IMPACT OF SOUND ADVICE: A STFC STORY

Hailing from Nuwakot, Narayan Kasai grew up overlooking the valley and playing amongst its field. 12 years ago, within the area, he shifted to Patipani Tole, a small community located in a five minutes walk away to the Sattale Durbar area, where one of the TSC is located. The Sattale TSC, located in ward no. 2 of Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot, covers 1110 India supported beneficiaries.

As Narayan’s Nuwakot upbringing saw him grow into an adult, he dove into work as a carpenter, got married and tasked himself into building a house for his very own family. Now, at the age of 52, he is the proud father of three children, all happy dwellers of Patipani.

As he watched his family grow and prosper, little did he know that he would one day face the devastation of an earthquake. In April 2015, Narayan was doing his usual carpentry work when the earthquake struck. His wife and sons were in his wife’s shop nearby. Right after the earthquake, he rushed to see if everyone was safe,thankfully they had not been hurt. However the earthquake had badly damaged the three storey house that he had built earlier for his family.

Narayan admits he is no engineer, but he knew that the damage on his structure was critical. The extent of the damage on his house made Narayan uneasy, he could not imagine sleeping in that house with his family. For a safer alternative, he decided to lodge in a temporary shelter with his wife and children. The initial plan was to stay in the temporary shelter made up of steel sheets for a few weeks, but it took months before he started his new house.

On September 2016, he received their first reconstruction tranchefrom the National Reconstruction Authority and promptly started to rebuild. His initial plan was to rebuild four rooms house made of brick masonry in cement (BMC). However, with the economically precarious circumstances he was in, he was difficult. In addition,Narayan started rebuilding without guidance of engineers. After some time, he came to the realisation that it was not safe and that he was not going to repeat the same mistake again, he decided to seek advice from the nearby TSC, funded by the Government of India reconstruction program in Nuwakot.

When he first came to the TSC, Narayan wanted to learn about safe reconstruction and how he could rebuild an affordable house that would suit the needs of his family. In discussion with TSC engineers on his current situation and familial need, they concluded that Narayan needed to build two room BMC house with attic. Such structure would resist earthquakes and most importantly, would keep his family safe.

Upon the STFC home visit, Narayan had received his second reconstruction tranche and his construction was at plinth level. With anxiety about the next steps and cost, engineers from the Sattale TSC took the time to explain different structures that were missing from his construction, and elements that inevitably would be needed to make his home earthquake resilient.

This was a difficult journey for Narayan, he felt it was going to cost him a lot of money to rebuild his home and was not sure if he would have the financial capacity. Narayan’s monthly salary depends on the quantity of work he gets, which at best of times barely covers the cost of food and tuition for his children. In the end, he realised that was the best option for his family, building an earthquake resilient home would not only keep them safe but also guaranteed a long lasting construction. He has taken loan of about 3 lakhs from community members. He has now built his house up to the roof band and will complete the house soon.

Through his reconstruction process, the STFC has guided Narayan by helping him decide what structure best suited his needs and the needs of his family.The project also then provided NRA approved drawings and a construction BOQ that helped Narayan plan out his finances. This allowed him to file the drawings in the municipality for drawing registration in the municipality office which ultimately lead him to get his third tranche upon receiving of completion certificate from municipality.

Narayan expresses his gratitude towards the project saying “We are happy with the services provided at the TSC, especially the free drawings for the homeowners that has lessen the financial burden for many families including mine. It has been a great help for us to construct our house as per the standard and guidelines. We had to face challenges before to receive grants from the government. But now through the support of the TSC staff, we are hopeful of receiving the additional grant of 50,000 NPR given by NRA for heritage buildings without much trouble. We are thankful to UNOPS and Government of India for the support”