interactions with local entrepreneurs and municipalities that have good prospects for Safa tempo operations are being held. So far, Hetaunda and Bharatpur Municipalities have shown their interest in promoting electric vehicles. They've asked MC for help in promoting EVs. Birgunj municipality too is interested in EVs. At the end of May, the department of transport management issued a notice banning the registration of new EVs in the valley. MC lobbied against this decision, arranged press conferences, mobilized media and made the government revoke its decision. Training cum interaction with owners on Safa tempo maintenance, battery management, driver-owner relationship are being done. MC has further encouraged the participation of women in EV industry. Some 18 women are currently driving safa tempos in the streets of Kathmandu. MC assisted Markus Eisenring, a Swiss EV expert in doing R&D in the existing safa tempos to prolong the battery life and solve other technical problems. The electronic listserve on Alternative Fuel Vehicles is also being maintained. An article based on MC's work on EVs written by Anil Baral, Ramesh Parajuli and Bimal Aryal will be published in a forthcoming issue of Studies in Nepali History and Society.
• Public hearings: Several public hearings were organized by MC at the Nepal Tourism Board hall during this year. Some of the hearings listed below were jointly organized with other organizations. These events were covered by both national and international (e.g. BBC Nepali service) media.
• Interaction between Kamaiyas, members of the Kamaiya Mukti Sangarsha Samiti, members of the Kamaiya Mukti Andolan Paricalan Samiti and the press, 10 July 2000.
• Interaction Program on Environment, Clean Energy and Tourism, 4 June 2000.
• Participation in Environment Protection: Today's Need, 21 April 2000. Organised jointly with the Earth Day Nepal Committee.
• Earth Day and its relevance, 19 April 2000. Organised jointly with Earth Day Nepal Committee
• Experiences and challenges of FM broadcasting in Kathmandu, 15 December 1999. Sponsored by Frederich Ebert Stiftung.
• Need for Philanthropy (Chanda guthi) in Nepal, 12 December 1999. Speakers included Pratyoush Onta, Ratna Sansar Shreshta and Rita Thapa.
• Electric vehicles in the coming century and Nepal's experience of Safa Tempos, 8 December 1999. Organised jointly with Leaders Nepal.
• Euro 1 vehicle emission standard and micro bus, 28 September 1999. This programme was organised by MC to bring to public discussion the vehicle emission standard set by the Ministry of Population and Environment for the microbuses that are intended as replacements for the diesel tempos.
• Transparency in Privatisation Procedures: The Context of Butwal Power Company, 22 August 1999. Implementing the ban on diesel tempos, 6 August 1999.
• Radio Program: A weekly discussion program called Dabali was produced by Martin Chautari in collaboration with Radio Sagarmatha (FM 102.4) until December 1999 end. Over 25 such programs were broadcast between July and December. The program host for MC was Pratyoush Onta and the permanent guest was critic CK Lal. Other guests were invited as and when necessary. Various topics of contemporary interest were discussed. Before Pratyoush left the programme, MC had made a proposal to Radio Sagarmatha to continue the program which was turned down by the then station in-charge.
• Research on Philanthropy: MC did a public discussion on philanthropy in Nepal in December 1999. Afterwards it was decided that a baseline study had to be done to find some details regarding the types and volume of philanthropy in Nepal. With partial financial assistance from ActionAid Nepal, a MC team began such a study in February 2000. The study was completed in July. A 42-page report has been prepared by the team of Pratyoush Onta, Ramesh Parajuli, Bhaskar Gautam, Devraj Humagain, and Sanjog Rupakheti. The findings of the study will be disseminated via different means in the coming months.
