raindrop newsletter may 1991 v5 rainwater harvesting bulletin

8/9/2019 Raindrop Newsletter May 1991 v5 Rainwater Harvesting Bulletin

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RAINDROPRainwater Harvesting BulletinMay 1991 Vol.5Focus on KenyaDemand for Rainwater Harvesting Technology Exceeds Available ResourcesBy Constance C. C ohen '

The biggest single problem for family '-'" '- ' ' - : / - \ \ ~. \ :.;''."'.or comm unity rainwater har vesting inKenya is the limited number of adaptableroofs. Th e second is the lack of m oney forany other than the m ost imm ediate familyneeds. A nd th e third is not so much th elack of rain as irregular and unreliablerainfall.Today , only 21 percent of K enya's ruralpopulation and 61 percent of its urban dw ellershave access to safe water, according to W orldBank statistics. M oreover, K eny a's w ater supplyproblems are grow ing, driven by the rapidlyincreasing population and resultant ecologicaldegradation.How ever, the comm on struggle for accessto water sources fosters a strong m otivation forchange, and many K enyans are interested inimproving their water supply with any m eansavailable. In the words of one developmentworker, "Kenyans are 'dead keen' on allmethods of harvesting rainwater for use in theirhom es and for th eir herds."One indicator of the level of national interest inrainwater harvesting is that Kenya has 59 R HIC networkm em bers, more than any other African c ountry. How ever, Thatch and Tamped Earth Roofs Most C o m m o n

Commercially-built metal cistern.there are nvjo r o bstacles inhibiting w ide-scale use ofrainwater harvesting in Keny a, although som e are beingovercome with notable success .

Inside This IssueL o w - C o s t R o o f T i l e s 3H o w t o U s e R H I C D a t a B a s e 7I n f o r m a t i o n R e s o u r c e s 8N e t w o r k N e w s U p d a t e 9C o n f e r e n c e s 9

Roofs m ade of either thatch or tamped earth are themost com m on, especially in rural Kenya , but they do notyield rainw ater of good quality or quantity. Beca use thatchis increas ingly scarce and cost ly , more and m ore K enyansare obliged to buy corrugated metal roofing ma terials. O n eadvantage of metal roofing is i ts suitability for water capture,although locally available corrugated tin is a very thin gauge,despite i ts being expe nsive, and it rusts and w ears out muchsooner than heavy-gauge roofing.Many of th e metal roofs that do exist are s o old andrickety that they can n ot support or b e adapted w ith gutters,and many others are too small to be of m uch help given thelimited annual rainfall.

P r in t ed o n R e c y c l e d P a p e r(continued on page 4)


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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESKGet the Message and Pass It OnByCar lJMndb lad** Rainwater harvesting is a source of po table water. It is a naturallyclean and safe source of water. Today contaminated water causes s om eseventy-five percent of the sickn esses suffered by humans. Each daywater-related diseases k ill som e 3 0,0 00 children and adults across thisglob e. The cycle of water-borne diseases can be broken, and rainwaterharvesting is a very p owerful tool to do just that** Rainwater harvesting is a reliable, low-maintenance, and low-laborsource of p otable water. Rainwater harvesting is a very practical comp lement to exp and existing water sources, whether drawnfromwells,streams, or from overburdened standp ipes. * Where we lls are not econom ically or practically feasible and whereother natural ground water sources are distant or seasonal, rainwaterharvesting may be the only affordable op tion to w omen 's arduous dailytrek for water. In urban and peri urban areas, rainwater harvesting may bevery economical compared to the cost of purchasing water.** Even where ground water is plentiful during the rainy season, p ondsand streams may then he n specfi11y p otent source of dise ases becau sefecal-borne and other pathogens accumulated on the land during the dryseason are flushed into the surface water sources.** Community development and grass-roots organization are k ey tosuccess in p romoting rainwater harvesting, as with any water supp lyp rojects. Becau se a rainwater harvesting system is generally simp le and. uncomplicated to build and maintain, it is we ll suited to community self-help actions.** Networking is a low-cost and effective means to share relevan tpractical information, both successes and failures. Networking reducesthe on-site time and cost of trial and error necessary in the developm entp rocess before any new rainwater harvesting technology can catch o n andproliferate.** The more you use RHIC the more useful it will be for you and for diewhole Network.Got the message? Pass it on.

Ca r l J. Lindblad h as w orked or the past eighteen years in a variety ofsectors in international development. In addit ion to rainwater harvesting, h isexperUnceincludesagriculturalexUnsionandtraining.postharvestfoodlossreduction, food processing and renew able energy technologies, and sm allbusiness development.

