Solaban
Education
Dysfunctional Solaban School 2002
School Expansion to 7 Grades, and Hostel for students, and Toilets 2010
Solaban’s First Graduation Class (10 girls & 6 boys)
AFN Providing School Bags and Supplies
AFN Providing School Bags and Supplies
AFN Shipping School Supplies
AFN Sweaters to School Children for Winter
Student with AFN-BEF School Bag
Students with AFN-BEF School Bags
Electrification
Electricity is essential for a village to move into the 21st century, enabling its residents to participate in the economic opportunities provided by modern technologies. Electricity transforms the quality of life by providing clean lighting as well as power for critical appliances such as cell phones and Internet communications.
Prior to having electricity, Solaban relied on kerosene lanterns for lighting. Village women had to carry heavy 5-gallon jugs for many miles up steep mountain trails in order to procure kerosene. The jugs were supported by a so-called “tump” strap around the forehead, causing spinal compression and degeneration. In addition to the difficulties of transporting kerosene, burning it in lanterns produced prodigious amounts of toxic vapors, causing eye and respiratory problems from the fumes in the poorly ventilated homes. This was an especially serious problem for children who rely on a source of lighting to study at night.
In 2006 the BEF funded the construction of a hydroelectric power plant to provide the initial electrification of Solaban, the first electrification of a village in the entire Solu region. The BEF hired a Nepali engineering company in Kathmandu to do a feasibility study and, when found feasible, to design the appropriate power infrastructure. The water source for turning the turbine comes from small local creeks. This limited source of water only allows power production to 6 KW, equivalent to running four hair dryers.
The installation of the power system required the construction of two terraces on the steep mountainside for a holding reservoir and a powerhouse for the Pelton turbine, an electric generator, a grain mill, and the electronics to manage the movement of electricity through an electric grid. The terraces, holding reservoir, and powerhouse were constructed by hand, without power tools. A 300 meter-long penstock (pipe) was installed to move water from the holding reservoir to the power house, to drive the Pelton turbine. Wiring the village required nearly 100 power poles to distribute electricity over the steep mountainside to 50 homes and the school buildings. Each home was wired for 3 light bulbs, which used the maximum available system power.
In addition to providing all of the labor for construction, the villagers transported 40,000 pounds of materials, equipment, and supplies to Solaban, including carrying the heavy turbine and generator, over narrow and steep mountain trails for 35 miles from the regional airport at Lukla.
Building Powerhouse
Transporting Generator
Completed Powerhouse
Electrification of Solaban, a first of the Solu region.
It was truly amazing that the Solaban villagers built the entire system in only nine months. A video of this project can be seen to the left. By providing the hard labor to build this system, the villagers became strongly invested in the project, assuming responsibility for its operation and maintenance.
The BEF also funded the training of Solaban residents in both the physical maintenance and financial management of the system. Solaban now monitors the electric consumption for each house, charging a user fee to fund operation and maintenance costs. Fees are also collected for milling grain. Funds from user fees have been put to use to provide micro-loans to help expand the economy of the village.
In subsequent years the village has expanded the power system by upgrading the initial wooden power poles to steel, replacing the original incandescent and CFL bulbs with LEDs, and supplying power to an additional 20 homes by increasing the water sources for the holding reservoir.
Since the initial construction in 2006, a new generation of village residents has taken on the responsibility of expanding the power system. Members of this generation connected the holding reservoir to two additional remote water supplies, doubling the electric output of the system to 12 KW. Accessing these new water sources high above Solaban involved scaling cliffs, requiring Sherpa mountaineering skills to route and secure piping in such difficult terrain.
Solaban running pipes to source additional water
Disaster Relief
We asked Dorgee to supply a list of relief supplies that were needed by the villagers and to procure them in Kathmandu if possible. Using locally sourced supplies instead of importing them helped to support the Nepalese economy at a critical time.
The BEF sent Dorgee $70K in relief funds, with which he purchased food, clothing and shelter and arranged transportation of these supplies to Solaban via helicopter and porter. Disaster relief was able to reach this remote village in less than two weeks after the earthquakes. This could not have been accomplished without having a direct relationship with the villagers in need of help.
BEF funded emergency relief
Earthquake Resistant Housing
Following the 2015 earthquakes, about $2 billion in foreign aid was given to the Nepal government for earthquake relief. Unfortunately, there was a three-year delay in the distributions of any of these funds to earthquake victims. In the interim, thousands of homeless villagers did not know if and when they would receive relief funding to rebuild their homes. Many had to live in makeshift tents, exposed to the elements and wild animals.
In April of 2017, two years after the earthquakes, the BEF decided to provide funding for thirty-seven Solaban households to construct new homes. The villagers themselves prioritized the order in which the homes would be built, based on family need.
The project was divided into five phases spanning four years. The first step was to develop a new earthquake-resistant method of construction that was acceptable to the villagers and compatible with their environment and way of life. A Kathmandu architectural firm was hired to design of a “standard” Solaban home consistent with the guidelines newly established by the Nepal government for earthquake resistant relief homes. The design most appropriate for the Solaban environment was reviewed and modified by the villagers to improve livability.
The new design required certain materials, such as plywood, cement, galvanized roofing, and house sheathing, to be brought in by porter and donkey trains. The villagers provided local lumber for posts and beams as their material contribution to the project. They also provided the labor to both transport materials and construct the houses.
Construction began with an engineer resident in Solaban for about three months, training the villagers in the new construction methods required for the earthquake-resistant design. He supervised the building of the first two houses. On completion the houses were turned over to the two families highest on the priority list. The villagers then built the additional four houses required to complete phase one, plus all of the houses in the following four phases.
Handover Ceremony for 37 Relief Houses to Residents of Solaban
