Despite significant challenges due to COVID-19 related restrictions and monsoon-induced disasters that delayed in feasibility and assessment studies exacerbated by setbacks in project site identification and partnership decision by the Raksirang Rural Municipality, CEMSOJ, in partnership with HimRights, was able to assist the local Runchebang Parsibang Peltric Set Construction User Committee to set up and operationalize a 4 kW pico-hydropower plant to bring stable electricity to around 40 families in the village for the first time.
Thanks to the Pawanka Fund for financial assistance for the Community-based Renewable Energy Project (CbREP) initiative pilot as well as the Raksirang Rural Municipality Official राक्सिराङ गाउँपालिका for partial assistance for the pico hydropower plant. Sincere appreciation to the Chepang locals who provided labor and bore some costs for the pico-hydro plant as well as to the consultant and sub-contractor who provided technical assistance and equipment for the power plant.
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Chepang settlement joyful as electricity reaches their village
Posted on by CEmSoJ
Hetauda: For the first time, electricity has reached Runchebung Parsibang, a remote village of Raksirang Rural Municipality, Ward no. 9 in Makwanpur district of central Nepal. The extremely marginalized indigenous Chepangs of the village used to burn pine lamps for light in their houses as they did not have electricity although it was only at a distance of about 35 kilometers from the East-West Highway.
With the inauguration of a peltric set-based pico-hydropower plant to provide electricity to the village on Sunday, the Chepang community has got rid of darkness. The plant was set up with the financial assistance from Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ) and Raksirang Rural Municipality as well as labor contribution of the locals, who were overjoyed as the 4kW plant came into operation.
The Chepang community seemed delighted at the inauguration of the plant as they no longer have to use pine lamps for light. Bishnumaya Chepang, who came to the inauguration with her 6-month-old baby in her arms, looked happy to have lights up at her house in the evening. It was difficult for her to carry out daily housework in the absence of electricity so far.
“I had to get up early while it was dark to take care of the housework before heading off to the fields, but it was very difficult due to the unavailability of electricity. In the evening, on the way back I had to look for pine needles (woods) for lamps but now we will also have electric lights at our house”, she said with clear joy in her eyes.
Rammaya Chepang, who was standing next to her, also had a different glow on her face. She used to rush to return home from the fields so that it does not get dark to cook dinner. But, now with the operation of the Peltric set in the village, she was overjoyed to get electricity in her house. “I don’t have to hurry to get back before dark now,” she said. “Now all the work can be done slowly, and we don’t need to rush to have dinner before it gets dark.” She even thanked the rural municipality for bringing electricity to the village.
The children, who came to the inauguration in their school uniform at the lunch break from school, were also very happy to get electricity in their homes. Since the school is far from home, it takes the entire day for them to get to the school and return. After reaching home in the evening, they are not able to study as they have to do housework. They could not study at night due to lack of electricity.
‘Now I can read all night as long as I like’, said Anjana Chepang. She also expressed joy that she would not have to rush back home from school for cooking before getting dark. She also said that they no longer had to be deprived of education due to lack of electricity.
Although some families in the village had solar panels for lights in their homes, most of the Chepang community are below poverty line and have been living in darkness deprived of electricity for years. The Chepangs, who rely on wild roots to feed themselves during famine and starvation, had to go to forest for pine needles for light.
According to Raj Kumar Malla, Chairperson of Raksirang Rural Municipality, the national grid has not yet most of the rural municipality yet. Although electricity is being generated from similar peltric sets in some places of the rural municipality, many Chepang communities are still compelled to live in darkness.
Chairperson Malla informed that around 20 peltric sets are being operated across the rural municipality that have brought electricity to the households of some wards, families of various wards are still deprived of any source of electricity. ‘The Chepang community here had a lot of difficulty due to lack of electricity. So, we have brought the peltric set into operation now for the use of some of the households,’ he said. He also added that the Chepang community of the village has been lagging due to lack of electricity.
CEMSOJ provided around NPR 1.3 million and the Rural Municipality contributed NPR 600,000 out of the total cost of NPR around 2.3 million for the Peltric set. The remaining NPR 400,000 was for the labor contribution of the locals. The construction of the plant started in December 2021 and was completed in four months as informed by Prabindra Shakya, Director of CEMSOJ while the entire project took around 16 months (due to delays in assessments and studies due to COVID-19 and partnership decision by the Rural Municipality).
Translated and adapted from the original reporting of Shreejana Nepal for Thaha Khabar at the link. All pictures also sourced from Thaha Khabar
Original report in Nepali at गाउँमा बिजुली पुगेपछि मुस्कुराएको चेपाङ बस्ती (तस्वीरसहित)
All pictures also sourced from Thaha Khabar
