ECHO: Bringing water to pastoralist communities in Ethiopia
By Tinbit Amare
With an ongoing drought in Ethiopia, the number of people in need of food assistance has risen from 4.5 million in August 2015 to 8.2 million at the beginning of October. It is estimated that the number of people in need of immediate assistance might reach 15 million by the end of the year, when the full impact of the failed second and most important harvest season is felt. While the Ethiopian government has taken the lead in preparing for the emergency in regard to the drought, in the Oromiya region, a recently rehabilitated water pond is helping to anchor three pastoralist communities to a location, providing water to approximately 2 000 people and over 8 000 animals.
The pastoralist residents of Dhadacha Farda 'kebele' (sub-district), Ethiopia, have migrated in search of water for years, but in the last two years they have not needed to leave home to get water.
“I have stopped migrating, thanks to the Hara Amaya pond which has been built near my house,” says Abdo Ibrahim, 52, a resident of Dhadacha Farda kebele and a father of seven children.
Like Abdo Ibrahim, most male residents of this sub-district would migrate with their cattle at least twice a year in search of water – leaving their families behind. “I would be away for about two to three months every year,” says Abdo. “And when I was away, there was no one to look after my farm and my family.”
'Hara amaya' – which means modern pond – was one of the biggest ponds rehabilitated as part of a project funded by the European Commission. Before the rehabilitation, there was just a small pond, inadequate to meet all the needs of the community.
But after rehabilitation and the expansion of the pond, not only has there been enough water for the Dhadacha community but more than enough to share with two neighbouring kebeles who migrated to Dhadacha Farda during the dry seasons.
“I have more than 40 goats now,” said Abdo with a sigh of relief. “The number of my goats has never been this high, as many of them would die during droughts.”
Resource management
The Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction Committee (CMDRRC) has assigned Abdo Ibrahim, one of the respected community elders, to look after the pond. He restores law and order in and around the pond.
“For everyone who uses the pond we charge a monthly fee,” says Abdo. “In addition, we have fenced the pond with thorny branches and kept a narrow passage to keep the animals from getting or falling into the pond. People are allowed to use it only every other day.”
Elephant grass planted around the pond two years ago has grown up to two meters. “I have taken good care of the plantation around the pond,” stressed Abdo “because without it the pond wouldn’t last for long.”
Challenges to be faced
The pond, which has served the community for the past two years, needs some maintenance around its water inlet. “There is a problem around the water inlet due to pressure,” explains Abdo. “I have informed my kebele leaders and the water committee about the problem and hope that the problem will be fixed soon.”
The European Commission funded the rehabilitation project for the Hara Amaya pond from 2012-13. The pond has a capacity of 16 000 cubic meters and is an essential source of water for the nearby communities especially during the continuous drought affecting the area.
Tinbit Amare is Communications officer, DanChurchAid Ethiopia @DanChurchAid.