• Earth Day Celebrations: With financial support from Global Environment Fund, MC, along with several other pro-environment organizations working in Kathmandu, organized a week-long celebration of Earth Day. For this, Earth Day 2000 Nepal committee was formed. MC played the key role in making the event a huge success. This was done in April. Activities that the committee organized were: Press Conference, Two interaction programs, essay and art competition for school students, No (private vehicle) drive day, Air check program (NOx monitoring and mapping) and An environment rally. Minister for environment, environment organizations, school children and general public took part in the rally. A huge number of electrical vehicles participated in the program. Bimal Aryal, Ramesh Parajuli and Anil Baral comprised the MC team for this activity.
• Translation: This year, MC supported only one translation project. An article written in English by Mary Des Chene on the movement that opposed the "Anti-Terrorist Bill" a couple of years ago was translated into Nepali by Khagendra Sangraula. It was published in the Studies in Nepali History and Society.
• Kamaiya Andolan Support/ Management: Following the visit to western Nepal by some members of Martin Chautari in June 2000, MC was asked by the Kamaiya Mukti Andolan Paricalan Samiti to manage the Kamaiya dharna in Kathmandu in early July. MC managed the dharna site in Bhadrakali and took overall in-charge of the accommodation needs of the more than 120 Kamaiyas and about 30 volunteers. MC was also asked to coordinate the necessary lobbying and media coverage. Following the dharna, the government was forced to declare the end of the Kamaiya system on 17 July. Almost all members of the MC team and several other friends worked on behalf of MC to successfully execute this responsibility. MC is continuing to provide support to the Kamaiya Andolan and Ashutosh Tiwari has agreed to head the MC team until September 20.
Special Projects
a. Preparation of a bibliography: Bhaskar Gautam assisted Mary Des Chene to prepare a bibliography of Nepali literary works in English translation. This bibliography was published in Studies in Nepali History and Society, vol 4, no 2, December 1999 issue. The issue of the journal also carried an article on translation by Manjushree Thapa.
b. MC provided financial and advisory help to journalist Basanta Maharjan to do a small research on "FM Broadcasting in local languages: The Case of Nepal Bhasa." Maharjan presented his findings in a regular Tuesday discussion in spring 2000. The revised article on the subject will be subsequently published. Pratyoush Onta provided advisory help for this research.
c. MC provided financial assistance for the production of a book, Abhasan pachiko Agaman, by Jhamak Kumari Ghimire. This work was done in collaboration with Asmita Mahila Prakashan Griha. Usha Tiwari was MC's link for this work.
d. MC provided financial assistance to its committee member Usha Tiwari for the purchase of photographic films she needed to take with her for a study trip to Europe. Usha will hold a photo exhibition in Kathmandu about her trip. Institutional Matters
e. The current Managing Committee of MC consists of Pratyoush Onta, Shizu Upadhya, Manjushree Thapa, Girish Kharel, Bimal Aryal, Ramesh Parajuli and Usha Tiwari. Shizu has expressed her willingness to retire from the post of treasurer. She has been asked to retain the office until November 2000. Manisha Aryal resigned from the committee in spring 2000 and was replaced by Ramesh. Bhaskar Gautam has provided overall administrative support to MC.
f. For many years, several member of the MC family had expressed their worries that the premises and facilities of MC were not being used to their optimum. In the past two years, that worry has been superseded to a certain extent. As the activities of the past year listed in this report would suggest, MC has become a busy place in recent times. In fact it is now felt that additional facilities - both physical and institutional - are necessary to sustain the current and projected level of activities of MC. Much discussion was held amongst Managing Committee members regarding this subject and the general future of Martin Chautari. The results were presented to the MC Board Meeting on 11 April 2000. Issues of concern included: how to make MC a sustainable institution, expansion of the institutional core, enhancing volunteerism, financial sustenance, seeking professional help for organizational management, etc. While general parameters regarding MC's future course were discussed, no definitive decisions were made during that meeting.
g. MC was honoured with a certificate by the Ministry of Population and Environment of the government of Nepal for its "Outstanding work on Environmental Protection." Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala handed over the certificate to Bimal Aryal on World Environment Day, June 5.
h. MC's work on EVs and its results were cited in "Success Stories Volume 4" of the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development.
