Although the production of herbs and spices such as large cardamom (an expensive spice) and allo (the Himalayan giant nettle) is considered an attractive source of income for rural Nepalese women, a report titled ‘Large Cardamom and Allo in Nepal: Women Home-Based Workers see Opportunities Expanding but Barriers Remain’, has revealed that certain constraints such as traditional practices and technologies and gender norms are preventing women from increasing the level of income and moving up the value chain.
Published on 25 January, this extract from the World Bank Group‘s study, ‘Understanding the Role of Women Home-Based Workers in Large Cardamom and Allo Value Chains in Nepal’, was prepared by the South Asia Regional Trade Facilitation Program (SARTFP) Gender Platform. The study was carried out in the Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha districts of province number 1 for cardamom and allo value chains, respectively.
The report was undertaken to present approaches that could address the obstacles faced by female producers and help them to move up the cardamom and allo value chains. It thus recommended the collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data should be improved and awareness raised regarding the significant role of women in this production in order to enhance their financial returns.
According to the Trade and Export Promotion Center under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies of Nepal, the country remains the world’s largest producer of large cardamom with exports valued at US$37.5 million dollars.
Some of the major constraints preventing women from increasing the level of income and moving up the value chain are their dependence on traditional practices and technologies to process cardamom and allo, the use of traditional drying techniques such as heaters, limited irrigation facilities, a lack of access to finance, limited skills in processing, gender norms such as women’s responsibility for household chores, their limited mobility, and exclusion from financial decisions.
The study proposed five key recommendations to support women home-based workers to enable them to advance up the value chain and increase returns:
The study concluded that farmers involved in dairy farming, livestock rearing, and vegetable growing depend on cardamom as their primary cash crop. Similarly, allo processing was found to significantly contribute to the income level of many families traditionally engaged in farming crops such as rice, millet, and corn. It also found that the profit margins for large cardamom differ widely with most farmers making between 20% to 400% depending on the productivity of the land, proximity to markets, and the cost of inputs.
Female home-based workers are found to be involved primarily in the earlier stages of cardamom and allo processing which are vigorous and less profitable but not in the later stages such as marketing and trade – the more lucrative areas. Using traditional tools, women engage in post-harvest activities that are exhausting such as peeling the bark, drying, cooking, and wash it in running water which consequently leads to sore eyes and body pain. All the activities prior to the sale are found to be dominated by women whereas men contribute as traders and shopkeepers.
Offering various opportunities for World Bank projects, the report also recommends that policies and women-centered strategies are designed and implemented to create an ecosystem that enables women to move up the value chain.
The major recommendations include the expansion of analysis on home-based workers in cardamom and allo processing, consideration of home-based work in these value chains as livelihood options for households, particularly for women, as well as implementing large infrastructure projects in the eastern hills of Nepal. Observing that the processing of allo is a cultural heritage that showcases rich indigenous knowledge and tradition, the report recommended that economic opportunities are explored regarding the promotion of tourism activities around allo production and processing.
