How local shops for local people help get construction back on track in Nepal after the devastating earthquake of 2015
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Nepal is a country under construction three years after the 2015 earthquakes. Nearly one million houses were damaged or destroyed. Today low-cost building techniques are helping to speed up the process. We went to see how in Sindhupalchowck, the district that suffered the highest damage.
We saw in our Aid Zone report how the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, has trained master builders like Pemba to use lighter and cheaper material for shock-resistant house reconstruction.
The problem was that construction materials were very difficult to find in remote rural areas of Nepal. That's why the UNDP, financed by the EU Humanitarian Aid office, supported the creation of several shops locally managed, where builders and owners could find specific material at a reasonable price.
"In Irkhu bazaar you can find not much construction material. This is why we opened this shop. Since then, we supply very low-cost material like galvanized iron wire and wire mesh".
This shop in Irkhu, a little village close to the district main town of Chautara, has also created new jobs among selected residents who were badly hit by the earthquake. Sristi is the shop manager. She struggled to get by after the seisms. Another fifteen locals are involved in the committee that runs the shop. And all together they help Nepal speed up reconstruction.