Focused Sector(s): Water, Livelihood
Project: Water for Life and Livelihood Enhancement Project
Date and duration: June 2011, June 2012, June 2013 / 8 months each
Location: Wenxi County, Shanxi Province
Beneficiaries: 816 villagers from 216 households
Problem(s):
- Taogou is one of the poorest villages in Wenxi County
- Low precipitation, droughts and its high altitude combined to cause a serious shortage of water
- Villagers routinely spent half their days gathering water, leading to low economic productivity and consequently, low income
Intervention and Impact
- Identified a perennial spring at the foot of a nearby mountain to supply water for at least 20 years, and constructed six large water storage tanks with a total capacity of 360m3 at various elevated points
- Established a piping network to pump and distribute this clean and safe water to all households
- Built an irrigation system
- Formed a management committee to manage and maintain the water and irrigation system. This is funded by the villagers, who pay RMB2 (S$0.50) per gallon of water
- Access to a reliable supply of good quality water motivated the villagers to pool their resources and build eight chicken coops for additional income
Cost: S$156,000
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