NETWORKMEMBERSHIP UPDATERHIC Network Expanding

AMA/NEAR EABTMS

AFRICA

NORTH AfcCRICAU

LATMAMERM* 0EUROPE

S o u r c e : R A T N C O L L Data BaseThe Rainwater Harvesting

Information Center (RHIC) is based atthe Water and Sanitation for HealthProject (WA SH) funded by US AID.Th e RHIC network has a currentmembership o f 46 8 individuals andinstitutions from 9 5 countries, which isa m ajor increase from the initial 74network members in 1986.Network members are involved inrainwater harvesting (R WH ) activitiesranging from both rural and urbancommunity projects to university-basedresearch. You can help the networkgrow by mailing RHIC the names andaddresses o f other individuals ororganizations who may w ish to bemembers. Thanks!

A i m / / i r aAt fA't\ # f * f t ftftVfamflrV*! DWATER AND SANITATIONFOR HEALTH PROJECT

For additional information about activities andrepo r t* highlighted in th i i i ssue, contact WA SHOperat ions Center , Roam 1001,1611 North KentStreet, Arlington. VA 22209 USA.Wate r and Sanitation for H ealth Project, C ontractNo. 5973-7-00-8081. Project No. 836-1249.Sponsored by the Office of Health, Bureau ofScience and Technology, U.S. Agency for International Development , Washington, D .C 20523.

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TECHNOLOGY NEWSWomen's Coops Manufacture Blocks and Low-Cost Tiles

Like the women from many areas in Africa, the womenof Kitui in northwestern Kenya have a reputation for workingwell in groups. Hundreds of them promp tly responded to anopp ortunity in 1988, w hen the African H ousing Fund (AHF)helped them organize cooperative factories to manufactureroof tiles and block s for water tanks, h ouses, and p it latrines.Their products are sold to the local housing industry and theyalso use them to construct their own hom es.

AHF, which is funded by NORAD, the Norwegian aidagency, provides training and supp ort for the management ofthe manufacturing and sales activ ities. The trainees then helptrain others. AHF also p rovides grants and credit forpurchase of land, equipm ent and start-up materials, and helpsarrange sales contacts. Literally millions of tiles have beensold, including roofing tiles for 2,000 new middle-levelhousing units in N airobi.The timing of this concept is good because localgovernment officers are increasingly required to supportlocal enterprise and promote rural small-scale industry.The women have built water harvesting tanks for the districtoffice, a dispensary, and two schools. The main factorlimiting community sales is the demand from their ownmembers for block and tiles to build their own homes.Last year the women built two demonstration housesusing hollow cement block s. Each house had two rooms anda 25m 2 roof. The positive response to the houses wasamazing. Not only are the houses attractive, they stay coo l,and are very modestly p riced; not including labor, they co stKsh 23,000 (about US$1, 000). The women can also build

compacted Iaterite houses w hich are even less exp ensive andbigger, so the roof has greater capability for rain collection.

The roofing tiles are thin, light, easy to lay, and have anexp ected sp an of durability of SO years. Their density andstrength are assured by the u se o f a vibrating device, madeby Parry Associa tes, to comp act the mortar into the specialform. The women also manufacture curved, interlockingsolid cement b lock s for tank construction and use an awardwinning tank design also by Parry Assoc iates. Technicalassitance is p rovided by Intermediate Technology Workshop s, a Nairobi-based compnay which also is their majorclient.

The A HF strategy is also w orking in slum areas ofNairobi, offering women employment, incomewhich manynever had before, technical training, and self reliance. Atfirst, there were fears that the women would not p rove be areliable credit risk or strong enough for factory work. Thishas not been the case.So far, both the rural and urban projects are suc cessstories, despite initial p roblems w ith breakage and transportHusbands' skep ticism and suspicions have been allayed andtheir supp ort gradually gained. Loans are being repaid onschedule, and the factories are now training other cooperatives from other African countries, including Guinea andSenegal. Spin-offs of this program include community daycare centers and carpentry projects for unemployed teenagers.

