•  Background

Nepal is a mountainous country with rugged terrain. There are several perennial streams, rivulets and rivers in Nepal. In the mid and high hills of the country, traditional water mills (ghattas) located at the bank of these streams and rivers have been the parts of villager's life and used as important source of energy from centuries for grinding their food grains. It is estimated that more than 25000 water mills are in operation in Nepal. As the low efficient traditional water mills could not cater the increasing processing needs of people, diesel mills are entering fast in the potential areas. These mills have not only disturbed the self-reliant set up of the villages but also increases the dependency on imported machinery and diesel and also damaged the local environment. With the realization of the above situation, continuous efforts of Nepalese technicians and support from GTZ/GATE have brought some improvements in traditional water mills since early 1980s to support the millers as well as the users.

From 1990, the Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal (CRT/N) has been actively involved in the promotion and dissemination of the improved water mills through motivating and supporting local water mill owners with the support from various national and international development organizations. An introduction to CRTN is presented in Annex 1. Improvement of traditional water mills have facilitated not only to meet the agro-processing needs (grinding, hulling, oil expelling etc.) of the rural communities residing in the hills but also for various rural applications such as saw milling, electricity generation etc.

•  Innovation on Improved Water Mill

In the past, various attempts were made by interested individuals and institutions both from within the country and outside the country for the improvement of the traditional water mill. Some of them are reviewed here.

a. Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), a Research and Development wing of Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu, developed a prototype of an Improved Water Mill replacing the wooden paddles by hydraulically more efficient wooden blades, and a new bottom bearing. The prototype with closed chute and a covered chamber was tested in a mill in Godavari, Kathmandu. However, RECAST efforts were limited to pilot phase only.

b. Mr. Akal Man Nakarmi of Kathmandu Metal Industry, Kathmandu succeeded in designing and production of low scale Multi-Purpose Power Unit (MPPU). It consists of a metal runner, a metal axle and bearings which would be supplied to the millers to assemble and install at the site. The power output is high. However, as most components including the machineries are of metal its installation cost has increased many times which has discouraged the potential entrepreneurs to install them.

c. Major efforts towards the development of improved water mill were initiated again by Mr. Akal Man Nakarmi in which the traditional water mills are improved by using basically local materials and skills of village craftsmen. With the exception of metal parts, mainly the kit runner, shaft/axle and belt/pulley, the other parts of the water mill such as chute, framework, stone grinder, canal and intake are kept intact without any change. It has helped the interested entrepreneurs to install Improved Water with low investment. The technical features of both traditional and improved water mill are given in Annex 2.

•  Initiation of Water Mill Improvement Works

•  GATE/GTZ Initiation

The German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE) of the German Agency for Technical Co-operation (GTZ) initiated a programme called “Activating Traditional Indigenous Techniques” in 1984 to improve the performance of the mill by improving the hydraulic efficiency.

•  Phase 1 (1984-88)

GATE was involved not only in the promotion and dissemination of improved water mill, it also trained local craftsmen and millers in manufacturing the metal runner and installation of improved water mill respectively. The introduction of the financial and training incentives by GATE had been helpful in its rapid dissemination of water mill, mainly in Dhading district. In order to promote and disseminate improved water mill, GATE had provided financial assistance up to 50 % in the beginning and 25 % in the later phase of the total cost of improved water mill installation. During the project period (1984-1988), about 80 mills in the district were improved. It was unfortunate that after the termination of the project in 1988, the promotional work did not progress satisfactorily, mainly because of lack of subsidy incentives.

•  CRT/N's Involvement in Promotion and Dissemination of Improved Water Mill

To continue the efforts of mill improvement, the Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal (CRTN), after its establishment in 1989, approached GATE for funding support. With the funding support of GATE/GTZ,

•  Phase 2 (March 1991-February 1993)

CRT/N had implemented the project "Dissemination of Improved Water Mill in Rural Villages of Nepal" mainly in two hilly districts namely Sindhupalchowk and Kavre district during 1991-1993. Prior to the real implementation of the project, CRT/N did an “Assessment of Improved Water Mill Project” undertaken by GATE/GTZ in Dhading District during 1984-88 in order to know the status of the improvement works.

The technology dissemination process has a number of continuous steps. Each step has its own importance. The process adopted for the promotion of Improved Water Mill (ghatta) during the project period was as follows.

•  Establish CRT/N Field Units

•  Collaborate with Partner Organizations

•  Develop Contact with Traditional Water Mill Owners

•  Collect Baseline Information and Analyze Needs Assessment

•  Conduct Orientation/Demonstration for Staffs of Partner Organizations

•  Identify Innovative Traditional Mill Owners

•  Identify Feasible Demonstration Sites

•  Conduct Orientation/Demonstration/Observation Visit for Millers

•  Demand Collection /Undertake Survey Work

•  Develop Linkage with Banks for Financing Supports

•  Develop Linkage with Manufacturers for Supply Supports

•  Installation /Operation of Improved Water Mill

•  Follow-up and Monitoring

•  Organize Millers' Operational/Management Training

•  Organize Training for Local Promoters/Extension Workers

•  Organize Training for Manufacturers/Blacksmiths

•  Further Promotion through Trained Local Promoters/Extension Workers

•  Status Assessment/Review Workshop

CRTN carried out the promotional activities without any hardware subsidy and about 54 improved water mills were disseminated, mainly in Kavre and Sindhupalchowk districts, during the period.

