From B. M. Kandpal, SIMAR, District Chamoli, Uttaranchal
Posted 29 September 2006
Our agency works in remote villages of Higher Himalayas of Chamoli district of Uttaranchal, characterized by mountainous terrain. The economy is subsistence based due to rainfed agriculture, poor marketable surplus and inadequate development of industrial infrastructure. However, there also exist tremendous opportunities in organic products, medicinal and aromatic plants, fruits, off-season vegetables and Eco-tourism. Additionally, there are numerous watermills which can become prime-movers for local enterprises, if upgraded for power generation.
We are in the process of preparing a proposal for a project for upgrading traditional watermills into power generating units (0.5 to 5 KW) for livelihood promotion. Expected components are likely to be identification, technical pre-feasibility of watermill sites, economic pre-feasibility and capacity building of village communities and entrepreneurs in maintenance of watermills and running enterprises.
In the above context, I request members to please give inputs on the following:
Please see attachment below for the responses.