Water

Interview: Narendra K.C.
No Community Too Remote for Nepal's Water-minded SAPPROS
June 2005

By Melissa Alipalo
Communications Specialist, ADB

Narendra Bahadur Khatri Chhetri has been the director of SAPPROS NEPAL since its beginning in 1991. Before joining the non-government organization, he spent more than 3 decades at the Agricultural Development Bank, mostly in project planning. SAPPROS Nepal Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal (SAPPROS Nepal) exists to develop self-reliant, grassroots institutions that empower poor, rural households to self-govern and manage community issues. Part of its program strategy involves developing infrastructure, particularly drinking water and irrigation systems, in Nepal's most remote and socially disadvantaged communities. It also strongly advocates micro-irrigation as a significant strategy for poverty alleviation in Nepal. The midwestern and far western regions of Nepal are prime development frontier and where SAPPROS concentrates its programs and projects. In these regions, SAPPROS has initiated 231 community-based drinking water supply systems, the majority of which are hybrid systems to meet drinking and irrigation needs. "In the rural areas, irrigation is required for impact. If there is to be any felt at all, it will come through an irrigation component," Narendra K.C. said. SAPPROS Nepal estimates that only 20-30 percent of irrigations systems in rural Nepal are capable of providing year-round irrigation. Most farmers rely excessively on rain-fed agriculture and limited rain catchment systems.

What are the principal water and sanitation problems in Nepal, particularly where SAPPROS works?

We have discovered throughout our work that poverty lays deeper than the small farms that everybody thinks of as the poorest. In rural areas, a segment of the poorest migrate every three months, constantly in search of food. They will work as laborers on land or go to the district government office in search of jobs. If they work that day, they eat. Some of our people cannot even find food to put in their mouths. Irrigation is the best and most important input. That is what helps the poor.

The country is rich in water resources but its planned and effective implementation has not been carried out. This is primarily due to the lack of awareness among water users to demand such things as proper sanitation. For example, the prevalence of certain traditional practices for sanitation needs to be addressed, especially for women because their health suffers the most, even where there are abundant water supplies.

How do you help improve the situation?

SAPPROS goes where government has not yet been able to go. Some of these areas in the far Western development region require us to walk several days from where the road stops in order to reach communities.

Lack of improved sanitation seems to be the major constraint in these remote areas. But is this a wonder, when even the people in the capital city of Kathmandu fail to adopt safe sanitation practices? But provision of training for proper sanitation can improve this situation. So, too, will raising awareness among women, as they are the key actors in the betterment of society. Training local social mobilizers, especially women, seems to be the only effective means of raising awareness in targeted communities.

How is SAPPROS' work affected by the current conflict and political challenges in Nepal?

We have a lot of experience implementing micro-projects in the far western rural areas, which are prone to conflict. We have been working in those conflict areas for 9 years.

Conflict will always be present. Water conflict. Resource conflict. Now, government conflict. We must learn from the outside world how to address these conflicts.

In 1972, I was in the Philippines with a USAID training program when then President Marcos declared martial law. I had 10 days to leave the country, but I didn't escape without experiencing the problem there firsthand. I was in a market buying shoes when a bomb exploded. At that time, I saw the situation, and I thought of Nepal, how it was so peaceful then. Now, it is here-the conflict, the violence.

Years before the Maoist revolution officially started here (in 1994), we had an idea that it was coming. People were getting poorer and poorer, and were being bypassed by services or aid. Government programs weren't effective.

We have to get to communities first, mobilize them into participating in projects that will provide them work and food. By integrating them into a project, they are being mobilized. If the community is strong, conflict resolution is achievable.

With an effective program, too, the Maoists there may melt into the community. They may leave the movement. Who wants that life anyways-in the jungles? They are human beings. They too want opportunity.

How does SAPPROS prioritise projects?

SAPPROS is rendering its best available services in Bajhang, Bajura, and Mugu districts in the far Western and Mid-western development regions. Their basic needs may differ due to the varying-but all extreme-forms of poverty. Sometimes, they choose to sacrifice sanitation facilities in search of other basic needs.

The main objective of SAPPROS is to eradicate poverty. To properly prioritise projects, SAPPROS conducts household surveys to identify and measure the following:

• Number of the poor, disadvantaged, ethnic groups and "Dalits" (the lowest caste)
• Potential time savings in collecting water
• Eagerness to contribute to the total cost of the project
• Willingness of community to form an organization
• Communities with poor household and environmental sanitation facilities
• Quality of water
• Eagerness to provide information
• Eagerness of female participation in the project

If they don't want our program, we leave that area. We do not impose. We facilitate. They must own it. They must master it. This way, they are empowered. And when they are empowered, they are effective and sustainable.

What are some of the challenges of your work in Nepal?

Awareness levels in targeted communities are dismal. Drinking water supply (DWS) projects selected for implementation need to first of all educate communities on the need for even the project, which requires substantial time. Better-off members of the community usually work to discourage and create confusion among the members of the community so that they can continue to exploit them. The poor communities are also located where access to water is difficult.

SAPPROS tries to educate communities on the need to integrate DWS systems with water harvesting tanks for irrigation in order to enable them to realize and create income-generating activities. The systems will not be sustainable unless the communities raise operation and management funds for regular maintenance of the system.

Why does SAPPROS focus on research as a part of its work program?

We cannot throw stones in the dark. We must have fact-based implementation, not assumption based.

SAPPROS frequently carries out research activities in order to evaluate our performance. It helps to rectify or intensify/improve action research that is relevant to the given conditions of a community. Recently, SAPPROS has conducted research under a Ford Foundation grant on irrigation for marginalized farmers.

What principles guide you and SAPPROS in your development work?

Development must be humanitarian. We have to see with vision and clarity the development of communities.

The main principle guiding us is poverty alleviation. SAPPROS follows the following fundamental components in development work:

• Development of social capital
• Collection of resources and mobilization among members as per decisions of the group
• Use of resources on income generation activities
• Development of infrastructure, selected by the community itself, that help raise household income and reduce reduce water-fetching drudgery, e.g. water supply systems, trails and bridges, etc.
• Integration of environmental related components, e.g. planting of trees for community forest, construction of biogas systems and improved cooking stoves, and installation of solar home sets

A complete participatory approach is followed in all project components, which are monitored by the community themselves.

What 3 main lessons can you highlight from your work in Nepal?

We are delivering to the poorest of the poor. We have identified the bottom line. That, in itself, is a lesson learned.

Development is possible in rural areas where there are three characteristics:

• Grassroots organization,
• Transparency in all activities and provision of public auditing system, and
• Means to build capacity of the community and guide and facilitate the community in the construction of productive infrastructure.