WACN was established by a group of women who were interested in rural women’s development. WACN is run entirely by women. Our programs enable women to participate in the decision-making process of the family and to join all levels of development activities. Our activities are geared toward realizing our vision of creating a just and equal society by reawakening women's inherent power. We have found that as local women become involved in development projects they begin to gain a voice within their families and communities.

Our objective is to improve the socio-economic status and self-development capacity of disadvantaged people, especially women. We accomplish this primarily through women’s savings and credit co-operatives that provide women with the opportunity to work together, and to run a “formal” financial organization. The women’s savings and access to loans often provide them with greater voice in family decision-making. We reinforce the lessons learned through the co-operative activities with training on a variety of issues of interest to women, from income generation skills to health and gender relations.

In Kavre, the district where our organization began its development efforts, we provide sustainable agriculture training and support. The farmers in our program, men and women, are learning ways to make their traditional farming practices more effective, and protecting their land by limiting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These farmers have opened their own shop to sell their produce in Banepa, the local municipality.

WACN advocates the elimination of all forms of discrimination, violence, and trafficking of women and girls through action programs in order to ensure the rights of women.

Background

Nari Chetana Kendra Nepal (WACN) began implementing community-based development programs in 1991. Together with villagers in Kavre, Chitwan, Sindhupalchowk, Makwanpur and Kathmandu we have evaluated local needs and designed programs tailored to meet these needs. Nari Chetana Kendra is able to provide training in community development on a variety of women's issues. Through community-based development programs, we are working to create employment opportunities for women. WACN enables the women to participate in the decision making process within the family and at all levels of development activities. Through self development and social action, many women have become partners in the process of change. In this way, WACN's activities are geared to realize its vision of creating a just and equal society by reawakening women's inherent power. WACN advocates the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence in order to ensure the rights of women.

Vision

We share in the vision of a just family and a just society where women and men have equal status in all aspects of their lives. We envision a society where women take a leading role in their communities and there is no gender discrimination. All decision-making responsibilities will be shared equally by women and men at all levels.

Mission

Broad-based empowerment of Nepalese women and children, especially those from disadvantaged groups.

Objectives

■	To promote the awareness of women's potential as powerful members of society through gender-sensitive community based development programs.
■	To empower women and work toward the elimination of poverty through informal savings and credit activities and formal co-operatives.
■	To initiate programs ensuring the rights of women.
■	To help men and women work together in a mutually supportive and mutually respectful environment.
■	To develop self-reliance skills in male and female farmers via the promotion of sustainable agriculture.

Strategies

The main strategy of WACN is alternative education, alternative because not only do knowledge and skills need to be acquired, but the process of learning implies a change of attitude and the creation of a new identity, both personally and collectively. Alternative eduction involves life experience and takes the feelings seriously. It builds on the inherent strengths of the community.

■	Helping communities to identify their needs, and strategies to address them (self-determination).
■	Working together with men and women toward common goals.
■	Reliance on the local people to:
	● Select social mobilizers and other leaders to help them achieve their goals. ● Analyze their problems and identify the root causes of the problems so that they can address the causes rather than the symptoms. ● Optimize the outcomes produced by local knowledge and local resources.
■	Provision of knowledge on various issues to help people better understand their world (e.g., literacy, health, hygiene, management, gender) and therefore better analyze their issues.
■	· Provide an environment in which people can learn to save and use credit to better their socio-economic condition, which can have broader empowerment effects.
■	Provide the space for women to work independently and develop and run their own institutions.

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