For more information, including subscription to The AH FComm unity Builders Bulletin, contactAfrican Housing FundP.O. Box 41479Nairobi, Kenya

* *SVIBRATOR WITHACCESSORY PACKS

Arrangement ofCurved Til*

Vibrators and mold sys tems can be purchas ed f rom:- J .P.M Parry & A s s oc . LT D . , O veiend R oad , Crad ley H eath , Wes t Mid lands B6 4 7D D U . K .- E co Sys yems L td . , P .O . Box 938, Balan tyrc , M alaw i .- In termedia te Technology Wo rks hops , P . O . Box 451 56 , N a i rob i , K enya .' ' P " " " ' " i -PO Bo x 9 3 1 9 0 , 2 5 0 9 AD TH E HAG UET e l . : +31 70 30 689 80+31 70 35 899 64

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(continued rom page 1)For the many Kenyans w h o have practically nodisposable income, the cost of sheet meta l roofing,gutters, and w ater harv esting jars is sim ply out of thequestion. Even so , there is broad ap preciation for ferroce-ment w ater jars of 1,500 to 2,000 liters, and great demand forthem. Bigger water jars w ould be popular except for the

cost , which even l imits the number of smaller j a r s .Arid Areas and Drought

At least 85 percent of Kenya is arid or sem i-arid,receiving just 200-800 mm of rainfall annu ally. Th eapproxim ately five m ill ion people l iv ing in those zones haveinadequate water to m eet ei ther their household needs orthose of the herds on whose w elfare their exis tence depends.Faced w ith few al ternat ives , pastoral is ts , farm ers , andvil lagers have adapted to what the region can provide, at nosmall cost in he al th , labor, and comfort .The ave rage-size K enyan household needs about 80li ters of w ater per day, but m any famil ies m anage daily withjust a few l i ters of water per person. W here families doharvest rainwater, daily rationing is done carefully.Kenyan families are large and many rural wom en andchildren travel on foot up to 30 kilometers round trip everyda y to get w ater for c ooking, drinking, washing, and theirlivestock. Be cause of rapidly increasing popu lation andlivestock pressures , Kenya is being rapidly deforested. Thesubsequent increased runoff speeds soi l erosion, reducesconservation of w ater in natural catchm ents , and alsodecreases absorption into the underlying aquifers, compound ing the p rob lem.High Rainfall Has Its Own Problems

The mo st densely populated dis tricts are located inparts of central and w estern K enya, which receive heavyrainfal l once a year. B ut swollenriverso r w ater pouring offhouses o r onto crops do not necessarily solve year-roundw ater supply problems.

In these higher rainfall regions w here most people haveaccess to rivers,wel ls , and springs, many such sources areunprotected and comm unicate a host of w ater-borne diseases.In this environme nt, rainwa ter harvesting could be a veryeffective w ater-supply op tion, even though surface watermay b e plentiful.When rainwater is used to wash hands and faces,i t reduces the incidence of trachom a eye infectionscomm only t ransferred b y unwashed hand- to-hand- to-eye contact, according to local health workers.Groundwater Often Unhealthy

The extremely high fluoride co ntent of ground water isa health concern in K enya and other countries of easternAfrica. O verly high fluoride con centration in wa ter, in thiscase due to volcanic ac t ivity , can damage the l iver, heart , andb o n e s . In some areas i t is 8-12 ppm , compared to the .acceptable level of 1 ppm for drinking and co oking.As this heal th concern becomes m ore widely understood, rainwater harvesting may w ell become m uch m orepopular as a source of potable water, even in areas wherethere is plentiful ground w ater.Ferrocement Most Common Technology

Ferrocement is the m ost popular tank building materialin Kenya because of its strength and relative ease and cost ofconstruct ion. M ortar-Iincd granary b u re ts of about 3,500liters a re also in use . RW H containers vary in s ize from1,000-liter jars to tanks up to 80,000 l i ters. Local buildersprefer c onstructing several sm aller tanks rather than a singlelarge tank to avoid o verstress ing the w alls .Sub-surface dams and stone-masonry collection poolsalso have been constructed for rainwater harvesting, especial ly in the Kitui D istrict (See diagram below.)A typical s tone-masonry catchmen t there has about8,000 cubic m eter capaci ty , and over 100 such catchmentshave been constructed in the M utomo D ivis ion alone.Building such catchment pools is relativelyexpensive and

(continued on page 5)

shallow weD

W Lo f sono STorooe flom. . J ' . * " - - - : ; . . ' - ' -^-'iW Lot_5ubsuriacejlQD\^.' ;_U-l"WUJtAilloi w ell -I, ~JiL

Sub-surface Dam(Drawing from ASAL Rainwater Harvesting, Box 14333, Na irobi, Kenya.)

WL water level

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e4 t e i

*sJr*S

Z'Ws^'^S.A stone-masonry walled catchment tank.

