I'm taking part in the Kindrochit quadrathlon (1.5km swim, 24km hill run, 15km kayak and 54km cycle ... ouch!) on Saturday 12th of June to raise money for two development projects in Nepal run by Mercy Corps.

The Cardamom project will work with 500 smallholder cardamom farmers and their communities to increase their income by:
• Improving the terms of trade and profits for the cardamom farmers; and 
• improving the farmers' ability to compete in the global cardamom market by providing skills and technology.

In my view this project is an effective alternative to the provision of direct aid and it will help the farmers to create sustainable incomes for their communities rather than creating ongoing dependence on external handouts.

The second project targets disaster risk reduction in the Kalali district and will work closely with vulnerable communities and local government to increase their awareness of and ability to prepare for and respond to frequent natural disasters. Mercy Corps has already secured a grant of £172,000 from the European Commission towards this project. However, a further £30,375 is needed to release the full EC grant and money raised by the quadrathlon will fund this.

I hope you agree that these project are pragmatic and effective in their approach to maximising the impact of your donations on the people whom they target and I am sure that they will help to make a difference in Nepal.

Many thanks in advance for your generosity and wish me luck in the quadrathlon!

Euan