reflections on nepal capacity 21 initiative - Department of Applied ...

3. Social Developmentregularly beaten by her husband in the initial stage of SCDP operation. Later the husbandchanged his behaviour completely because the wife had become a CBO member and she was ina position to assist her family financially as well.With SCDP support, the communities implemented different kinds of projects thatcontributed to social development. Many of these also bear direct relevance to, e.g., economicactivities underlining the interlinked and intricate nature of sustainable development atcommunity level. Some of the important activities are discussed below.3.3 Water for Drinking and IrrigationAccess to safe drinking water has always been a problem in Nepal. It is even more acute inthe remote villages. This is one of the reasons why SCDP was eager to support drinking26Drinking water schemebenifits dalit men andwomen in Thehe, Humlawater schemes in the settlements where theCBOs prioritised them. The drinking waterschemes have been benefiting nearly 1100households in Surkhet, Okhaldhunga andHumla by providing access to safe drinkingwater. The frequency of water-borne diseaseshas also come down to some extent. To ensuresustainability of the schemes, CBOs prepareda plan, contributed their own resources andimplemented and eventually managed smalldrinking water schemes. SCDP linked upwith the local line agencies and local bodiesunits to support them. Communities now usethe water for multiple purposes such asdrinking, irrigation for vegetables andsanitation. Water harvesting techniqueswere also applied to store water in some areas(see Box 5).CBO members and SCDP staffdiscussing an irrigation canalimprovement scheme, DangIn many parts of the hill regions, rain-fedcrops alone do not guarantee food