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Schools keep fish, goats and yaks for income generation
NANGI, MYAGDI, DEC 24 - Himanchal Secondary School, situated at Nangidanda, some 15 kilometres northeast from the district headquarters, has begun fish and goat keeping with an objective of income generation.
Established 35 years ago, the high school has been running secondary classes with the active participation of the local community obtaining temporary permission from the concerned authority.
The school employs six teaching and two non-teaching staff in order to run the classes and has been paying their salaries and covering other expenses from the income that it has been earning through fish keeping and goat raising.
The school is becoming financially strong these days. It has two million rupees in its bank account.
The fishpond is filled with water collected during the rainy season; and currently a drinking water tap of the school also feeds into the pond. There are more than 4,500 fingerlings of Grass, Common and Silver carps brought from Begnas Lake, Pokhara in the pond now.
The fish are caught once a year during mid-October and mid-November and are consumed in the village itself. This year the school sold fish worth Rs 10,000.
"We came to know that fish do not grow well in cold water," said Krishna Pun, a teacher. They generally prepare feed for the fish from the locally available maize flour and cow dung. Besides, the leftovers of the border students are also thrown into the pond.
"We started fish keeping at the school premises with those species of fish that can be fed even on the locally available feed and keeping in mind that the villagers would also emulate it," said Mahabir Pun, a social worker.
The school has been providing fingerlings to the aspirant villagers free of cost.
Similarly, goats are also kept in the premises of the hostel of the school. There are 12 goats and the border students take care of the goats. The teachers also help the students in looking after the goats during their free time.
The goats are also raised with a view to encouraging the villagers to keep hybrid goats.
Besides, the school has also kept yaks at Khayarbarahi. In the beginning, there were 25 yaks but the number has crossed 100 now. The school has been earning Rs 70,000 annually recently.
The school also has two camping grounds. But it could not make good money from the ground this year due to a decline in tourists’ arrival.
Similarly, the school has begun making handmade paper from the locally available Argheli plants. It has also started to cultivate herbs and Argheli in the nearby bare hills by leasing them from the community forests.
It is not an easy task for a school situated in a remote village to raise income through various activities.
Inspired by the income generating activities of Himanchal High School, Paudwar Secondary School, another high school in a remote area, has also established a cheese factory.
The school collects milks from the villagers to produce cheese. The cheese is sold in Ghodepani, Tatopani, Ghaar, Shikh and Mustang.
According to Mani Ram Tilija, a teacher, the school has made a good profit.
Both schools in this remote district have been teaching computer education. Both schools have one and similar message: Let other schools of the country emulate us.Posted on: 2003-12-25 04:52
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