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Chencho Dema
PUNAKHA – Pema Dorji, 42, is one of six organic farmers who started growing strawberries in Peythari village in Kabjisa, Punakha last year. He completed his first harvest between March and May this year and earned about 30,000 Ngultrum from the sales.
Pema sells her strawberries to nearby high-end hotels and the weekend vegetable market in Kaja Throm, Kurutang District.
Much of this success is attributed to the Bhutan Knowledge for Indigenous Development (B-KIND) programme, which is being implemented in Petari by the Talayana Foundation in partnership with the Lobesa School of Natural Resources.
B-KIND aims to conduct research in various areas including climate change adaptation, sustainable organic agriculture, holistic food systems, gender transformation and overall well-being.
The overall goal of the project is to co-create and apply evidence-based science and indigenous knowledge to promote gender-transformative practices and inform policy. The project aims to enhance the adaptive capacity, sustainable livelihoods and well-being of vulnerable rural communities in Bhutan.
The project was launched on August 17 last year and is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) with a grant of 1.2 million Canadian dollars from the Canadian government. It is also the first project funded by IDRC in Bhutan.
The program aims to gain knowledge on organic farming systems adapted to local characteristics through scientific and citizen research, and to implement action-oriented research on best organic farming practices.
The Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi visited the project site yesterday. During the visit, Sonam Yuden of Tshogpa village highlighted the benefits that the B-KIND project has brought to the farming community in Peythari.
In her speech, she mentioned that Peythari village has 44 households, mainly cultivating rice.
However, irrigation has been a major challenge, especially during the rice transplanting season.
The existing 5 km irrigation canal faces problems such as erosion and leakage.
To meet these challenges, the project provided 400 meters of high-density polyethylene pipe and materials for the construction of inlet and outlet chambers.
This intervention reduced leakage and increased water availability, ensuring successful rice cultivation this season.
Land that was previously barren due to insufficient irrigation water is now actively growing rice.
In addition to supporting rice cultivation, the project also provides greenhouses for vegetable production to six organic farmers.
The greenhouses are equipped with a drip irrigation system and six Sentax water tanks. As a result, the farmers can now grow a variety of vegetables for their own consumption.
Sonam Yudden also presented the success story of an organic farmer who started growing strawberries in a greenhouse and began selling the produce to nearby high-end hotels, significantly increasing his income.
She said six organic farmers took part in the study tour to Chillang to learn about organic farming practices. As a result, two farmers have started their own small-scale vermicomposting trials.
Sonam Yudhen expressed her gratitude and thanked the Canadian government for its support on behalf of herself and the society.
She highlighted the significant benefits of collaborating with researchers from Talayana and the College of Natural Resources to enable mutual learning.
She expressed hope for continued support to further improve life in the community.
Six organic farmers grow a variety of vegetables including beans, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and strawberries.
With three high-end hotels nearby, they were confident they could establish a profitable relationship and generate significant revenue.
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