A homestay in Gorkhe — Infrastructure, culture, and history

When we arrived in Gorkhe, a village in Ilam, Nepal, we were greeted warmly by the village’s young girls in traditional dress, holding small bouquets. There was music, dance, and kind greetings exchanged by all. We walked up the street, passing the market vendors along the way. After having tea at the community centre, we were taken to our individual homestays. 

I was paired with a wonderful family, in a lovely house with lots of plants and fresh air. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of Gorkhe; when compared to the business of Kathmandu, the slower pace and the peace and quiet (aside from the roosters) was very welcome. 

I was under the weather our first full day here, and stayed home from the group activities. A large storm ensued while the rest of the group was out — torrential downpour and plenty of thunder and lightning. As I was watching the rain from the balcony, I was graciously invited to have tea in the living room with the women in the family and wait out the storm.

As we began to converse, I learned that Ichchha, who speaks English and has been acting as a translator in the household, is the daughter-in-law of the host family. She came to Gorkhe from Kathmandu specifically for our visit. We talked for nearly an hour, maybe more — about our families, cultures, academics, relationships, and, notably, about Nepal and Nepalese society. She reiterated much of what I had learned about Nepalese youth so far; that in search of better jobs or education, the majority leave their homes in rural areas, or leave the country altogether, going to Canada, the US, the UK, the UAE, etc.  

We had heard about the “brain drain” earlier this week from our guest speaker, Krishna KC, a Nepali development management practitioner. The phenomenon of masses of youths who move abroad has a significant impact on Nepal, and Ichchha talked about her first-hand experience — many of her friends and members of her family have left Nepal.  She adds that her best friend lives in Toronto. Ichchha told me that while employment is a factor, Nepalese nationals aren’t only leaving in search of better jobs. Upon learning that my field of study is international development, she noted that “for a country to develop, it needs a strong government.” She explains that the government is too weak right now, and that to create employment opportunities to develop infrastructure, in turn keeping Nepal’s young people stateside, development efforts must focus on strengthening the government.  

Later in the week, I am sitting in the kitchen with the family. I learn that the town’s name is 250 years old. The Gorkhali, the First King of Nepal’s military, stayed in Gorkhe, giving the town its name. Ichchha translates as her father-in-law, Dhan Kumar Pradhan, goes on to talk about the local market that we passed through upon our arrival. Gorkhe’s bazaar is also 250 years old and was one of the biggest in Nepal at the time. Due to its proximity to the Indian border, the bazaar used to be the region’s hub for Indian goods. The town even had a soap factory, too, which sold its goods at the market. The market’s popularity began to decline approximately 40 years ago, when the government asked the rural towns to choose between electricity and roads — the village council chose electricity. Goods from India stopped arriving, the soap factory closed, and visitors began to dwindle. 

Learning first-hand from locals about regional history and development issues is crucial in understanding the current challenges faced and provides an opportunity to engage in bottom-up development as a key facet of sustainable development. Doing this learning was, in all honesty, quite difficult — as development students, we are so used to the sterilized, classroom-based versions of development that we are presented with, and they often feel several degrees removed as a result. In contrast, hearing directly from the residents of Gorkhe puts development issues into perspective as we learn about how their lives have been directly impacted. 

In the case of Gorkhe, the bazaar's decline had a significant financial impact on the local vendors and it was heart breaking to learn how this lack of infrastructure harmed the village and its residents' livelihoods. While hearing about residents’ difficult times is heart wrenching, these first-hand opportunities to hear peoples' stories are incredibly important. Hearing directly from those impacted by development issues helps bridge the gap with academia by giving context to the lived experiences associated with the theory-based education we generally receive. It was deeply impactful for me to learn how these development issues impact those on the ground and I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to speak with our host family about such a sensitive topic.  

All photos were taken by the author. 

Elizabeth Agnew is in the fifth year of a BA in International Development at the University of Guelph.

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