Jeffrey Niemitz Student Research Grant

Fate of the Fields – Impact of Urbanization in Kathmandu Valley on the Resiliency of Peri-Urban Agriculture to Climate Change
Karan S. Shakya, Dickinson 2020, Environmental Studies and Economics

The following are the project outputs from the Summer 2019 research to assist in better understanding the role of urbanization in strengthening or weakening the resiliency of peri-urban agriculture to climate change.

1) Fate of the Fields – Documentary (Length: 30:09)

Description: This documentary serves as my primary project output. The documentary, through interviews conducted in five different villages, attempts to highlight the challenges and opportunities presented to farmers as a result of urbanization. The storyline of the video was based on the responses of my research participants and structured around key concepts of urban expansion, economic benefits, soil health, yields, and the future of farming. Finally, insight into a ‘newer’ way of farming through ‘tunnel farming’ is displayed in the end to indicate a possibility of how agriculture in Kathmandu Valley might look in the coming years.

2) Decision Cards (Compiled PDF version for Download)

Description: The ‘decision cards’ summarizes the results of my survey and interview. The first page displays a summary of the responses with regards to each of my surveyed indicator. The second page of the ‘decision card’ highlights the block responses of the survey. These cards were shared with each of my village resource person with copies to share with all my participants. A copy was sent to ICIMOD and a copy was sent to HiCAST (Himalayan College of Agriculture Sciences and Technologies).  

3) Water Monitoring in Chapakharka – Documentary  (Length: 12:10)

Description: This documentary is part of a small secondary project based around Water Monitoring in Chapakharka Village. When I went to Chapakharka village to survey and interview my participants, ICIMOD’s Knowledge Park informed me about their water monitoring initiative. This initiative trained local villagers in water monitoring and provided support for villagers to monitor local water sources every 15 days. I wanted to document this journey of water monitoring so that the Knowledge Park could use this video as part of their training and marketing programs.