Grant Secured for Field Based Training in Nepal

Scientist, entrepreneur and Meryl Williams Fellow Sumeena Karki has recently secured a Public Diplomacy grant from the Australian Embassy in Nepal for her work with RARA Biotech and the current endeavour to provide field-based training to 20 women farmers making essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) using biotechnology.

Sumeena will continue her mentorship with Dr Rebecca Spence from the International Development group at the University of New England. 

The increase in the trade of medicinal plants provides an important economic opportunity to rural communities in Nepal.  Despite this growing demand, a high percentage of processing enterprises are failing to reach their potential in quality and risk over exploiting foraging areas due to a lack of sustainable crop management.

Along with RARA-Biotech, Sumeena aims to address these developmental issues by working to create a sustainable production system through advocacy, knowledge transfer and providing the appropriate services for herb production, oil processing and manufacture as well as distribution.  Included in this approach is the long-term goal of training future farmers for commercial farming and optimised harvesting.    

Speaking on the support from the Australian Embassy Sumeena shares that effective collaboration rests on the pillars of financial and legislative support linking concerned industries and organisation with local and federal governments. 

‘I want to work with these pillars. The support through the Australian embassy has empowered me to make my agendas more directive to lead in the field of inclusion across the country responsible for National level policy development, become part of the solution to the problems our society has created and contribute to shift attitudes and eradicating challenges from organisational level.’

Sumeena with the project team.

The project will benefit women and small holder farmers by improving their production which will add additional income and enable access to larger markets. With small holder famers losing up to 60% of their profits to supply chain middlemen and access to the machinery needed to produce oils to an international standard, Sumeena and RARA Biotech are acting as a central processing unit for the women farmers and the MAPs they produce themselves, thus cutting out the middleman.

For more information on Sumeena and RARA Biotech please visit : https://rarabiotech.com/