Mondakhail

1. Community demographics

According to key informant interviews conducted with local authority figures, there are approximately 600-1500 households in Mondakhail with population estimates varying (approximately 5000 people) (1). The villagers are all Pashtuns and speak Pashto. Key informants stated there was little to no IDP or returnee population living in the community. It was considered very likely that most people in the community will continue living in Mondakhail in the near future, with community members considering it their home and security cited as very good.

(1) The discrepancies between different key estimates informants are being investigated

2. Community geography

Mondakhail lies south-east of Chamkani, the district centre. The area is not completely flat with parts of the community (Ghondai Kalai, Latto Kalai and Dara e Kahool) located on sections of forested-mountains in the east of the village. Mud-brick and mud houses are the most common form of housing with a limited amount of concrete buildings. The community has sections which are densely populated and then interspersed village sections where houses are more spread out. A large river flows through the community. A secondary source of water is Dengi Kareez (kareez being an underground water table that flows between wells).

A school where boys attend in the morning and girls in the afternoon is located to the west of the village. The school has a small solar panel for lighting the guards room only. There is also a clinic nearby but it lacks experienced doctors and medicine.

The majority of the community use potable water wells dug by the National Solidarity Council (NSP), but water table levels often run low or become dry depending on the season and wells sometimes need to be repaired.

3. Economic profile

The majority of the village work in agriculture or work as casual day labourers with a small minority working with the military or pursuing their education. Some people in the village are also government employees, or work as shopkeepers. The formal employees work year round but those working in agriculture or construction do not work in the winter months. A lack of skills and facilities were cited as reasons why people did not undertake work at home.

4. Energy profile

Most of the community use stand-alone solar panels which were distributed by the NSP. Most of the households use wood for cooking and heating, with a minority of households using LPG.