Background
The project, better known as Unnat Goreto, provided technical support in the rehabilitation of foot trails and bridges in Gorkha and Rasuwa in a manner that makes them more resilient to future shocks. The rehabilitated trails offer the communities safe and economically convenient access routes linking the markets’ key trading areas. The anticipated length of trails covered is 125 km, and these are combined with measures to provide safer river crossings, slope protection, and activities to reduce risks in order to improve the resilience of the communities to prepare them in case of disasters in the future.
For the implementation of the project, SW Nepal was a key member of the consortium led by People in Need (PIN) contracted by DFID.
Objective of the Assignment
- Impact: Strengthened resilience of remote and vulnerable communities in Rasuwa and Gorkha, focusing on enhanced economic, health and education prospects, along with early preparedness and response mechanisms
- Outcome: Remote communities have improved access to social services, markets and economic opportunities
- Major components of the project under the scope of work of SWN:
- Trail rehabilitation, standardization and upgrade
- Footbridge construction
- Rest area construction
- Guideline preparation
Key Activities and Services Provided by SWN
In undertaking this assignment, the services provided by SW Nepal reinforced the firm’s strength that lies in vast experience of construction and rebuilding with a very strong pool of dedicated young engineers. The key services that were provided are not limited to, but majorly are, survey, design, estimation, construction supervision, measurement, and final bill preparation of trail, rest sheds, handrail and rope handhold, and truss bridge construction work. The main activities carried out by SWN include:
- Rehabilitation and improvement of 125 km of foot trails, alongside the construction of 15 rest areas along the trails.
- Installation of 9 pedestrian steel truss bridges.
- Installation of 213 meters of handrail and 413 meters of handhold.
- Disaster hazards and vulnerability mapping and installation of Early Warning and
Response Systems (EWRS). - Inclusion activities with women and girls.
- Development of guidelines and curriculum for trail construction and maintenance.
- National, district and community training sessions
Outputs
The program managed to improve access to communities and markets through the construction of durable, safer, and quicker trails. Roughly one half of the community members living in UG target areas now finds traveling along the trail in monsoon safe, compared to just 2% before the intervention.
- The Consortium rehabilitated 125.5 km of trail and employed 3,914 households who earned a total of NPR 122,260,351 (GBP 880,838) through employment provided by the program. An additional NPR 18,940,509 (GBP 136,459) was spent on procurements & transportation in the communities
- The communities and relevant stakeholders (construction actors, national and district authorities) were capacitated to construct and maintain trails according to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and other best practices
- On the national level, the Consortium organized the National Review of Foot-Trail Guidelines in December 2017 that resulted in the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) reaffirming its support for the process of integrating the newly developed trail guidelines into the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD)’s official standards.