•  Phase 3 (March 1993-October 1996)

The GATE/GTZ supported Improved Water Mill (Ghatta) Project terminated in 1993. However, CRT/N has continued its activity on its own in certain scale even after termination of the project in collaboration with various development agencies, basically with demonstration/training/monitoring support covering various potential hill districts. CRT/N undertook following major activities relating to Improved Water Mill with the support and cooperation from various development agencies.

TABLE 1 : List of Activities in Phase 3 (March 1993-October 1996)

During the period from March 1993-Oct. 1996, 211 Units of improved water mills were disseminated in various potential hill districts of Nepal.

•  Phase 4 (November 1996-December 1999)

With the continued demand for improved water mill, CRT/N again approached GTZ for funding support to provide technical support services to the millers. As a result of this, CRT/N again continued the Improved Water Mill promotion and dissemination activities with GTZ support since 1996 for a period of 3 years with the objective to encourage and support the local mill owners to improve their traditional mills for efficient and diversified applications in order to enhance rural income and employment to the operator/owner as well as provide diversified end-use services to the village communities. CRT/N undertook this project with the collaborative efforts of also various other organizations such as Women Development Division (WDD) of Ministry of Local Development (MLD), NGOs, INGOs, Banks and local manufacturers. Apart from the set activities within the GTZ supported project, CRT/N undertook following activities with support and cooperation from various agencies for the promotion of improved water mill.

TABLE 2 : List of Activities in Phase 4 (November 1996-December 1999)

By 1999, 287 units of improved water mills have been disseminated in potential hill districts of Nepal.

•  Phase 5 (January 2000-December 2002)

GTZ supported “Improved Water Mill” project ended in 1999. CRTN has continued its activity on its own even after termination of the project in collaboration with various development agencies, basically with orientation/demonstration/training/monitoring support covering various potential hill districts. ICIMOD supported CRT/N to undertake special project on “Strengthening Organizational Capacity through Ghatta Owner's Association (GOA) in Kavre and Makawanopur Districts” from February – December 2001.

CRT/N undertook following major activities relating to Improved Water Mill with the support and cooperation from various development agencies.

TABLE 3 : List of Activities in Phase 5 (January 2000-December 2002)

During the period from January 2000-June 2003, 271 units of improved water mill were disseminated.

Improved Water Mill Installation Status by Mid-June 2003

By Mid-June 2003, about 903 water mills have already been improved in about 42 hill districts of Nepal which is only about 4 % of existing traditional water mills (assuming about 25000 units) indicating the tremendous potential for the improvement activities in the country. It includes only those water mills recorded by CRT/N. There may be some more improved water mills promoted by the local manufacturers, but not included in CRT/N database.

Phase-wise dissemination status in the country is given in following Table.

Status of Phase-wise Improved Water Mill (Ghatta) Installation in Nepal
(1984 - 2003)

• Implication of the Mill Improvement Works

The improvement of the traditional water mills has resulted into positive changes in the socio-economic conditions of mill owners and other community members and the village itself. Installation of about 903 units of Improved Water Mills in Nepal has generated power of about 1355 kW to be used for various rural applications. The installation works has so far helped 903 millers to increase their level of income but also served about 45150 rural families (about 50 families per ghatta) to meet their agro-processing needs in an efficient way. It has substantially reduced the drudgery to rural people, especially the women and children community. Improvement of traditional water mill is the most promising options for the remote hills/mountains of Nepal to help the local communities residing there.

The beauty of Improved Water Mill Technology is its cost effectiveness and can be installed by the entrepreneurs with low investment. During the improvement activities, efforts were made not to disturb the existing structure as far as possible so that only a minimum investment is required for the improvement works. The economic features of undertaking water mill improvement activities and its operation are given in following Table.

Economic Features of Undertaking Water Mill Improvement Activities and Its Operation

TABLE 4 : Economic Features of Undertaking Water Mill Improvement

With the installation of grinding unit only, the owner can generate about NRs. 9,852 per year while adding huller unit also, he can generate an income of about NRs. 19,332 per year, which is quite substantial for an average rural entrepreneur. With the addition of electrification unit, he can generate about NRs. 24,262 per year. Although the additional income due to addition of electrification unit is not that high, it is a social service to the community and brings lot of social return to the entrepreneur. Additionally, as the owner himself operates the mill, the operator's cost can also be considered as his own income.

Because of the importance of the Water Mill Improvement Activities in Nepal, EXPO 2000, Hanover, Germany has certified the Project as one of the “Projects Around The World”.