This project supports the dissertation research of a cultural anthropologist studying the impact of deforestation on nutrition and health of households in Nepal. The project will measure the health and nutritional status of reproductively active women, pre-adolescent girls, preschool children and infants in a controlled comparison of two groups: one living in a heavily forested, and one in a deforested area. Methodologies include women's health interviews, anthropometric measurements, food frequency and forest food checklists, observations of women's forest gathering, and key informant interviews. The main contributions include assessing the dietary importance of forest products and looking at cultural pattern of intrafamilial household food distribution. This research is important because it will produce knowledge of the dietary importance of wild forest foods that will complement our knowledge of cultivated food use. This information will be useful to planners of reforestation projects as well as economic development planners.
