A herb processing center has been established at Dumre, Bhumlu Rural Municipality-8. The rural municipality has prepared the structure of the herb processing center and started the model practice of processing. Chairman of Bhumlu Rural Municipality, Prem Bhujel, said that by processing herbs and producing medicinal materials, making the municipality a hub for herb production and connecting farmers to herb production, a processing center has been established.
Oil has been extracted by processing bitter gourd, which is rich in medicinal properties. "We have taken this as a test," Bhujel said, "Now 1 liter of oil was extracted, we got a response that it is very effective in discussions with people who are knowledgeable about the subject." He said that the steam water used during bitter processing can be used as medicine and the water that comes out of it after processing can be used as organic fertilizer.
"Since the market for bitter gourd oil is also good, we have planned to prioritize it," said Bhujel, "It is understood that the price of bitter gourd oil in the market is 8 to 10 thousand rupees, and the price of its steam water is 40 to 50 rupees per liter." He said that the practice of Titepati, Tulsi, Lemon Grass, Dhasingare has been done in the Herb Processing Center. In order to sustain the herbs, 40 plants are being cultivated in an area of tetepati, bay leaves, and rosemary. To make the municipality a hub for herb production, a green house has been prepared along with a processing center, where herb plants will be produced, said village president Bhujel. Most of the barren land within the rural municipality area is being utilized and preparations are being made to plant herbs by building an herb production group. He said that this program has been given special priority as it is a source of income for the protection of community forests on the one hand.
The municipality has also prepared a dryer house to dry the herbs collected. "The structure has been prepared," said Bhujel, "to make good use of it, the municipality is preparing to dry greens and produce gundruk. For this, the municipality is buying greens from farmers. We are asking farmers to contact the municipality to sell the greens they have produced." Locals will also get job opportunities in the center after the herb processing center is officially operational. Tamang said that the aim of this program is to increase their income level by connecting with farmers. Rita Shivbhakti, a 45-year-old resident of Bhumlu 8, said that the herb processing center that the municipality is going to put into operation will benefit the farmers.
She is confident that after the herbal processing center will be established in her village, there will be employment in the village. According to the local Shankaraman Upreti, this center has organized a program in association with the farmers, which will benefit the farmers a lot. According to him, it would be better if the municipality could operate this herb processing center according to its objectives and goals.
