May 7, 2018
The Kalika Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) project is one of the biggest projects of Unica Foundation in collaboration with NRCS Kaski. The main aim of the project is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable communities, by providing safe drinking water, improving sanitation and promoting economic empowerment through the mobilization of natural resources and the capacity development of the local population.
Kalika is situated in an upland region of the Pokhara valley where availability of good quality drinking water has been a major concern for decades. There is no water source above the settlement, so the only option is to bring water uphill by the pump. To do this, water has to be lifted 520 meters uphill (in two stages of 260 meters each), using pumps operated by solar power. Around 1.700 people from 324 households will benefit from the project.
Unica Foundation and NRCS had awarded the contract to take responsibility for solar installations to Suryodaya Urja Pvt. Ltd. (SU), the authorized agent of solar-based Grundfos pumps in Nepal. SU started with the installation from the beginning of this year. The Grundfos pumps are already on site and the solar panels are also installed. Testing the system will begin soon.
The construction part of the projects, such as the reservoir tank and the distribution chamber, digging of the pipeline and installation of the tap, is in progress. In addition, software activities are on the parallel lines, such as training for income generation and spreading awareness about hygiene issues.
