Bringing Life to the Mountains

Everyone who loves Nepal knows it: it is a beautiful, precious, sometimes perilous land of extremes. Its mountain slopes are especially so. They’re awe-inspiring and majestic, but impossibly steep, rugged and harsh to live on.

This inspiring true story starts there, hundreds of kilometres from Kathmandu, with a common, overwhelming problem. It ends with a solution that holds out hope for some of Nepal’s poorest communities - those that cling to the soaring sides of its lonely, arid mountains.

Lakhudanda: a tiny village with a huge problem

Water. In the isolated village of Lakhudanda access to water was their biggest challenge.

River-water was available - from a river down hills so steep they are more like cliffs.

Fit young people would struggle with the backbreaking work of carrying basic supplies to the village. Girls were sometimes needed to carry water, leaving less time for school. Elderly or infirm villagers were vulnerable.  And without water, the village was trapped in poverty, unable to irrigate land or sustain its people.

This region is so remote that few roads and services reach it. Hope for anything better seemed completely out of reach.
 
Meet Gajendra
When INF visited Lakhudanda, though, we met Gajendra.

Gajendra is one of the quiet problem-solvers we’ve found in many places over the decades: locals who love their community and have a solid plan to solve big problems - but don’t have the seed funding to unlock it.

Gajendra saw that if the rainfall over the village could be captured in a particular type of concrete tank, it could sustain them far into the future. The steep terrain had previously made that impossible, but Gajendra had an ambitious plan and he shared it with us. After careful assessment, INF Nepal agreed to try.

Neighbours were sceptical. The work was brutally hard. Sand for the water tank had to be dug from the river on the plains below, then painstakingly carried up narrow tracks on the mountainside by donkey.

Immense challenges plagued the work at every turn. In the words of the INF Nepal team, as though the intimidating slope was not enough, “colossal rocks loom all around”, making every aspect of the task harder. In the end, Gajendra says it took the fierce determination and combined grit of the villagers, the local ward office and INF Nepal to see it through.

"We overcame every obstacle to construct this tank, a standing testament to our collective perseverance."

In April 2022, their vision was finally fulfilled.

Today, the fruits of their labour nourish all 22 households. The dry hillsides are flourishing fields. Bananas, oranges, rice, and a tapestry of crops thrive.

"This season we have cultivated wheat, barley, potatoes, onions, and an array of grains and vegetables.”

They have planted 600 apple trees, and are seeking funding for pipes to transport the water to other villages nearby.

“Our hearts are filled with relief, and a renewed sense of hope resonates within our community."

"No longer do we endure the anguish of poverty. The water tank has kindled a flame within us, driving us to seek prosperity and embrace a brighter future.
"To all who lent a helping hand and eased our suffering, we offer our deepest thanks. Your kindness has touched our souls and forever transformed our lives," he says.

Again and again we see that long-term solutions to daunting problems are achievable, and the seed funding needed is small compared to the huge benefits to the community.