We are planning to help the community in Jemkur ...

We have been given a grant by the The British High Commission for a large percentage of this work.  We will keep you up-to-date here with progress reports and photos.

The community in Jemkur (Langtang LGA) are in a desperate condition.  In the rainy season, water is stored in mini-dams, which is shared with domestic and farm animals.  In the dry season, women and children walk up to 7k per day to fetch water.  99% of the homes have no toilets, neither does the primary school.  Consequently, child sickness and mortality is high.

TASTE aims to reduce child sickness and water-carrying burden for the community of Jemkur (pop 2,200) by providing clean water and a community hygiene programme.

-          Construction of two boreholes, each with overhead storage tanks of 7,500 litres capacity. 

-          Construction of 10 latrines across the community

-          Construct latrine at primary school

-          Training 10 volunteers (5 men & 5 women) in basic hygiene and sanitation skills the community

-          Establish community hygiene & sanitation programme using skills of the 10 volunteers

-          A project committee is to be formed by the community to maintain and take care of the boreholes and the power generating plant.

Constructing the 10 latrines built at strategic sites around the community

In April 2009, the drilling team finally completed the two boreholes.  Drilling to a depth of around 60 metres, the team completed one borehole that will be served by a solar power pump and a second (in a less populous part of the community) which will be served by a handpump.  We have moved away from the initial plan to have two boreholes served by diesel-powered pumps to a more eco-friendly solution.  It should also be more sustainable too.  Solar power, although quite expensive to install, costs nothing to run and has no impact on the environment. 

OCTOBER 2009 UPDATE:  Everything is ready except the storage tanks.  The latrines are in the use, the two boreholes completed and the hand pump operational.  The solar panels have been fitted and the solar pump is in place 60m below ground.  We are just waiting for the two water storage tanks to be delivered.  These 5000l plastic tanks are needed to hold the water pumped during the day but, ironically, the wet season has flooded the roads, making delivery impossible at present.

MARCH 2010 UPDATE:   Tanks are now in place - we now need to run the supply pipes, connect the solar panels and commission the system.

Want to help us raise funds?  There are a number of ways.  Just look at our gifts & support page.