Epako Rainwater Harvesting Project - Namibia
Namibia, located in Southern Africa, is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by Angola and Zambia, on the east by Botswana and Zimbabwe and on the south and east by South Africa.
This location of this project is Epako, near Gobabis, in the Omaheke Region of Eastern Namibia.
The project will be carried out at a location run by a local NGO, Early Intervention Programme (EIP). EIP was founded and is operated by Ben Motlata, a local community member and human rights activist. EIP supports and empowers youth who live on the street and provides them with opportunities for an improved quality of life.
EIP is currently providing literature classes, sport activities, and drama classes. Some of the youth live at the project, participate in daily living activities, and receive meals there as well.
This project is to build a rain water harvesting system for the EIP’s Community Garden. The funds will be used to purchase and install the gutters, tanks, piping, pump and filters.
The garden will promote sustainability of EIP, ensure that nutritious food is available for the youth, promote skill development, promote responsibility, and foster self-esteem.
The garden currently exists on one small plot of land, approximately 10 x 3 meters and consists of ground soil gardening and mirco-gardening in the form of reused tires. It contains spinach, chard, cabbage, onions, carrots, beet root, and tomatoes.
This project is to be carried out by Peace Corps Volunteer Amanda Miller. It is a part of a current program in which Peace Corps Namibia and the Namibia Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) are working together to educate and support identified Peace Corps Volunteers, counterparts and community groups who are interested in starting and sustaining micro-gardens.
In the arid climate of the Kalahari Desert, water is scarce and expensive. The rainy season in eastern Namibia lasts approximately 3-4 months each year and during the remainder of the year, it is without rainfall. Rainwater harvesting will ensure proper maintenance of the garden year-round, including winter crops during the dry season. The reduction in the need to purchase water will allow more funds to be conserved for improvement of the garden and for other program purposes.
Currently, sixteen boys are intensively supported by the project. At particular times, the project has served as many as 33 boys. In addition, many more people will benefit when future conditions promote garden expansion and further participation by the local community.
A follow-up project, which will be defined and undertaken as a separate project, has been identified. When the current project is successfully completed, a second harvesting system at the other EIP project location will be started. This location is where the caretaker and some of the youth reside, and where the office is currently located. The water from the new project will be used for daily living activities (cooking, bathing, and drinking) and can serve as an additional water source for the garden.
Donations are accepted in any amount. To designate your donation for use in the Epako Rainwater Harvesting Project, click on the Donate button below.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.
Conclusion of Epako Rainwater Harvesting Project – Namibia
This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Amanda Miller. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK
HERE.
This project was to build a rain water harvesting system for the Early Intervention Programme (EIP) Community Garden.
Amanda reports:
EIP Founder Ben Motlata and I worked together to get quotes for the materials and secure the materials from local businesses. The people at Bargain Builders in Gobabis were especially helpful and even gave us a discount when I told them the scope of the project.
Ben was very resourceful and helped me to find the best materials for the right price. The garden project is something very close to his heart.
The community was very interested in the work we were doing. Children and people passing by would ask Ben why he had such large containers in his yard and what he planned to do with them.
One youth, Benny, told another kid on the street that they were going to gather water and save money. Benny was an active participant in the garden project. Although Benny was struggling with food and a safe place to sleep, I would see him in the mornings at the garden watering and weeding. Alfonse was another very active and appreciative teenager. He worked hard at the garden and helped Ben and I construct a large compost pile.
When I completed my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer, another PCV helped Ben with the finishing touches of installing the rain gutters. Ben used the rain water collection system to water his garden for nearly five months, helping him get through the dry season.
Amanda provides follow-up information:
About ten months after the rain water collection tanks were erected and the rain gutters installed, Ben was robbed, and he was forced to move his garden into town for the safety of his family and the youth living on the streets that he works with.
Ben moved the rain water collection system to a new plot of land where he continues to farm his crops. The system has helped Ben to cut down on costs of growing food for himself, his family, and the youth (living on the streets) he works with. He struggles to use the water sparingly during the dry season due to all of the demands for water, but the project remains a model that others can replicate.
We are grateful to Amanda for completing this project, and wish her the best in her career.