August 9, 2019
The Solar lifting Water Supply and Sanitation project (WASH) Kalika has officially been completed. It was the biggest project in terms of budget donated by the Unica Foundation so far. It has been handed over to the community on the 25th of July 2019. One day later, the inauguration ceremony for the Hamsapur WASH project also took place in Haspokhari, Hamsapur.
Kalika WASH project
The Kalika WASH project started in August 2016 in the Kaski district. The aim of the project was to provide safe drinking water, promote hygiene and sanitation. There was also a training for income generation for 324 local households. The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) Kaski has been an important partner for the Unica Foundation during the realization of the project. Two and a half years of hard work from NRCS Kaski, Pokhara Metropolitan city and the Kalika community has made this project into a success.
A grand ceremony was organized by the water user committee of Kalika WASH for the opening. Among the attendees was the mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan city, who originally came from Kalika village, The project was inaugurated by Mr. Man Bahadur GC by cutting a ribbon and opening the tap with water. A large number of local communities participated in the ceremony. It were mostly the elderly that came to share their happiness of getting water in their courtyard. A group of women shared their happiness by singing a song about the difficulty they had with water usage before the project compared to their current situation. They also showed their gratitude towards the Unica Foundation and the NRCS Kaski, for completing their dream project. The village performers also played Panche Baaja to celebrate the inauguration of the project. Panche Baaja is a set of five traditional Nepali musical instruments that are played during holy ceremonies, such as marriages.
A guest member of the local government, representatives from the political parties, NRCS Kaski, Unica Foundation and the social worker gave a speech focused on the longevity of the project. The committee concluded that order to protect the longevity of the water source it is necessary to collect a regular tariffs. This will ensure regular repairs and maintenance when needed. That way, the system can continuously provide for income generation activities, for financial security as well as allowing continued hygiene and sanitation practices at the household level.
The WASH community of Kalika ended the ceremony by giving an organic cucumber as a token of appreciation to the all the guests. Those cucumbers were grown in the kitchen garden, and were the result of the kitchen gardening training villagers had gotten. The training taught the villagers on multiple uses of water and especially on how to irrigate water to their backyard.
Hamsapur WASH project
The chief of the Rupa Rural Municipality, Mr. Nabaraj Ojha, cut the ribbon for the inauguration of the water source that has been built near the school premises. The representative of the local government, political parties, the Unica Foundation, the NRCS Kaski, and quite a number of people from the local community shared their happiness on the inauguration day.
The guest representatives gave a short speech about the success of the project and the challenges they faced during the project process. A woman shared a story about the difficulty she had faced before the water source and how happy she is that those struggles are over now, thanks to the project. She also promised the Red Cross and the Unica Foundation that her community would take care of the project in order to sustain in for the long run. She also read a poem to express her feelings.
The Hamsapur WASH project started on December 11, 2017 and was implemented by NRCS Kaski and was completed a month earlier than estimated. The community and local government had worked hard to support the NRCS Kaski and achieve the project goal. The Hamsapur project now serves 88 households with individual tap stands. The Hamsapur community offered a small jar of honey from their own bee production as a token of appreciation for the guest of the inaugural ceremony.
Solar based pump systemn
In both Kalika and Hamsapur, the Unica Foundation introduced a solar based pump system to lift the water from the foothill to uphill. There hadn’t been a water source available in the upper part of the village. The solar based pump system technology is not widespread in Nepal. However, the system is very applicable for terrain such as the Nepalese. Moreover, it promotes the usage of clear and renewable energy. The Unica Foundation used a pump system from Grundfos, Suryodaya Urja Pvt. Ltd. , that is why the fitting of the pump was done by a local agent of Grundfos. The pump system is equipped with remote monitoring system and the lightning surge protection.
