Solar energy for community resilience in Nepal (SECURE)

Surkhet is a mountainous region in the central-western region of Nepal. It is home to hundreds of remote, hill-top and valley-based communities which are completely dependent on small-scale agriculture. Erratic rainfall, combined with extreme flooding, is making livelihoods in the District ever harder for these already disadvantaged communities. As Nepal’s climate is changing faster than the global average, the risk of flooding is growing and its potential impact, with loss of life, homes and livelihoods, is an increasing threat.

Every year the Bheri river in Surkhet rises to an ‘annual flood level’. Every 2-3 years it rises to a ‘periodic flood level’ and every 10 years or so, it rises to an ‘extreme flood level’. The last extreme floods occurred in 2014: 1 465 houses were destroyed, 24 people died, 91 disappeared and 26 were injured. Every year, lives, homes and livelihoods are lost to flooding.

In addition to the challenges created by flooding, rural communities in Surkhet have access to only basic health services. Health posts are rudimentary, often without running water, equipment or electricity. This means they can offer only limited services outside daylight hours and cannot refrigerate vital medicines and vaccines.

Poverty is also high in this region and livelihoods rely heavily on agriculture which, is hampered by erratic rainfall. Livelihoods diversification is stymied by the high costs of fuel. In addition, lack of domestic lighting forces women to rush home from working in the fields so they can cook while it is still light and the use of polluting fuels, such as kerosene, damage their health, irritating eyes and causing respiratory problems. Women and young girls suffer disproportionately from the many hardships faced by these communities; they bear the brunt of domestic work, become solely responsible for working the land when their men-folk migrate in search of work and endure the greatest losses when floods occur.