Video illustrates current interventions and future directions of the ILO-UNHCR “Enhancing Livelihoods for Refugee and Host Communities in Nepal”

Since 2020, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to promote private sector development in contexts of forced displacement in Nepal. In 2021/2022, the two organizations conducted a market systems assessment in Koshi Province, identifying agriculture as a key sector with potential for inclusive growth and employment for Bhutanese refugees and host communities. Leveraging the Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS), a strategy developed in 2013 through a collaboration between ILO and UNHCR, the ILO-UNHCR project “Building Inclusive Markets for Refugees and Host Communities” designed market-based livelihood interventions to foster the inclusion of refugees and host communities in local markets, and more broadly promote job opportunities that comply with the ILO’s decent work agenda and UNHCR’s protection standards.

Addressing the livelihood needs of both refugees and host communities in Nepal requires innovative and inclusive solutions. The country has experienced waves of refugees from Tibet (1959), Bhutan (1990/91), and more recently from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia. Despite over 90% of Bhutanese refugees resettling in North America, Europe, and Australia between 2007 and 2016, Nepal still hosts over 6,300 Bhutanese refugees, primarily residing in the Beldangi and Sanischare settlements in Damak, Koshi Province, eastern Nepal.

In 2023, over a span of nine months, the Project implemented crucial market facilitation interventions. One significant intervention tackled systemic constraints faced by refugee and host community farmers in the potato subsector. These constraints included limited access to agricultural land, high-quality seeds and fertilizers, and postharvest facilities, technologies, skills, and support services, which were causing substantial losses and reduced income from produce. Sixty individuals (28 refugees and 32 host community farmers, 33% women) benefited from land leases, advisory support, a voucher program (providing high-quality potato seeds and fertilizers), and extension services. These services included a farmer field school and training on commercial vegetable farming and marketing. This intervention engaged multiple local actors such as the Mansarowar Agriculture Cooperative, the Economic Empowerment Center, and local agrovets.

Another identified constraint was the lack of entrepreneurship skills among refugees and host community members, which are crucial for meeting commercial market demands. Access to training and other business development services was generally lacking, with few Business Development Service (BDS) providers catering to these communities. To address this, the ILO-UNHCR project developed the capacity of institutions and entrepreneurs through the ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) program. This program, which focuses on starting and improving small businesses to create better employment opportunities, trained 20 trainers (including 3 refugees, 30% women) from Damak and nearby municipalities. These trainers subsequently trained 93 potential and existing entrepreneurs (including 40 refugees, 60% women).

Following the interventions piloted in 2023, UNHCR and ILO launched the second phase of the project, titled "A Systemic Approach to Refugee and Host Communities Livelihoods in Nepal". This ongoing phase aims to build on initial efforts and local stakeholder engagement to improve livelihood opportunities for more refugees and host community groups by implementing market facilitation interventions on both the demand and supply sides of the labour market. The second phase has three main objectives: improving and scaling up market-based livelihood interventions for refugees and host communities in Koshi Province; exploring new high-potential sectors of intervention in Koshi Province in line with market trends and employer demand; and providing technical support to UNHCR Nepal and partners in implementing sustainable livelihood interventions for urban mandate refugees in Kathmandu.

The video below illustrates the ongoing ILO-UNHCR initiatives in Koshi Province, Nepal: