WATER SOLUTION FOR PISHU

VILLAGE – ZANSKAR An Initiative to Develop Sustainable Solution for Pishu Village

ABSTRACT Through this project Navikarana aims to

develop sustainable solutions for the

villagers of Pishu through this water-

lifting project. These villagers rely on

erratic snowfall as the sole source of

water for irrigation and livelihood.

Navikarana wants to be a catalyst in

creating positive change.

KEYWORDS Solar Water Pump, Irrigation, Sustainable

Livelihoods, Water Need, Climate

Change, Afforestation, Commercial

Agriculture

PREPARED BY Navikarana Trust

Organization Details Email ID: navikarana.trust@gmail.com

For more visit our website:

www.navikarana.org

1 | P a g e

Index

Project Summary ........................................................................................................................ 2

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 3

Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4

Intended Benefits ....................................................................................................................... 5

Technology Used ........................................................................................................................ 7

Proposed Budget ........................................................................................................................ 9

Project Timeline & Key Activities ................................................................................................ 10

References ................................................................................................................................ 11

Tables .......................................................................................................................................................... 12

Figures ......................................................................................................................................................... 12

2 | P a g e

Project Summary

Overall Project Goal

To provide sustainable solutions for water lifting in the village of Pishu – Zanskar and be a

catalyst to change in providing better irrigation, increase biodiversity and provide sustainable

livelihoods.

2.2 LAKH LITRES WATER

Lifting 2.2 lakh liters water per

day for both drinking and

irrigation purpose

222 BENEFICIARIES

222 Inhabitants of Pishu

village will benefit from it

directly

1,000 𝒎𝟐 AFFORESTATION

We are increasing the overall

biodiversity by planting

1000 𝑚2 native plants & trees

An Initiative by:

Navikarana is a trust based out of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Navikarana works in the domain of

clean energy and irrigation technologies to create a sustainable water supply and promote

livelihoods.

Hill Rooftop is a for-profit enterprise based out of Mandi with a proven track record of two

years in working with solar solutions in semi-rural and semi urban areas.

Solar committee – Pishu village is a cooperative registered in the village of Pishu. The

cooperative is completely handled by the village and has worked over the years for the smooth

functioning of their off-grid solar power plant. This cooperative will serve as the single point of

contact for handling accounts, monitoring and evaluation of the venture.

3 | P a g e

Executive Summary

Pishu village is located in the Zanskar region of Ladakh and was a sub district of Kargil district,

which was under the administration of the earlier state of Jammu and Kashmir (now, recently

formed Union Territory of Ladakh). Zanskar as a region has borne witness to the stark realities of

climate change. With the receding of glaciers and erratic precipitation over the years, the villagers

have been forced to move away from farming. This has increased their dependency on rations and

government policies. All this has been happening in a region, which once relied only on sustainable

agricultural practices.

Zanskar’s indigenous population depends heavily on farming with 90% of them still being

involved in the occupation. Unavailability of water poses a big hindrance for the region to be self-

sustainable.

Pishu, in particular, has been the center of this debacle for the past 10-15 years. To solve the water

crisis in Pishu village, the Indian government’s intervention was to plan a 2 crore project and

implement a 15 km long canal system. However, even after close to two decades, the project exists

only on paper, while the suffering of the villagers has only increased.

Last year (2018) was one of the worst years in the history of Pishu village, with no crops being

cultivated due to scarcity of water. The government provided the village with a meagre relief fund

of ₹1000/- per household. The villagers refused this fund, owing to the fact that the amount was

too meager. They rightly pointed out they would have ended up spending the same amount (or

more) in travel expenses from Padum to Pishu and backwards. Due to the unavailability of grazing

fields, cattle holdings have reduced and any other source for livelihood is a distant dream for these

families. Navikarana, after having explored all options, wants to relieve the pain of the village

through a solar powered pump water-lifting project. We will work closely with these communities

to empower them in the process and serve as a catalyst to bring about sustainable change.

4 | P a g e

Objectives

1. To address water security: The water problem in Pishu is compounded by four key factors

(i) Erratic precipitation due to climate change

(ii) Low ground water level table in the Pishu belt

(iii) Low availability of water from natural springs

(iv) The location of village, which is situated at an elevation of 40 meters above the course

of the river

2. To assess and provide the best technological solution: The technology chosen has been done

so after carefully evaluating all the available options. Currently, lifting water from the rivers

using solar off-grid pumping systems is the most sustainable long-term solution for these

communities.

3. To increase the biodiversity in Pishu village and reshape the landscape to mitigate climate

change: The landscape in Pishu village (as of now) consists of vast unirrigated stretches of

land, amounting to more than 300 acres. Increasing the green cover on this area would not only

provide fodder for the cattle but also help in re-building the local economy through agriculture

and in the long-term, prevent migration from the village due to lack of sustainable livelihoods.

4. To increase people’s participation: The people of Pishu village with aid from Navikarana have

designed the whole project. To bring in community ownership mindset, the following

interventions are planned:

❖ Use the already existing village co-operative account for the collection and disbursal of

funds.

❖ Setting up a committee for water lifting and water management project. The committee

will take part right from the beginning, i.e., from the initial planning phase till the stage

where services are rendered to the people of Pishu village. Navikarana will assist in setting

up the committee and also actively take part in consulting on the project, even post

implementation.

❖ To train a local manager from the village for monitoring and evaluation of the project. The

manager will be the single point of contact between the village and Navikarana for lifelong

support for the project.

5 | P a g e

Intended Benefits

(I) Promotion of indigenous produce: In the year 2018, due to very scarce snowfall, Pishu

faced an acute shortage of water. Over 60 acres of farmland remained uncultivated leading to

a village wide crisis.

With our intervention, we intend to provide sufficient water to 60 acres of farmland and

promote agricultural activities not only for sustenance but also as a source for generating

livelihoods and reigniting the local economy.

Assumptions:

Season: April – July

Crop: Peas

Under commercial agriculture: 30 acres

Expected yield per acre: 4000 Kg per acre

Average selling price: ₹ 45 per kg

Estimated total revenue generated per acre:

₹ 1,80,000

Estimated Cost of labor + seeds + fertilizer: ₹

40,000 per acre

Estimated Gross Profit:

₹ 1.4 Lakh per acre

Estimated Gross profit for the village:

₹ 42 Lakh Annually

(II) Combating climate change by increasing green cover over 300 acres of arid land in

Pishu village:

CALCULATIONS (SAMPLE)

Fuel type Kg of 𝒄𝒐𝟐 per unit of consumption

Natural gas 3142 kg 𝑐𝑜2 per ton

Diesel fuel 2.68 kg 𝑐𝑜2 per liter

Petrol 2.31 kg 𝑐𝑜2 per liter

Table 1 :- 𝑐𝑜2 𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Let’s assume a person drove 6000 km petrol car per year with mileage 18km/l.

6 | P a g e

Therefore,

6000 𝑘𝑚

18 𝑘𝑚 = 333 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

333 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 ∗ 2.31 𝑘𝑔/𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒 = 𝟕𝟕𝟎 𝐤𝐠 of carbon emission from single car per year

Common Tree Species Found in Ladakh

Survival Factors and Annual Carbon Sequestration Rates for

Common Urban Trees

Tree

Age

(yrs)

Survival Factors by Growth

Rate

Annual Sequestration Rates by Tree Type and

Growth Rate

( lbs. carbon/tree/year)

Hardwood Conifer

Slow Moderate Fast Slow Moderate Fast Slow Moderate Fast

0 0.873 0.873 0.873 1.3 1.9 2.7 0.7 1 1.4

1 0.798 0.798 0.798 1.6 2.7 4 0.9 1.5 2.2

5 0.658 0.658 0.658 3.2 6.1 10.1 1.9 3.7 6.4

10 0.568 0.576 0.589 5.5 11.2 19.3 3.5 7.4 13.2

15 0.501 0.516 0.527 8.1 16.9 29.7 5.3 11.8 21.4

20 0.448 0.462 0.474 10.8 23.2 41 7.4 16.7 30.8

AVG 0.5946 0.602 0.6092 5.84 12.02 20.82 3.8 8.22 14.8

Table 3 :- Survival factors and annual carbon sequestration rates for common urban trees

(III) Empowering the local community through setting up of a cooperative society and

community involvement in monitoring and evaluation of the initiative

Table 2 :- Tree species found in Ladakh

Tree Name, Species Wood Type Growth Rate

Willow, black, Salix nigra Hardwood Fast

Poplar, yellow, Liriodendron tulipifera Hardwood Fast

Cedar-red, eastern, Juniperus virginiana Conifer Medium

7 | P a g e

Technology Used

Solar pumping

Solar pumping system can be employed for daily use (for pumping underground water), agriculture

irrigation, forest irrigation, desert control, pasture animal husbandry, water supply for islands,

wastewater treatment engineering, and other such multiple uses.

In recent years, with the promotion of the utilization of renewable energy sources, solar pumping

systems are being extensively utilized in municipal engineering, city center squares, parks, tourist

sites, resorts and hotels, landscapes and fountain systems in the residential areas. This system is

composed of a solar array, a pump and a solar pumping inverter. It is based on the design

philosophy that it is better to store water than electricity. As such, there is no energy-storing device,

such as store battery, in the system.

Figure 1 :- Solar powered water pump

Structure of solar pumping system

The solar array, an aggregation of many solar modules connected in series and parallel absorbs

sunlight radiation and converts it into electrical energy, providing dynamical water for the whole

system. The pumping inverter controls and adjusts the system operation and adjust the output

8 | P a g e

frequency in real-time according to the variation of sunlight intensity to realize the maximum

power point tracking (MPPT).

The pump, driven by 3-phase DC motor, can draw water from the deep wells or rivers and lakes

to pour into the storage tank or reservoir, or directly connect to the irrigation system, fountain

system, etc.

According to the actual system demand and installation conditions, different types of pump such

as centrifugal pump, axial flow pump, mixed-flow pump or deep-well pump can be used.

Navikarana Trust will be using the solar powered submersible pump for our first project to lift

water from the natural spring in Pishu village.

9 | P a g e

Proposed Budget

Table 4 :- Proposed budget

10 | P a g e

Project Timeline & Key Activities

Project Timeline

Figure 2 :- Pishu Project Timeline

Key Activities

To provide solutions for livelihood through water lifting in the village of Pishu – Zanskar and

serve as a catalyst in providing better irrigation, increase biodiversity and provide sustainable

livelihoods.

FUNDRAISING

Total ₹ 21.43 lakh grant

amount we are looking for

PROCUREMENT

We need solar pump set,

pipe, construction

materials, seeds etc.

INSTALLATION

PV panels, intake tank,

storage tank, pipe laying

and wiring

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Need Assessment

Problem Identification

SOLUTION DESIGN

Technology Selection

Evaluation of Alternatives

PROJECT PLANNING

Detailed Field-

Assessment

Fundraising

PROJECT EXECUTION

Machine-procurement

Installment and

Commission

Afforestation-Pilot

11 | P a g e

References

“Shakti Pumps.” Shakti Pumps, 2019, www.shaktipumps.com/.

“How One Man Created a Forest in a Cold Desert.” YouTube, Down to Earth, 27 Nov. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-foEwcAu_zw.

“Grundfos India.” Grundfos India, 13 Aug. 2019, in.grundfos.com/.

“Desert Healer.” Down To Earth, www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/desert-healer-2265.

“Valley Greening”. Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL),

https://hial.edu.in/valley-greening/

“Method for Calculating Carbon Sequestration by Trees in Urban and Suburban Settings”. U.S.

Department of Energy Information Administration. April, 1998,

https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/method-calculating-carbon-sequestration-trees-

urban-and-suburban-settings.pdf

12 | P a g e

Tables

Table 1: - CO2 emission from the fuel consumption

Table 2: - Tree species found in Ladakh

Table 3: - Survival factors and annual carbon sequestration rates for common urban trees

Table 4: - Proposed budget

Figures

Figure 1: - Solar powered water pump

Figure 2: - Project Timeline