Richard Backwell met guide Bimal Gurung whilst trekking in Nepal back in 2003 and was invited to visit Bimal's home village of Okhle. Concerned about the poor water supply (the rusting tanks, leaking pipes and taps gave an inadequate amount of water that was sometimes impure), Richard and his team carried out a survey to find out what was required to fix the supply. They sent the funds out from England and began raising money to pay themselves back. With extremely limited resources, the villagers completed the work on two 20, 000 litre tanks, 1200 metres of pipework and and two standpipes before Richard's next visit to Okhle in 2004, with funds to spare.

Richard and Bimal were so impressed by what could be achieved just with minimal funding and a lot of willpower, that they decided to keep the fund going; clearly there were many areas in which additional aid could be provided in terms of funds, expertise and manpower. The early projects were concentrated in Okhle and gradually spread to neighbouring villages in the area.