Modernizing Nepal: Installing Electric Mills

In March 2019, ProtoStar made a $9,800 grant to the Village of Bargaun in Nepal for the purchase of the following items:  (1) an Electric Mill to grind wheat into flour; (2) a Rice Husking Machine that separates the husks from grains of yellow rice; and (3) an Oil Pressing Machine that presses nuts and seeds into oil. A mini-documentary was released on this initiative.

I.   Village of Bargaun

The Village of Bargaun is located in the Himalayas, tucked away in the extreme northwest corner of Nepal.  It is part of the Humla District, one of ten districts in the Karnali Province.  The village is near the border of Tibet and is situated at an altitude of approximately 9,850 feet (about 3,000 meters) above sea level.  In order to get to the village, one needs to take a domestic flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj in the southwestern portion of Nepal, stay over one night, and take another flight to Simikot.  Depending on what the weather conditions are and which of several routes is taken (upper, middle, or lower), one would need to trek for about three-and-a-half to four hours (two-and-a-half to three hours for locals) from Simikot to the village.  Because the routes wind around the mountains and are steep, narrow, and treacherous, none of them could accommodate motorized vehicles.

Bargaun was established about four or five generations ago by a group of nomads who had migrated, knowingly or unknowingly, from Tibet.  The villagers are therefore Tibetan Buddhists, speak almost exclusively the Tibetan language, and continue to observe the Tibetan culture, traditions, and practices.  Polyandry (whereby a woman is married to two or more brothers from the same family at the same time) is still being practiced there.

The villagers are largely self-sufficient.  They grow their own crops, raise their own animals, and make their own clothes.  The staple crops, grown organically, are wheat, buckwheat, barley, millet, maize, potato, beans, and soybeans.  Apples and walnuts are grown as cash crops, and honey is harvested from bee hives.  However, for items and supplies that they could not otherwise grow, raise, or make, they would need to trek two-and-a-half to three hours to Simikot for do their shopping and another two-and-a-half to three hours back to the village, carrying the provisions on their backs or in some cases by mule.

II.   Meeting Bargaun’s Needs

Based on initial research, ProtoStar developed a working hypothesis as to what Bargaun’s most urgent needs might be.

A.   Grinding Wheat Into Flour

The typical Tibetan diet consists of roti, noodles, potatoes, beans (dhal), and yellow rice.  In order to make roti and noodles, the villagers need to grind wheat into flour.  To do so, they would have to trek about two hours to the nearest watermills by the river.  Because other people from their own village and nearby villages have to do the same thing, they often need to get up very early and wait for their turn to use the watermills.  In some cases, they could wait all day and not get their turn.  After grinding the wheat into flour, they then have to trek another two hours back to the village, carrying the flour on their backs.

The grinding of wheat into flour is part of household chores, and under the Tibetan culture, this task falls exclusively on the women.  And because the women would have to spend practically all day doing this task, their other household chores would be left undone.  Unlike the processed white flour that we buy from grocery stores in the West, freshly-ground flour in its native form contains no preservatives and thus has a relatively short shelf life.  The women in the village would therefore have to make this two-hour trek to the watermills often, including in the dead of winter when the trekking routes are covered with snow and ice.

ProtoStar arranged for the purchase and installation of an industrial Electric Mill in the middle of the village.  Instead of trekking two hours to the nearest water mill, the women of the village could now grind wheat into flour right in the village.  Life has now been much improved, especially for the women.

B.   Separating Husks from Grains of Rice

There is a certain type of yellow rice that is indigenous to the Himalayas.  Unlike jasmine rice, which requires lots of water and a tropical climate, the Himalayan yellow rice can grow in the harsh, mountainous environment.  However, this yellow rice has a very tough husk or hull.  In order to husk the rice, the villagers need to pound the rice by hand, a process that is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort.

As part of this project, ProtoStar purchased and installed a heavy duty Rice Husking Machine that separates the husks from the grains of rice.

C.  Pressing Nuts and Seeds Into Cooking Oil

Currently, the villagers must make the two-and-a-half to three hour trek to Simikot in order to buy oil for cooking.  ProtoStar obtained an Oil Pressing Machine, which allows the villagers to make cooking oil from the nuts and seeds that are indigenous to the Humla region.