(continued from page 5)labor intensive, but there are few op tions where year-roundwater bearing aquifers are inadequate, deep , or under layersof rock.One significant disadvantage of RWH systems is thatevaporation losses in uncovered water catchments can be ashigh as SO percent during 2-3 months of storage. Als o,depending on their location, som e catchments eventually willbecome filled with sediment.Sub-surface dam s built a cross natural drainage areasand stream beds are locally considered the cleanest and mostefficient rainwater harvesting option. A number ofthese dams have been built in both the M achakosand Kitui Districts in the Eastern Province.Local Innovat ion

The cost of gutters can be a major exp ense ininstalling a RWH system. DANIDA techni-cians in Kenya have devised sim ple equipm ent for v il lage-level m anufacturing of anim proved g ut ter des ign. T he design is bothcheaper and m ore easily installed thanearlier models, requiring simple hangersinstead of special gutter m ounting brack-ets. The imp roved design also can handle moreroof runoff and significantly reduces sp lashlosse s in heavy downp ours. The local demandfor these gutters now outpaces the sup p ly.Alternatives to the exp ense of tin guttersinclude construction of wooden s luices (in thelimited areas where much wood is available),flattened margarine tins , hollow banana stalk s,and even large leaves adapted as makeshift raingutters.

G o v ernment a nd Do no r Ass i s t a nceThe latest national Kenyan development budget allocation to the Ministryof W ater Developm ent targeted 67percent for water project capital costsand rural water supp ly. However, eventhis significant commitment can not

begin to meet the need for improvedwater sup plies.Kenya is fortunate in havingfinancial and technical assistance frommany bilateral and m ultilateral donors,and secular and religious NGOs. Almostevery donor organization supports thewater supp ly sector in one form oranother, and som e have been involvedfor more than IS years. These organizations include the Kenya Water for HealthOrganization (KW AHO), UN1CEF,American Medical and Research Foundation (AMRE F),Oxfam, World Neighbors, African Housing Fund (AHF ),Peace Corp s, and diverse religious organizations.

Recent Kenyan water projects include village-levelNGO projects supporting tank construction for individualhouses, and several groups are p roviding materials or settingup revolving loan funds for tanks in disp ensaries andschools. AMR EF is providing four 10,000-liter tanks for aschool with 400 p up ils in the village of Kisil in westernKenya, and a 5,000-liter tank for a nearby dispensary.(continued on page 6)

' timbers as support targuttrs to lankGutters

\ j ' 30 l

Gutty26 Honor3 mm wir.Skirting2Sg.ron irtNt Piute: omrwith trim wir. DownBID*(Gutttr mv-timotr).

DA NID A G ut t er Des ig nRAINDROP/May 1991/Page 5


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(continued from page 5)W hi le progres s i s be ing m ade , in the words of onewater development agent, "Lim ited roof col lect ion forschools st i l l amounts to only a drop on a sizzl ingplat ter in the target dry areas." But i t does provide pu pi lswith drinking and cooking w ater during school hours ,lessening the need for m others to fe tch and send their

chi ldren to school w i th w ater that they could otherwise usefor cooking and other household need s .The N orwegian-funded African Housing Fund (AH F)supports part icularly imaginat ive projects wi th low-incomeK e n y an w o m e n i n the cities of Kitui an d Nairobi . Cooperatives of women now manu facture thou sands of bui ldingblock s , roofing t i les , and special rounded bricks for ra inw atertanks . Th ey m arket their products to the local bui lding t radeand a l so use them to cons truc t the ir own hom es wi th self-help labor. (See Techno logy New s for detai ls .)

T r a i n in g P r o m o t e s R W H O p t io n sTraining of technicians and p ubl ic health personnel ,comm unity lead ers , m asons , carpenters , and plum bers is animportant feature of many Kenyan RW H and genera l wa te rsupply programs. For example , AM REF currently offers aone-mon th w ater t ra ining sess ion to Kenyan publ ic heal thofficers, w ater technicians , environm ental sc ient is ts , and 20heal th w orkers from other A frican countr ies who arepursuing degrees in comm unity heal th. The W orld 3s;ikalso conducts one-month t ra ining sess ions in w ater issues .UN ICEF suppo rts comm unity leadership t ra ining as a "keyelement in su s ta inable success" for water-supply p rojects.Kenyan secondary schoo l health c lubs a lso provide

vi tal ass is tance in spreading m essages to their com m unitiesabout w ater and sani ta tionexplaining not to drink or bathein pol luted s t ream s, the im portance of washing hand s , andthe health benefits of effective latrines.L o c a l R W H N e tw o r k s

U nti l recent ly there has been no formal or organizedcoordinat ion of ra inwa ter harves t ing act ivit ies in K enya,al though there has been fa ir ly regular comm unication amonginvolved agenc ies . In 1987, W o r ld N e i g h b o rs and Oxfamcol laborated by co-sponsoring a n at ional ferrocement RW Htank worksh op in 1987.In one example of ongoing co l l abora t ion , UN ICEF andDA NIDA wo rk in Ki tui dis tr ic t projects through the Cathol icdioceses , which in turn uses Peace Corps vo lunteers workingthrough the M inis try of W ate r Dev e lopmen t A l so , AM REFand CAR E are bo th working in the s ame d i s tr ic t o f K ibwezi ,one in we l l s and the o the r in roof ca tchm ent , and theycol laborate to avoid over l ap .Even w ith con t inuing efforts to network and com pareexperiences , there have been several ra inw ater harves tingprojects t rying to prom ote techniques that have alreadyproven to be unsui table by other local projects .

