Two commonly cited facts about Nepal stand in uncomfortable tension. On the one hand, Nepal's thousands of rivers cascading down thousands of meters of Himalayan slopes have the potential to generate phenomenal amounts of clean, cheap, renewable hydroelectric power that could, in turn, fuel a vibrant, sustainable industrial and consumer economy, making Nepal the envy of its neighbors far and wide. But, on the other hand, today Nepal's main export in the global economy is human labor: mainly cheap, unskilled, and easily exploitable. Unable to find jobs at home, millions of Nepalis—10 percent or more of the country's population—work in low-wage occupations mainly in India, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf States. As one Nepali expert asked, “Why is there a lack of employment? Because there is lack of industrialization. And why don't we have industrialization? Because we lack necessary power for the purpose” (Shrestha 2011). As such, to say that Nepal is blessed with hydropower resources is something like a cruel joke: instead of exporting power and industrial goods, Nepal exports young men and women.

As any Nepali knows, this situation is hardly new. Nepal's hills and mountains have historically stood as food-deficit, population-surplus zones providing labor to surrounding lowland areas, just like many other poor mountainous regions around the world. Part of Nepal's national identity revolves around its history of foreign-bound lahure mercenary labor (made famous by the British as “Gurkha” troops) and the figure of the brave, bir-bahadur Nepali hill man (Onta 1996).

A century ago, Norway was in a similar position. A cold, mountainous region with a short growing season, little arable land, and few (known) natural resources, Norway was among the poorest countries in Western Europe. But one resource that it did have was snow-fed mountain rivers. By the early twentieth century, tapping those rivers for hydroelectric power was a national priority. Norway began its gradual rise in hydropower production, industrialization, and standard of living. Today, 95 percent of Norway's electricity comes from hydroelectric generation, Norwegians heat their homes mainly with electricity, and have the highest per capita rate of electric vehicle use in the world, while Norwegian companies are global leaders in electromechanical equipment for hydropower generation.