| Runche Finally on Smiling Note |
 Back |
|
|
|
|
Runchedanda is a settlement of 42 households in Handikhola VDC of Makwanpur district. Situated across Rapti river at some 2 km distance from the Narayanghat-Hetauda section of the East West highway (Rajaiya), the place is reached by crossing temporary wooden bridge in Rapti river. The temporary bridge is an annual gift for the first flood in Rapti during almost three and half months of the monsoon season (June to September). The place is virtually unreachable in monsoon period except for a 4 hour walk to cross the nearest bridge at Rapti in Bastipur. The road as entrance for the local inhabitants to the civilized world is so near and yet so far away during this monsoon period.
|
|
Runche in Nepali means a perennial state of moan and cry owing to deprivation of some sort. An old man from the locality explains the nomenclature recalling the information passed through several generations – a ghost would walk during the night in the periphery of the settlement producing a melancholic sound of a crying baby. The nomenclature, however it might have been coined, perfectly described the socio-economic state of the local inhabitants – always succumbing to the perpetual deprivation in terms of food and income insecurity, indebtedness and seclusion.
|
|
Runchedanda had always been waiting for a turn around in its fortune – from poverty to at least a modest affluence, from seclusion to reasonable access, and above all, from gloom to smile.
|
|
The first hope of some degree came in the form of program intervention from a national NGO – SAPPROS Nepal. With it's headquarter at Kathmandu, SAPPROS had received a three year grant support from DANNIDA to implement the Makwanpur Tribal Development Program in 1997. The grant sum was a mere drop of water in the ocean considering the huge backlog of the historical deprivation of the large tribal population in the district. A Buddha Saving and Credit institution was established by the local people under the SAPPROS support. Few support activities such as vegetable farming had started. But SAPPROS had to abandon the support as DANIDA's support was terminated.
|
|
One of the major limitations, particularly of bilateral donor support structure, was the lack of continuity. It was reckoned that a sustained lifting out of household poverty of communities positioned at the state of Runchedanda would take at least 8-9 years, a normal three program cycles of a donor. Even the more benevolent donor like DANNIDA was found to leave the communities in a state of longing. Learning from this reality, a different institutional model has evolved for a continually supporting national institutional structure such as Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF).
|
|
Because of the high level of poverty and equally high level of ethnic population, Makwanpur district was selected for support. Runchedanda was selected to restart from where SAPPROS had left. Once deserted local people had some smile back but more suspicion that they could be deserted again. But since the chaiman of implementing partner selected by PAF happened to be the same person who had worked earlier for SAPPROS, he explained the local people about the difference between the bilateral donor support and the support from PAF in terms of continuity. This continuity of support was what the local people were looking for. They were assured and enthused. Besides other petty support, major priority of the local residents was irrigation which was requested for PAF support.
|
|
The intervention starts from the search of persons within the community with mission and devotion. Sometimes, it needs nurturing the persons with the right aptitude using the powerful instrument of social mobilization. This search, in the case of Runchedanda, was rather easy. Mr. Pasang Rumba, a village patriot who could have easily gone for a remittance job to improve the lot of his family chose instead to remain in the village and work for the improvement of the whole village. He vowed publicly that he will not leave the village until the irrigation water reached the village. This makes the job of the supporting institution easy and interesting.
|
|
The irrigation work began. The nearest water source which could be brought to the village using gravity model was Baghkhola at a distance from the village of about 2 km. The water in the source was very small and hence the irrigation technology had to be the water saving one. They chose storage model where water could be collected overnight from the small source and used efficiently with the help of sprinklers. Further, the water conveyance route root was unstable and porus which meant that even if there were no slides, the meagre water would be fully seeped before reaching the village if normal gravity channel was used. Hence, piped conveyance with the help of HDI pipes was chosen to save the precious water. Local people's effort, knowledge and some equity contribution; PAF's financial resource; other complementing resources from local institutions, and MDI's technical support as PAF's implementing partner conjoined to produce the perfect irrigation system that could propel village development. Four water storage tanks were constructed each with water holding capacity ranging from 40,000 to 70,000 litres. Water distribution pipes were laid to reach every household's plots. The scheme was completed in December 2006. The day the water reached the village was the day of festivity which could not be described in words.
|
|
The scheme, when completed, cost Rs.1,041,820 comprising Rs.759,680 as PAF support, Rs.26,140 as local people's cash outlay, Rs.190,000 as the cash equivalent of local people's labor contribution, Rs.30,000 as contribution from local community forestry group, and Rs.36,000 as contribution from Parsa Wildlife office. The system commanded a total of 13.1 hectare giving a per hectare system cost of Rs.70,720.
|
|
 |
| For a fully piped system, this must be considered highly cost efficient because even the much simpler government gravity systems cost over Rs.100,000 per hectare. The water was given to 11 other households who had not become the original member of the community institution. They are now ready to join the institution paying all accumulated savings contributions. Each household is irrigating on an average 0.26 hectare and growing vegetables. With water, the vegetable yields have doubled – says one of the beneficiary. |
|
Before irrigation, they grew two crops of corn (summer and winter) and left the land fallow for the remaining period. Now there are vegetable crops everywhere throughout the year with some corn here and there. Using local records, the average net return per household was calculated at Rs.29,947 which is 1.69 times higher that the benchmark earning figure of Rs.10,022. This is the first year comparison. They expect that the earning efficiency will further improve over the years.
|
|
 |
|
Harping on this increasing efficiency, their good bye message was – "Thanks PAF and MDI, we might need your support for another 3 years and then you can trust we will be on our own".
|
|
| Back |
