Kumsot village is located in the northern hills of Nawalparasi District; a dry, deforested area vulnerable to landslides. The rough access track to the village winds 8km uphill from the main road and is often impassible when it rains.
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| Part of Kumsot village (Photo Jude C) |
The major crops of the area are rice, maize, potatoes and millet
but agricultural yields are low and insufficient to meet the subsistence needs
of the population.
The literacy rate in Kumsot is very low. There is only a primary school in the village and very few people have passed their School Leaving Certificate (grade 10).
The literacy rate in Kumsot is very low. There is only a primary school in the village and very few people have passed their School Leaving Certificate (grade 10).
Unlike the flat plains, where it is relatively easy to obtain
water from boreholes or wells, people living in the hills generally rely on rivers,
streams and springs. Tapping, storing and distributing water from these sources
is expensive and difficult. As a result the women and girls from many hill
communities have to walk long distances across difficult terrain to collect the
water that their families need.
About 21 years ago, a water system was constructed for Kumsot
village as part of a Finnish development project.
At that time there were 26 houses in the community, so a water system with five
taps was built.
As the population grew, the water supply became insufficient. The
system was poorly maintained because of the lack of a functional users group
and the pipe from the source was frequently damaged by landslides.
When water flow was disrupted or insufficient, the women had to
spend a lot of time (up to two hours a day in the dry season) collecting water
from other sources. Sometimes pond water was used resulting in ill health.
Personal hygiene and sanitation suffered and inequitable distribution of water
regularly caused conflict.
The reservoir tank was lower than the village school making it
necessary for pupils to collect their own water. Girls in particular had to spend a lot of time collecting water, reducing their time in lessons.
In
2010, Tearfund partner UMN began to work with the community to identify and prioritise
their greatest needs, as well as help them make plans for how to address these
needs using local resources wherever possible. The main problem identified was the lack of reliable access to
clean drinking water.
UMN
engaged an engineering consultant to survey and design the system and give technical advice. A village water users committee was formed and trained in water system construction, protection and
maintenance. The villagers, with help from local church volunteers, carried out as much of the ground preparation and construction work as possible.
To ensure local ownership, the committee was responsible
for coordinating the work and decisions such as where to site the taps were made by the whole community. 25 rupees per month is collected from each household
to fund on-going maintenance.
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| Laying the pipeline (Photo UMN) |
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| Precious, clean water in Kumsot village (photo UMN) |
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| Khini Maya (photo UMN) |
Before the water project, for much of the year Khini Maya and her friends had to walk for two hours to collect water from a spring and carry it home again.Now Khini Maya only has to carry water from the nearest tap to her house and is so grateful. Not just for the
water, but for the extra time she now has – including the time to attend adult literacy classes. She says ‘I didn't have the opportunity to go to
school when I was a child and I really didn't want to miss out again on the chance
to learn to read and write.’
This is just one of many stories about the great work that Tearfund's local partners are doing in some of the remotest and most disadvantaged regions of Nepal.
