High up in the Langtang we reach Therapati where apart from 3 teahouses and some grazing horses there is nothing. The views , however are superb and we watch the sun setting over some 6 thousand metre peaks.
To get here the trek has been quite arduous and some in our group now pay the price with diarrhoea and vomiting. The teahouse has one outside crouch toilet but no running water and the water in the bucket quickly runs out as many pay visits during the night. With the bucket empty, there is no way of clearing up the mess but at first light one of the hut staff disappears down the side of the col and reimmerges 15 minutes later with a basket of water. Our problems of the night are over but the message it brings home to us is immense.
Up in the villages, Bimal has planned for us to spend 2 nights in Raipali, a village where we have yet to install an electric pump. Our campsite is 45 vertical metres above the water tank and the villagers have kindly carried water up for us to use that night.' What about tomorrow ?' I ask bimal and of course we both know the answer.
The next morning we go down to the tank and meet up with the village ladies who watch with much amusement as we sort out the canisters, baskets and webbing and then face the daunting task of carrying the water back up the hill. In fairness, it was not that difficult and most of us carried 10 litres each but the thought of doing it every day is not a good one. Even now we have to ration the water. Half a bowl for washing, two 5 litre buckets for the latines and the rest for cooking. I promise the villagers that the Okhle Village trust will provide the electric pump but that they must see to the extra pipework required and its installation.
Kot Guan and the poorest of the 5 villages we are helping. We meet up with 4 village committee members and 2 ladies carrying their water baskets on the ridge above the village and descend on the other side to a spring some 40 vertical metres below. The idea is to install a small tank with an electric pump by the spring and pump water up to a much larger tank on the col and from there via a series of pipework to 4 standpipes situated throughout the village.
Being on the north side of the hill, the path to the spring is quite slippery and 2 of the strongest in our group carry the ladies water back up to the col. it is a daunting task and one is left with huge respect and admiration for these ladies who do this every day. I promise the villagers that we will take on the project
The cost of completing the Raipali project should be about £1000 but starting from scratch the cost of supplying waterto the 300 inhabitants of Kot Guan will be in the region of £6000. I have come up with what I hope will be a novel but successful way of raising money. I have brought back some water baskets with me and plan to do 2 sponsored Water Carrying events on 9 July.
The event will be held from 2-6pm at the Wessex Waterwork grounds, Sutton Poyntz, Weymouth. Dorset.
. At present the ladies of the Got Guan village walk the equivalent of from Sutton Poyntz to the White Horse and back to collect their water. We hope to carry the same amount of water ie. 3000 litres as the villagers of Kot Guan carry each day
Activities
1. Carry as much water as you are comfortable with in provided milk cartons round the Spring Head, a distance of 1 mile. (Some Nepalese Baskets can be used but as there are not enough to go round, please bring your own water carrier eg rucksack).
2. Family and children's water games.
3. Cream teas, Nepalese Music. Water museum open with DVD showing recent visit to Kot Guan and other villages.
Cost - £5 per adult including cream tea. £1 per child.
Please come along and support us, email me for further information if required ( rtbackwell@ hotmail.co.uk)
Richard Backwell
www.okhle.org.uk - Okhle Village Trust
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