Dear sponsors and supporters,

Early December, with your financial support, construction began of a completely new water supply for around 700 people in Gope, Solukhumbu.

The implementation proved to be much more difficult than expected. The steep terrain required additional water pipes, and the wide dispersion of houses in the village necessitated extensive earthworks and stoneworks. And yet, within just five weeks, the villagers and our team managed to dig all the trenches, to erect the large water tank in the jungle, to lay the pipes to the 80 outlet locations and to begin construction of the places for the taps - despite sub-zero winter temperatures.

Implementing such a project in such a short time would be almost unthinkable in our part of the world. Regulations, legal requirements and physical limitations set narrow boundaries here. In Gope, it was above all the enormous commitment of the local people that made this implementation possible.

The financing of this urgently needed water supply is a joint effort: €41,000 was provided by Gecotec, NB&G Switzerland, DESWOS and private donations, and €6,500 came from the commune. In addition, countless hours of voluntary work were contributed by the local population. Without this contribution, the project would not have been feasible in this form.

Further information on the implementation and sustainability of the project can be found here: Clean water for Gope – a joint major effort

Special thanks go to Ram Kumar Tamang (construction manager) and Madhav Regmi (civil engineer), who are working on a voluntary basis and are spending many weeks with their team in Gope under the most basic conditions.

We will keep you up to date and let you know as soon as the first water flows.

Best regards
Anne Peter - Gecotec e.V. and
Ram Kumar Tamang - NHEFoN Nepal