The Kamala River forms the boundary between Dhanusha and Siraha Districts in Madhesh Province, south Nepal. Stretching 328 km – 208 km in Nepal and the remainder across Bihar in northern India – it is a river of dramatic natural beauty and deep economic, cultural and religious significance. Its name derives from “Kamala,” a form of the Hindu goddess Laxmi seated on a lotus (“Kamal” in Nepali and Hindi). Locally, the river is revered as a deity: the sister of Ganga, goddess of water. Pilgrims travel from far and wide to bathe in its sacred waters.
Communities along the Kamala face flooding every year, with devastating events in 1978, 1987, 2004, 2007 and 2017. The 2004 flood was catastrophic, claiming 800 lives and wiping out entire villages. Many families lost their land and were relocated onto government-owned plots, forced into a precarious, hand-to-mouth existence. Alongside the flood risk, silt deposition has destroyed farmland, and reduced river flow (driven partly by climate change) now threatens the future of the river itself. Within two decades, a river that once flowed year-round could run dry. The implications for nature, agriculture and human livelihoods are stark. Communities must therefore build resilience to both extremes – destructive floods and prolonged drought.
Rural poverty in Kamala village
Our involvement in the region began in 2020 when we worked with our local implementing partner, The Mithila Wildlife Trust (MWT) to deliver vital food relief to 29,000 people during the pandemic. We reached a further 14,000 during the 2021 lockdown. It was through this work that we first witnessed the depth of hardship in the Kamala basin. Children were not attending school; many lacked even basic clothing. Poverty was compounded by long-standing social fractures. After the 2004 floods, displaced families resettled on higher government-owned land faced hostility from neighbouring communities who viewed them as outsiders. Such division makes adaptation to climate change even harder.
In response, we built two Community Learning Centres (CLCs) in Kamala village and at Pasman Tol. MWT introduced the CLC model in 2013 to help children from low-caste families enter mainstream education and to support those already enrolled to stay in school. Tutors -college students from the same communities – provide non-formal education and help with homework, something illiterate parents cannot offer. Their modest salaries, in turn, help them complete their own studies and pursue higher education or professional careers.
Once these buildings were complete, we established two rapid-growth forest strips along the Kamala’s banks to provide future flood protection. We planted these forests using the Miyawaki Method, which we have been pioneering in Nepal since 2021. Miyawaki forests grow ten times faster, are twenty times more biodiverse and thirty times denser than conventional plantations. Our demonstration site at Dhanushadham proves this dramatically: trees planted in 2021 now tower over conventionally planted controls. Although the Method is more costly, it offers excellent returns when used strategically—as it has along the Kamala, where the forests serve as both flood barriers and wildlife habitat. In 2025, our work expanded again with the construction of another CLC and our excavation of fish ponds to generate new livelihoods.
These initiatives have been made possible through The Big Give and generous support from The Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust in the UK. Over the next decade, we aim to scale the programme further, supported by grant funding and gifts in Wills. The Kamala River basin will form the core of our upcoming Earthshot Prize application (most likely in 2030) for which we will be seeking major grant and corporate partners and investors that can share our passion and vision.
For now, see the film below to gain an understanding of what we have achieved so far:
You can support our work in Madhesh Province through our Big Give Christmas Challenge that is live now. This is supporting a range of our projects in 2026 including in the areas of reforestation and education. All gifts in any major currency automatically double in value. Just click on the button below. One gift, twice the impact!
