Muga

Muga Nepali is a 51 year old mother of four, living in Natharpu, a village in the Mugu district. Muga and her family rely upon their farming produce for daily survival and household income. For Muga’s family, agricultural production is inadequate for income, only just producing enough for their daily survival. With a lack of household income, not all of Muga’s children can attend school – Muga needed their support at home with household chores and farming. Muga’s family is one of many vulnerable families in Mugu, their livelihoods are challenged daily by agricultural insufficiency. There is no room for education, little healthcare provision and as a result, these families quickly become trapped in a cycle of ever-lasting poverty.

PHASE have worked in Muga to support vulnerable families and support them to help break poverty cycles. To tackle the problem of livelihoods, PHASE run a series of livelihood programmes that aim to increase the efficiency and capability of farming practices in isolated communities. Muga met PHASE through participation in our chicken support programme and a seeds distribution programme in Mugu. As a result of her participation in these programmes, Muga has successfully reared four chickens from 500g to 4kg. Muga was able to sell these chickens at a good price at local markets, and with the money she received she bought a female goat to provide another income source aside from vegetable production. Muga also received training on best practices for vegetables, and since has been able to diversify her vegetable production.

With household income growth for Muga’s family, she has been able to send all four of her children to local schools. Muga is most pleased that her children are able to get an education, and looks forward to working with PHASE in the future. Muga’s story indicates how interconnected the problems of poverty are, by supporting Muga’s livelihood development she has been able to brighten future prospects for her family. PHASE is proud to have supported Muga, and we hope to continue changing the lives of many Nepalese families that are currently marginalised and suffer from limited livelihoods support.