There are no simple fixes against drought or flooding. Field studies, detailed planning, integrated solutions and hard work are required to begin to resolve the lack of water afflicting communities in Cunene. Bo Hoier, ADPP Water Technician at the FRESAN Water Project, explained the elements of his current task to increase the reliability of the water supply for farmers and herders in drought-stricken southern Angola.
“We are building three dam walls here in Elovalindi in Oncocua comune in Cunene Province, the largest of which is 42m long and up to 2.6m high. The other two will be 30m and 20m, the third one is being built to help slow the flow of water in the event of flash flooding. We already have a protected well and a solar powered pump to fill a 30,000-litre tank. Among other things, the tank supplies water for drip-irrigation in a 0.2ha vegetable garden. Once the dam starts filling up, which it should do when it rains, we can expand the vegetable garden to 1ha. Cattle and goats are drinking from a recently constructed water trough and the community can draw water directly from the taps we have installed. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the results of the project are there for everyone to see. For example, members of two of the local Farmer Field School have been selling produce in Oncocua in the municipality of Curoca, earning money to pay for other goods and services while supplying the community with fresh, healthy food. We did also repair 3 dams in Oncocua, which now gets +40,000 litres per day from a well thanks to the dams the project reconstructed, which helped groundwater recharge.”
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