The Universe Answers

In the Bijapada cluster, we have met a couple of villagers that have severe skin issues. Both patients are immobile, making it difficult for us to bring them out of the canyon and into a hospital. Also, their families say that they had earlier visited the hospital but their health did not improve.

...At first site of their skin illness, one cannot help but want to do something drastic and immediate. Their conditions look so very painful. Life would be so depressing. It's depressing to just see these guys. Every time I visit them, I visit Patient 1 first, since his hamlet comes first on our walk from the powerhouse site. I go thru the usual emotions; by the time I reach the next hamlet, I've almost forgotten the sadness. But then I encounter Patient 2 and the emotions rise again. ...Further depressing is that Patient 2's 16-year old grandson also has increasing areas of numbness on his limbs. ...What is the disease? Is is contagious? How many more people have it? What can we do? ...How can they just keep living day after day, dealing with it as it is?

Finally the Universe answers: Thanks to my friends Naman and Sri-- both phenomenal doctors working on developing country health issues--there is now a path in sight to address Patient 1 and 2's illnesses. Sri and Naman have connected us to specialists in the US and in Orissa who are willing to help diagnose the skin conditions, if we can get a few tests done. Local doctors are also very interested to help. ....We just need to make it happen....soon!

New Micro Hydro Project: Punjam

In parallel to the Bijapada project, we are implementing the Punjam project in Lanjigarh block of Kalahandi district. Punjam differs from Bijapada in various ways which affect our work:

Hamlets

Although both villages have multiple hamlets, Punjam's hamlets are densely clustered, while Bijapada's four hamlets are kilometers apart from each other, making it more challenging for the community to organize itself.

Distance and Accessibility from Main Road

Although it takes us 2.5 hours to drive to both villages, Bijadapada requires several extra kilometers of walking/hiking. In addition to its hamlets being scattered kilometers apart, Bijapada's nearest motorable road is 2km away uphill. We love hopping and skipping down the canyon...but getting back out is often a workout, especially after a full day of walking to each hamlet...sometimes twice! Accessibility to the village are affecting the project budget, in terms of transporting materials to the village.

Number and Diversity of Households

Bijapada has around 50, fully tribal households, while Punjam has over 110 households, 90% of which are tribal. A smaller number of households makes it easier to recognize the main characters in the village and understand its social dynamics more quickly. Facilitating a larger village, mixed ethnicity village requires more diplomacy.

Village Wealth

While the 10% non-tribal households are a minority in Punjam, they are certainly the face of Punjam. The non-tribals are factors wealthier than the tribals. The wealthier households have activities outside of the village, making it easier for them to confidently communicate with us. For example, Punjam's wealthiest household (not surprisingly non-tribal) owns a tractor, half of the population does have land (according to what we have heard from certain villagers). While there is also some economic disparity in the Bijapada cluster, it is not as drastic. The wealth does not necessarily dictate leadership (as we have observed thus far) as it seems in Punjam.

NGO/Government Presence

While Punjam is frequented by NGO and government agencies, the Bijapada cluster has only the government watershed program (that we know of). This makes the community's response to us very different in both villages.

Civil Works' Level of Difficulty

While the power output for both project will be about 15kW, Bijapada's civil works will be very challenging, due to high flow and stone areas. Thanks to Ranjit's last 10 days in the village, Punjam's straightforward civil works are nearly finished!

Here are some images of Punjam. (The 3 basic components of micro hydro civil works are: weir, channel, and forebay tank.)

Punjam's small but beautiful water source:

Punjam's weir structure:

Punjam's channel:

Punjam's forebay tank in progress: