I was interested in studying. However, the family did not have a regular income. As the expenses for going to school started to decrease, it was becoming difficult to continue my studies. My father was suffering all the time. No matter how much he worked, he could not meet the household expenses. Seeing that, he felt that he should help his father with his work.

In 2052 BS, the then Maoists started an armed war. The youth of the village were forced to flee after pressure increased to join the armed war. When I was in grade 5, I went to Shimla, India, with my friends at the age of 14. At first, I would go to Shimla and stay there for a few months and then return home.

When I came home, one day, while going to the forest to collect apples, I was beaten to death by security personnel on the charge of being a informant for the Maoists. I barely escaped and went to Dang. From there, I reached Shimla. I stayed in Shimla for 6 consecutive years and farmed vegetables.

While working in Shimla, I was injured around 2055 when a tree fell on me. I had to undergo regular treatment for three years, so I could not do any work. I took a loan of 1.6 million rupees while undergoing treatment there and buying land in the village there. In 2058, I returned home thinking that nothing would happen after staying in Shimla. After returning home, I started cultivating ginger and oranges in my own orchard. I started cultivating oranges more professionally than ginger.

It costs 588,000 a year just to spend on food and educating my children. Oranges have become the main source of my income. I am now 44 years old. Currently, there are 1,500 orange trees in about 40 ropanis. Out of which, 1,200 trees are bearing fruit. Five years ago, I sold oranges worth 35,000. Two years later, I sold 200,000. Last year alone, I sold the highest amount of oranges worth 42,000.

We have a family of eight in Bagchaur Municipality-8, Kotmaula. We have to buy everything including food and eat. A family of eight spends 29 thousand a month on rice worth 8 thousand, pulses worth 3 thousand, oil worth 2 thousand, vegetables worth 10 thousand, meat worth 3 thousand, telephone and other 3 thousand. It costs about 20 thousand for children studying in Kathmandu.

Food expenses and educating children alone cost 588 thousand a year. Last year, 1 million was spent on orange pruning, fertilizer, and other management. I saved about 2 million by cutting all expenses from the 42 lakhs I earned last year. I paid off the loan I had with the same amount I saved. Now 6 lakhs are left. I will pay off all the loans this year.

Earlier, we had trouble eating two meals a day. We could only eat rice sometimes. If we had to eat meat, we had to wait for festivals. We had to wait for Dashain for new clothes. After starting commercial orange farming, I no longer have to depend on anyone. Everything has become easier. Earlier, I used to go around looking for work in places where there are other people and development projects to meet my household expenses. Now, I am able to provide employment to others in the village. All members of the family have found employment. The oranges produced are sold from home. I don't have to go around looking for traders to sell them. In the past, I used to work up to 10 hours a day to support my family. Now, I don't have to work at any time except for orange picking, selling, and fertilizing. Earlier, no one knew me except my family. After starting orange farming, everyone has started to recognize me.