Nepal’s Watermill

It was a sudden surprise, the water mill.

I had never seen one before. Water mills have been in existence since a long long time. They use the flowing water to grind the grains using two stone sills. In most of the places, it’s a community driven system. The community builds it and maintains it. In return, the users keep some amount of flour as a contribution.

According to Nepal times, ‘There are an estimated 30,000 water mills all over Nepal, traditionally used in villages to grind grain.’ Today, a master artisan, Malaram ji was with us. He had rebuilt a similar community driven water mill once in Uttrakhand, India. He showed us how this worked. Believe me, it was awesome! I wish to study more about it now.

The water is channelised through a small canal. The flow is controlled by a small check-dam. As soon as the flow becomes sufficient to rotate the turbine below the stone sill, it needs a small push and the mill starts! check out the videos and the photos.

The water channel flowing below the mill. Just after the granary, there is a small wooden pin used to control the speed of the turbine depending on the size of the grain. As told by Malaram ji.

Malaram ji opening the small check-dam.

Small beautiful handmade tools.

When the check-dam is closed again.

If you know more about it, I would love to hear it from you!