From fire risk to fertiliser
How community forest user groups are reducing forest fires and increasing prosperity by turning plant leaf litter into biofertiliser.
Members of Binayi Community Forest User Group in their forest (Photo: FECOFUN)
The Binayi Community Forest User Group (CFUG) is in the wildfire-prone Churia region of Nawalpur district. Since 2018, this women-led initiative of 20 members has been collecting forest litter to reduce fire hazards. They have now expanded into a thriving biofertiliser enterprise.
With support from the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) and the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), the group realised that they could achieve significant value addition by converting plant leaf litter – a hazardous fuel load that increases forest fire risks – into organic fertiliser enriched with effective microorganisms.
Organic fertilisers are now preferred by farmers, local communities and local government for improving soil health, enhancing yields and reducing dependence on chemical inputs. Local government officers have been using it in their training and promoting it on different platforms.
Forest and Farm Facility activities
Structured business incubation support facilitated by FFF and FECOFUN has catalysed this transformation.
Beyond market analysis and financial planning, support also included training and technical capacity development on sustainable forest management, and help with collecting and composting forest biomass.
FFF funding has also supported machinery upgrades for compost processing, while the Binayi Tribeni rural municipality has provided a 50% matching subsidy, enabling essential infrastructure improvements that the group could not have achieved alone.
Significance of impact
With FFF support, the Binayi CFUG has now formalised its operations. It produces over 50,000kg of biofertiliser annually, providing employment for 400 local people.
The group has developed and adhered to product quality standards and strengthened linkages with government nurseries and local markets. The enterprise has developed a circular, environmentally sustainable model that simultaneously improves forest health, farm productivity and rural livelihoods. And the enterprise has contributed to a 70% reduction in forest fires in the municipality.
The change in approach towards enterprise development is also highly significant because it has established a women-led, climate-resilient enterprise that has elevated women’s roles as entrepreneurs and decision makers in their community. It has enabled many, including Binayi CFUG’s secretary Meena Poudel, to sustainably support their families and finance higher education for their children.
Conclusion
This women-led initiative demonstrates the power of entrepreneurial training and direct financial support for delivering climate-resilient landscapes, green employment and gender-equitable value chains across Nepal’s forest landscapes.
With plans to double production to 125,000kg annually, the model is now being scaled up, with over 40 neighbouring CFUGs preparing to replicate the initiative in the coming years.
Further reading
Forest and Farm Facility annual report 2024, Forest and Farm Facility (2025), project report
Video series: Nepali women’s community group is turning fire prevention into a climate-resilient green enterprise, Forest and Farm Facility (2025)
Money matters – accessing finance, Forest and Farm Facility (2025)
From fire hazard to green gold: Nepal’s forest women transform crisis into opportunity, FAO (2025)