A land of my own

January 24, 2025
a woman in a field

Phulo Devi Raut cultivating the land allotted to her through UNDP's Multilayer Agroforestry Plantation

Photo: UNDP Nepal

Five years ago, Phulo Devi Raut, 42, had no land to cultivate. Married off at the age of 17, she had no opportunity for education, nor did her husband.

Living under a small hut in Kushmadi village in Mahottari district, she gave birth to five children—four daughters and a son, now five years old. With no stable income or land to cultivate, the couple struggled to survive. Phulo worked on neighboring farms while her husband earned Rs. 15,000 (US$ 113) a month as a labourer in Gujarat, India. 

Life changed when Phulo’s family became one of the first 1,000 families in Mahottari district to benefit from a local government initiative distributing reclaimed riverbed land to the ultra-poor. The program, supported by UNDP and the Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal (CDAFN), converted degraded flood-prone riverbeds in Mahottari Municipality into productive farmland.

a woman walking outside her house

Phulo Devi Raut leaving her house to go work on her field

Photo: UNDP Nepal

Beneficiaries, including Dalits and other marginalized groups, received 25-year leases, training, and tools to establish multi-layer farms cultivating climate-smart crops, vegetables, and fruit trees. Women were especially given priority in both ownership and management of the farm. 

A new beginning

Phulo now cultivates her own land and earned Rs. 100,000 (US$746) from potato farming last autumn. This winter, she has planted onions on a quarter of her farm, expecting a harvest worth Rs. 50,000, while the remainder is dedicated to growing wheat for her family’s needs.

Her family now enjoys fresh, nutritious meals, and she has managed to save for her children’s education. All four of her daughters are attending school, breaking the cycle of limited opportunities that Phulo once faced. She recently purchased a bicycle for her youngest daughter, making the journey to school more convenient.

a woman tilling her fields

Sunlight warms the field as a Phulo Devi Raut tends to her crops as her child watches nearby

Photo: UNDP Nepal

“I feel great to have land of my own,” Phulo Devi said, tending to her farm in the Kushmari riverbed. “UNDP’s multilayer farming has allowed me to envision a prosperous future for me and my daughters.”  

Reclaiming Riverbeds for the Poor

Launched first in Mahottari municipality in 2020, the project reclaimed hundreds of hectares of previously unusable riverbed land—an area equivalent to 73 football fields. The multi-layer farming technique integrates crops, vegetables, shrubs, and fruit trees in layers, maximizing productivity while enhancing soil health. For instance, legumes like sesame enrich the soil with nitrogen, while fruit-bearing shrubs and tall trees improve organic matter. Protective embankments funded by local governments prevent further land degradation.

With grants for irrigation, subsidized tractor services, and soil improvement, this initiative offers a model for addressing landlessness, which affects an estimated 25% of Nepal’s population (as per Nepal government’s living standards survey 2010), primarily Dalits from marginalized communities. Initially expanded to Sarlahi and Dhanusha districts in 2021, the project further extended its coverage to Siraha, Jhapa, Mahottari, Rupandehi, and other areas by 2025.

a large green field with trees in the background

A comprehensive view of UNDP's Multilayer Agroforestry Plantation site, demonstrating the intricate layout of the multilayer farming system

Photo: UNDP Nepal

Empowering Women

Women’s participation has been central to the project’s success. Traditionally confined to domestic roles, women now lead farmer groups and participate in decision-making. In Mithila Municipality, women head all three farmer groups. 

“These young women used to hide behind veils. Today, they manage their farms confidently,” said Ram Pukari Mahato, a group leader.
a group of people posing for the camera

A group of women stand in a field, their faces beaming with joy as they celebrate the encouraging crop yields.

Photo: UNDP Nepal

For women like Bhalseri Devi Mahato, who once had no land or independence, farming has brought financial autonomy. “I sell my produce and decide how to use the money,” she said. With her earnings, she plans to buy her daughter a ring—a first for her family.
Agriculture expert Smriti Jha has observed significant improvements in financial literacy, nutrition, and health among the women. Many have opened their first bank accounts and learned savings and credit management. “If happiness could be measured, the happiness index of the participants has definitely increased,” Jha said.

a group of people that are standing in the grass

Empowered women, part of a UNDP initiative, stand united on their newly acquired farmland

Photo: UNDP Nepal

Climate-Smart Innovation

Nepal’s southern plains, prone to flash floods have vast tracts of degraded riverbed land. Most of these degraded areas on the river side are public lands. For years, these riverbeds have remained unused except for where extractive industries such as sand miners and stone crushers, have found their way.  

In 2010, a policy decision opened a way for landless people to use these lands, following which local governments and UNDP have promoted multi-layer farming as a scalable solution. Protective embankments funded by local governments prevent further land degradation, while the mixed vegetation improves soil fertility. This sustainable model has gained recognition as a replicable solution for other regions in Nepal’s southern plains.

a chart explaining multilayer farming

“This initiative has shown that with proper investment in embankments and training, riverbed farming can be replicated across Nepal’s Terai region,” said Dr. Vijaya Kumar Singh, a Chure conservation expert. 

A Brighter Future

The initiative’s impact has drawn attention from policymakers, students, and media. In 2022, it received the Climate Change Local Adaptation Champions Award at COP26 in Egypt. 

a woman standing in a farm

A woman holds her crop yields, a wide smile spreading across her face

Photo: UNDP Nepal

With additional grants, the project continues to expand, benefiting more families. It aligns with Nepal’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The partnership between UNDP, local governments, and NGOs demonstrates how inclusive, community-led initiatives can drive meaningful change.

For Phulo Devi and her neighbors, the future looks brighter. “I hope to save for my daughter’s marriage,” she said, determined to avoid the hardships of her own early marriage. The reclaimed riverbeds, once barren, now symbolize hope, resilience, and a path toward sustainable development.

a lady with her child

About the Project

The Multilayer Agroforestry Plantation (MAFP) project is part of UNDP's socioeconomic livelihoods support program, which has created over 26,000 jobs and livelihood opportunities for some of the poorest and most marginalized populations across Nepal. Women account for more than 53% of the beneficiaries.

Co-funded by UNDP and local governments, the project provides grants to local non-profit organizations for innovative livelihoods and income-generation projects through a competitive process. Since 2020, UNDP has collaborated with eight local governments to implement community-led multilayer agroforestry initiatives.

A review conducted between July and August 2024 in the Lumbini, Mahesh, and Koshi provinces revealed that these interventions have significantly increased income from agricultural product sales and improved food security, particularly for landless and marginalized communities. The project has a total value of 1.3 million USD.