Badi families in Gunyalphanta, Kanchanpur migrate to India in search of livelihood

Kanchanpur: Struggling with unemployment and lack of opportunities, more than two dozen Badi families from Gunyalphanta, Krishnapur Municipality-2, Kanchanpur have locked their homes and migrated to India with their children in search of work.

Displaced from their traditional pottery profession, these families had been working as alternative laborers. However, after failing to secure even that, they have been forced to take up jobs as porters and manual laborers across the border. Badi leader Padam Rana stated that over twenty families have left for India due to the lack of sustainable employment.

"We used to make hookahs, sulpa, jugs, flower pots, incense burners, and other items from clay," he said. "But after the forest area was protected, we lost access to clay, and with the rise of plastic goods, our profession became obsolete." He further added that the community lacked the capital to produce and sell pottery on a large scale, leading to the complete disappearance of their traditional livelihood.

Expressing her disappointment, Duradevi Kumal highlighted how neighboring Indian artisans continue to earn a good income from clay products, whereas the Badi community in Nepal has been left behind. "Despite having traditional skills, we lack financial resources. Moreover, working with clay is seen as inferior by society, forcing us to abandon our ancestral profession," she said.

After giving up pottery, many in the Badi community took up daily-wage labor in agriculture, transportation, and construction. However, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted those opportunities, leaving them with no choice but to migrate to India.

According to Keshav Kumal, only six acres of land in the settlement is available for housing, and many huts are on the verge of collapse. "Some families have already moved to India, while only the elderly and women remain in the village. Most of the youth work in India to support their families," he said.

He further urged the government to include the Badi community in social allowances, similar to the schemes provided for marginalized groups like Kusunda, Raji, and Raute from birth. Despite repeated protests and agreements with the federal government, he lamented that promised support programs remain unimplemented, depriving them of even basic services.

Due to the lack of proper housing, three families are currently forced to share a single home. While some have left for India, others are returning—caught in a cycle of migration driven by economic hardship.