About Us and Our Work
Development Nepal is a small UK-based charity working in the Sunsari district of eastern Nepal. For nearly 25 years, we have supported locally led projects in education, health and livelihoods designed to improve lives, strengthen communities and create greater economic independence.
The emphasis has always been on practical help that could make a meaningful difference to everyday life, particularly for people and families who have limited access to financial resources and other forms of support.
The geographic focus of our work is with over 1,000 households in 60 communities and across 4 local government municipalities in the Sunsari district. Individuals within these communities were primarily the participants in the earliest Ujyalo Bhabiysa programmes, and the members of the agricultural Cooperative that we support come from these 60 communities. Our most recent programmatic initiative, the Livelihoods programme, is open to members from these communities who are also Cooperative members.
Our Approach
One of our guiding principles has been that individuals are almost always best placed to understand the nature of the challenges they face, and what would make a real difference to their lives. Our work in Nepal is therefore led locally, with programmes shaped by the needs and priorities of the communities we support.
In Nepal, our local partner, UCHEP, has a small team that works directly with communities to manage programmatic delivery. In the UK, our unpaid trustees and volunteers are responsible for fundraising, Development Nepal's strategic direction, governance and oversight.
Built to last
We do not want communities to remain dependent on charitable funding indefinitely.
Our current priorities remain helping to develop a strong and successful Cooperative and our new Livelihoods programme.
The Cooperative provides inclusive, accessible financial services to people in Sunsari who often would otherwise struggle to access such financial support. A secondary benefit of the Cooperative is that as it grows, the intention is that it will generate surplus that could help fund community programmes of a similar nature to the initial Ujyalo Bhabisya programmes, creating a more sustainable model for the future.
The Livelihoods programme will support 50-75 community members a year to establish and run agri-businesses with substantial investment into entrepreneurial development. These community members will be able to access finance for their enterprises from the Cooperative.
Hear From the People We Work With
Ujyalo Bhabisya
Ujyalo Bhabisya, meaning "Bright Future", is the Nepalese organisation at the heart of our work in Sunsari.
Its team has close links with the communities it serves and a detailed understanding of the challenges local people face. This local knowledge is essential to ensuring that support is relevant, practical and effective.
One of the most important areas of development is the Ujyalo Bhabisya Co-operative.
For many people living on very low incomes, access to conventional banking and affordable financial services can be extremely limited. The co-operative aims to provide a trusted local alternative, helping members to save, access appropriate financial support and improve their economic security.
Our long-term ambition is for the co-operative to become increasingly self-sufficient, generating funds that can support Ujyalo Bhabisya's wider work in areas such as education and health.The best way to understand the impact of our work is to hear directly from the people involved.
Our video introduces some of the communities and individuals who have benefited from the work of Ujyalo Bhabisya and explains more about what that support has meant in practice.
A Partnership, Not Just a Funding Relationship
Development Nepal is deliberately small.
That means our relationship with the Nepalese team is personal and direct. We remain closely involved in the work, understand how funds are being used and maintain regular contact with the people responsible for delivering programmes on the ground.
At the same time, our aim is not to direct every decision from the UK.
A successful partnership depends on local leadership, shared responsibility and mutual trust. Our role is to provide support where it is useful while helping Ujyalo Bhabisya strengthen its own capacity, governance and financial independence.