Household Livelihood Recovery after 2015 Nepal Earthquake in Informal Economy: Case Study of Shop Owners in Bungamati

Abstract

The 2015 earthquake caused widespread damage in Nepal causing monetary loss of billions of dollars. Majority the households in Nepal are engaged in informal sector and relies heavily on local market and tourism. In Nepal, livelihood and households are not only linked through livelihood, built space, goods and services, but also through culture and traditions. As a result, understanding their linkage is important for effective recovery to further facilitate strengthening of community resilience. This article focuses on household and livelihood recovery within the first two years of the earthquake in traditional settlements Bungamati. Participatory mapping followed by narrative analysis of the interviews is used for understanding the linkages. Narrative analysis of the field interviews conducted with the shop owners generated six types household assets. Further, these assets were linked with the various coping strategies in the post disaster situation. The findings suggest three main type of coping strategies for livelihood recovery namely; Intensifying use of capitals, dependency on social capital and mitigate consumption and expenditure.