Majghandak

1. Community demographics

According to key informant interviews conducted with local authority figures, there are approximately 443 families with 1,600 people living in the village of Majghandak in the district of Karukh. The community holds a mixture of Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks and Hazaras with Tajiks being the most numerous at approximately 80% and the whole community speaking Dari. The community health profile is average, with Majghandak and 15 surrounding villages all lacking any medical clinic. Child mortality is an issue, along with tuberculosis, diabetes and cancer.

Approximately 20 IDP families came to the village in 2016/2017 mostly from Badghes and all of them live in houses. Key informants noted there are no returnee migrants to the village and considered the community’s population as very stable with no expected movement in the near future. The village is considered to be very secure.

2. Community geography and economic profile

Majghandak is located in hilly terrain with a large mountain located approximately 5km away. A stream runs through the area. Houses are fairly dense in the western and southern parts of the village, more spread out in the northern section, while the eastern section leads towards agricultural lands. All the houses are made from mud. Key non-residential buildings include a town hall for Shura meetings, a mosque and a large school. People access pipe water along with drawing water from wells.

2. Economic profile

Agriculture is the primary industry in the village, with some people working their own farming lands and some people working as daily wage labourers on other people’s lands. The agriculture is centered on farming and livestock. In 2010, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) implemented a carpet weaving vocational project for 20 women over 6 months. These women continue to weave carpet in their homes using the equipment that was distributed and also do tailoring, embroidery and raise chickens. Key informants noted there were no other industries in the village. The teachers at the school work half-days (8:00am – 12pm or 12pm – 4pm) and farmed the other half of the day. The agricultural work is seasonal, with work stopping during the winter months due to the cold.

4. Energy profile

There is no grid electricity in the village but local authority figures stated Da Afghan Brishan Sherkat (DABS) had at one point promised a grid connection.

Majghandak has a mini-grid with a water dynamo built by the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) in 2006. It provides enough power for lighting 100 households but has limited capacity and if there is little water running, the dynamo does not work. This usually means that there is power generation for lights in the 3 winter months for 4 hours per night. In summer, the water is used for agricultural purposes and the dynamo does not run. Key informants noted that the community took a 10% role in the construction of the mini-grid and the community members who could not provide money supplied labour on the project instead. Connecting to the mini-grid was free of charge.

Some households also use small-capacity solar power for temporary lighting, with solar equipment being available in the district bazaar along with Herat City.

Most people use wood for cooking, which farmers obtain from their agricultural lands and is then used in mud tanour stoves. People also use wood for sandali and bukhari space-heaters for their homes.