Program Activities

MRC Nepal has been implementing various types of interventions under different thematic program areas, which are summarized as below;

1. Food and Nutritional Security
   • Food and nutritional security for the rural and vulnerable communities through establishing system and mechanisms to ensure food and nutritional security and adopting different approaches and strategies will be the main focus areas. Availability, accessibility and stability will be the main areas for food and nutritional security program. MRC Nepal works on the basis of food security strategy.
2. Enterpreneurship Development
   • MRC Nepal supports to tackle with poverty among the poorest of the poor people, women and children so as enable farmers to break through the subsistence level into cash economy by promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture and non-agricultural base enterprises such as goats, pigs, fishery, ducks, off-season vegetables, fruits, NTFP and herbal promotion, dairy, handicrafts and marketing, promotion of small to medium enterprises/business promotion.
3. Natural Resources and Biodiversity Management, Climate Change and DRR
   • MRC Nepal believes on natural resource and biodiversity management, which are most important aspects for improving rural development and sustainable livelihoods. In this regard, our focus would be to develop resource endowments like land, forestry and renewal energy, promote safe technologies, and manage biodiversity.
4. Ecological Agriculture and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

   • Promotion of ecological agriculture, permaculture and watershed management will be one of the important priority areas for the organization. It is believed that effective ecological agriculture, landscape and watershed management model would be the best to create an appropriate and enabling environment for the improvement of access and sustainable rural livelihoods. MRC Nepal will facilitate ecological agriculture, landscape and watershed management theme through different approaches and strategies for the livelihood improvement of the targeted groups.

     Access to sustainable, reliable, safe water supply and environmental sanitation facilities and services is the right and the basic need of all human beings including children. Diarrhea is the biggest killer of children in Nepal. On top of this, water, environmental sanitation and hygiene-related diseases and acute respiratory infections remain the leading causes of under-five mortality and morbidity in the kingdom.

     Every child and families deserves the right to access to adequate water and environmental sanitation facilities and services for health and dignity. MRC Nepal is in line with Convention on the Rights of the Child, every family member including child deserves to be protected from disease and other health hazards posed by inadequate quantity and quality of drinking water and poor disposal of human excreta and waste. Children are the most vulnerable to such hazards – their right is the best environment and the highest standard of living their society can offer.

     Access to safe water and adequate sanitation services (WASH) has proven to be one of the most efficient ways of improving human health. The World Health Organization has estimated the economic costs avoided, and returns gained, by various levels of investment in water supply and sanitation services: every $1 invested in improved water supply and sanitation yields gains of $4 to $12, depending on the type of intervention. Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services is vital to human health but has other important benefits ranging from the easily identifiable and quantifiable to the more intangible (convenience, well-being, dignity, privacy and safety).

5. Integrated Community Development
   • Nepal is an agriculture dependent country where majority of population with subsistence agriculture system have been applied or adopted since time immemorial. Considering the socio-economic and geo-political situation in Nepal, MRC Nepal has promoted integrated community development as important and crucial development interventions for sustainable rural livelihoods.
6. Basic Infrastructures and Services
   • Within the context of poor and marginalized situation of the targeted groups, support to improve access to basic infrastructures and services are most important aspects, which has been considered as important elements in MRC Nepal’s initiated development interventions. Access to basic infrastructure (inputs, small technologies and market) and services (health, sanitation, education and human rights) would help in empowering targeted group from various perspectives and will be able to establish foundations for better and sustainable rural livelihoods.
7. Renewable Energy
   • Energy especially renewable energy has been considered as important aspects not only for the rural livelihoods but also for overall national development. So, MRC Nepal in this regard, will provide appropriate supports to the targeted beneficiaries for improving access to energy. The support will also be focused on both primary use as well as end use
8. Conflict Resolution and Peace Building
   • Conflict sensitive approach will be an integral part in different kinds of development initiatives MRC Nepal undertaken into its targeted locations. Peace building and conflict mitigation strategies will also be included during implementing and managing project cycle.
9. Conservation of Local Species and Heritages
   • MRC Nepal also believes on locally proven species and technologies, which has been tested and used since long time in the concerned locations and communities. In this regard, MRC Nepal also works in the area of natural heritage and local species conservation.
10. Saving Credit and Micro Financing
    • Access to finance including appropriate mechanisms at local level is also the most important interventions for accelerating effective and inclusive development process. So, MRC Nepal promotes awareness on financial education and management, effective market system, linkage/coordination with micro credit institution & fund raising/management and saving and credit mobilization at local level. Promotion of saving credit and micro financing would help to improve in better access for local level finance.
11. Cross Cutting Themes
    1. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change (CC)

    MRC Nepal always provides emphasis on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience approaches for its development interventions. It also promotes community level disaster coping system and mechanisms, prevent the vulnerable people from being hit hardest by the calamities / disaster and carry out rehabilitation. Develop climate resilience farming system and overall society through building capacity at local level.

    2. Information Communication Technology (ICT)

    Use of information and communication technology (ICT) in current development context has found important roles in adding values from various perspectives especially on access to information and efficiency. MRC Nepal has been promoting ICTs as important element in its initiatives and also gives priority for this

    3. Irrigation
    4. GESI (Gender in Social Inclusion)