Students Learn to Make Eco-Friendly Choya Products in Myagdi

May 24, Myagdi – Students at Deepak Secondary School, located in Patlekhet, Ward No. 10 of Beni Municipality, Myagdi, have started learning skills to preserve and pass on the craft of making environmentally friendly choya products.

A training program on making traditional and indigenous choya items such as doko, damlo, and syakhu has been conducted with the goals of transferring and preserving these skills and promoting the use of eco-friendly choya products. According to Vijay Subedi, Assistant Principal of Deepak Secondary School, the training was organized for students of grades 9 and 10 under the Beni Municipality’s ‘We Can, We Do’ initiative.

The month-long training saw participation from more than 20 students. Local expert Man Bahadur Pariyar instructed students in making choya from nigalo cane and weaving various materials during a daily one-hour session outside of school hours.

Students are being taught to craft items such as doko, nanglo, dali, thunse, bhakari, namlo, and damlo from nigalo and bamboo choya. Assistant Principal Subedi explained that with the passing of elder generations, this knowledge and craft are at risk of disappearing due to lack of transmission to the younger generation and the increasing use of plastic products. Since choya products are commonly used for storage and transportation, they also offer environmental benefits.

With plastic products contributing to growing pollution, special emphasis has been placed on skill transfer in demand by students to encourage the use of choya materials. Each handcrafted choya item ranges in price from NPR 1,000 to NPR 2,500.

By utilizing locally available raw materials, this initiative aims to increase self-reliance, reduce imports of plastic goods that contribute to air pollution, and create income-generating opportunities. Beni Municipality has been continuously promoting the ‘We Can, We Do’ program for four years to integrate skills and labor with education by providing vocational training within secondary schools.

Municipality Chief Surat KC stated that skill-based training in house wiring, plumbing, hair cutting, hospitality, cooking, and pressure cooker making is being offered. In the current fiscal year, the municipality has allocated a budget of NPR 100,000 to each of 14 schools to support these programs.

– Rastriya Samachar Samiti