It's estimated that more than one-sixth of the world's population -- about 1.1 billion people -- lack adequate water supplies and have access only to non-potable water. A further 2.4 billion people have no improved sanitation facilities.

The UN Millenium Development Goals will remain a dream unless poor communities are a part of the decision making process to manage, control and own the water source and distribution.

Rainwater harvesting using rooftops and underground tanks is a traditional approach established over hundreds of years. Rainfall on rooftops is collected and channeled into underground tanks or small reservoirs that can store and provide enough safe drinking water to meet daily needs for months.

The success of Barefoot initiatives in rainwater harvesting and well recharging as part of the collective efforts of rural communities in India have demonstrated the need to reintroduce traditional, low-cost technologies that communities can implement themselves.

The Barefoot approach draws upon local knowledge and skills, and involves local people to administer, supervise and finance their own community development. This helps to reduce dependency on external aid and creates a sense of local ownership in managing the local water supply.

Working with Riders for Health in The Gambia, villages of Kankurang and Kanfenkeng now have rooftop rainwater harvesting systems constructed by Barefoot Water Engineers trained by the Barefoot College in Tilonia. Four more rainwater harvesting systems are under construction in other communities in The Gambia.

Working with Safer Future for Youth Development in Sierra Leone, four tanks have been constructed and UNICEF has approved funding for rainwater harvesting systems in 4 more schools.

Ten rainwater harvesting systems are also under construction or already in use in Mali and Ethiopia.

Funding for nearly 20 rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia is being provided by ALCAN (Canada), Art Venture (Singapore), Fondation Ensemble (France), Het Groene Woudt (Netherlands), Norwegian Church Aid (Norway), Skoll Foundation (USA), and UNICEF.

Water & Sanitation for Rural Schools

Thousands of remote rural schools all over the world have no water for drinking or sanitation. There are also no simple hand flushed toilets in these schools which often prevents girls, who need privacy, from attending school. When children should be learning to read and write, they are instead walking long distances to fetch water during school hours.

Too often, the technical solutions being offered to meet the drinking water needs of children in primary and middle schools are not sustainable. The source is primarily ground water. Its location, extraction and distribution is prohibitively expensive. It is simply not possible for all the government schools in any country to have access to water by relying on groundwater. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the only feasible answer.

A typical rooftop rainwater harvesting system to collect 100,00 liters for a remote rural school requires a one-time investment of between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on whether the tank is constructed in alluvial or hard rock areas. For less than 5 to 10 cents per liter, this rainwater system can provide clean drinking water and functioning toilets in a school for 6 months in a drought region.

Ground water recharge is a complementary, low- cost solution, that can be implemented by the community. By constructing small dams across dry tributaries and riverbeds and allowing the rainwater collected to percolate, it is possible to replenish wells and aquifers. By channeling surface rainwater into unused and dry open wells, it is possible to revitalize the thousands of dry hand pumps and traditional open wells for irrigation. Local people can be trained to repair and maintain their own hand pumps.

Learn more about Water & Community Development >>

An Appeal to Provide Drinking Water and Sanitation at Remote, Rural Schools >>

Clean Drinking Water for More than 239,000 Children in 7 Countries

For over 20 years, the Barefoot College has worked with rural communities to develop their own rainwater harvesting systems and community-managed water supplies:

· In India, nearly 1300 systems in 17 states with a total storage capacity of 47 million liters provide clean water to over 235,000 school children in remote, rural communities.

· In Afghanistan and 5 countries in Africa, 15 rainwater systems constructed since 2006 with a total storage capacity of 1.5 million liters provide clean water to over 4,200 school children.

 

 

Summary of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Systems - 2007 >>

Learn more about project funding for construction of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Schools using the Barefoot approach >>

The Engineer vs the Community

It is an engineering practice all over the world to collect rainwater in ferro cement tanks above ground - even though this approach has proven disadvantages.

The disadvantages of above ground tanks are:

· A limited amount of rainwater can be collected - not more than 20,000 liters.

· The heat of summer cracks the tank so its life span is limited.

· The taps connected to the tank do not last long. They break and there is often no one to repair them. Water runs freely and no one bothers to conserve the water.

· The cost of this type of tank for the amount of water collected makes this alternative too expensive.

· A private contractor is needed to construct the above ground tank.

Communities relying on their traditional knowledge have demonstrated that it is cheaper, and more cost effective over time, to collect rainwater below the ground.

The advantages of the Barefoot approach to rainwater harvesting using a below ground tank are:

· More water can be collected - 100,000 liters and more.

· Water will not evaporate since it is underground, and if constructed properly, it will not leak.

· There are no taps. Once underground, water can be pumped through a low cost hand pump so no water is wasted. Only as much water as the person needs is pumped.

· Underground tank construction is cheaper, only costing between 2 and 10 cents per liter.

· The top portion of the underground tank creates a platform that can be used for meetings or to conduct night school classes.

There is no question that there is a need to change the mindset among civil engineers. Whether it is in the mountains or on the plains, the Barefoot engineering approach to rooftop rainwater harvesting is the only feasible solution for poor communities around the world.

Join the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council >>

Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, December 2007 Newsletter >>


Barefoot College

Tilonia, Rajasthan, India