Our Dream City in WOW Mahdesh – Digital Storytelling for Youth

In October 2019, in the lead up to the third edition of the British Council’s Women of the World Festival, ODC hosted two Digital Storytelling Workshops in the cities of Birgunj and Janakpur. Targeted to young women and men, the workshop built the participants capacity to use digital mapping and storytelling so that they may produce stories relevant to women/girls by reviewing gender-based challenges and opportunities in their respective cities.

The workshop developed participant skills in content writing, multi-media production, social media promotion and digital mapping. As part of the engagement the participants documented stories of people in their cities using digital maps and multimedia to develop interactive digital portals.

Participants engaging in storytelling and mapping session

The workshops were attendance was 95% female. And most participants did not come from backgrounds in storytelling, media or journalism. Through interactive sessions and hands-on learning, the participants worked individually and in groups to develop stories for digital release. Feedback from participants were recorded through survey forms and video interviews.

One of the applications of the learning was the mapping of open spaces in each of the city. Stories were developed by participant on model women/girls who exemplify talent and virtues. These included stories about mithila artists, national talent competition winners, stories of policewomen, female riksaw drivers and many other inspiring subjects. Additionally, safe and unsafe spaces (defined subjectively through interviews with local women/girls) were mapped to create safe/unsafe maps. Altogether 15 stories were collected from the participants. After the training additional stories were developed by the participants on their own.

Outputs from the workshops were showcased at the Women of the World Festival Madhesh that took place on 6 and 7 December in Janakpur. StoryCycle occupied a stall at the WOW Madhesh Marketplace where it presented the safe/unsafe maps. The booth also featured an unpopulated map for visitors to mark safe/unsafe places according to them.

Stories from the Participants

SABITA DEVI SADA

by Rashmi Karn
Janakpur

Sabita Devi Sada is the first and only educated woman of the Musahar community, Dhanushadham. She got married at a young age right after completing the Board examination of class 08. She is not just studying for herself but also took teaching as a profession to educate children of her community. She has 3 sisters in law, father in law, mother in law, her husband and two children in her family. Her husband works in India while her in-laws work as local labor, it means sometimes her income could be the only source of income for the family. Not just she is motivated to educate her children, she wants to study further if she receives financial help for her education.

HAJARA KHATUN

by Jyoti Sah
Birgunj

Ms. Hajara Khatun from Birgunj has a dream of becoming a nationally recognized singer. For this dream, she is trying very hard to take part in Nepal Idol – a national singing reality show. Her main obstacle is she has no support coming from her family. For her singing passion, though she has no help from family, the #KishoriShamvad program is providing her lot of support. Being a girl from the Muslim community and pursuing the singing profession is very challenging, the society never took it in a positive way similarly, her family and society are totally against her dream which disturbed her morally and emotionally, they also estranged her from the continuing study while she was in class 5 but brave and courageous she refused to give up. Participating in the #KishoriShamvad program changed her life. Nowadays she is studying in class 10 and preparing to take part in the national singing reality show Nepal Idol.

NIRMALA MAHATO

by Anju Chauhan
Sarlahi

Nirmala Mahato, Harivan, Sarlahi is a shoemaker who makes her living by making shoes for schoolchildren and women.

When she started this profession her society was disgraced. They tried to discourage and bully her because the shoe-making profession is regarded as a work of low caste people. In spite of the continuous hurdles, she established her creativity as a small industry and created employment opportunities for other women in her community who used to go against her.

In the past her husband used to work abroad, they saw many economic difficulties due to less income of her husband who came back with overburdened loans. Without giving up, they both utilized their skill of shoemaking and became self-employed.

At starting her society used to refuse their product to show how disgraced they are, but they succeed to set a remarkable example for their society that no skill/no profession is small.

BIKASH KUMAR

by Jyoti Giri
Birgunj

Bikas Kumar, an 18 years old boy lives in B.P Uthan Park, an area of the marginalized community of Birgunj. He works in a medicine factory and earns approximately 15 thousand per month. He has altogether 10 members in his family. He got married at the age of 17 and his wife is 16 years old who is now 7 months pregnant. Currently, she is at her mother`s home.

Furthermore, Bikas has two sisters-in-law who are engaged in crafting different bamboo items. Girls in this area are particularly taught to make handcrafted items from childhood. Women in this area are mostly involved in making Daali (Bamboo Basket). Only a few children go to school and some play with kids of the same age.

