Back to news
11 Apr 2017 | Blog

Reviving the dying tradition of dug wells in Potohar

Ali Kamran & Masooma Hassan

0 mins Read

70% Complete
Traditional dug well with animal-driven Persian Wheel-these traditional systems are disappearing in the midst of the technlogical revolution that the country has seen over the past decade. Photo Credit: Tariq Mustafa

Dug wells have been the only source of water for many areas in the Potohar region for ages. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for most communities, and it is dependent on rainwater. When rainwater is insufficient to support the crops, these dug wells are the only hope of these vulnerable farming communities. The irrigation of crops through these dug wells is labour-intensive, animal-driven, and time-consuming. Though still operational at a few places, they are now being considered old-fashioned and out-dated options, because pumping water through them is uneconomical. Earlier, farmers used them for irrigation of their crops and domestic needs, but now they have almost abandoned this system.

<READ MORE>>

Stay current

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.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

9 Aug 2016 Blog
Changing Climate and Livelihood Options in Rasuwa

Kathmandu, the Nepali capital, is a city with 100 percent reach to the national grid, but it is reeling under ...

12 Jun 2019 Blog
ICIMOD supports efforts to integrate the use of geoinformatics into biodiversity conservation in West Bengal, India

Wildlife monitoring and the management of protected areas can benefit tremendously from the use of geospatial tools. With this in ...

8 Mar 2018 Gender in Koshi
Women and Fieldwork: Reclaiming public spaces and transgressing curfews

Women’s Day brings into focus women situated at various intersections of class, age, caste, race, education, culture, and geographical location. ...

8 Mar 2017 Blog
Water Scarcity and Women’s Lives: an Observation from the Field

Recently, while on a research trip studying adaptive water governance under the Himalayan Adaption, Water and Resilience ...

8 Mar 2019 Gender in Koshi
Breaking Taboos: My Parents’ Stand for Gender Equality

Growing up, our sense of the world – all that is right in it and all that is wrong – ...

19 Dec 2016 Cryosphere
UAV, a learning on a new technology on glacier monitoring

The day when my supervisor asked me to join the  practical, field-based training on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ...

14 Aug 2017 Blog
It’s not just about the Money – a Story from Rasuwa, Nepal

Lower-income Nepalese youth have improved their earning capacity by opting for foreign employment, working as migrant labourers. Working in countries ...

6 Jun 2016 Cryosphere
Journey to Yala Glacier

The handset shortwave radio finally crackled, 'Chimi ji, are you still there? Over!' asked Ngawang, the leader of the expedition ...