Khudunabari is one of the seven Bhutanese refugee camps and is located in southeastern Nepalese district of Jhapa. The population of the camp is approximately 12,000 people. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any other general details about the history of the camp and camp life. However, I did learn about an amazing feature of the Khudunabari camp. One of the many projects that the BRWF has contributed to is the Khudunabari Bakery, which opened its doors in 2000, after the BRWF and the World Food Programme teamed together to finance the operation. The initial purpose of the bakery was to diversify the refugees’ diet, which primarily consisted of rice, lentils, sugar, salt, vegetable oil, and wheat soya blend. A team of bakers from Bengal was brought into the camp to train the refugees who would become the bakery’s bakers. Unfortunately, the bakery closed only a few years after it had opened for a variety of reasons, one of which was that the quality of the baked goods was quite poor. In 2006, the bakery reopened its doors after a thorough reevaluation of the reasons for its closure, and the both the BRWF and the WFP have worked to improve different aspects of the bakery. For example, the refugee bakers were required to complete a four-month apprenticeship with the Indian bakers to improve the quality of the goods, and the bakery has extended its hours to accommodate the needs and schedules of the refugee population in the camp. Doughnuts, cookies, and pau roti (Nepali bread) are some of the treats offered at the bakery.
Both the BRWF and the Khudunabari bakery have improved the quality of life for Bhutanese refugees living in camps. It is particularly inspiring to read about the 12,000 refugee women who are volunteering their time for the BRWF to strengthen the Bhutanese refugee community through education.
The photograph collage featured in this post is from the Bhutanese Refugee Women's Forum.
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