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Success Stories
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Project Success Story, ADRA Nepal
Posted on: March 27, 2009
Project: Population Health and Environment (PHE)
Project Duration: October 2006 to September 2008 (2 years)
Implementing Districts: Dhading and Bardiya
Implementing Partners: Resource Identification & Management Society (Dhading) World Wildlife Fund (Bardiya)
Coordinating Partner: ADRA Nepal
Funded by: USAID (USD 80,000)
"It saves me time because I don't have to collect 20-30kg of firewood from our forest every two days," states Padam Bahadur Thapa, a forty-four year old father of six from a village in the Khata Corridor in Bardiya (mid-west Nepal). He is one of more than 4000 people directly benefiting from the Population, Health and Environment (PHE) project, implemented through ADRA Nepal and its local NGO partners in remote villages of Nepal's Bardiya and Dhading districts. Padam, and many others like him, no longer have to collect firewood for cooking as they are utilising resources provided through the PHE project to install biogas units at their homes. A biogas unit comprises of an outdoor toilet and an underground treatment unit that produces gas for cooking and slurry to fertilise crops. Installing and using such innovative technology in rural, poverty affected areas of Nepal means individuals and communities are able to sustainably manage their natural resources and simultaneously improve health and sanitation.
Nandakala Rokaya a 25 year old mother of two, and one of Padam's neighbours, also benefits from a biogas unit at her home, "I save time as I don't have to go searching for wood in the forest, my kitchen utensils are cleaner and easier to wash, and the slurry is very useful for my garden." She proudly explains. While biogas technology is helping improve peoples' quality of life it is just one aspect of the project that aims for long term sustainable development. In order to achieve holistic results the project combines interventions that link natural resource management with conservation, family planning, health, and education, making this project unique and beneficial to men, women and children alike.
Bhojali Choudary, a widow in her early 30s, is grateful to be involved in the project. She has been trained to make Improved Cooking Stoves which not only gives her a small income but improves the health of the people in her community that she installs them for. By using an Improved Cooking Stove the smoke produced from burning firewood is channeled out of the house rather than accumulating inside the kitchen, which has previously led to the high incidence of Acute Respiratory Infection found in rural communities throughout Nepal. "I charge people 100 rupees (approx 2 Australian dollars) to install an Improved Cooking Stove in their house, the money I make helps support me since my husband died and helps me pay for my three children to go to school," Bhojali says. She also explains that since using an Improved Cooking Stove she is healthier, no longer has headaches, eye problems or infections, she uses less firewood and it makes it easier to wash her dishes and clothes.
ADRA Nepal's PHE project, funded by USAID, is the first of its kind in Nepal. More than one year into the project we have already seen improvements in the quality of life for many poverty affected people in rural Nepal. By the end of the two year project in September, 2008 we should see improved health for people living in forest corridors and ecosystems; reduced numbers of children and adults with Acute Respiratory Infection; more households adopting clean energy; decreases in the amount of firewood being used from protected forest areas; increased awareness and usage of family planning methods; and a long term vision by communities to protect their environment. Through this project ADRA Nepal and its dedicated implementing partners, Resource Identification & Management Society (RIMS) World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are able to provide opportunities for some of the world's poorest people to live healthier and more enriched lives.
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