i. Norwegian Assistant Minister for International Development and human_rights, Hilde Johnson and her entourage visited Martin Chautari on 11 Nov 1999. A presentation regarding MC's objectives and activities was made to the minister. She was particularly interested in discussions and programmes related to transparency and prevention of corruption.
j. Martin Chautari bought several books for its library. Other books were sent to MC by authors and publishers for review purposes. MC also bought some appliances during this past year. These include an additional phone, a fax machine, a slide projector and a radio/cassette recorder.
k. Members of the Managing Committee and some others who have helped MC in its activities put in a total of about 3000 person-hours of voluntary labour during this fiscal year.
MC in News
Subjects first discussed at the Tuesday discussions at MC premises and at public hearings have been reported or referenced in the national media, both print and electronic. Some of the issues have also been covered by the international media including BBC. Martin Chautari itself has been the subject of reports in the Nepali and Norwegian press. A file has been maintained with press clippings.
Activities for 2000-01
During this year, MC will continue some of its long-term activities and take up some new ones. The Tuesday discussion series, Review of Books, and public hearings will continue as usual. The Electric Vehicle Advocacy project will continue at least through December 2000. MC's present support to the Kamaiya Andolan will end in late September 2000 and might be extended if necessary. Radio Program Dabali might be revived in some form at Radio Sagarmatha but details will be finalized after Pratyoush returns to Kathmandu in November. Some short-term research projects and other projects might be taken up if MC members are so inclined. In the meantime the following projects are in the pipeline:
a. Radio program on books: MC's proposal regarding the possibility of running a weekly program (initially of 15 minutes) on books over Radio Sagarmatha has been approved. This program will be jointly run by the two organizations. While producer Jitendra Rawat will look after it from the RS side, Ajit Baral will work for it on behalf of MC.
b. An anthology of Nepali writings in English: Manjushree Thapa has convened a group of editors to work on an anthology of Nepali writings in English. MC has made some financial commitment toward the production of the volume, expected to be out in 2001. Ajit Baral will provide editorial assistantship for this project.
c. A Seminar on "Programs on Current Affairs in FM Radio Stations": MC will organize a seminar on this topic in early December with the support of Frederich Ebert Stiftung. Critic C K Lal has agreed to help MC with this seminar.
d. Water Literacy: Ujjwal Pradhan of Ford Foundation, New Delhi, has asked MC if it can execute a program on Water Literacy. A concept paper, prepared in the main by Girish Kharel with suggestions from others, has already been sent to him. Further discussions on this subject with Ford will be held in late August.
e. Tourism seminar to be organized with Nepal Tourism Board: MC's previous discussion with NTB on this subject was called off in spring 2000. Bimal Aryal is going to restart negotiations with NTB on this matter in August.
f. Book Publication Series: The idea is to publish good books in Nepali and English (in that priority) in collaboration with commercial publishers as part of a Chautari series. Martin Chautari will solicit manuscripts from authors and editors and will ensure that the contents of each book are of high quality. It will help authors finalize their works and arrange that manuscripts are reviewed critically. It will collaborate with the publisher to prepare the camera-ready copy. About five books per year are being planned. Books by C K Lal, Khagendra Sangraula and Pratyoush Onta will be submitted for review in late 2000. Pratyoush and Manju will take the lead in this project.
g. Promoting Discussion Chautaris in other parts of Nepal: The idea is to promote discussion chautaris in other parts of Nepal. We would make an effort to see if discussion series similar to our Tuesday forum can be started and held regularly in other parts of Nepal. Contact with groups in Damak and Hetaunda have been established. Bimal Aryal will lead this effort.
h. Translation into Nepali of Foreign Political-Economy Classics: MC will facilitate the translation of classic works in the field of political economy available in English into Nepal. The translated works will then be published in arrangement with a Kathmandu-based publisher. Mary Des Chene will lead this effort.
For more information please contact chautari@mos.com.np