If you’ve been following our work over the last few months, you’ll know that we have been busy with our NGO partners EcoHimal Nepal trying to end indoor air pollution for 131 families in Sankhuwashabha (eastern Nepal).
Earlier this month we gave you a quick tour of the factory in Kathmandu where 131 tailor made smoke free cook stoves have been put together ready for transportation to the mountains.
However, this project is not light touch! EcoHimal do not wish to just build stoves and transport them up to two villages and hope that the families there will install and use them correctly. Far from it; we ensure that the stoves are just one part of a project that is wrapped up in education and training on health, climate, women’s empowerment and ecology.
This training effort starts before the stoves arrive. This photo essay features Anisha Kharel and Narayan Dhakhal from EcoHimal and their recent visit to Rukuma and Chepuwa villages in Sankhuwashabha.
First up, here’s Anisha (on the right)! She’s with one of the many children who start their lives in these high mountain environments. It is vulnerable children like this who really help us focus on why our work and this project in particular are important. Climate change is IN NO WAY THEIR FAULT and yet it will impact on their lives significantly.
Here Anisha is welcomed by the community; traditional greetings vary across Nepal, but there is always a welcome.
This is Chepuwa village, it is in the north-eastern corner of Sankhuwashabha, very close to the Tibet border. Thanks to this project, we will end indoor air pollution for every single household in this village!
This is Rukuma village, next door to Chepuwa; we will end indoor air pollution for every single home in this village too!
Training’s like these often happen outdoors, there’s more space, more light and, simply, its nice to be outside! Men and women gathered to listen to Anisha who is telling them about the adverse health and environmental impacts of traditional open hearth stoves - and why the stoves that will soon be arriving will improve things dramatically. Anisha is describing how deadly indoor air pollution can be. Thankfully the thick smoke they are so used to will come to an end when the new stoves are installed, but Anisha is stressing the danger Carbon Monoxide (CO) still poses if the new stoves aren’t correctly installed and maintained.
The training is not a one-way information transfer exercise; there is plenty of conversation; questions and opinions are answered and discussed.
Anisha and Narayan’s visit focused on ending indoor air pollution and the health and social benefits of doing this. They visited to help prepare families for the stoves that will soon be making their way to Chepuwa and Rukuma. This photo helps us imagine the ecological benefit the stoves will have too. Deforestation will decrease, more trees and forests (and therefore habitats) will be spared the axe as, thanks to the efficiency of the new stoves, the amount of wood needed to cook and heat homes decreases.
Narayan Dhakhal (in the white scarf) poses for a photo with the men and women whose lives will be changed by this project. For the women especially the benefits will be significant; the amount of smoke inhaled while cooking will reduce to almost zero. They will also have more time on their hands as the amount of wood fuel needed reduces; this is time they can put to another use, studying, leisure, farming, crafting, family time… whatever they choose.
Soon the new stoves will be making their way up to Sankhuwashabha and the training effort will continue. EcoHimal have employed a project officer to work with the community to train them on correct installation and use of the stoves.
Health and safety is a vital concern, the stoves have chimneys that need to put in properly and then looked after. Families also need to be aware of the dangers of Carbon Monoxide and how to prevent it from building up. We will do a follow up story specifically on this soon.
All this work has been made possible thanks to a grant from IFAD to EcoHimal that was matched by those of you who donated to our Crowdfunder campaign in November 2019.
To enable us to do more work on climate change adaptation in Nepal, please consider signing up to donate £3 / month via text.
