Stories from the beneficiaries of the RVWRMP: Miutub Lama is enjoying a safer and healthier life in one of the remotest villages in Nepal

The Rural Village Water Resources Management Project (RVWRMP) in the Far-West of Nepal is phasing out after 16 years of its implementation. Miutub Lama is one of the beneficiaries of the project. Miutub shares how he earlier could only see plenty of streams and rivers around his house without being able to utilize the resources – with the irrigation and water supply provided by the project – his family can finally feel the benefits.

Miutub Lama, 45, the treasurer of the Irrigation system of Jang village lives with his wife Sonam Samjiu close to Jang village in Limi valley, Humla, the remotest northwest corner of Nepal. The village, located at around 4000m altitude at the bottom of the valley along the head waters of the Karnali river, faces the holy Manserowar lakes in Tibet on the other side of the mountain range. Despite being located in Nepal, the local culture follows the ancient Tibetan ways of living, and the local Lama language is one of the many dialects of the Tibetan language. It takes full 3 days to walk to the municipality headquarters, crossing passes close to 5000m altitude.


Miutub runs a small guest house outside the main village. The building is constructed in Tibetan style, and mainly of local materials.

Miutub has recently moved a few hours walk to the north outside the village. His intention is to herd yaks as well as to start a small guesthouse along one of the popular trails. He also has a patch of land nearby the village that provides the family with seasonal barley. The aim is to provide lodging to local travellers as well as Indian tourists who want to see a glimpse of the holy lakes from the Nepal side; this is a growing business, while the Chinese border remains closed due to their COVID-19 policy. However, the inhospitable winter months of the region, which include freezing temperatures as well as closed trails for 3 months a year, force him and his wife to flee to the Nepali capital of Kathmandu for more pleasant living conditions. Only a few neighbours stay over the winter to take care of everybody’s yaks, largely disconnected from the rest of the world.

During 2017-2020, the Rural Village Water Resources Management Project (the RVWRMP), a cooperation project between the Government of Nepal, the Government of Finland and the European Union, has supported water supply, irrigation, and polyhouse farming, along with extensive capacity building activities related to water use, operation and maintenance, as well as livelihoods for the 39 households of Jang village.

Through the project, Miutub’s family, along with the other villagers, have now learnt to grow potato, radish, tomato, and green vegetables in their new polyhouses. The irrigation system has increased the irrigated land area as well as the harvest of barley by 60%, from 500 to 800 kilos per season. Barley is a grain that is resilient to the harsh local conditions and sandy soil that allow only a single harvest a year. It is the foundation of the local diet, included in dishes like tsumba porridge, momos, roti bread, and barley wines. These changes enabled by irrigation, as well as polyhouse farming methods, have significantly improved the family's daily diet and food security. They have also reduced the need to buy food from Tibet.


The Project has supported construction of an irrigation canal that distributes water to patches of barley fields in the arid surroundings of Jang village, Limi valley.

Miutub tells that he has greatly benefitted from organised water supply to each bloc of houses the village, not to mention the improved cooking stoves and polyhouse farming.

"We see lots of water around in the river and streams. Before, however, we could not benefit of the area’s water resources. With the irrigation and water supply provided by the project, we now finally get the benefits". 

There is also a pico-hydropower generator connected to the irrigation system, providing basic electricity to the Jang village. This enables lighting, radio, use of seed grinders, and charging of mobile phones, though the mobile network is still non-existent in the area. However, the system cannot operate during the winter as the canals freeze. This makes the work of the few isolated local winter residents even more heroic.

The water supply has made a significant impact on the Lama family's life, ending the need to carry water from the river 30 minutes away, or queue hours for the gallon of water per family that was available from the traditional spring source. The new system provides safe water that does not cause diarrhea or other health problems. In the cold season, the taps can now be kept open all the time to ensure the flow of water, whereas before they had to break ice on the river banks to get fresh water.

The changes in the water use and farming have caused a transformational change in the local customary ways of living, as well as improved the quality of life in Miutub's family. Similar impacts are visible in all local families' lives, making the daily life in the remote high-altitude village safer and healthier than ever before.


Miutub Lama with her wife Sonam enjoying the heat of the improved cooking stove, provided with the support of the RVWRMP.

 

The RVWRMP is a bilateral project between the Government of Nepal, the European Union, and the Government of Finland - a continuation of the three-decade long non-stop water sector collaboration between Nepal, and Finland. The project works in rural water resources management and livelihoods development sectors, aligned with the government. The project has been carried out in the villages of Sudurpaschim and Karnali Provinces of Nepal since 2006. The current project Phase III started in March 2016 and will end in 2022.

The RVWRMP has supported water supply, irrigation, polyhouse farming, and improved cooking stoves along with several water use and livelihoods related capacity building activities for the 96 families living in Halzi village (2017-20). 

Text and photos: Juho Haapala