SABITA MANAV

by Sadikshya Rijal
Birgunj

21 years old Sabita Manav is a mentally unstable woman. She is currently living in Manav Sewa Ashram, Birgunj. A year ago, she was found near Bhansar in a critical situation. In the process of treatment, she was found 4 months pregnant. After proper care, love, and treatment, her condition was much better than before. After 5 months, she gave birth to a healthy baby. The baby boy was named ‘Umang Manav’ as he is a big hope for Manav Sewa Ashram.

Purnima Acharya is a caretaker of Umang. She is from Butwal. Her husband died in a road accident 4years ago. As she was mentally as well as physically ill, she was brought to Manav Sewa Ashram. But now she is fully recovered with proper care and treatment. And she is properly taking care of Umang being her mother.

JHIJHIYA DANCE

by Akansha Jha
Janakpur

Jhijhiya is one of the most famous cultural songs with dance being performed in Madhesh especially during Dashain. It has different religious beliefs regarding Goddess Durga and witches. It is said that the negative energy and black magic of witches will not affect anyone at the community if Jhijhiya is performed with pure spirit including different members of the community by carrying clay pot and with a lamp inside it on the head. Most of the performers are females who take part in the dance. According to Chandrakala Sada(35 years old), ‘It is especially performed to save the community from black magic during Dashain. She is also one of the active performers of Jhijhiya dance belonging to Dhanusadham.

OPEN SPACES

by Kanchan Chaudhary
Birgunj

In the city full of people and buildings, I found an open space near my house. It’s Bhutan Devi Mandir by the lakeside with lush greenery and refreshing breeze. From this area we can also observe the golden paddy field. This is a religious site with a picnic spot but it has poor infrastructure without taking care of safety. In the case of women and girls, this place is not very safe, but in the morning time few women can be seen walking than it used to be in the past.

Freedom of women is the most talked topic for everyone but in the real world we can take this as an example of how unfriendly the open space like this is for women. During evening time for women, they need to be escorted by a friend as they don’t feel safe to walk alone in this area.

Though in my perspective, this place is free from the urban crowd and has a peaceful environment, it needs some serious attention regarding infrastructure. This place should be facilitated with transportation services and other basic amenities to make this place safe, said an old woman.

MITHILESWORI DEVI

by Priyanshu Karn
Janakpur

Here is the story of the struggle of famous Mithila artist Mithileshwari Devi living in Janakpurdham sub-municipality ward no 3. She is 66 years old now. When she was young, girls were banned from attending school. She used to live with his mother, father and siblings in the village. Since girls were not allowed to read outside the house on a regular date, she used to study with her brothers at home but Mithileshwari was very interested in making traditional paintings. On the different social, cultural and religious occasions of the community she used to paint the walls, courtyards with traditional paintings. This traditional painting is called Mithila painting.

Mithileshwari had no financial gain from this work but she always garnered appreciation for her paintings from family and community. After her marriage in 1969, she entered Janakpurdham and there also she painted on the walls and courtyards on different social, religious and cultural occasions. A few years later, in 1990, the Mahila Bikas Kendra (Women’s Development Center) was established. In this center, women around Janakpur used to make traditional paintings on paper, walls, utensils, canvas, etc., and were institutionalized to sell the products in the country and abroad. An American organizer of this organization invited her to work there. But from her community women are forbidden to work outside. Her husband’s support encouraged her to work there. She worked for many years at that institution. She made paintings with her female friends in Janakpur and surrounding areas as well as on the walls of various institutions in Kathmandu. At the invitation of a company, she also painted murals in Japan and other 3-5 countries. She has received praise from various institutions as well as from the Nepal Pragya Pratishtha.

SUBHADRA ALEY

by Shivani karn
Janakpur

51 year old Subhadra Aley is currently living in Janakpur Sub-metropolitan city. She was born and raised in a normal family of Sindhuli and her dream was to become a police officer since childhood. With her strong determination and hard work she succeeded to become a police officer in 2041BS. During her recruitment period as a police officer, the perspective of society for women police officers was negative. It’s her husband and her family who supported and encouraged her to fulfill this dream. In 2072BS she retired from her duty as a police officer. Thereafter she made many contributions to the field of social service. She has been working with various organizations including the Nepal government in various places of Nepal and in Janakpur for social welfare.

