HETAUDA: Locals have increased their sources of income by planting trees in their uncultivated land to develop it as a private forest. The private forest has become a lucrative source of income from its timber products including herbal farming. It has gained momentum in Hetauda with the government carrying forward the concept of households private forest.

With this, local people are enthusiastically engaged in transforming their barren land to private forest. The private forest has been emerged as a strong base for the conservation of forestry at a time when it has become a herculean task due to industrialization and urbanization.

People’s attraction to private forest has increased due to forest food, herbal products and forest-based enterprises. The uncultivated land thus has become an instant source of income from herbal products and organic foods.

Even the people are sustaining their day-to-day livelihoods by cultivating herbal farming in the steep land. Geeta Kumari Neupane, treasurer of Households Private Forest Makawanpur, said they have planted saplings, grass and with herbal plants in the barren land.

According to the recent data of Department of Statistics, 3.83 million people have owned private and family forest. This type of forests has covered 11 percent of total territory of the country.