Harnessing Rain Water by Bakhita Women
by International Presentation Association of the Sisters of the Presentation
Kalomo is a small town in the Southern part of Zambia. Having heard from our NGO, the International Presentation Association on the MDGs, Presentation Sisters motivated a group of determined and hard working women in the local community to come together with the goal of eradication of extreme poverty from their families, under the name Bakhita Women. These women, carrying the burdens of the orphans because of the HIV pandemic, not having any help to send them to school or to feed the family, realized that if they did not do something for themselves, all the good idea of MDGs will remain on the papers.
The women came together to support each other as they met in a simple exercise of knitting club. They received the profit when they were able to finish knitting a cardigan and sell it, repaid for the wool which became the rolling fund to buy more wool. As they did the knitting, they also listened to each other’s pains of bereavements and experienced some healing. They planted maize in leased land (4 hectares). The good harvest of the first year encouraged other women to join the group. Slowly 33 households met their basic needs to sustain and survive. They became more conscious of Planet Earth and how its resources are being depleted, and how global warming is affecting them year after year as drought or floods destroyed their fields and with it all hopes shattered.
When it became difficult to get the land on lease they looked for funds to match with their savings and bought a plot of land (20 hectors) and put a borehole and planted vegetables. Their dream became bigger when they learned it is possible to make a weir dam to harness rain water using the soil from the anthills that were plentiful on the land.
Implementation methodologies
While waiting for the dam to become a reality, they cleared the land and planted maize and got a good harvest. A dam was designed and they began digging the core trench. Emptied the river bed and collected the sand which was later used to make bricks. Anthills were broken down and used to make bricks to build the farm house. The trees which were cut down as the land was cleared were used for baking bricks. All the manual work being done by the women! Hiring the machinery for building the dam wall required more money and even though the application was approved, money was not released. So all the effort put into the digging of the trench went in vain. The rains came in torrents and washed away the core trench. But they did not give up hope. The following year they received the needed money and were able to complete the dam wall, built with anthill soil only.
What is innovative about this approach/project?
- This project is initiated and owned by women and the value of co-operation is the core.
- All the materials used were locally available
- It is self sustainable
- No destruction of the environment (Environmentally friendly)
- Water that is harnessed is being used for various other interrelated projects
- Not a bag of cement was used to build the wall of the dam
- Skillful use of nature’s building materials, women’s resourcefulness, ingenuity, persistence, determination, work ethic etc are commendable.
Evidence of results and impact
- The harnessed water from the 200 meters wide dam is used by the families of the group members and the neighboring villages (who at present have to walk approximately 5 km to get water) for drinking purposes, for their orchards, vegetable gardens, maize plants, and livestock and fish farming.
- The group owns 7 cattle of which 2 are trained to plough the land and others used for milking. 4 pigs already in the piggery and fish is introduced into the dam. Groups are being trained on goat rearing and piggery and structures are being built for the goats.
- The group has become self reliable and gained self dignity as they take pride and ownership of their project, the work of their hands, and fruit of their hard work.
- Fruit trees like mangoes, pawpaw, citrus, avocado, custard apples, etc are already planted in the orchard and some are already bearing fruit.
- The women can plan for the future as they do not have to totally depend on the rain. The dam water with suitable irrigation scheme will allow production throughout the year.
- In the near future they plan to do irrigation using treadle pumps, to buy a tractor and a harrow to plough the land, plant special trees for compost, and not forgetting the regular maintenance on the dam.
- A number of MDGs are being achieved through this initiative and mainly women and orphans benefit from it.