In this presentation…..

1. The role of indigenous knowledge in determining design and the planning of water harvesting systemsAmanda CoffeyWater Resources

2. In this presentation….. • The role of indigenous knowledge for water harvesting is crucial to project design • through participatory approaches and innovative dialogue • Brief overview of indigenous practices & their breakdown • Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa & its role in development

3. Traditions in water harvesting • The Negev microcatchment techniques. Socio-political changes led to a decline of sedentary agriculture from 7th Century • The meskat system in Tunisia is still in widespread use, but there’s some decline recently due to labour shortages or migration • Wadi flow harvesting in the Middle East & North Africa is generally abandoned & neglected now • Iraq, Iran & Arabian peninsular – quanat/ falaj systems still in use but under threat from tube wells

4. In Latin America, terracing & conduit systems existed e.g. Peru. The largest loss of WH systems is here due to the Spanish conquest • In N America spate farming by the Papago & Navajo Indians was decimated by the arrival of Europeans. It is still practiced. • Sri Lanka has a long tradition of water harvesting for domestic drinking water supply. Commonplace until the 1950s when tube wells & piped water were introduced. Now a revival through government initiative: Community Water Supply & Sanitation project

5. In India, Sri Lanka & Pakistan runoff farming has been developed extensively in the khadin system

6. The practice of using tanks as runoff storage is still widespread, but in decline. Problems associated with a relaxation of feudal landlord-peasant farmer relationships leading to land degradation & increased silting • A kund in the Thar Desert, India. A covered underground tank to harvest and store rainwater

7. Areas with runoff agriculture or the potential for runoff agriculture (Barrow 1999)

8. Areas with runoff agriculture or the potential for runoff agriculture (Barrow 1999)

9. Focus on Africa • Water harvesting traditions are widespread in Africa e.g.: • Zai & tassa planting pits in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger • Earth bunds are used in the meskat system in Tunisia, trus system in Sudan & caag & toog system in Somalia to capture overland flow & gully flow • Flood water harvesting & spreading wadi flow, Sudan • Foggara (falaj/ quanat) well systems for shallow underground runoff • Sudan probably has the most extensive and diverse heritage

10. Water Harvesting in the Red Sea Hills, NE Sudan • Mountainous, hilly terrain with wadis • The Beja are the dominant social group depending on pastoral transhumance & farming • Domestic water supply is from hand dug wells • Irrigation is supplied by building earth embankments across wadis to spread the water outwards • Large crescent shaped bunds are built on the wadi beds & planted with sorghum

11. Low lying crescent embankments capture water spread from wadis

12. Without this indigenous technique of water harvesting life here would be impossible • In the 1950s a diversion dam was built at El Garad. Now it’s miles away from the wadi! • Technical solutions aren’t guaranteed! • The Beja developed this technique that is flexible, & fits in with labour requirements & social structure • It forms the core of a government programme (SCLUPWA) initiated in 1986 to expand into new areas and increase sorghum production for household consumption & cash sales

13. The role of trus cultivation in Darfur, eastern Sudan • In Central Darfur pressures include: • climate change, • increasing drought risk, • huge population growth, • changing social structure, • loss of common land & tenure • And there’s a potential conflict between traditional techniques & modern water harvesting techniques

14. The revival of trus cultivation • After the 1983-85 drought the population doubled due to migrants from other drought areas & this led to the trus system being revived • A tera is a U-shaped low earth bund 35-40cm in height is constructed facing the slope. A typical plot is 3 ha. The catchment is 2-3 times this • The system is flexible with social, economic & environmental changes and sustainable • In recent years urban farmers & merchants have begun water-spreading projects using machinery to construct earth embankments across wadis. They require high capital inputs

15. The traditional trus cultivation

16. Water spreading from a wadi

17. Private gain or common interests? • Crop yields are greatly improved yielding 650kg/ha compared to 150-250 kg/ha under rainfed agriculture • Commercialisation of modern water spreading techniques is resulting in farm sizes of 50-200ha, compared with 2-5 ha for a subsistence farmer • This may lead to shortages of staples, as vegetables are grown for urban markets • The construction of permanent structures clashes with traditional land tenure system • Communities down stream may suffer reduced flows • ITDG are working to support communities. The process must be carefully managed to maintain the balance