F ir s t K e n y a n I R C S A W o r k s h o pIn M ay 1991, John M bugua, the Kenyan nat ionalrepresentative of the newly-formed International RainwaterCatchm ent Systems A ssociat ion (IRCSA) o rganized andhos ted a RW H w orkshop. Thi s workshop se rved as animportant sign of increased coordination and collaboration in

Kenyan rainw ater harves ting act ivi t ies . I ts purpose w as toreview appl ied RWH research findings and priorities,e x a m in e R W H m a n a g em e n t and m aintenance sys tems, andlearn from the many different Kenyan experiences in R W H.K e n y a n Inter-African RWH N e t w o r k i n g

" T he AMREF Environm ental Heal th U ni t launched anewslet ter . Water and Sanitation News, in August 1990, toprom ote effective t ra ining in comm unity-based water supplyand sani ta t ion projects am ong t ra ining schools and univers ities, within the U . N . WHO and other key organizat ions inKenya and f ive o the r countries in eastern Africa.On another level, women's group leaders whotravel (at A HF's expense) as far as 5,000mi lesacross the continent from Guinea and Senegal, sharethe experience, strength , and h ope of Kenyan w om en.The vis it ing wom en have been very quick to understand theimportance of jobs manufacturing b ui lding blocks androofing t i les . They can also see that wi th their own labor andincom e, they too can have new hom es complete with gut ters ,ra inwater tanks , and la t r ines . They know that if successcont inues , this wi l l surely be a pow erful model for others andfor generat ions to com e al l across the con t inentContance C. Cohen lives in Nairobi, Kenya, where sheis an editor for AMREF. She has spent 13 years in EastAfrica, living in Ethiopia, Tanzania, as well as in Kenya.

NETWORK PRIORITYR H I C W a n t s T o S h a r e Y o u r I d e a s W i th t h e N e tw o r k

W e urge you to sha re wi th the RHIC ne twork theresul ts of your own local adaptat ions of RW H technologies .B u t d o n ' t hesitate to le t us know i f an idea d idn ' t pan out ,because tha t could s ave anothe r ne twork mem ber the t im eand expense of the same fai lure .Hard ly a month goes by w i thout RHIC learning ofsome new adaptat ion or idea being appl ied in a RWH projectfrom around the glob e. W e are sure there are l itera lly dozensof good ideas and s im ple adaptat ions of RW H technologiestha t we haven ' t ye t hea rd of . Once RH IC has such documentation /even if i t is stil l in draft form or unp ublished, i tbecomes a re source for the whole ne twork . You m ay w e llsee your contribut ion referred to in an issue of R ain dro p.Please take the t im e to send us a le tter or copy of yourrep ort The local USAID office can forward your le tter. W elook forward to hearing from you.

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HOW TO USE THERHIC DATABASEThe RHIC data base is

intended to serve all networkmembers, and access to itspublications and member data isavailable to any member. TheRAINC OLL data base currentlycomp rises 340 titles pertaining to awide range of f ields related torainwater harvesting. Included areproject reports, ap plied researchstudies, training manuals, andrelated documents.Network member data canbe retrieved by country, contactp erson, organization, type of RWHactivity, and reports issued. If, forexample, your project wants toexplore the viability o f p romotingperi-urban rainwater harvesting,you can learn the location o f otherregional network m embers whoare already building such systemsand communicate directly w iththem or possibly arrange a sitevisit. Further, you can requestdesigns for construction or requestcopies of the best reports orabstracts pertaining to p eri-urbanRWH in environments similar toyour own.To receive information onfellow network members' activities, or to locate documents on anytopic relevant to rainwaterharvesting, contact RHIC withyour request Please be as specificas p ossible about the informationyou are seek ing. Contact:Dan CampbellRHIC librarianRoom 10011611 N orth KentArlington, VA 22209 USAFAX 703-525-9137Telex No. W UI64552

News From Regional RHIC Reference CentersRHIC now has two regionalreference centers which serve toexpand the RHIC network at regionaland national lev els. The App ropriate

