Embedded Files
The bridge over the Shina River running through the centre of Shewaki, with a mosque and grid power poles and cables behind it
1. Community demographics
According to key informant interviews conducted with local authority figures, there are approximately 12,000 households and 5000 people living in Shiwaki village in the Bagrami District. The majority of the village speak Dari and local authority figures estimate an even mix of children and youth (under 24) and adults.
Local key informants stated that there was no IDP population in the community, but that 25 - 50% of the community were returnee migrants that mostly returned from Pakistan during the Karzai presidency (2004-2014). Many of the returnees have come back to their old households and lands, but some returnees have current applications pending for land distribution through the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MRR).
People living in the community are expected to stay in the village for many years with most of the inhabitants owning their own houses.
Streets in Shewaki (note the electricity poles and cables)
2. Community geography
Shewaki village lies to the south-east of Kabul city, directly south of Bagrami Industrial Area and the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway.
The community is surrounded by flat agricultural land on all sides with the Shina River running through the middle of the village (which runs dry during the summer). A mountain lies 3 - 4 kilometers away from the village. The vast majority of the houses are made of mud and lie densely together in the village, with a limited number of houses spread out over a larger area. Potable water wells are shared between 5 -6 families along with a public well at the mosque.
There is a high school for girls and a high school for boys. The healthcare clinic / hospital closes and night and is short on healthcare professionals and medicines, so many community members take sick family members to health facilities in Kabul city. The Bibi Naz girl's school was constructed recently by a businessman. The bridge crossing the river was built by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD).
A community elder when asked about the main challenges in Shewaki -
"The main challenges of this community are in construction like; road and lane construction, unjust distribution of electricity, some houses don’t have electricity. The condition of people’s economy is weak, farmers haven’t received support in terms of chemical materials to for cultivation. Lack of water is a problem for farmers."
On the strengths of the community -
"People are living in brotherhood with each other, they have unity. The environment is clean and its green during spring. A lots of people are coming here for picnic in summer. Our village is a green place and picnic location for the people of Kabul."
3. Economic profile
Approximately half of the community works in agriculture. Some community members own their own lands and work them but most of the community do not own their own land so farm on other people's plots. 1 in 4 people were said to work for the government, and the final quarter are self-employed, including shop-owners. A small minority work in construction or have professions such as carpentry, metalworking or tailoring.
4. Energy profile
According to key informants, 90 - 95% of families have access to grid electricty. However, the DABS grid representative estimated that 500 out of 1050 households do not access the grid (1). There is a power junction in the village, with 6 circuits and 412 utility poles with 630 kW of power. An area of the village lacks lines and utility poles, and while another area of the village has it, it lacks a transformer.
In winter, key informants and the DABS representative noted that households with electricity experience 50% outage rates, usually with access on one day but not the next.
Some households in the village have solar power, batteries or generators to use when there are power outages.
Most people in the community use wood, coal or other burning materials to heat their homes. For cooking, wood is used in traditional tanur mud stoves. Some community members use gas stoves.
(1) This discrepancy is being investigated
Google Sites
Report abuse