GHADIARWA POKHARI

by Prerana Patel
Birgunj

We are 17 years old girls living in Birgunj. We both are friends and a classmate from the same college. During the holiday we used to go to Ghadiarwa Pokhari for the time pass and refreshing our mind. It used to be among the places where we girls can chill and enjoy.

Nowadays it’s not safe for girls anymore as it used to be before as it has now converted into the place where couples date. Girls from a normal family are not allowed to go there, as they have deep-rooted misconceptions about the place, they think the girls from socially unacceptable families visit such places. Not just we girls lost their favorite place to hang out, but also the value and the condition of Ghadiarwa Pokhari is being decreasing day by day

Sano Paila
https://sanopaila.org 

Sanskriti
https://www.facebook.com/sanskritibrj/

Bagmati Promenade

Together with British Council, StoryCycle is working on DreamCity campaign from Thapathali to Teku area by engaging youth in Heritage and Governance through Mapping and Storytelling.

In partnership with the British Council StoryCycle worked on the historic and culturally significant stretch of Bagmati River, from Thapathali to Teku, covering localities in Ward 11 and 12 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Under British Council’s 60 Years in Nepal celebrations, the project engaged young people and community leaders to produce narratives weaving together data and community responses that captured the of cultural, socio-political and historical identity of the place. Bagmati Promenade was first setting to the Our Dream City campaign. Read about our process and impact here.

In 1993, British architect John Sanday led the Teku-Thapathali Research Group with funding from the British Embassy to document the tangible heritage of Teku-Thapathali along the banks of the Bagmati. The group produced a report that was intended for the consideration of the government to rehabilitate the site and preserve it for future generations. This report was the founding document that instigated ODC campaign at the site. The exhaustive research covered urban design, monuments, temple complexes and proposed a 2-kilometer-long walkway linking all edifices for public use.

Together with the British Council, ODC was piloted at the site (Ward 11 and 12) to review how marginalized communities inhabiting the locality could use existing legal provisions and freely available digital tools to create relevant engagement on the idea of ‘place’ and how these can be developed inclusively accounting for multiple stakeholders to contribute their perspectives and concerns. The pilot program consisted of a workshop for young people from the mentioned wards. These workshops were complimented with interactions with local government officials, cultural and legal experts.

The interventions led to a series of heritage walks enabled by digital mapping of potential routes and objects of interest. You can explore Bagmati Promenade through the interactive digital map and historical timeline below.

Bagmati Promenade’s series of walking tours were led by experts under specific themes. These included: Governance, Iconography, Architecture, Philosophy, Storytelling, Water System and Environment. These guided walks also included interactions with community, youth and government leaders and was conducted with support from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Ward 11 and promoted by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB)..

Walk Leaders and Ward Chairperson of kathmandu metropolitan city Hiralal Tandukar

Ward Chairperson with Late British Ambassador to Nepal Richard Morris and city planning commission vice chairman

PHASE II – after concluding the pilot project, StoryCycle has been in touch with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s City Planning Commission to develop additional content around the site. Long-term goals for Bagmati Promenade include supporting the development of a unifying masterplan mirroring the suggesting of the 1993 Teku-Thapali Research Report. StoryCycle will continue to mobilize young people and the concerned community to instigate constructive discussions around development practices and approaches that account for stakeholder concerns.

Teku Thapali Research Report

The original report from John Sanday and team of architects, engineers who on behalf of the British Embassy conducted exhaustive surveys of the site. This report from 1993 is an excellent resource for those seeking to understand what recommendations were in place years before the Civil War which has led to increased encroachment and illegal settlement in both wards that make up the Teku-Thapali stretch of Bagmati.

Our Dream City in WoW Madhesh – Digital Storytelling for Youth

In October 2019, StoryCycle replicated the ODC workshops for groups of 10 youth in the cities of Birgunj and Janakpur. As part of the Women of the World Festival Madhesh (WOW Madhesh), the British Council support ODC to collect local data and narratives to champion gender transformative outputs.

Virtual Heritage Tours

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic. When Nepal government instituted lockdowns nationally, ODC took on a digital delivery approach to continue engaging a range of social actors in conversations about development and heritage. The Virtual Heritage Tour series followed the lead of Bagamati Promenade’s thematic walking tours and invited experts to lead home-bound viewers through locations inaccessible during the pandemic. For more information, please click here.