Technology Center in Togo and thePopulation and Community Development Association in Thailand are thefirst of what RHIC hopes w ill be anexpanding number of regionalreference centers.Each center designates a staffmember to respond to local requestsfor information on RW H, and to ke epRHIC informed of relevant localprojects, research, and informationreceived from other local organizations who are active in RWH. In

exchange, RHIC provides each centerwith a basic collection of rainwaterdocuments and may p rovide technical

assistance in conducting local workshops and training courses, and inpublishing and distributing manualsand reports.The Togo Appropriate Technology Center held a p ilot trainingworkshop for RWH cistern buildingand related Guinea worm eradication.The April 2 4-30 ,19 91, workshopprovided training to 20 Pea ce Corpsvolunteers and their national counterparts from T ogo and neighboringBenin. A team of six local m asons andmetal workers were also trained inferrocement cistern construction andguttering technology. Since 19 86, theTogo Appropriate Technology Center

has promoted low -cost ferrocementcisterns ranging in capacity from 1,000to 20, 000 liters.

RAINDROP NOW AVAILABLE IN FRENCH EDITION

RHIC WHAT- WHY - &- WHEREThe Rainwater Harvesting Information Center's (RHIC ) objective is toincrease potable water supplies for people living in rural and urban areas throughthe promotion of app ropriate, low- cost self-help rainwater harvesting systems.RHIC is funded by U S AID as a p art of the Water and Sanitation for HealthProject (WA SH). RHIC 's goals are to expand the membership of its network,increase technical information dissemination throughout the network, and tofocus RH IC's technical assistance services in the areas of highest demand. As ameans of meeting these go als, Ra indrop is published tw ice a year in bothEnglish and French editions. The newsletter's objective is to provide you asmembers of the network, p ractical,field-orientedtechnical support and information about rainwater harvesting activities.Rain drop encourages the exchange of information within the network sothat our members can benefit from each other's exp eriences. It also reports on

members' succe sses in a range of RWH activities including p roject imp lementation, field trials, extension, self-h elp community o rganization, etc.One of Raindrop's primary objectives is to focus on under-documentedareas and issues, relying on the network mem bership as w ell as our members'own technical expertise to imp rove the documentation on selected issu es. Youcan help by letting us k now how w e can serve your needs. You can also contribute by sending to RHIC any relevant project reports, construction p lans, photos,or even better, contribute an article to R aind rop . W e look forward to hearingfrom you.

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INFORMATION RESOURCESSteps for Imp lementing Rural WaterSupp ly and Sanitation Projects(Wash Technical Report No. 6 2) T hisguide offers project planners andimplementors a p lan for achievingsustainable rural water and sanitationprojects. The b asis for the plan is theintegration of the four componentsessential to the success of suchprojects: the water system , the sanitation system, hygiene edu cation, andcommu nity developm ent. The integration of these components develops thegroundwork for a community to take onthe management resp onsibilities of theimproved sources.

A Workshop Design For CommunityParticipation: Starting Work withComm unities, and Planning andImp lementing Sustainable Projects.(WASH Technical Report No. 33,Vo ls. 1&2) Field workers and projectmanagers need good skills to promotecommun ity participation in watersupp ly 2nd sanitation p rojects. Thepurpose of these two companionworkshops is to improve the skills offield w orkers responsible for promotingthe active participation of comm unitiesin environmental health projects. Theworkshops provide detailed lessonplans and guides for skill building inorganizing, encou raging, and facilitating the involvement of a community insolving its own environmental healthproblems.

The workshops can be readilyadapted to RWH projects. The firsttwo-week session covers enteringcomm unities, gathering information,organizing community groups, andhelping communities to conductsurveys and identify and analyze theirproblems.The second two-week sessioncovers helping comm unities to p lan,imp lement, and evaluate environmentalhealth improvements and hygieneeducation programs so that they can bemaintained and sustained by communities with limited external support.

Community Management of RuralWater Sup ply and SanitationServices (W ASH T echnical Report No.67) Examines the features of andrequirements for commun ity management, discusses the potential fordevelop ing project sustainability, anddescribes a five-level process that leadsto a community's full participation inits own developm ent Analysisincludes project experienc es fromSierra Leone, Tog o, M alawi, Guatemala, Kenya, the Philipp ines, and theUnited States.Each of the WASH Repor ts above canbe ordered (at no cost by developm entorganizations) f r o m : WASH, 1611N.Kent.Room 1001, A rlington, Virginia22209-2111 USA .Grass Roots Developmen t Video"The Women's Construction Collectiveof Jamaica" is a 13-minute vid eo about10 unemployed young women from thepoor neighborhoods of Kingston,Jamaica, who are trained in construction trade skills, operating their ownconstruction business, and working onconstruction sites. This video haspotential application for the start up ofwom en's cistern construction bu sinesses. When ordering, specify formatof tape required. Send US$22.95 checkor money order payable to W est GlenFilms, c/o West Glen Communications,Inc., 1430 Broadway, New York, NewYork, 10018 USA.TRANET Mini-LibraryAs an in-depth local resource forcommunity self-reliance, TRANET hasdeveloped a collection of 100 booksand do-it-yourself manuals for u se atthe village leveL Third World develop ment workers selected these volumes,which are considered the best app ropriate technology p ublications available.The cost of the library is US$1,000,including delivery to any town orvillage. For information, write to:TRANET, P.O. Box 567, Rangeley,Maine 04970 USA .

