Parbat, Aug. 8 -- At Karbakeli Basic School in Kyang, Modi Rural Municipality-4, learning extends beyond textbooks and classrooms.

Students venture into nearby forests to harvest niuro (fiddlehead ferns), grow seasonal and off-season vegetables in greenhouse tunnels and learn how to prepare farm produce for sale. The income generated from these activities is used to support their education and extracurricular activities.

What began as an effort to make use of locally available resources has evolved into a hands-on learning programme that combines academic education with agricultural and basic business skills.

The school uses Fridays, when students attend extra classes, as well as weekends to collect seasonal forest produce such as niur...