Capturing Historical Pyangaun

Pyan gaun is a small and beautiful centuries old crafting village of Newars in Chapagaun Lalitpur, just around 14 km south of Kathmandu. The main language of communication in Pyan Gaun is Newari. The major festivals celebrated in Pyan Gaun are Indra Jatra when the people of Pyangaun perform a form of dance known as Kug Pyakha (this dance was done in front of King in Hanuman Dhoka) , Nasa Dyo Puja, Mul Jatra during Chaitra Purnima and Gai jatra.

Pyangaun Heritage Walk

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Anciently known as Sitapur, Pyangaun is a century old craft village. Historical stone inscriptions can be seen dated N.S. 922 and 932. As per the locals, it is believed that a Malla king got married in the area and settled with his second wife and established pyang mana pathi production as an economic stability for the area. The village got its name ‘pyangaun’ from its unique profession of making beautiful bamboo buckets used to measure grains. These buckets became regional standard measurements in units called Maana and Pathi. The bamboo is called ‘pyang’ from newar language. The skill of making bamboo baskets not only identifies their villages but also represents a unique heritage. Hence, it played an important role in supplying traditional bamboo units to measure and weigh goods.

The settlement is known for its excellence in crafting bamboo, particularly in making buckets used for measurement. Mainly inhabitants of this village are Newars but in recent times Magars people also have started living in the outskirts of the settlement.

Building a sustainable city requires complex multi-disciplinary approaches to take effective and inclusive actions. The transformation is a collaborative process, which requires contributions from all including planners (architects/ engineers), local government, community members, educational institutions, researchers, NGOs, etc. Acme Engineering College collaborated with Story Cycle along with partnership with the British Council-Nepal with a vision to scale ‘Our Dream City’ campaign . The primary objective of the campaign is to design and plan for building more inclusive, creative and sustainable cities by facilitating communication between key stakeholders: Municipality (City Officials), Experts (Engineers, Architects, Urban Planners) and Community. The project will be supported by international experts in the fields of Architecture (Prof. Dr. Sangeeta Singh, TU, IOE, Nepal) and Equitable & Resilient development (Dr. Jonathan Ensor, University of York, UK) as advisors. The students from the Architecture Department at Acme, currently studying in eighth semester, are also involved in this project. The pilot project will be carried out at Pyangaun, which is a settlement located at Godavari Municipality in the Lalitpur district of Nepal. It is a centuries-old crafting village, known for its excellence in crafting bamboo, particularly in making buckets used for measurement called ‘Pyang’.

ACME college with StoryCycle is helping the community of Pyangaun to preserve its history of “Pyang” by increasing digital footprints and collecting stories on the internet through the locals. StoryCycle with the cooperation of Acme, have managed to teach the students and the members of pyangaun on how to create digital footprints on the internet with the help of StoryCamp where participants go out in the field and take various pictures and photos of the culture, people, product and the place that is pyangaun.

The Students of ACME college has been visiting Pyangaun inorder to give the locals of the village proper directions on digital mapping and storytelling. Architect and Engineering students from ACME college, with the help of StoryCycle, have been helping the locals of Pyangaun to understand how the village has been set up, helping the locals better understand their village from a different perspective. Each individual was learning from the other, the students from ACME learning from the villagers and vice-versa, both parties brought something to the table. The villagers knew about the people, product and village itself and the students from ACME knew about what should be done in order to improve their village.

During the initial phase of the program the participants were introduced to what storycycle did, what Our Dream City was and how the youths of this era can increase their digital presence of their culture and their heritage on the internet with technology. We demonstrated how they could take map points from a certain location and add it to the map accessible to everyone around the world visiting would know about.

Later when ACME visited Pyangaun with StoryCycle, it was for the sole purpose of teaching the participants about StoryCamp. In “StoryCamp: Visual Storytelling Session ” under Our Dream City Campaign, the participants got hands-on mentorship on visual storytelling including photography, filmmaking and script development, which they can use to establish their own digital footprints. StoryCycle taught the participants the basics of photography, filmmaking and script development, which they could use in their daily lives to contribute to their digital presence.

Some of the participants even went further on ahead by submitting some of the pictures they had taken after the session was over the very next day.