Water
Over the past few days we've been exploring the village more and interviewing specific people to discover the important assets and problems in the village. It's the last few days of the Immersion phase (ThinkImpact jargon) where we gather information on the village, and soon we'll transit to the Inspiration phase which means more involvement of community members in group discussions and idea generation. I've been talking to shopowners, people who sell stuff from their homes, construction workers and the youth, and everyone's main concern usually centers around water.
Water is available freely from standpipes located mostly along the main road. There are also some located in the more remote off-road areas but people have to walk further to get them. However, the water supply is irregular - when we first arrived the taps had been dry for a couple of days because of a strike by workers in the water department, and people said that water shortages were common because of infrastructure problems. We're all provided with drinking water from ThinkImpact so we don't feel the direct impact of this scarcity, but its clearly visible throughout the village. When the taps finally came on, people rushed to them with all their buckets and wheelbarrows to carry them back. The elderly couple that hosts me have a tap installed in their yard and a large 500 litre water tank that costs 2000 rand, so water isn't a problem for them either, though before the taps came on their tank was almost empty. One day I observed a huge difference in the way water is used: a bunch of children were scooping up water from a muddy pool and loading their buckets in a wheelbarrow to carry back to their homes for bathing, while in my homestay my hosts left the tap turned on the entire day to water the lawn through a hose and sprinkler. Having a tap near you makes all the difference, since water doesn't cost anything.
The lack of easy access to water also means that most households neglect watering their plants often, and so large fields are often left untended, with only a small portion used to grow just enough for the family's own consumption. There are a few households that sell their vegetables, and they live near a small stream which provides a steady water source, though not for drinking. We spotted a few government funded water tanks too, but were told that they were only to be used when the taps are dry for a long time, because they don't get refilled often.
Posted via m.livejournal.com.
Water is available freely from standpipes located mostly along the main road. There are also some located in the more remote off-road areas but people have to walk further to get them. However, the water supply is irregular - when we first arrived the taps had been dry for a couple of days because of a strike by workers in the water department, and people said that water shortages were common because of infrastructure problems. We're all provided with drinking water from ThinkImpact so we don't feel the direct impact of this scarcity, but its clearly visible throughout the village. When the taps finally came on, people rushed to them with all their buckets and wheelbarrows to carry them back. The elderly couple that hosts me have a tap installed in their yard and a large 500 litre water tank that costs 2000 rand, so water isn't a problem for them either, though before the taps came on their tank was almost empty. One day I observed a huge difference in the way water is used: a bunch of children were scooping up water from a muddy pool and loading their buckets in a wheelbarrow to carry back to their homes for bathing, while in my homestay my hosts left the tap turned on the entire day to water the lawn through a hose and sprinkler. Having a tap near you makes all the difference, since water doesn't cost anything.
The lack of easy access to water also means that most households neglect watering their plants often, and so large fields are often left untended, with only a small portion used to grow just enough for the family's own consumption. There are a few households that sell their vegetables, and they live near a small stream which provides a steady water source, though not for drinking. We spotted a few government funded water tanks too, but were told that they were only to be used when the taps are dry for a long time, because they don't get refilled often.
Posted via m.livejournal.com.