The introduction of rainwater harvesting techniques in Dullu in Dailekh by the Nepal Climate Change Support Programme has opened locals’ eyes to manageable ways to deal with water shortages caused by climate change
Had Moti Kala BK known earlier that rainwater harvesting involved such straightforward techniques, life for her over the past five years would have been quite different, she believes. “If I had any idea how doable the process was, and how effective, we would not have suffered as we did,” says the 24-year-old from Dullu in Dailekh.
Infrequent rainfall in recent years in the area had meant that water sources had increasingly dried up, forcing Moti and others in her neighborhood to travel further to find other sources. Reeling under the shortage, Dullu residents had started to feel the effects of changing climatic conditions.
For Moti, this had meant long journeys to fetch water. On a given day, she estimates that her household requires up to 20 pitchers—for drinking, cleaning and feeding her oxen—and this meant undertaking the hour-long trip to and from the nearest water source several times over, just to have enough for her daily needs.
Additionally, with the drying up of old taps meant more people relying on the same source, and it was commonplace to encounter long lines. Having a six-year-old son whom she had to take along with her on these trips, since she couldn’t leave him at home, compounded her problems even further.
Not long ago, however, UNDP and the Government of Nepal’s Nepal Climate Change Support Programme (NCCSP), with the financial backing of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union, had installed a rainwater harvesting system in the area to ease access to water for households, including that of Moti. Although the tank was primarily intended for the dry season, Moti uses it, as sparingly as she can, throughout the year.
The technology involved is “simple”, according to Moti. “A pipe is first fitted onto the roof to collect rainwater and deposit it into a tank, with which it’s connected with a T-joint pipe—that’s it!” she says triumphantly.
That basic set-up has essentially changed her life, she says, as well as those of others in her locality. “It’s incredible to think of the time that we save… now that we’re not wasting so many hours going back and forth from the water sources, and have water coming right to our doorsteps, there’s so much more leeway to get other chores done,” Moti says. “I wish I’d known of this before.”