Peltric Set - still under construction

On 28th Dec, I stopped by Power Tech Nepal to inspect the manufacturing stage of the Peltric Set.

Both my parents, Dr. Damber Bahadur Nepali and Mrs. Kalpana Shrestha had accompanied me to Power Tech Nepal located inside Patan Industrial Area.
I was a little disappointed to see that the Peltric Set wasn't completely ready. All the parts were ready but the actual set still needed to be assembled. I was alarmed that this delay could affect the progress of the project but Mr. Gopal at the company and both my parents assured that watching their speed of work on the set, it would be done on time to complete the project as planned.

This is the motor that will be a part of the set to generate electricity

So, the Peltric Set is still being assembled right now and will be transported as soon as it is ready. I think our visit made them speed things up a bit and I especially hope that it will be ready soon.

Special thanks to both my parents for accompanying me there, especially my father who is an engineer himself and inspected the progress of the manufacturing process and all the equipment and parts used in the set. The continuous support and encouragement of my parents always help me stay optimist and hopeful. I know, with a little more patience in this project too, my team and I will certainly accomplish our goal of its successful completion.

My First Trip to the Village

On 19th Dec 2009, two days after I arrived in Nepal and the same day the first round of equipment were purchased and transported, I made my first trip to the village (Kerabari). Previously, two weeks ago, both my parents had hiked up there to help finalize details like the exact location of the Power House, penstock and head works. Since manufacturing the Peltric Set takes more than two weeks, my team and I had concluded that we could save more time by getting all these details early in time and making the set before I arrived in Nepal. Before my first trip there, both my parents along with the local correspondent, Mr. Ramhari Shrestha had made this trip to the village and had personally met some villagers including the Chairman and the Treasurer of the Committee overseeing this project.

My father, Dr. Nepali kindly agreed to accompany me on this trip and guide me to the village. Although we started the trip early in the day, since we purchased the construction materials at Banepa first, we could only start our hike up to the village around noon.

After a long but extremely beautiful walk (honestly, a hike) up there, we made it to the project site.

Our first stop was the site where Power House will be constructed for the project. There, two villagers were busy making windows and door for the Power House. After talking to them for a while, we discovered that they were siblings and they had voluntarily contributed a part of the land they owned to construct the Power House for the project on it.

Our next stop was the location of head works where water will be diverted from the river towards a kulo (water conveyance) then to the penstock.

After inspecting the site, one of the villagers who was working at the site took us to his house where we met his entire family including his wife, two sons and two daughters. The family kindly showed their hospitality to us and fed us hot tea and typical Nepali snacks of popcorn and soybean.

Around 4pm, my father and I decided to head back to our car because it was about 2 hours walk down and additional 2 hours ride back to Kathmandu Valley. So, we rushed back and made it home around 9pm at night.

I would like to specially thank my wonderful father who gave up his entire day for my project and drove me and guided me to the village and back. Needless to say, I had an amazing time driving and walking with him and we got great father-daughter bonding time and got to catch up on a lot of stuff.

I am also thankful towards Mr. Ramhari Shrestha and all the villagers we got to meet that day who helped complete our mission of purchasing and transporting the first round of construction materials and inspecting the project site.

Personally meeting the villagers and actually being there has added a lot more hope and excitement in me to complete this development project and make a small difference in the lives of the people who live there.

I should also specially thank my mom, Mrs. Kalpana Shrestha for the great snacks she packed for the two of us that helped us survive the trip and also the candies that she had smartly asked me to take along which I could distribute among little kids in the village and enjoy their smile in return!

First Round of Construction Materials Transported

On 19th Dec 2009, with the help of Dr. Damber Bahadur Nepali, local correspondent, Mr. Ramhari Shrestha and two other villagers- the Chairman and Treasurer of the Committee overseeing this project, most of the materials were successfully purchased and transported. All the material purchased from the nearby city- Banepa and was dropped off at a location closest to the village where the vehicle could reach. The village is approximately 2 hours away on foot from that location. The materials included High Density Polyethylene Pipe, cement, wire, galvanized corrugated sheet as roof, nails, etc. required to begin the construction work at the site. All the materials now need to be carried one by one by the villagers to the actual project site at the village from the drop-off location. Since it was Saturday, not all the materials could be transported so a second and possibly third trip to transport the remaining materials and equipment is still necessary. However, thanks to Dr. Nepali for his supervision, Mr. Shrestha and the two representative villagers who helped make the day successful.

This is how I know that I'm home...

CGI U Outstanding Commitments Awards 2009

Development of a Model Micro Hydropower Project in Nepal is one of the Clinton Global Initiative University Outstanding Commitment Award winners for Energy & Climate Change. The project like all other winners is being funded by the Wal-Mart Foundation.

For more information, please click here