To have access to clear and pure drinking water is a basic necessity. Springs provide pure water, but water is not usually taken directly from the spring, nor is the spring protected from pollution by humans and animals. People often take their daily drinking water from open sources like rivers and irrigation canals, but unfortunately people also use the rivers for other less hygienic practices. The dead, whether people or animals, are cremated beside rivers, and beside running water is a favorite place to defecate, because there is plenty of water nearby to clean oneself with. This means that most local people use unclean, and often thoroughly bacteria infested water as their daily drinking water.

RIDS-Nepal is not only very much aware of this terrible situation, but feels obliged to do something about it, as clean and pure drinking water is a fundamental right. Through the RIDS-Nepal Non Formal Education (NFE) Adult and Children literacy classes, RIDS-Nepal raises awareness of the need for clean drinking water.

In the monthly VDSC (village development support committees) in each village, issues with regard to the improvement and development of the village situation are discussed with the local people, and only after they have clearly understood and requested RIDS-Nepal to participate in the building of a village drinking water system, a project can be initiated.

In every village drinking water system project the local people and RIDS-Nepal share to equal parts the overall costs. Often RIDS-Nepal comes up for the planning; materials, like pipes and cement; it's transport by air; etc. The local community participates equally in their 50% through carrying the materials from the airport to their village (usually about a day's walk),

RIDS-Nepal Construction staff Bom Bahadur and Govinda surveying the water spring. Does it bring enough water , is it clean ?	Every household from a village has to participate with at least one person in all the manual labor for their system
Cutting stones for the reservoir tank, hard work	Learning how to work with cement for the reservoir tank

The peoples' participation through work and sweat ensures ownership of the project by the community and makes it more likely that the system will be maintained in good repair. To further strengthen this likelihood, two people per village are selected for maintenance training that goes alongside the building, and the village community has to agree that they will raise a small monthly amount from each household, so that ongoing maintenance costs will be covered.  This means that the community will be able to maintain their village drinking water system responsibly on a long term basis. How wonderful fresh and pure water. Click here to view the Kholsi Drinking Water Photo Story.