Giving Something Back
Positive Influences
We have experienced the knock-on affect of our style of farming, for example, the neighbouring farms now have far more dairy cows (which produce more milk with a higher lactose content than the traditional buffalos) than in the past.
Infact, we are experiencing that knock-on affect in other areas. If you read closely you will see that many aspects of the lives of our employees reflect the challenges within the country – caste, status, conflict, education, and gender. How we run our farm and treat our employees are steps toward achieving equality and equity in our community and we are seeing change in the attitudes of others because of it.
Take for example Ghane - when our neighbours see Ghane, a member of a so-called low caste group, <link to caste> coming into our house we hope they will realise there is no reason to practise this age old discrimination and ban him from their house in case they are ‘polluted’ by his very presence.
Financial Support and Development Towards a Better Future
“This is a non-profit farm which provides a place for my family to live in beautiful surroundings, and provides jobs for eight full time and several seasonal employees. While this has worked very well for the past nine years, it occurs to me that none of us are getting any younger and I want to ensure my employees, friends really, and their families will be provided for in the future. I also want to ensure the surrounding village benefit from what we are doing here,” Douglas Maclagan.
We have three aims to achieve and Furse Khola Farm House was established so that the money you pay for your stay will help us achieve them. A percentage of all income from the cottage will be utilized in:-
- a pension fund for staff with the aim of providing 25-30% of their current salaries in pensions. If necessary, part of that fund can also be used as a health insurance, to safeguard family members against future medical bills.
- a village fund to put Furse Khola Village on the map as an exemplary village where members stay in the village rather than migrating out for employment. It is anticipated a day health care centre and better road access will be provided. A community building has already been constructed which houses a dairy cooperative. It is hoped the community will come together again to form a vegetable cooperative enabling them to sell vegetables as well as milk to nearby Pokhara, and a women’s development trade centre to teach women sellable skills such as working with bamboo, further increasing the overall income and development of the village. And with increased development comes the desire and ability to send children to school, and to get medical care when ill.
- contributing to the daily overheads of CWS thereby freeing up that part of donor’s funds currently used for administrative purposes so that donor funds can be ploughed into where they can do the most good – the projects themselves.
$40 out of every $100 will go directly to the above three “projects”. $20 will go towards the pension fund, $10 to the village development fund and $10 to CWS.