r F . T T F . R S F R O M T H EN F T W O R K

DearRHlC,During our sum mer drought inEl Salvador from November through

Ap ril, water is an especially preciouscomm odity, not that it is not soduring the rest of the year when itmust be hauled up from the river forhousehold use. Hence, everyp ossible avenue to more and betterwater access m ust be explored andevaluated.Years ago i noticed that theentire mountainside beside theairport at St. Thom as in the VirginIslands w as p aved to capture andchannel rainwater. At that time thissource provided the island's onlylocal sup ply o f fresh water. Perhapsa catchment apparatus, if it could beconstructed cheaply enou gh, mightserve some of our needs here in thishilly terrain.

W e would like to locate anyavailable documents on rainwaterharvesting in the Virgin Islands orelsewhere having to do with thepaved mountainside catchmentsystem. Your kind attention to ourrequest is greatly ap preciated.Yours truly,Don YarbroughLa Loma ProjectApartado Postal # 1Sonsonate, El Salvador

RAINDROP/May 1991/Page8N e t w o r k M e m b e r s h i p
http://rf.ttf.rs/http://rf.ttf.rs/http://rf.ttf.rs/


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NETWORK NEWS UPDATEGARNET News

The newly formed Global AppliedResearch Network (GARNET) functions as an informal wo rldwideassociation of organizations andagencies sharing and disseminatinginformation on applied research inwater and sanitation. Participatingorganizations assume responsibility fora p articular focus of information withinthe water and sanitation sector. WA SH/RH1C is the GARN ET top ical coordinating a gency for app lied research inrainwater harvesting. Up dates onrelevant app lied RWH research w ill beincluded in each issue of R aindrop .Centre Regional Pour L'Eau Potableet L'Assainissement a Faible Cout(CRE PA), B P . 7112, Ouagadougou03, Burkina Faso. Contact T. Tandia.CREPA is conducting research onrainwater quality in rural areas ou tsideof Ouagadougou in collaboration withthe C omite Interafricain d'EtudesHydraulique.Department of EnvironmentalEngineering, Khon K aen University,Faculty o f Engineering, K hon Kaen40002, Thailand. Contact: WanpenWirojanagud. Conducted research onthe bacteriological and chemical qualityof stored rainwater. Rainwater samp leswere collected from indoor and outdoorstorage containers of RWH systemsFindings show that health risks are dueto bacteriological contamination ratherthan from heavy metals.Faculty of Social Sciences andHum anities, Mahidol University,Salaya , Thailand . Contact: N.Tunyavanich. Recently com p leted afour-year research project on villageacceptance of rainwater jars in northeast Thailand. The study investigateduse of jar water, taste preferences, jaracquisition, ownership, and construction quality of jars.

National University of Singap ore,Department of Civil Engineering,Sing ap ore. Contact: P. Paramasivam.Constructed prototype ferrocementRWH tanks of 5,000 and 16,000 liters.The tanks were filled to a height of1.6 m and monitored regularly foralmost two years. No leakage occurredand no waterproofing compound wasused.University of Dar es Salaam, D epa rtment of Civil Engineering, PO Box35131, D are s Salaam, Tanzania.Contact: A.W . M ayo or D.A . M ashauri.Recently conducted research onrainwater quality in Dar es Salaam.Rainwater from tanks w as sam pled forfecal coliform, total coliform, and fecalstreptococci.

IRCSA N ews* A rainwater harvesting workshopheld May 28-2 9,1 991 , at Nakuru,Kenya, w as sp onsored by the International Rainwater Catchment SystemsAssociation (IRCSA ). The workshopwas organized by the Kenya NationalRep resentative John M bugua.* The upcoming 5lh InternationalConference on Rainwater CisternSystems has received more than 75abstracts, an indication that theconference will be well attended.* A regional IRCSA seminar onRWH is being planned for October1992, in Kyoto, Japan. The organizeris Professor Isao Minami, Departmentof Agricultural Eng ineering, Kyo toUniversity, Kitashirakawa, Sak y Kyo toCity, Japan.* Rectification of the constitution andbylaws of the IRCSA will be made atthe general assembly meeting later thisyear during the 5lh ICOR WC S inKeelung, Taiwan. The IRCSA membership drive will then p roceed.

