Local Rainwater Harvesting Technology
Gomba District is located in the Central region of Uganda and is 80km from Kampala City the Capital of Uganda. Kabulasoke Sub- County where Ntulume Village Women Development Association (NVIWODA) operates is an area that has struggled with relentless environmental degradation and the most common among them is drought, caused by long dry spells affecting agriculture leading to hunger.
Since 2014, NVIWODA has intervened to find an alternative solution to enable women produce enough food for their families and also sell off the surplus.
Under the Food Security Project, NVIWODA trains women to practice sustainable and integrated agriculture using modern farming techniques and make organic fertilizers and pesticides using locally available materials.
This project aims at providing alternative solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. Besides the knowledge offered to women farmers they are also provided with farm tools, seeds and are introduced to local technologies like helping families access safe and clean water for home use and irrigation.
With the grant from Global Fund For Women, and in addition to other activities, in 2019 NVIWODA constructed the one tank to taste its capacity and this technology proved to work out well and in addition thirteen (13) Rain Water Harvesting Tanks were constructed in April – May 2022, for thirteen households in twelve (12) villages in Kabulasoke Subcounty
The Tanks will serve the beneficiaries and neighboring communities too. Plaxeda who received the first Tank in 2019, says that the tank ended the long hours she used to spend fetching water. She testifies that the tank now serves eight families in her neighborhood.
The local rain water harvesting tanks will serve direct beneficiaries in the thirteen households together with the neighboring communities. The harvested rain water supports women to practice micro -agriculture, grow vegetables so as to access micronutrients to families throughout the year. This is an improvement in diet and health; save time spent walking long distances searching for water and indirectly address domestic violence.
This local technology of tapping and harvesting rainwater from rooftops provides an alternative source of safe and clean water for the family and the community. The water is protected from contamination from human and animal waste and does not provide for mosquito breeding.
Water is essential for life and the initiative will generally improve women’s livelihood.
The completed rain water harvesting tanks of some beneficiaries are illustrated in the pictorials.
