The Hayu community of Ramechhap is engaging in small businesses such as commercial vegetable farming, goat farming, and poultry farming, utilizing the monthly social security allowance of Rs. 4,000 for all family members.
As the trend of moving to cities in search of quality education and employment increases, villages are gradually becoming deserted.
Most of the settlements that used to be bustling are now deserted. Many houses in the village have been locked for years, and some are slowly turning into ruins.
The city-centered lifestyle has changed the old look of the village. The custom of raising cattle in barns and sweating in the fields has almost disappeared. The people in the village have also given up the habit of raising livestock. There is no more interest in farming due to monkeys and wild animals. Much of the arable land in the village is barren today.
In the midst of these changing villages, Rudra Bahadur Hayu, 70, and his wife Sanu, 67, of Mugan, Ramechhap Municipality-7, have found the meaning of life in the village. The Hayu couple, who are in their late teens, have enjoyed farming and animal husbandry in the village. There are now more than a dozen cows, bulls, and buffaloes in their barn. They also raise goats. The Hayu couple's main income is agriculture and animal husbandry. They have raised eight children and have educated and promoted them all on the path of work, and now there are only two of them in the village.
The social security allowance provided by the state has also become a great support for them. They invest the eight thousand rupees they receive per month in animal husbandry and farming. With this income and labor, they have become self-sufficient in their old age. 
Rudra Bahadur said that after the social security allowance reached four thousand rupees per month, not only their financial but also their social lifestyle has changed. He says, 'Since the government started giving allowances, we no longer have to worry about food and clothing. We have started investing the savings from the allowance in animal husbandry and vegetable farming.' According to him, other elderly people in the village have also started small enterprises like commercial vegetable farming, goat farming, and poultry farming using social security allowance.
The ancestral profession of the Hayu community was weaving and selling baskets, baskets, baskets, baskets, baskets, and baskets from bamboo stalks. Similarly, they used to produce cotton in their fields and weave clothes themselves. These traditional skills and professions are gradually disappearing due to lack of generational transmission. But the baskets and baskets made from bamboo stalks are still in Rudra Bahadur's yard. He has not abandoned his traditional skills and profession.
Narmaya Hayu, 52, of Mudajor, Ramechhap Municipality-7, says that the social security allowance has brought significant improvement in the living standards of the Hayu community. 'Earlier, we had to struggle to survive, but now it has become easier to eat and drink,' said Narmaya.
According to her, those who have utilized the allowance have improved their financial situation and have even improved their homes. But some have not yet understood its importance. 'There are 10 people in our family. Now, we receive an allowance of Rs 40,000 per month. With this amount, both farming and household expenses have become easier,' she said. 'The social security allowance is not just financial support, but has become the basis for self-reliance and dignity.'
The Hayu, a minority community, is an endangered caste. According to the National Census 2078, the population of the Hayu community in Nepal is only 3,069. Out of which 1,126 people live in Ramechhap. The Mudajor area of Ramechhap Municipality-7 is considered the birthplace of the Hayu community.
Currently, the Hayu community lives in wards 6, 7 and 8 of Ramechhap Municipality. According to Ramechhap Municipality data, the largest Hayu community population is in Ward 7, Sukajor, with more than 697 people. 1,009 people from the Hayu community across the district are currently receiving a monthly social security allowance of Rs. 4,000.
