In Nepal, the fifth day of the waxing moon of the month of Magh is celebrated as the beginning of spring (Basanta) and the end of winter. This is the day when all plants, birds and bees become active and bring colour, food and songs to the planet Earth. The Nepal Art Village is laying the foundation for a garden center that is dedicated to preserving the plant and natural heritage of Nepal. Our plant heritage deserves the same attention as our built and cultural heritage and the NAV Garden Center will lead this campaign.
We want to celebrate Nepal’s endemic and culturally significant plants and flowers. We want to explore the ability of plants to give us joy, wellness, healing, food and fibres. We are committing ourselves to reviving the craft heritage based on these plants and natural resources to commit people, especially children, and to connect them back to the planet Earth.
We want to popularize these plants, we want to collect and share knowledge about them so that they may be preserved for all future generations. We want to recognize our elders, botanists, and healers who have helped preserve our plant heritage. We want to renew the Gathu community’s work that grows flowers for festivals.
This first year we have set the goal to begin building the garden center at NAV, we want to publish the list of plant resources found on the SHI YA GU (Swayambhu) hill. We shall also begin to compile the list of plant resource persons and available resources for the specific purpose. We shall also carry out promotional activities to get people to notice and take care of local plants and understand their significance.
The key outcome of this campaign is to help create and contribute to a creative green economy in Nepal and globally. Please join us in preserving the plant heritage of Nepal. We shall collect, buy and sell plants and related products in the days to come.
Please join us at the Garden Center at the Nepal Art Village.