Community forest in Nepal has been exemplified as the most successful program for participatory resource management. Till now, 18,133 user groups are managing the community forest which included 2.23 million households. A total of 1,700,048 hectares of forest are being used by people living nearby the forest without any intervention from the government.

Women and poor households are primarily dependent on community forests for making their livelihood. Considering the role of women in community forestry, consortium partners HIMAWANTI Nepal, ASHMITA Nepal and Community Resource Management Centre (CRMC) have implemented the project on Supporting Community Based Sustainable Forest Management and Economic Empowerment of Women in Central Region of Nepal with the funding support from APFNet (Asia Pacific Forest Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation) in close supervision of Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation with the aim to contribute to rehabilitation and restoration of forestland through sustainable forest management and increase the income generating opportunities for women and forest-dependent communities. The project has focused to assist on sustainable forest management and improving the forest condition through the mobilization of the forest-dependent community and generating the opportunity for livelihood enhancement through women lead enterprise development.

In the Sarlahi, the program has been implemented in 3 Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) (namely Radhakrishna, Janjyoti, and Nandeswor) in coordination with District Forest Office. The project sites lie in the southern region of Nepal and are located at the foothill of the Churia range. This project has an impact on improving the social stability, economic progress, and environmental sustainability of local communities. Some impacts of this project, especially the distribution of solar panels, installation of biogas scheme, and Improved Cookstoves to needed members of involved CFUG and the economic impact of aromatic herbs, are apparent and promising. The alternative energy component of this project helped these poor households economically and socially as well as helped achieve environmental sustainability.

The aromatic herbs business is more profitable if the price of aromatic herbs is cut in half. At the individual household level, the trained resource persons with sustainable forest management and aromatic herbs business activities are women who came from poor families. All of the trainees received a daily compensation that roughly equals the average daily salary of local farmers, which helps them economically.

In Sarlahi, the waste underutilized land under the high transmission line has been utilized through a plantation of aromatic herbs. Likewise, the plantation of aromatic herbs has been also managed in community forests land extracting the Lantana Camara (Banmara) The project has organized awareness raising event on the value chain of aromatic herbs and conducted a value chain analysis of aromatic herbs (Citronella, Palmarosa, Mentha, Lemon grass and Chamomile. The project has established a total of 12 ha.

Plantation of aromatic herbs in the forest area of Radhakrishna, Janajyoti, and Nandeswor Community Forest Users. The forest users has also made the enrichment plantation of Lemon grass, Palmarosa, and Citronella in three community forests. For the establishment of the plantation, the weeding and Irrigation facilities through pumping water from the ground have been provided in the plantation sites.