From Foreign Dreams to Local Success: How Ishwor Ghimire Built a Thriving Farm in Ramechhap

16th August 2026, Kathmandu

Discover the inspiring story of Ishwor Ghimire from Ramechhap, who rejected foreign employment to build a successful dairy, vegetable, and poultry farm in his own homeland.

From Foreign Dreams to Local Success

Two decades ago, the dream for most rural youths was identical: head abroad, earn money, and improve their family’s standard of living. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, youth migration from the villages of Ramechhap was intense. Farmlands were left barren, and home courtyards turned quiet and deserted.

Amidst this trend, Ishwor Ghimire from Babiyakharka, Ramechhap Municipality-8, was trying to carve out a living right at home. He initially started a poultry farm, but the returns failed to meet his expectations. Facing financial stagnation, he considered leaving his village—though moving abroad was never part of his plan.

Choosing the mantra “Leave the village, but not the country,” Ghimire moved to the district headquarters of Manthali in December 2015. He leased a small plot of land in Kudhar, Manthali, with very little capital to his name. Buying just two cows, he began commercial milk production. Those two cows laid the foundation for his entire agricultural enterprise.

From Small Beginnings to a Thriving Farm

Initially, the business focused solely on selling milk. Once he started utilizing the cow manure as organic fertilizer, Ghimire expanded into vegetable farming, alongside continuing his layer poultry farming from the village.

Rather than selling the calves born from his original two cows, he raised them right in his shed. As the herd grew, so did milk production. “Today, my entire shed is filled with the offspring of those first two cows,” Ghimire shares.

Currently, his farm houses 13 cows—10 adult cows and three calves. Having already sold a few over the years, he currently manages five milking cows and five expectant ones, with three set to calve within the month.

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His cows yield between 15 to 25 liters of milk daily, which he regularly supplies to the market. “Milk prices aren’t quite what they used to be, but they are still reasonable,” he notes.

A Labor of Love and Daily Routine

For Ghimire, agriculture is far beyond just cattle-rearing; it is a comprehensive daily enterprise combining dairy, vegetable cultivation, and poultry.

Every morning, Ishwor and his wife head to the shed together to feed the cattle, clean the manure, and milk the cows. After milking, Ishwor loads the milk onto his motorcycle and heads to the market, while his wife manages household chores. The afternoons are dedicated to tending to the vegetable crops and looking after the poultry. While the schedule is demanding and leisure time is scarce, he harbors zero regrets about his path.

Proud parents to two sons, the Ghimire couple finds deep fulfillment in their own hard work. For them, farming is not merely a means of survival, but a powerful testament that respectable earnings can be achieved right at home. He has demonstrated through practice that the arduous labor spent working long hours abroad can be channeled into local soil for rewarding results, all while supplying the local market with pure, fresh milk.

A Message for the Younger Generation

The outflow of youth from villages in search of employment and foreign opportunities has not stopped. Yet, Ishwor’s story stands apart. He refused the path of foreign employment, seeking potential right in his own homeland. By scaling up a modest initial investment, he grew his herd, amplified milk production, expanded into vegetables, and sustained his poultry farming. Today, not only has his livestock grown, but so has his self-reliance and confidence.

In Ghimire’s view, if someone is willing to put in genuine effort, there is no need to travel far in search of opportunity. Sweating in your own village soil can pave a reliable path to income. His shed, fields, and poultry farm echo a clear message: Instead of heading abroad for work, if you seek potential in your own backyard, the soil itself will yield prosperity.

For more: From Foreign Dreams to Local Success