Abstract
This study aims to reveal the changes in waste management practices in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. I focus on spaces marked for waste disposal. In the past, human bodily waste implied a boundary between the “inside” and the “outside” in the Kathmandu Valley. These waste only to a place that is labelled as “outside”. It is the responsibility of women to keep the “inside” of the house clean and pure. The “inside” here does not simply describe a hygienic space where cleanliness practiced. This type of housekeeping is a part of the rituals of auspiciousness. After the1990s, governments and international donor agencies established many women's groups in Nepal. These women's organizations broadened Nepalese women's world and networks which had been confined to the “inside” of the house and the kinship ties. The quantities and types of waste have changed in the same period. Recently, women established a waste management organization. Women use the word “Hāmro” when they are talking about the waste management organization. “Hāmro” means “our.” The “Hāmro” space, where women desire to stay clean, does not coincide with the spaces in traditional villages and public places under government control. “Hāmro” space is more open than in traditional villages but more of a closed space for women than modern public places.
