Green enterprises ensure that economic and environmental priorities are able to go hand-in-hand. In rural communities, they are vested in creating and diversifying local income opportunities through environmentally sound entrepreneurship, and they have a special role in realizing sustainable development.
Nepal bears tremendous potential for rural products if harnessed properly. Since by their very nature, green enterprises are meant to be low carbon emitting, resource efficient and socially inclusive, they have a particular relevance as well as advantage in the case of protected areas, where natural conditions favor quality over quantity. But the scope for high value enterprise generation alone is not sufficient in today's complex and competitive business environment. Broader skills and capacities, partnerships and market networks have to be developed continuously and these have to be complimented by investments in technology, entrepreneurship, leadership and policy.
Tea, coffee and cardamom enterprises in our area are some better-known agro-commodities that have been well received both in domestic and international markets. The availability of high-value non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and other medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) also offer interesting potentials. Besides these, NTNC supports micro enterprises targeted at the individual and household levels, in the areas of: beekeeping and livestock farming, tailoring and weaving, fruit-related enterprises and handicrafts among others. Overall, we try and ensure that a robust mechanism that takes stock of factors related to quality production processes and skills is forged followed by proper promotion and pricing.
Our engagement with related enterprises stem from building capacity and competency right from raw material production to the finished product. For instance, in the case of tea and other niche crops, we make available improved seed varieties, followed by equipment and infrastructure support, backed up by skill building capacities, all the way to finding market linkages that ensure demand-price support. Doing these, we thus help to mobilize networks, skills and resources that benefit the overall progress of the local economy and the environment at large.