We were met above a most expansive and impressive field by Sabina Pohkrel, who was holding her curved knife in her hand, a symbol of a farming woman in Nepal. She looked like many Nepali woman who work their farms. She is thin, strong, determined. Sabina is a fortunate one, as she has family land in a rural setting not far from the large city of Kathmandu. She took the three-day Level One training – offered by WCS (Women Cooperative Society) in April 2010, where she learned that there is more profit in growing potatoes than the rice she previously grew. Before this training, Sabina said that she knew nothing about vegetable farming. She just did what those before her did.

Since she had her own land, her own seeds and homemade fertilizer she only had to invest a little money in urea (an organic fertilizer), some additional vitamins for the plants, and the wages of laborers to prepare the land.

She has already earned 100,000 rs (892 GBP) selling her first crop of potatoes (grown on 5 ropanis of land), and 9,000 rs (80 GBP) selling bean seeds from plants she grows on 2 ropani of land. Sabina can grow two crops of potatoes a year, one of bean seeds, and one of rice. People come to her to buy the potatoes, so she does not have to pay for any transport costs.

Sabina would like to take the 7 day vegetable farming training, which can happen when funding comes in to support it.