Quarterly Report: BHAKARI Activity Q1 FY23

The initiative, led by Mercy Corps, aimed to improve food security and resilience among vulnerable households in the region. The project's focus areas included Karnali, Sudurpaschim, and Lumbini provinces. In the first quarter of 2023, Mercy Corps' BHAKARI activity reached 17,595 unique participants through various activities, including Cash for Work (CfW), multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA), training farmer groups on innovative agricultural practices, food and nutrition demonstrations, capacity building trainings to water user groups, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities. The program also included hosting disaster management task force meetings, community-level mock drills and simulation exercises, Household Dialogue (HHD) aimed at enabling families to achieve greater equality in household decision-making, and automated Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) calls and radio public service announcements (PSAs) on combating gender-based violence (GBV). The BHAKARI activity was announced as one of the winners of USAID's 2022 Digital Development Awards in December. The program also hosted a field visit for Ambassador Dean Thompson and USAID Nepal Mission Director Sepideh Keyvanshad to the Ikhini community in Surkhet on December 13, 2022. They met displaced families in Ikhini and saw how BHAKARI partners with this community to prepare for and recover from disasters. In response to the September and October floods and landslides, Mercy Corps' BHAKARI activity implemented emergency response efforts, including mobilizing non-food relief items (NFRI) kits to impacted districts in Mugu, Jumla, and Kalikot. The program also identified 319 households impacted by the flood/landslide that will receive multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA). The transfer value of NPR 15,000 ($114) per household was determined in coordination with local government authorities and covers 80% of the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) as published by the Cash Coordination Group (CCG). The program has also reached a total of 631 vulnerable households through Shock Response Social Protection programming (SRSP). BHAKARI's selection criteria is locally relevant and includes households who have not been eligible for government assistance but are vulnerable to disasters and other risks. The project areas were selected for not having sufficient availability of basic facilities including electricity, communication networks, and transportation routes due to their remoteness. In addition, Mercy Corps' BHAKARI activity implemented 27 Cash for Work (CfW) activities in response to food insecurity as a result of a diminished harvest from last year's drought and community impacts from the September and October flood events. The schemes were prioritized and selected based on their significance and contribution towards food security and disaster mitigation. Targeting centered on ensuring a GESI First approach by targeting process participation from labor poor HHs. 234 participating HHs received cash assistance with 14 labor poor HHs receiving unconditional cash transfers. The CfW modality continues to support the vulnerable households to fulfill their immediate needs while building up community infrastructures for flood and landslide protection with structural mitigation measures and long-term food security through the construction of irrigation canals. Most of the CfW schemes are integrated with disaster risk reduction/natural resource management (DRR/NRM) and Productive Water components. The agriculture team has begun developing plans for Year 3 activities with district partners and shared details with local government stakeholders across all six districts. Farmers Group Capacity Building & Training: BHAKARI is training farmer groups participants on innovative agricultural practices to enhance their knowledge and skills on production, resource management, and distribution and nutrition. The program hosted seven kitchen garden trainings for 171 farmers (57 men, 114 women). The training included sessions on producing nutritional crops, post-harvest handling practices, wastewater management, and composting. In addition, 349 farmers also received onsite coaching on kitchen garden approaches. BHAKARI also hosted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) training for 26 participants (54% female). Farmers, nursery growers, and lead farmers gathered to learn methods implementing IPM techniques and how to utilize waste water, drip, and sprinkler irrigation systems in conditions where water might be limited. The training sessions have helped farmers understand the variety of approaches to improving their agricultural production. According to the agriculture team, many farmers are adopting these technologies on their own farms. Some are implementing all approaches and others are embracing a few technologies. While the adoption rate varies, participants are generally receptive and continue to replicate these techniques on their own farms. 59 food and nutrition demonstrations took place across BHAKARI communities this quarter, reaching 1,727 participants. Among them, 1,567 women participated, including those with children under 1,000 days. The demonstrations focused on how to prepare complementary food, additional food given to children while breastfeeding, using locally available food. During the demonstration, the program provided participants with locally available food and