The esteemed cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, reflecting on her schooling in 1920’s America wrote, “My Grandmother wanted me to have an education, so she kept me out of school.” A century later, grandmothers in the developing world have quite a different reason for keeping their children out of school; work. When the choice is between reading books or reaping rice, hunger wins every time. In Nepal, the second poorest country in Asia, 70% of the workforce is engaged in the agricultural sector....