I C O R W C S C o n f e r e n c eOver 60 technical pap ers

have already been submitted forthe 5th International Conferenceon Rainwater Cistern Systems(ICORW CS) to be held in Taiwanduring August 4-9 ,1 991 . Thedeadline for submission o f pap erswas January 31 ,1 99 1. Theconference theme w ill be "Rainwater Catchment For FutureGenera tions." For further information, contact:Professor Show-Chyuan ChuDept. of River and HarborEngineeringNational Taiwan OceanUniversityKeelong, Taiwan

F e r r o c e m e n t C o n f e r e n c eTh e 4th InternationalSymp osium on Ferrocement willbe held in H avana, Cuba, duringOctober 22- 25, 199 1. A shortcourse will also take p lace fromOctober 17-19. The conferencetheme is "Ferrocement Its Rolein Construction D evelopment".The official languages of thesymp osium and short course areEnglish and Spanish. Abstracts ofconference p apers are to besubmitted before December 31 ,1990.Conference sponsors are theInternational CoordinatingCom mittee on FerrocementGCCF) and the Cuban N ational

Engineers (UNAICC ). For moreinformation, c onta ctInternational ConferenceCenterC a l l e l 4 6 , E n t r e l l Y 1 3 ,Playa P.O. Box 16046La Habana, CubaTelex to Fidel Delago at511301 PPCHC U

RAINDR OP/May 1991/Page 9


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Oxfam Sells Water to Fund W ater Projects

EflUecourEAU D E SOURCE NATURELLESource: Mirabel (Quebec) CanadaSeis -"ineraux d'ssous 200 p p m ionsdetiuorure 0.22p p m

Environment and health consciou s consumers in Canada may h ave begun tobrighten the future for development organizations that rely on private fundraising. Last year, Oxfam Canada began marketing Eau Secours brand mineralwater through local bottlers Les Breuvages N ora. As a part of the advertisingcamp aign, consumers learn that all p roceeds from the sale of Eau Secours enableOxfam to support water-supply develop ment p rojects in *he Third W orld.Oxfam has reached agreements with gasoline stations in Quebec to sell themineral water, and is negotiating for the same through its U.S ., U.K ., andBelgian counterpart organizations. Sales estimates are for 2.4 m illion liters thisyear, which will raise some $208 ,000 for ongoing water projects in Mali andBurkina Faso. Th e water is sold in 1.5-literbottles and costs between $0.65 and$1.0 7, depending on the retailer. For more information, contact: OXFAM-Qu ebec, 169 rue Saint-Paul Est, Montreal, QC H2Y 1G8, Canada.

Types of Organizations inRHIC Network

Source: RAINCOLL Data Base

Peace C orp s Active inKenyan RWHMost of the 27 Peace Corpsvolunteers currently working inKenyan w ater projects are activelypromoting rainwater harvesting asa source o f safe drinking water.

Their projects range from largecommunity-based p rojects atprimary and secondary schools andhealth centers to small individualhome installations. Most of thevolunteers are active in areas of theRift V alley Provinces where annualrainfall averages up to 2,000mm ,although som e volunteers are alsoworking in semi-arid areasdeveloping both ground and roofcatchments.The volunteers take on a

variety of task s: advising on thelocation of the water tank and itsoptimal size; assisting in community organization; and helping toimplement informal educationalprograms that prom ote understanding of the projects' health andpractical benefits, and that help toassure committed participation onthe part of the community.Communities are alwaysrequired to p rovide a part of thetotal cost of their project. A fewcomm unities and pub lic institutions are able to me et the full c ostthemselves, but most seek 50 to 75percent assistance from an outsidedonor or from K enya 's own RuralDevelopment Fund. Communitiesusually contribute the locallyavailable materials such as sand,rocks, gravel, lumber, water, andlabor.

RAINDROP/May 1991/Page 10


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Dear C ol league:The W ASH Rainw ater N etwork i s updat ing i ts m ai ling l i s t. If you wish to continue receivingRAINDROP, p lease fill in the form below and return it to WASH no later than July 30, 199 1.If no response i s rece ived , your name w i ll be dropped f rom the m ai ling l i s t.

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111* lallMir# i n ur* U>WATER AND SANITATION

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raindrop newsletter may 1991 v5 rainwater harvesting bulletin

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