Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Many small, remote communities located in the Icchyakamana Rural Municipality (IKRM) of Nepal struggle accessing water. With the rocky terrain and harsh weather during monsoon season, the government was planning on relocating these communities since achieving safe water access was so hard to achieve. Simply, there was no sufficient infrastructure or resources for clean water technology or projects in the rural, harsh terrain. But, Wine To Water Nepal’s saying is “reach the unreached,” and Wine To Water began a collaboration with the Nepali government. Through the continually progressing project, Wine To Water has established three phases of community outreach that serve 679 homes previously without a clean water source. Already, Phase I and II are complete.
By the end of phase one, 139 of those households have taps outside their homes that connect to a brand new clean water system.
One beneficiary was Tulkumari Gurung, a teacher at a school in Icchyakamana. Prior to the community water system, filling jerry cans with clean water for her students took Tulkumari around three hours every day. Each classroom was allotted one bucket of water, and Tulkumari ensured her students had water for every need including hydration, sanitation, hygiene, and cleaning. Now that the early phases of Wine To Water’s project are complete, her students have unlimited clean water through tap stands right in the school’s front yard. Talkamari says that this improved access gives her time to educate her students instead of losing time to water transportation. WTW is now working on the third and final phase of the project, which will serve 14 communities in total.
This is just one story of the immense change that is occurring in the region. Other stories include the immense changes in farming practices. With clean water, the vegetables and crops grow more healthily, with larger, more fruitful plants. This provides the community with better access to healthy foods and provides opportunities for various incomes, including selling the produce in markets. Chicken farming is also on the rise now that people spend more time investing in themselves instead of the basic human need - water.
