Magar village, in the Rajpur Rural Municipality which is situated at the foothills of the Churia range in Nepal’s Kamdi Corridor, faces significant water scarcity due to the low water retention capacity of the area's soil. This challenge is further aggravated by rising temperatures, prolonged dry spells, and intense, erratic rainfall occurring over short periods. The local community, which depends heavily on monsoon rains for agriculture (like paddy, maize, wheat, and mustard), has been experiencing irregular rainfall patterns and intense heat, leading to declining agricultural productivity and reduced income.

Although a small river runs nearby, its location close to a forest presents challenges in channeling water to agricultural lands due to potential conflicts with wildlife. To address these issues, WWF Nepal constructed a multipurpose pond in Magar village in an area with natural water retention capacity to ensure a reliable water supply during dry periods. The water from the pond is used for crop irrigation via a canal connected to the pond and now provides year-round water storage that is used by 22 families for irrigation on 10+ hectares of farmland. For the first time, households successfully cultivated paddy, eliminating the need to purchase rice from markets. The new system has also reduced time, labor, and electricity costs by over 50% compared to the previous irrigation method of pumping water directly from the river. Residents are now reporting greater water security in all seasons. The pond also helps recharge groundwater by reducing sub-surface flow.

During a preliminary site visit, community members shared their plans to develop homestays in the village as an alternative income source to agriculture. The pond provides multiple benefits, including water for crop production and opportunities for fish farming, which serve as delicacies for tourists and enhance local livelihoods by diversifying income sources in a nature-friendly manner. Fish cultivation was selected as the desired alternative nature-friendly livelihood option based on community consultations, and the Agriculture Knowledge Centre helped inform the varieties of fish to provide to the beneficiary households (grass carp, silver carp, and common carp). A total of 10,000 fish hatchlings were distributed to the interested households.

To further support sustainable living, five solar panels were provided to households interested in creating homestays to help with cooking and plumbing during power outages. Resources for fish and snail cultivation were also provided, and community members were educated and trained in how to maintain the pond, its ecosystem, and home-stay bookkeeping.