In order to promote sustainable rural development, REDP considers that the community involvement in all phases of planning, designing, implemention and benefit sharing is essential. A properly designed and implemented community mobilization process leads community members, both male and female, to the emergence of self-governing institutions, which act as the sustainable organizations for empowerment. They not only help people enhance their receiving and utilizing capactiy but also provide the mechanism to work together for households and community initiatives.

REDP emphasizes community mobilization as an essential vehicle for self-governance. It is a mean to ensure active participation of local people to manage and operate rural energy system along with other community development efforts in a sustainable manner. REDP community mobilization package consists of six basic principles: organization development, skill enhancement, capital formation, technology promotion, environment management and empowerment of women, IPs & Dalits. Experiences have shown that these principles are higly effective in motivating community members to undertake community development initiatives, including energy schemes. The impact is far reaching not only in terms of economic enhancement but also on empowerment of women, IPs & Dalits.

Major Activities

Organization Development
As of 31 December 1998, altogether 793 COs have been formed in the REDP districts. Out of total COs, 402 are female COs. Separate male and female COs are formed to enable rural women to develop leadership and participatory skills among themselves without being influenced by men. The COs hold weekly meetings and carry out discussions and take decisions based on transparency and consensus. They also articulate their concerns, vision and commitments. Thus with the formation of these grass-root organizations, the people have organized themselves and mobilized local resources for productive uses. Some of the notable development activities undertaken by COs are rural road maintenance, trail construction, toilet construction, garbage pit making , drinking water schemes renovations and so on.
The list of number of COs formed in the programme VDCs is given in the annex 8.

Capital Formation
Capital is an essential input for undertaking any development work. It can be developed through the mobilization of internal and external resources. Saving and credit have prove to be appropriate mechanism to mobilize the local fund for productive uses. In the programme VDCs, each CO member deposits a fixed amount in weekly CO meeting. So far a total of about Rs. 800,000 has been mobilized through saving schemes. The amount thus saved is then loaned to the members for funding their social and economic needs. Various income generating activities initiated include goat raising, poultry farming, fertilizer purchase, provision store operation, bee keeping, nanglo (a big wicker plate for winnowing grains) weaving and carpet weaving.

Skill Enhancement
In order to alleviate poverty, rural community are encouraged to engage in income generating activities. This requires skills in the community members for enhancing their capacities to maximize the benefits through the use of available scarce resources.

Keeping this in view,for skill development REDP has supported basically in four areas, (1) skill to run community organizations and functional groups smoothly (organizational development, management, book keeping, saving and credit operation, etc) (2) skill to implement, operate and manage MH schemes (3) skill to carry out various income generating activities like agriculture, livestock, forestry, off-farm activities, marketing and (4) skill to undertake various social activities.

The activities for skill enhancement are discussed in detail under Human Resource Development section of this report.

Technology Promotion
The programme gives equal focus to the technology promotion for the sustained growth. Emphasis is given to the technologies that are deemed necessary to increase productivity, reduce drudgery of women and help in conservation of the natural environment in the rural areas. Besides the installation of MHDS efforts are being made to promote various other technologies. The programme is promoting solar photo voltaic, bio-gas and improved cook stoves for energy development. Similarly, appropriate technologies are promoted to establish and operate both agro-based and off-farm enterprises.

Various activities undertaken for technology promotion is discussed in detail under Demonstration Schemes as well as Research and Development Section ot this report.

Environment Management
Sustainable operation and management of a MH system depend on the watershed condition and the management of natural resources. They include community forestry, tree plantation, land terracing, agro-forestry and other environmental protection measures. Since its operation, the programme has given due consideration for the environment management of the programme VDCs. Initiatives taken under environment management include commercial community forestry, micro watershed management, environment education, environmental health and sanitation.

The activities undertaken for Environment Management are discussed in detail under the Natural Resource Management Section.

Empowerment of Women, IPs & Dalits
Though women play vital role in rural economy they are not given due recognition. In this situation, a greater effort is needed to build women's self confidence and capability as a whole for undertaking independent action, integrating them into the decision making processes and bringing them into the mainstream of the development process. Such actions would enhance the credibility of women in the eyes of the community as equal partners in the development process.

REDP has supported to create environment for rural women to move towards real empowerment. Some of the crucial steps taken by REDP towards women empowerment includes mandatory participation of one female from each beneficiary household in all initiatives implemented at community level for the sustainable development. Members of female COs are encouraged to discuss and analyze specific problems faced by them in their communities. Emphasis has been made for building women's self-confidence and capability through training and exposure visits. Furthermore, representation of both male COs and female COs in all functional groups (FGs) provide them equal opportunity to participate in community affairs, involve in the decision making process, and engage in the mainstream of the development process.

Experience of REDP in the first five programme districts have revealed encouraging results. It is know to all that in the far western region of Nepal, women rarely come out from their houses and participate in any activities in public function due to strong cultural and traditional barrier. But after the formation of their own COs and initiation of various social and economic activities, they have vividly demonstrated the encouraging change in their self-confidence and decision making capability both inside and outside the household. Members of female COs have been found more motivated to be involved in social and environmental activities such as cleaning houses, trail road construction, water taps maintenance, pit latrins construction, expansion of the village road and plantation of trees.

Women attend the weekly meeting regularly and like their male counterparts, discuss and make decision on various socio-economic issues. Through weekly saving, they have generated resources which are efficiently used for undertaking different income generating activities like off-season vegetable cultivation, poultry farming, goat farming and petty tradings. It is most satisfying to note that in Tallo Debari of Jobbudha VDC of Dadeldhura, a women has been selected as the chairperson of Shan Khola MHFG.