Former hunters now active in wildlife conservation

Back in time, the villagers had to either go to India for work or kill animals for livelihood. But things have changed now.

These days, Rana Bahadur Budha, a resident of Rajkanda village in Surkhet, is busy looking after his domesticated animals and working on farm lands. Rana Bahadur’s farm lands, green with wheat and gram, adjoin the forests of Bardiya National Park (BNP). Rana Bahadur, together with his wife Dhansara, tends to 28 goats, a lactating buffalo and a pair of oxen in the shed. The Budha couple remain busy from dawn to dusk for agricultural work. On the side, they also run a homestay.