IOM Azerbaijan officially handed over renovated kahriz to local community

IOM Azerbaijan officially handed over renovated Shamsi kahriz to the community of Mireshelli village located in Aghdam district. This is the first renovated kahriz transferred to the community within the IOM Azerbaijan Project “Integrated Rural Development for IDP communities in Azerbaijan through Revitalization of Kahriz Water Supply System” financed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

The kahriz with the discharge capacity of 27 litres per second (l/s) will provide drinking water to 214 households and irrigation water to 75 families and 90 hectares of arable land.

The four-year project aims to provide safe and consistent water supplies for over 8,000 families in eight districts through the renovation of 40 kahrizes – a traditional, sustainable water supply system.

The project’s overall objective is to contribute to the prevention of forced economic migration by enhancing access of rural communities in Azerbaijan to energy free water resources as a means to increase agriculture productivity and livelihoods through provision of water infrastructure, by providing opportunities for income generating activities in link with Kahriz renovation. The project continues to implement a community-driven approach, paying specific attention to cross-cutting issues such as gender, governance and environmental sustainability.

This project is implemented under 3 different but closely connected approaches. These are Kahrizes rehabilitation, Irrigation water channels restoration and Capacity building of communities and Kankans.