Farmers of Nyaskhar village under Chhimoong Gewog in Pema Gatshel will now be able to grow vegetables even during the dry season.
Like many other residents of the village, Tumki Lhamo of Kheshingphekpa village always found it difficult to cultivate vegetables during the dry season. The water shortage has been the main problem.
“Since we could not grow vegetables due to lack of water, we use to consume dry vegetables most of the time. And sometimes we had to buy the vegetables from the nearby village area,” said Tumki Lhamo.
However, this year, Tumki has been able to grow vegetables. The Dzongkhag Agriculture Sector helped her set up a rainwater harvesting technology.
With the help of technology, rainwater can now be stored in tanks from the pipes fitted on the rooftops.
Happy with the technology, Tumki Lhamo said, “We have been storing the rainwater in this water tank and with the help of it we have been able to grow vegetables in our garden. We have been able to grow vegetables like cabbage and cauliflowers. Likewise, we even sold few kilograms of vegetables.”
However, Since December last year, only five households in the village have been provided with such facilities as of now.
“We are hopeful that we can cultivate more vegetables hereon with the help of the technology. We can fill up the water tank this summer if there is more rainfall. And we will use this water only for the vegetable cultivation,” said another resident of the village.
The Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Programme (CARLEP) funded the procurement of the materials and wages of labor involved in the construction of the technology.
Meanwhile, the agriculture sector, for now, is looking for fundings to support more households with the technology.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
