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Nepal: secure homes and livelihoods

Fact: Kamaiya are Nepal’s poorest people. Freed, in 2000, from a form of bonded labour that was close to slavery, many became homeless when their landlords evicted them. The government has done little to help.

Aim: to improve the lives of freed Kamaiya people by providing secure housing, access to education for their children, and other services.

What you can do:

  • £25 would buy the hardware, nuts and bolts needed for one house
  • £40 is the amount a carpenter charges to construct a house
  • £50 would pay for all the sand needed to build a house
  • £599 could give an adult training in a vocation, so that they could earn a living
  • £1,274 would pay for all the bricks for one house

Get involved:

photo : ©Kari Collins/ActionAid

The project

  • Enable Kamaiya to rebuild their own lives, starting with the setting up of a Kamaiya management committee, especially involving women, to oversee the building process.
  • Enrol 80 children in school – children who had no educational opportunities before because many government services were available only to people in permanent homes.
  • Improve the living conditions for 25 families by reducing the threat of house fires (the old-style, thatched houses are at higher risk of fire) and increasing the security of homes.
  • Help women become self-sufficient by selling vegetables, as they will no longer have to stay at home to guard their makeshift old house.
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