Alternative Financing Methods

 Agricultural Support

Connecting farmers to information about weather patterns and market changes will become an increasingly important use of the community center for this population. Improved access to new technologies and banking will allow for consideration of microcredit enterprises. Currently, we are pursuing education about microcredit and its possible application to this center under the advisorship of Dean Karlan of Yale University. This option may be pursued by linking individual loaners to people in Achham through the protective and ensured services of kiva.org.

Labor Based Financing

In conjunction with community based health insurance, a program can be developed where participants pay with agricultural labor rather than with money, perhaps based on the following models outlined in this article.

Income Generation

Income generation and entrepreneurship will be an integral part of making the center useful to the community. A component of this will involve Nepali language instruction from Achham to the outside world, over the internet. InterLangua (www.interlangua.com) currently serves as a successful model from Guatemala. Digital cameras and microphones attached to the computers in the facility, and night-time scheduling, may allow for early deployment of this income-generating activity.

Global Marketing

The community telecommunications center can also be used to globally market products resulting from microenterprise ventures. For example, handmade goods can be placed on sale on a global marketplace via the internet, similar to venders such as https://shop.thehungersite.com/or http://www.worldofgood.com/. Eventually, the clinic can incorporate global marketing of locally made goods into a community-based insurance system. Villagers who are able will donate a minimal amount of time (roughly one day a month) to producing handmade goods that can be sold online to provide funding for clinic costs. While the majority of the revenue will directly go to the artists, a portion of the funds raised can go towards funding clinic operational costs. In addition to providing income, this project will both ensure the financial viability of the clinic and give direct ownership of the clinic to the community it serves. This combination of community-based health insurance and microenterprise will be under the advising of Professor Hong Wang of the Yale school Public Health.

Tourism

Tourism, when promoted responsibly, can be instrumental in the development of third world countries. Accham’s remoteness has helped keep its remarkable nature virtually untouched. The Khaptad National Park is the only mid-mountain park in western Nepal and is home to 256 exotic bird and mammal species as well as 135 species of flowers. Besides for its natural beauty and biodiversity, the park is best known for its religious importance. The renowned saint Khaptad Swami lived in these mountains for 50 years. The park encompasses several holy sites including Khaptad Swami’s ashram and a meditation center.

Under the guidance of Khaptad National Park authorities and by partnering with already existing tour companies in Kathmandu, we will help locals launch their own tour program. After receiving proper training, locals will manage an online advertisement campaign for small international tour groups. Locals with unique expertise of the area will be hired as tour guides with the help of park authorities. Opportunities at already existing tour companies in Kathmandu will also be sought for local tour guides. By collaborating with Khaptad National Park, we will help locals launch their own tours and boost tourism revenue. The majority of the profits will be kept by the tour guides and the park itself to serve the overall economy of Accham, but some percentage will go to the clinic.

Faith-based local fundraising

The Accham community has a rich Hindu tradition. Help from respected local religious leaders will be sought to obtain donations from companies and organizations in Kathmandu.

An exciting way to involve the religious community in Accham in the development of the clinic could be based on the successful UNICEF funded program at the Wat Hua Rin temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. There, locals affected by HIV are provided with vocational training to sow traditional religious clothes. An affluent Japanese temple then buys Wat Hua Rin temple’s products. Similarly, an Accham temple can provide the materials and necessary training for past and current clinic patients to make traditional religious garments. Through a partnership with an affluent community abroad of the same faith, these products can be sold at prices higher than expected market value in Accham. A small percentage of the profits would go to the clinic while increasing and diversifying employment opportunities for the community. At Wat Doi Saket in Chiang Mai, Thailand, religious leaders bless products made by locals to increase their market value. The applicability of this strategy will be investigated for the Hindu community in Accham.

New Haven Fundraising

Efforts will be taken to increase awareness on the Yale University campus while also raising funds. 5K’s, Nepalese music concerts, and dinner banquets with Nepalese cuisine are just the beginning of our ideas on how to spread information to our peers at Yale and get them involved

Bringing doctors to Accham through Yale exchange program

Despite government efforts to attract Nepalese doctors to rural areas, Accham has an extreme shortage of medical professionals. By partnering with health science schools at Yale University, we wish to offer graduating and practicing Nepalese doctors special educational and research opportunities at Yale University as incentive for working at the Nyaya clinic.

Nyaya Radio Show

A weekly radio show in Accham will be set up to be run by locals. The show will broadcast updates about the developing clinic and promote recruitment for projects.