The Water Treaty in Aapchour
Day 6 – WOW WHAT A DAY! We didn’t know what we were going to be able to accomplish today, we didn’t get much sleep
worrying about it – even Madhov who is always an optimist was very worried. As usual, we were downstairs in the dining area
by 6:15AM. The electric power flickered several times. Cordella was standing in the elevator on the 5th floor of the hotel when
the power went out so to avoid trapping people between floors they shut off elevator. We had a good breakfast, talked to
Troy via Skype, loaded the car with all our supplies and headed to Aapchour. We didn’t make any stops other than to pick up
Lakha so we made it to the bridge in Kabilash in is just 2 hours. We stopped to have tea at the ex-mayors house where we
supposed to have a meeting. A man who owns a well digging company came to see us. He has been digging wells for 15
years in the area. We showed him our submersible pump, centralizers, cable and fittings and he knew we were serious about
our project. He was very impressed with the quality of everything we brought with us and our knowledge of water. We
discussed the project and he agreed to help us. Madhov negotiated the scope and cost and they settled on a very good deal.
He agreed to construct a 24ft deep well at the edge of the river bed, right below the last rice terrace on the land that would be
donated by the leader of the lower village. He would dig the well, line it with rocks, and install 40, 42inch diameter concreate
rings to build a well. He will install the pump, suspending it in a 6 inch PVC pipe with a well screen, and cover the well with a
concrete lid. We showed him how we wanted to secure the wire with zip ties just the way our boss, Steve, would do it. He
agreed and will do it within the next 10 days for $1,000 complete. We have a water source!
We all climbed into the car and headed to Aapchour including the well company man. The drive along the riverbed was
easier but still a nail biter – imagine a mud trail with several water covered areas and moving water. Just as we got started, we
stopped because a leader from the MALTESER INTERNATIONAL, Ms Lama had arrived and just met us as we started our drive
down river. We got out of the car and stood on the river bank talking about what her organization has been doing in
Aapchour over the past 6 years. They have had difficulty with their construction due to water scarcity. You can’t mix cement
without water and carrying every gallon up hill by hand in buckets slowed their project down to a crawl. We discussed what
we were going to do to provide drinking water and our hope is our methods will help them re-scope their efforts working with
water to get them back on track. They have a multi-million dollar effort underway that has fallen behind schedule and they
are working desperately to regain the confidence of the people in the village. We shook hands, exchanged business cards and
agreed to continue discussions online.
We got back in the car and made our way to Aapchour without any getting stuck – we saw a dump truck stuck in the mud but
our driver was very skilled in avoiding submerged rocks.
We drove up to the center of the village where everyone was waiting for us and then the shouting began. There was a lot of
tension due to us wanting to work in the lower village rather than the more established upper part of the village. We
explained the limitations of our effort, limit of capacity of our pump, limit of time, limit of our funding and limit due to gravity.
The leader of the village was in agreement with us but there was one man who did not believe us and claimed we were
another NGO making promises and would not follow through. He was very animated in his argument, swinging his arms,
shouting and visibly very angry. It was a very tense 30 minutes. A kind old women brought a mat out to Rick so he could sit
under a tree out of the sun (it was over 90 deg.F). The shouting continued letting the man air his thoughts infront of a large
crowd. As he wound down I know I saw a few “talk to the hand” gestures. No physical contact was made and things settled
down as Madhov stood his ground and the village leader declared his support for our efforts. WOW! It was like watching two
generals arguing it out on the battle field. A group of then walked down to the location where we would dig the well. The well
company man was very happy when he saw the location. He promised there would be enough water and our pump was
strong enough to send water into both sides of the village. Rick flew the drone to gather aerial views and Cordella walked the
floodplain gathering GPS data. Then we walked up to the home of the leader of the lower village.
It was like watching congress trying to hash out a constitutional amendment to the constitution. In reality this agreement
very well could impact the survival of the village given the water scarcity. A group of about 10 people sat on the dirt floor and
began deliberations. They argued back and forth in calm voices. They slowly circled in on what we had hoped they would
agree to. We gave our word we would follow through with the project all the way to completion as promised. They gave their
word that they would provide the land, labor, support and they would maintain the system when it was completed. Then
they formed a Water Committee. They selected 4 women and 6 men from both villages. We needed to get people who could
read and write. Then the hard part was selecting a leader. Having the leader from the upper and lower part of the village was
crucial but neither could dedicate time away from their rice farms. They negotiated and pledged to help each other and then
the man from the upper village offered to be president and the other leader would be vice president. WOW! It felt like we had
watched the Treaty of Versailles. We made a water policy agreement! The drafted up a document that will be typed and
signed by everyone. (pictures will be loaded).
It was near 2 o’clock and we had planned to start back to Kathmandu earlier today. We shook hands, took pictures and said
our thank yous and goodbyes. We walked back to the car and headed back down the riverbed. We dropped off our
passengers, said more “feeri bertolas” and “namaste’s” and them we hit the road.
It was a very pleasant ride back. The bumps didn’t seem to bother everyone as much because we were all in such a good
mood. We made one stop for some cold drinks and fresh steamed mo mo, Nepali dumplings (10 for $1.50). As we rounded
the top of the mountain where we descend into Kathmandu they sky was so clear, even Madhov couldn’t believe how clear
the view was so we stopped and took pictures. We dropped of Lakha and made it back to our hotel by 4PM. We took long hot
and cold showers, organized our stuff and met downstairs. Our friend Sunita is heading to Australia for a few days to be with
her husband. They will both be back before we leave for the U.S. Persant then came by with a tour guide. He has organized a
tour for us for the next 4 days. We went out for dinner to a famous café that serves all you can eat platters for $5.00 We
discussed where we will go for some well earned R&R while we wait for supplies to be delivered and the work to begin in
Aapchour. We will be off-line the next few days most likely.