Nepal

Context at a glance

Homeowner Pratibha in front of her Habitat house with her daughter Sostika

Nestled in the glorious Himalayan Mountains, with China to the north and India to the south, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The majority of Nepalese live in villages, but difficult farming conditions and poverty have forced one in ten of the country's 26 million people to migrate to the capital, Kathmandu, and other municipal areas.

According to the government's own figures, nearly 430,000 families live in substandard housing. Unemployment is a major barrier to breaking the cycle of poverty. In addition, the people battle with annual floods as water cascades from the world's highest mountain range.

In slum areas shelter basically involves plastic sheeting, paper and wood for walls, and a straw roof. Water is often unsanitary, and few dwellings have toilets or electricity. In the lower plains, thousands of homes are lost to fire each year as families rely on dried vegetation and grasses for roofing and on unsafe and illegal electrical connections from power lines. Fires and smoke cause a high proportion of eye, lung and skin complaints.

Habitat for Humanity programme

HFH Nepal began its work in 1997 and currently works in six districts in rural and urban areas. There are affiliates in Chitwan, Kailali, Lalitpur, Morang, Surkhet and Kaski.

Habitat houses in Nepal are one-storey structures with three rooms, a kitchen and a toilet. Buildings are made from brick, stone, wood, cement and galvanised tin roofs. A house is normally about 32.4 sq. m. in size and takes three to four weeks to complete.

HFH Nepal has built its first homes under the "Save and Build" scheme at Jhapa in eastern Nepal. "Save and Build" reaches more low-income families by substantially reducing housing costs and shortening mortgage repayment periods. Under the standard Habitat model, Nepalese homepartners take on ten-year mortgages that are repaid at an average of £6.50 a month.

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