Pyjama Samsara - End of the one-month water catchments

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October 24th, 2008

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06:46 pm - End of the one-month water catchments
During my first trip to Somalia, I was mortified at the design of the water catchments that were dug as part of a Cash-For-Work intervention. I'm not a water engineer, but nonetheless, I asked, "You call this a water catchment?".

So I went about asking the engineers for advice. And with the help of an amazing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) evaluator from Malawi, we got a few rules figured out:

1. We should not dig new water catchments, as we do not know what the soil is like underneath. Water catchments need clay soil to retain water. If the soil is sandy, it will leak like a sieve. So, it's better to expand existing water catchments.

2. Know where the clay layer ends, and don't dig past it. And if you do, patch it up by putting more clay over it.

3. Given that evaporation in Somalia is 1.5 m per year, it's best to have the water catchments deeper and narrower rather than shallow and wide.

4. Think of how to improve water quality and not just quantity. So think of adding a sedimentation trap / settling pool to reduce soil and animal droppings from entering. Also think of animal troughs or an infiltration well for human consumption.

5. Improve the capture of water by rehabilitating or extending inlets.

So, we proceeded and worked on more catchments in the last dry season. And with my visit last week, I was able to visit two that were just dug. This one is a whopping four metres deep. And the villagers reckon that the water will now last them twelve months, whereas only six months before. I think it's optimistic. But perhaps nine months? Nonetheless, a shitload better than the one-month water catchments we used to dig.

For more of my Somalia photos, click here.

Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: [mood icon] pleased
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(Leave a comment)

Comments:

[User Picture]
From:[info]n2kaja
Date:October 24th, 2008 07:40 pm (UTC)
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These are wonderful photos!
You should should share them in world tourist.
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 24th, 2008 09:17 pm (UTC)
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World tourist? What's that?
[User Picture]
From:[info]n2kaja
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:02 am (UTC)
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world_tourist is my community
it's pictures from all over the world but not enough from African countries.
http://community.livejournal.com/world_tourist/
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:22 am (UTC)
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Joined. I don't tend to contribute much to communities... more of the pressure of time than anything. But will try.
[User Picture]
From:[info]dj3huty
Date:October 25th, 2008 04:17 am (UTC)
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What a good story! Well done! :)
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:27 am (UTC)
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Thanks! It's for my brother-in-law Adrian who was despairing at the bad water catchments before. :)
[User Picture]
From:[info]damiandoyle
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:52 am (UTC)
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You should be bloody proud of this effort. Given the prevalence of la bullshit, it's remarkable that there're any success stories at all.
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:20 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, but you know, you think you solve one bullshit, and another one emerges. But kinda pleased and also realise how lucky it was that Joe was there at the same time.
[User Picture]
From:[info]simunye
Date:October 25th, 2008 10:05 am (UTC)
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Well done! This only goes to show that we should always question existing policies and practices instead of taking them at face value.
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 25th, 2008 06:24 pm (UTC)
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Yep, and even question it when people say "but this is the way we have always done it". Because most of the time, it's not true.
[User Picture]
From:[info]henkc
Date:October 25th, 2008 08:03 pm (UTC)

New eyes

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The beauty of new eyes. And someone who can just aks the simple questions. Wish we had more people like you and less people who just do what is asked of them.
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:October 29th, 2008 12:35 pm (UTC)

Re: New eyes

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Hey, I was thinking about this, and was wondering if it's because people sometimes don't realise that they actually have the authority to change things if they don't work. I don't know. I shall have to remind people that they can change things in the future.
[User Picture]
From:[info]hatter_anon
Date:November 1st, 2008 01:17 am (UTC)
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That's a real achievement! What a big impact water supply can have.
[User Picture]
From:[info]vasco_pyjama
Date:November 2nd, 2008 08:52 am (UTC)
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Yeah, when the water runs out from this catchment, women have to walk 10 km to fetch water. So if this even adds one more month, it's a big thing to their quality of life.

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