Last November we ran a Crowdfunder to help end indoor air pollution for 131 families in two villages (Chepuwa and Rukumu) in Sankhuwashabha, north east Nepal. Last week an incredible convoy of tractors delivered them across the treacherous last few miles of their journey from Kathmandu.
At a time when so many of us in the Western world are dependent on the service provided by delivery van drivers, it is quite something to see how challenging the same job is in Nepal. This video shows how on steep and slippery - cliff edge - dirt tracks it took two tractors to haul a trailer full of smoke free stoves through this particularly uneven section:
Special permit allowed delivery to go ahead
Nepal is still in lockdown, but NGOs are allowed to request special permits to make vital journey’s. Our brilliant partners, EcoHimal Nepal did just that to make sure these stoves could be delivered before the Monsoon rains arrived and made these tracks impassible.
Unloading
When the tractors finally arrived, everyone helped with the unloading effort:
Arrival ceremony
With the stoves finally all unloaded and lined up, the formal ceremony to mark this historic moment officially began:
Once installed, indoor air pollution will be a thing of the past here. Health will improve, deforestation will end and young women will be freed up to study and run small business.
Taking stoves home
With the formal ceremony over, families carried their stoves and chimneys back to their homes:
Installation
Several households set about installing their stoves as soon as they arrived. They put into use the training they’ve had on safe installation. Every household will be supported and supervised by EcoHimal’s project officer whose job it now is to ensure the stoves are safe to use.
Next steps
This project doesn’t end here, EcoHimal are committed to working with both villages to ensure they and their environment get the maximum benefit from their new stoves. There will be training’s on how to use all of the stoves functions, training on how to minimise the amount of wood fuel needed and workshops on how to ensure biodiversity recovers as demand for wood drops.
How you can help
The Glacier Trust is a small UK charity that enables climate change adaptation in Nepal. You can support our work by making a monthly donation of £10. It is now easier than ever to set this up via our new Donation portal.