Lahachowk is a small rural farming village in Kaski District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal about 150 kilometers west of Kathmandu, in what is considered the western hill district, and sits at an elevation of 1100 meters. Lahachowk is mainly a sustenance farming community made up of several wards/neighborhoods. Lahachowk culture is primarily Hindu-based and traditional practices are strongly observed. The people are very kind-hearted and hard working. Family and social conventions are important components of their social structure. Lahachowk has been the site of many community development initiatives over the past decade and, as a result, the community has flourished on many levels.

This initiative team has been working with the Lahachowk villagers since 2011, building durable water canals that provide irrigation to farmland surrounding the 755 households in Lahachowk. This initiative has helped approximately 4,565 villagers and is contributing to dramatically increasing crop yields. The increased crop production results in additional rice to feed the family or a small amount of money to use for healthcare or education. The previous canal made of mud and grass is being replaced by a meter wide and half a meter high canal made of cement and reinforced rebar. This greatly improves the prevention of water losses and saves farmers from the work associated with the continuous need to redig and reinforce mud walls from caving inwards and being washed away by heavy rains during monsoon season.

To read more about our Initiative Lead Brad and our Field Lead Navin click here. 

For more information contact our Initiative Lead: 

Brad McLoughlin: bradmcloughlin@innovativecommunities.org