Labour migration to India is a very important livelihood strategy for people living in marginal
areas of Nepal. How is this strategy imbedded in the local context? Which institutions shape the
migrants’ everyday life in India? What are the opportunities to improve the crucial institutions
for money transfer and money saving? These questions are on the research agenda of an
ongoing project at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Research and field studies have been conducted in Far West Nepal specifically in the
Districts Bajura and Bajhang since 1998. A first project dealt mainly with the interaction
between a National Park and local people, but also tackled local livelihood strategies (Backhaus
& Kollmair 2001; Müller-Böker et al. 2001; Kollmair in print; Müller-Böker in print). Based on
this research, in 2001, a research partnership was established with Nepal within the context of
the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South), which focuses on
“Sustainable Livelihood Strategies in Marginal Areas”.