Home

Market Access Chokortoe - Project BH 44

Budget: Nu 9.7 million (Elysium)

Partner: Bumthang Dzongkhag, Chokor Gewog

Contact: Namgyel Tshering email- namgyelt ( ) helvetas.org.bt

Location/Geographic Coverage: Chokortoe (Bumthang)

Project duration: 2009=2010

Chokortoe consists of eight villages with about 200 households and a population of 1’500 residents. The local people are almost entirely dependent on agriculture and livestock with some supplementary income from tourism and medicinal plant collection. While agricultural land and water are found in abundance, lack of access to markets is a major constraint, particularly for the people living on the left bank of the river. Therefore, the creation of vehicular road access has become the most important priority for this cluster of villages if they are to improve their livelihoods as there is potential for increasing agricultural productivity.

The objectives of the project are as follows:

Increase the income of farmers through improved access to markets for agricultural and livestock products
Reduce the drudgery of farm labour, particularly for women, by enabling the use of farm machinery (access to agriculture land through bridge) and vehicles
Enhance the overall living conditions of the people through easier and faster access to health, education and other social amenities

Main Achievements:

The project is carried out by the Dzongkag Engineering Division, Bumthang. Detailed planning for the bridge was carried out by Department of Roads. The construction was awarded to Ms Passang Construction in December 2009.

Outlook:

The contractor is planning to initiate the work in December 2009 and to have the bridge completed by June 2010.