Ramechhap Drinking Water, Sanitation and Smokeless Stoves Project
by Dale Dodge
Feb. 5, 2014
The Project Completion Reports document all of the details of the communities where gravity fed water systems, hygienic toilets and smokeless stoves have been constructed.
What the reports do not adequately show is the pride of the local people in their accomplishments. The fact that they have actually planned and constructed a water system for their village, and now operate and maintain it, is a huge boost to their collective self esteems.
The fact that every family in a village has a proper toilet that does not smell and does not attract flies, is a source of pride and, because they built it themselves, of accomplishment.
The glow on a woman’s face as she shows off her new stove, as she lists off the advantages to herself and her family of not breathing in wood smoke, and tells you of the money and time this stove saves her, tells you the idea is a good one.