Nepal Irrigation Initiative

The Nepal Irrigation Initiative joined ICO in late 2011, but its history dates back to 1997 when Nepal Initiative team members, Jen and Brad, visited Nepal for the first time.  Jen went back for more hiking the following year, hiring Nabin as a porter.  Their families formed a lasting friendship. The initiative is made up of a group of friends and family with a common goal - providing assistance to a village in Nepal. The original plan was to help one man and his family in the hopes that together we could then help others. Since August 2008 when ‘the team’ provided Nabin with the loan to purchase farmland and a home, much has been accomplished.

Between Sept and Dec 2008, Nabin worked tirelessly consulting his fellow villagers to hear what type of project would help them most. Following weeks of meetings and discussions, villagers with religious differences, of varying castes and socioeconomic statuses, narrowed their focus to two projects – improved education for their children and irrigation for the farmers of Lahachwok. The villagers determined that irrigation for their farmland made the most sense. With close to 80% of all Nepalese being subsistence farmers, the more robust the harvest, the more prosperous the crops, the more prosperous the farmers, the more opportunities available to the children, including improved education, nutrition, and health – a chance at a better future.  Now in its second phase, four work teams have traveled to Nepal since 2008.

The project has been building durable water canals to provide irrigation to land surrounding the 755 households. This will help approximately 4565 villagers and is contributing to dramatically increasing crop yields. The previous canal made of mud and grass is being replaced by a meter wide and half a meter high canal made of cement and reinforced rebar. This greatly improves the prevention of water losses and saves farmers from the work associated with the continuous need to redig and reinforce mud walls from caving inwards and being washed away by mudslides during monsoon season.

Before and After: