Kyangsi villagers hold monthly meet for betterment of village

By Jayaman Budha Magar,Rukum East, Aug. 3: One day about a year ago, locals of Kyangsi, a village in Ward No. 3 of Bhume Rural Municipality of Rukum East district, held a discussion centered on the betterment of the village.

The discussion tried to figure out a solution on how the village could be developed in a better way. They then decided to abide by the community of practice (CoP).

A CoP is an exercise by a group of people who share a common concern and come together to fulfill the goals of both an individual and a group.

Kyangsi villagers then divided the village into three groups and started conducting monthly meetings with the motto of "Let's develop our own village".

The villagers have been continuing the trend and the monthly meeting to discuss the matters concerning the village.

The meeting discusses development projects in the village, aiming to transform the society for the better and to help the villagers in need.

"The meeting is held on the eighth day of the Nepali month. In the meeting, people voice their opinions on how the budget can be utilised, what kind of development project to construct, changes required in the village and ways to help each other," said Dilman Roka Magar, former ward chairperson of Ward No. 3.

"The villagers collect and invest the money as needed. The meeting also provides transparency on the use of the money," said Magar.

All the three groups of the village have a saving of Rs. 1 million each, Magar added.

The money of the groups is given as a loan, as well as used for social work and to conduct social programmes. 

"The steps taken by the Kyangsi villagers should be followed by others as well. When villagers jump in to develop their village by setting priorities, it will make the village a quality place to live in," said Tilak Gautam, chief of the district's education development and coordination unit.