Strategic collaboration with local organizations and entrepreneurs to develop and scale up sustainable water services for domestic and productive uses.
While blessed with relatively abundant renewable water resources and despite significant investment since the 1990s, 56% of Tanzania’s rural population still lacks access to potable water services. Challenges include weak sector governance, lack of strategies to deal with hydrologic variability, and low management and financial capacity leading to poor sustainability of systems. Tanzania’s predominantly agriculture-based economy is also highly vulnerable to poor governance of water resources under current and projected future climate scenarios. Nearly one-third of Tanzania’s 45 million people live on less than one dollar per day and 42% of children under five years old suffer from malnutrition and stunting.
Program
Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (iWASH) Program
Location: Morogoro, Iringa, and Njombe Regions
Dates: 2010-2015
Clients [to date]: 100,984 people receiving access to improved water services
Funder: USAID through the GLOWS consortium with FIU
Implementers: Winrock International with local partners: Heifer International, IDYDC, MSABI, SAWA, SEMA, SHIPO, & TAHA
View Photos From Morogoro, Tanzania
A gravity system provides water to a Maasai community living in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Before the scheme was built, these women traveled for four hours to reach a distant mountain spring. Now, that same clean water is brought to their doorsteps where they use it for the household and market gardening.
A nearby rope pump provides water for this man's poultry operation. Just providing more water for the chickens has helped him to quadruple his production.
iWASH Tanzania demonstrates the Tulip Water filter to the Minister of Water at World Water Week in Arusha, Tanzania in 2012. The filter is promoted in rural communities to ensure the provision of safe water for drinking.
Improved dairy goats are another activity supported by Heifer International. With more water available, families are able to raise more lucrative breeds of livestock, which often need more specialized care.
A drip irrigation demonstration site shows farmers how these low-cost kits are set-up and maintained.
Supporting poultry production has been proven to be a very effective way to improve incomes in iWASH projects in Morogoro. The provision of more water enables households to support more lucrative breeds of chicken - allowing them to produce more meat and eggs for market and personal consumption.
Private entrepreneurs attend a training for the manufacturing of rope pumps.
Sack gardens are one way to re-use household waste water that can also improve household nutrition and generate income.
Winrock partnered with Heifer International Tanzania to provide technical training and improved breeds to small-scale farmers. Above, pigs wander around their clean and well built corral, which means they'll grow up larger and healthier than before -putting more profit in their owners pocket.
Tackle the root causes of poverty in rural areas by linking demand-driven Multiple-Use Water Services with impact-boosting health and livelihoods programs.
Strategic collaborations with local partner organizations accelerate expansion of water services for clients’ domestic and productive needs. Communities are involved in selecting from a range of cost-effective infrastructure options and interventions focus on sustainability of services, centering on strengthening community governance and providing technical and business training to local private sector entrepreneurs who can provide water-related products and services on a continuing basis. Quality control and certification is provided to small-scale drillers and manufacturers of pumps, filters, and other technologies. Innovative financing mechanisms are put in place to help start and scale-up water-related businesses. Domestic water services are complemented with hygiene behavior change programs and household water treatment. With local partners, Heifer International and the Tanzanian Horticulture Association, the iWASH program is also undertaking a suite of integrated livelihood support activities, including inputs, technical capacity, irrigation technology, and market linkages for home and commercial gardens as well as livestock husbandry. Lastly, through Florida International University (FIU), the program is engaged in water resources management through targeted water sources protection and environmental flows research.
Water
Water infrastructure and management systems options are presented to communities during participatory planning process
Innovative financing mechanisms help start and scale-up water-related businesses that can provide products and services on a continuing basis
Strategic collaborations with local partner organizations accelerate expansion of water services for both domestic and productive uses
Training to strengthen community governance increases sustainability of services and integrated benefits
Technical and business training along with quality control and certification provided for local entrepreneurs including small-scale drillers and manufacturers of pumps, filters and other technologies
Health
Greater volumes of water and more reliable services are made available for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene
Household water storage and treatment increases potable domestic water services available for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene
Hygiene behavior change training focused on handwashing helps reduce water-related disease
Low-cost handwashing stations are promoted
Livelihoods
Increased access to productive-use water services supports income generation activities such as gardening, livestock watering, tree planting and brick-making
Support for improved inputs, technical capacity, irrigation technology and market linkages increase income generation from home and commercial gardens and from livestock husbandry
Environment
Awareness of sustainable yields and legal water permits helps communities understand link between water services for human use and protection of environmental flows
Environment sub-committees of Community Owned Water Supply Organizations (COWSOs) establish and enforce upstream land-use bylaws, which helps to protect water sources
Communities work to carry out targeted water source protection by raising awareness around latrine sitting and water point maintenance.
What We’ve Learned
Community-managed Multiple-Use Water Services require sufficient time and resources to create lasting community changes in attitudes, knowledge and practices needed for sustainable water service management and integrated benefits.
MUS has a favorable cost/benefit ratio, but may require higher initial capital/infrastructure investment than single-use water services.
Benefits of MUS can lead to increased community commitment to environmental sustainability of water sources and watersheds.
Livelihood activities require careful planning to avoid unintended consequences and mitigate adverse market, environmental and production risks.
More water and technical training means more chickens; And more chickens means a better house, school, and maybe even a car.
Videos
Our team in Tanzania has been hard at work promoting SolutionMUS to local communities and the general public. View some of their “how-to” and promotional clips below.
How to Construct a Simple Hand-Washing Station
How to Construct a Local (Kinengunengu) Chicken Brooder
How to Construct an Anthill Kitchen Garden
How to Construct a Bag Kitchen Garden
How to Use the Tulip Water Filter
How to Setup and Maintain a Drip Irrigation System.