{"id":97847,"date":"2014-11-06T08:59:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T13:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=97847"},"modified":"2014-11-24T12:37:51","modified_gmt":"2014-11-24T17:37:51","slug":"10-questions-power-of-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2014\/11\/10-questions-power-of-good\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Questions: Power of Good"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was first published in the Fall 2014 print edition of\u00a0<\/em>UConn Magazine<\/a>. To read more stories like this, visit\u00a0s.uconn.edu\/fall14<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/a> or download\u00a0<\/a><\/em>UConn Magazine’s<\/a> free app<\/a>\u00a0for iPads.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/a>
Peter Werth III \u201980 (CLAS), fourth from left, celebrates in May with friends and local villagers in Ringmo, Nepal, where his nonprofit, Himalaya Currents, last year installed the village\u2019s first wind turbine, which is now operational and provides power 24 hours a day to this remote community. (Photo courtesy of Peter Werth III)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Peter Werth III \u201980 (CLAS), trekking across some of the most rugged, geographically <\/em>isolated terrain on the planet could not be more gratifying. Two years ago, Werth founded<\/em> Himalaya Currents, a nonprofit devoted to supporting sustainable energy and water projects in an impoverished, remote region of Nepal. The organization and its partners have installed numerous hydroelectric and solar- and wind-powered hybrid units, as well as a pumping system to deliver clean drinking water to local residents. Prior to starting Himalaya Currents<\/a>, Werth worked in the pharmaceutical industry and with the Werth Family Foundation. To learn more, visit\u00a0himalayacurrents.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Why did you first travel to Nepal, and what were your impressions?<\/strong>
\nMy first trip to Nepal took place in 2012. I was going to see the progress of a project the Werth Family Foundation partially funded with the World Wildlife Fund [WWF]. This was a micro-hydroelectrical project in a remote region of Nepal in the Himalayan Mountains called Dolpa. The area is a three days\u2019 hike from the nearest dirt-strip airport and a seven days\u2019 hike from the nearest road.<\/p>\n

2. What are the people like?<\/strong>
\nDuring my first trip to Dolpa, I was amazed at their kind, gentle nature. They shared everything they had and openly embraced me as one of their own. The sense of community was amazing. They are extremely hard-working. They live on the margin of survival, and therefore everything they do is with a purpose. They are very religious, and look to the stars, nature, and the lamas [priests] for signs of good karma. I nd it hard to understand how people that live such a hard life can be so gentle and kind inside. These villages are at altitudes of 11,000 to 14,000 feet. Just walking up a hill for me is a struggle. The villages are isolated from November to April by avalanches and heavy snows, and to get to these places one must cross 18,000-foot passes \u2014 not an easy task!.<\/p>\n

3. Why did you decide to found Himalaya Currents?<\/strong>
\nOnce I lived in the village, I knew that I wanted to do more for these people who really have no advocates for their needs. I founded Himalaya Currents to be a focused NGO [nongovernmental organization] that would deal with energy and resource problems specific to the Himalayan environment. The Werth Family Foundation covers a broad spectrum of causes that we support in the New England region, so I wanted to carve out an area where my personal passion wouldn\u2019t eclipse what the foundation does.<\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/a>
Werth travels to a remote region of Nepal in the Himalayan Mountains called Dolpa, which is three days\u2019 hike from the nearest dirt-strip airport and a seven days\u2019 hike from the nearest road. (Photo courtesy of Peter Werth III)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. How do you determine which projects to fund? <\/strong>
\nProjects are decided by meeting with villagers at community gatherings. They discuss what they want, and then we come back to them with possible solutions. You can be in a village a couple days and just observe \u2026 what the biggest problem they face is. It usually revolves around energy, water, or sanitation. If the project is sustainable, environmentally friendly, and can be handed over to the village, I am good with that. When I hike out of the village, the project is 100 percent theirs \u2014 they maintain and run it once we\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n

5. What\u2019s the political situation in Nepal? Has that posed a challenge?<\/strong>
\nAfter the Maoists assumed power [in 2008], there was incredible in-fighting. Basically, if you wanted something, you held a strike and closed down roads, or even entire districts, until the government met your demands. It led to a system where the country was being held hostage by in-fighting all the time. The first Constitutional Assembly failed miserably to write a constitution, so the government was ineffective. It became very apparent that if you needed to put in a school, a health clinic, or lights, you needed to do it yourself. However, the new Constitutional Assembly is back in session, and it looks like the gridlock is easing. But maneuvering through the bureaucratic system there is always a challenge \u2014 the rules and regulations seem to change all the time.<\/p>\n

6. I understand you\u2019ve been able to involve UConn students in your projects. What have the students done?<\/strong>
\nTwo UConn engineering students were involved in the Saldang Solar Hybrid unit that we completed last year. They mentored and helped design and fabricate the unit with high school students from Hartford Public High School. Then one of the students, Pravesh [Mallik \u201915 (ENG)], was flown to Nepal \u2014 he\u2019s Nepali \u2014 and arranged for the chemicals needed for the special batteries we used for this system.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In one project spearheaded by Himalaya Currents, this stone-and-wire structure \u2014 built by hand without cement or power tools of any kind \u2014 is part of a sustainable, clean-energy hydrokinetic system that now supplies power 24 hours a day to villagers in a remote Nepalese community. (Photo courtesy of Peter Werth III)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. <\/strong>You partner with the World Wildlife Fund on all of your projects in Nepal. What do they bring to the table?<\/strong>
\nThe WWF is invaluable for me in navigating all the governmental rules and regulations. If we agree that a project ts both our visions, then they assist with permits and logistics. At the end of the day, we essentially do these projects together.<\/p>\n

8. What are your plans for the organization\u2019s future?<\/strong>
\nIdeally, I would like to optimize and standardize a wind\/solar hybrid system and a small hydrokinetic system for distribution throughout the Himalayas. This would involve working with NGOs like USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] and other agencies.<\/p>\n

9. What has been your most rewarding experience with Himalaya Currents?<\/strong>
\nThe most rewarding was a trip this May, where we lit up the entire village of Ringmo. To have every family, around 200 people, come to me and personally shake my hand and smile was amazing! It\u2019s amazing what a light can do.<\/p>\n

10. What would you say to those who want to make a difference in developing countries like Nepal?<\/strong>
\nIf you want to make a difference, just do it \u2014 no one will hand you a road map. You need to be prepared to take some knocks and hear a lot of \u201cno\u2019s,\u201d but if you ask the right questions, you will and people who would love to have your help. The biggest thing is to have an open mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Werth III ’80 (CLAS) is leading efforts to connect impoverished Himalayan villages far from the power grid with sustainable energy sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":98550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,88,1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[49],"class_list":["post-97847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-global-affairs","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 07:42:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97847"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98928,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97847\/revisions\/98928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/98550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97847"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=97847"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=97847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}