18. Is there a conflict? • Indigenous methods take time to design, plan & develop • Pressure from performance orientated donors cuts short project assessments • “Off the shelf” packages often fail – e.g. using the Negev model but rain falls in the winter there, and the summer elsewhere • Large projects often use incentives such as food-for-work to meet targets

19. Zai planting pits in Yatenga, Burkina Faso. • The success of this indigenous technique is widely acknowledged • Since the early 1980s zai have been rapidly revived • Over 8000 ha of degraded land brought back into productivity by the late 1980s • The Yatenga has very high population densities & variable rainfall (ave 700mm) • Suffers recurrent drought (in the 60s &70s) • Lateritic soils with hard pans have low infiltration capacities

20. Farmers use stone contour bunds to reduce the speed of runoff • Zai collect and concentrate the runoff. • Zai have a diameter of 20-30cm and depth of 10-15cm, and no. 12,000-25,000/ha • The larger the spacing, the more water can be harvested • Where barren land is rehabilitated yields can be 1200kg/ha in the first season

21. Zai planting pits

22. A crop of sorghum on a rehabilitated field

23. The project started by Oxfam as an agro-forestry project & was completely rejected by the farmers • It was participatory from the start. Farmers designed, tested & evaluated the ‘improved’ zai. They had a clear preference for stone bunds • Contrary to recommendations, farmers often start at the bottom of the field • Wright (1984) comments that “illiterate farmers make economic choices along with the rest of us & should be allowed and trusted to do so” • They may initially space barriers up to 50m apart depending on available household labour • Most farmers adopted this technique without any project support, & following farmer-to-farmer visits it inspired the revival of Tassa in Niger

24. Tassa in Niger

25. The project in Niger started as a food-for-work scheme comparing contour bunds & demi lunes. Tassa, the indigenous technique was not mentioned at all! • Through a participatory approach the project changed course • Similarly a project in Ourihamiza, Niger, using demi lunes was not adopted by local people because of labour requirements, novel planting designs & changing crops outside of cultural expectations • Very similar conclusions were drawn from tests using semi-circular hoops in Kenya at Baringo, Turkana & Kitui

26. Half moons in Niger

27. Layout of semi circular bunds

28. Promoting Farmer Innovation • The UNSO project was launched in 1997 & piloted in Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania to support innovative dialogue & draw on farmers’ own knowledge • ‘Farmer Innovators’ become active agents contributing to change • Through farmer-to-farmer visits, study tours and training days FI are encouraged to become role models in the community • The main category of innovations was water harvesting • The ultimate aim is to scale up and institutionalise the methodology

29. Her innovation is water harvesting from the road into her plantation with soil fertility management. She has a system of trenches to circulate the water which is held in basins around individual stools. This holistic system is unique. Florence Akol (Uganda) – water harvesting in bananas

30. He lives on a 20ha plot. After noticing an existing orange tree produced juicy fruits now traps all the rain that falls on his compound by using trenches, & digging pits below trees to collect stemflow. The manure from his cow goes into the trenches & is transported by the water Ojok Christopher (Uganda) – water-borne manuring system

31. Summary • It is clear that indigenous knowledge will play an increasing role in the design & planning of WH • The Red Sea Hills in Sudan shows how indigenous knowledge is being used directly in a government programme • However, this is unusual. External factors such as changed land tenure, increasing drought risk & migration have changed practices • In Darfur in Sudan, the trus system has been revived • Projects in Africa based on engineering & hydrological knowledge are often not adopted by the local people

32. Successful projects were participatory from the outset • They are flexible enough to include indigenous practices chosen by farmers, such as the zai planting pits in Yatenga, tassa in Niger • With innovative dialogue & information exchange between farmers & organisations, technical assistance & materials can be provided • Hopefully, indigenous knowledge will play an increasing role in the design & planning of water harvesting systems