This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
Muhammad Kahlid Jami, Ali Kamran, Muneeb Ahmad, Dr. Munir Ahmad & Dr. Bashir Ahmad
1 min Read
Novel interventions for climate change adaptation are a step forward in meeting grass-root needs. Such has been the case with HI-AWARE’s intervention in reviving the traditional dugwells in the Potohar region. A simple yet innovative idea, to make the intervention a reality various challenges and constraints had to be overcome. A cost-effective and climate smart solution had to be developed which could be used by farmers with smaller landholdings that were also completely dependent on dugwells for irrigation. To date, farmers in the region have been using traditional irrigation methods which is time consuming, and many times not entirely feasible. The solution contains a solar powered pump attached to an efficient irrigation system that allows farmers to grow off-season crops.
Designing these agricultural climate smart solutions required the consideration of several parameters, one being the limited availability of water. Dugwells usually get recharged from ground water, but during dry spells recharge of these wells is affected. With changing rainfall patterns, irrigation to crops using traditional flooding methods has become nearly impossible. There is very little water available when crop water requirement are high and tradeoff is a challenge. Controlling the rate of discharge under these conditions was an important aspect in designing the solar powered dugwell pumps. After several trials, discharge rates of the pumps were determined so that farmers could water their crops throughout the year.
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Related Content
Getting there My heart still skips a beat whenever I recall my first field visit to Rikha Samba Glacier ...
Business has largely been dominated by men across the world, and Nepal is no exception. Women usually need to be ...
A colleague and I were discussing the theme for this year’s World Water Day – Wastewater. Immediately my mind conjured ...
Springs are considered lifelines in the villages of the mid-hills of Nepal, as they are very important for survival: they ...
During recent fieldwork in Nuwakot, our team came across a group of women decked in safety gear doing construction work. ...
The changes happening in Himalayan Rivers has been widely discussed in last decades which ranges from single catchment to large ...
The homestay business in Haa dzongkhag (district), along Bhutan’s western border, has been transforming women’s roles in rural Bhutan. Seventy-year-old ...
The handset shortwave radio finally crackled, 'Chimi ji, are you still there? Over!' asked Ngawang, the leader of the expedition ...