After a quick stop for tea and momos, we made it to Hattitar. As soon as we started approaching the community, the first thing we did was visit the spring source! We were so eager to be able to finally see the spring source and be able to picture the water source we hoped to work with for the next several years. The spring source was a beauty :’D, but we realized that some changes may need to be made to the designs. Afterwards, we met Kamala’s family and began to settle in for the night. We were excited about our new home for the next few weeks, but also nervous about all of the work we knew we would need to get done. The next day we began our first task, meeting with the Hattitar Water Users Committee. We were excited to meet the representatives of the community that we would be working with for the next few years. We introduced ourselves, talked about the things we were working on, the meter system, the preexisting reservoir tank structure, and discussed timeline logistics for the project. This was such an important meeting, and we were happy to keep reinforcing our connection and bond with the community. We spent the rest of the day at the spring source. The next day, we traveled up to Sukrabare Bazaar to reunite with Bhupal! Then we rode up to the Maijogmai Rural Municipality Office to discuss John’s work and update them about the work that EWB was doing (although PRadep and Bhupal did most of the help with the communication). Between the travel and the meeting, this took most of our day, but we did have some time to stop for some local cheese on the way back to Hattitar, and turned in for the night. The next day was our first full day of drone work! We got up and started the process of laying down the ground control points (GCPs) for the drone surveying. This took a while since we were surveying such a large area, almost ¾ square miles, but after we laid down the points we were able to start the drone flying. After laying down the points, we did some more site assessment of the geology of the spring source. This helped us identify the type of spring source we were dealing and some of the geotechnical work that would need to be done. That night we turned in from a productive day and John started working on the post processing. The next day, December 31st, was our last day and it unintentionally became a day of relaxation. We spent the day collecting the old ground control points, and playing soccer with some of the local kids. We also started some of the community surveys and GPS points of the water access points. That night, Kamala’s homestay graciously helped all us celebrate New Years with an amazing night of music and dancing, food and laughter.
