Solar Water Brings Resilience in CHT

"Now I have water in my yard. I am very happy," says Nayon Tara Chakma, an 84-year-old widow from Keronchhari village in Rangamati. Her smile is quiet but full. Her hands, weathered by time, now cup clean water from a solar-powered tap just steps from her home. For her, this simple act is more than comfort, it’s freedom!

Rangamati, located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh, is known for its scenic beauty and indigenous communities, but also for its remote, hard-to-reach terrain that makes access to basic services a challenge.

Until recently, Nayon Tara's daily life was marked by hardship. Climate change had turned her once-thriving village into a place of scarcity. Streams that once gurgled through the hills dried up. Drinking water became a daily struggle. Widowed and frail, she depended on her youngest son, a day labourer, for support. Still, every day during harsh weather, she braved nearly two kilometres of hilly terrain to fetch water. Bathing was rare, and thirst was constant. The small clay house she lived in, built by her late husband’s hands, stood firm, but her spirit often wavered under the burden of survival.

That burden has eased. The Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC), a partnership of the Government of Bangladesh, UNDP, UNCDF, Sweden, and Denmark, has installed a solar-powered deep tubewell in her village. For the first time, clean, safe water is just outside her door.

For Nayon Tara, it’s more than a convenience. It means less pain, more dignity. She can now cook, wash, and drink without fear of falling ill or collapsing from exhaustion. The impact ripples beyond her household, supporting 150 families who now feel a sense of relief after years of uncertainty.

This initiative is not just about water infrastructure. It’s about justice. It's about recognising that people, regardless of age, income, or geography, deserve access to life’s most basic necessities.

Now with clean water flowing, hope flows too, for Nayon Tara, and for many like her in the village.

Solar water brings dignity and hope to remote hills of Rangamati.