A study was undertaken of a locally initiated community forestry action in an isolated and traditional village community in central Nepal in 1987. The initiative to protect the degraded common grazing land began at a village meeting in 1979 which recognized that the forest was a vital common resource. Since then, human and livestock access have been banned and those who have violated the simple rules have been fined. The women have played a key role by stall feeding animals and growing more fodder and fuelwood trees on their own land as an alternative to collecting fodder and fuelwood from the forest. How the forest resource was to be equally shared had not yet been worked out by the time of the study, as harvesting had not begun. The trees planted were sal (Shorea robusta) for cultural use as well as for fodder and chilaune (Schima wallichii), a fast-growing species for timber, fodder and fuelwood. The trees were 9 yr old at the time of the study. The nature of local community action and the implications for planned community forestry projects are discussed.