Power to Succeed The 51 kW Ruma Khola Micro Hydro Village Electrification Project in Darbang, Myagdi was started in 2008 with the financial and technical support of UNDP’s Rural Energy Development Programme (now scaled up to Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihoods). The project provides electricity to 600 households in Ruma VDC and powers more than 50 enterprises.
Bhumiram Bishwokarma, who is from a marginalised group, is one of its beneficiaries. He has proven that anything is possible with determination and will power. With a family of 14, Bishwokarma, who originally came from Baglung Municipality, was struggling to make ends meet. He didn’t have enough money to go abroad for employment. In desperation he migrated to Darbang, Myagdi. While searching for ways to sustain his family he opened a utensils shop with the money that came from selling his ancestral properties. As his utensils business flourished, he also started Bhumiram Bishwokarma (middle) and two employees running the compacting machine to make concrete blocks.
trading in gold and silver jewellery, which was his ancestral profession, but it was still difficult to support his family. He wanted to start a more profitable business, but could not decide what he should do. After the Darbang village was electrified in 2008 he decided to set up a factory to make concrete blocks. As the demand for new buildings in the village increased, his new business flourished. His blocks soon became very popular in the village because people could use them for various construction purposes. Bishwokarma now has five labourers working for him and he earns enough to ensure his family can live comfortably. He no longer wants to go abroad in search of employment. Bishwokarma attributes the increase in his earning power to the electricity generated by the Ruma Khola Project that helped him establish the concrete block industry.
Pa r t ne r s Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) & The World Bank
I n c r ea s ing p r o d u c t i v i t y t h r o u g h en v i r o n m en t c o n s e r vat i o n It is important to preserve the environment and lay a foundation for development that does not overexploit natural resources. UNDP’s environment programme supports the beneficial use of natural resources while promoting environment conservation through community ownership. In 2012 UNDP’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) supported implementation of 38 community-led projects in Nepal. Of these, 32 projects are related to GEF focal areas – they contribute to conserving biodiversity, mitigating climate change, preventing land degradation and eliminating persistent organic pollution (POPs) and chemicals. Four projects, which are supported by Community Development and Knowledge Management for Satoyama Initiatives (COMDEKS), are aimed at conserving the landscape in west Makawanpur. The other two projects, which are for water conservation, are supported by Every Drop Matters in collaboration with the Coca Cola Company and have already been implemented in the Kathmandu valley.
Hig h lig h t s n Installation of over 1,000 ICS in Lalitpur, Makawanpur and Rautahat. n Installation of 4,000 rice-husk stoves and engagement of 204 households in organic farming in Bara; conservation of four significant wetlands in Rupandehi, Dang, Kapilvastu and Arghakhanchi. n Nearly five million litres of ground water in ponds and communal courtyards are recharged annually in Kathmandu are major achievements of 2012. n Supported the creation of a medical waste management facility and mercury-free environment at Kanti Children’s Hospital. n Supported a public interest litigation calling for an environmentally friendly healthcare waste management system with scientific inputs. On the 27 November, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of regulating the healthcare waste management in response to a lawsuit filed by Pro Public. Mr Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director of CEPHED, a SGP grantee. n UNDP’s awareness programme led to the grill entrepreneurs of Kaski, Biratnagar and Makawanpur voluntarily switching from wet welding machine, which emit harmful carcinogens, to safer dry welding machines.
UND P-NEPAL ANNUA L R E PO R T 2 0 1 2
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