Kathmandu, April 7 -- Like many Nepalis, Surendra Dhami left his home village in Darchula for Malaysia in the hope of improving his family's quality of life.

He returned in a few months because the work and pay were not what he had been promised by the recruiter. But there were no jobs in Darchula, and farming in the rugged arid mountains would not feed his family.

So, like many other mountain farmers Dhami, 36, migrated with his family down to the Tarai to settle in the village of Gharkheda in Kailali's Chure Rural Municipality.

It was a good move. He sold 10,000kg of oranges last year, and Surendra and his wife Bhaka have diversified into vegetables.

"So far, we can make a living with our farming. At least, it is better than in Da...