All that glitters ... can end up as a rusty heap ofuseless technology. Are we overlookingtraditional methods of water provision? Can'tsomething that has stood the test of time copewith some careful imProvement?

Small steps count - building on traditionalmethods for rural water suPPlYby Peter Morgan

What evidence is there?On a recent visit to N{aputalancl. in a

relrlote pait of South Africa. T was

struck b1,' the stark cotnpat'ison of the

rurstecl remains of trvo oicl. blokenhanclpurnps lying next to a closed r'vell

and. r, rtne lt,.tnJt'ctl. nl lttclt'c. lu lr. ilt

the saine wetland area. the constantactivity of women and children around

a rvatelpoint which the conlrnunity had

r-lesigncd and [-rui1t u"ith no or-rtside

intenrention. This inlage t'emincied rne

of other occasions. in other coutltries.rvhere the sat-ne local ingenuity had

been used to gain access 10 water bY

the simple st and most sustainable

nlcans. It also reminded me of the

enormous effort and cost (not to lnen-

tion the high hopes r'vhich had been

dasl-recl). of installing more Llp-to-ciate

tecl.rnology itt an enr"ironnrent which\\ irs nol -rct lelrtll lo \u\tain il.

For thc villagers of Maputaland. I arn

not sure whether this communitY'seflbrts sprang tiom the frustrationof walking to a modern supply whichbecaure unreliable and finally tailed'or whether the traditional sr"rpply

\\,as constructed betot'e the new suppiy

was introcluced, was used in parallelto the nerv supply, and continued fcr

cperate long after tire new suPPlY

had ceasecl to function. I

sttitLtble, people *,ill retttnt to theiroltl .sottn e, even if'tlungentu,sly tlirtv(right1, or ltractiL-ollt clrietl ul)(ubctve ).

supplies to the rural peoples of the

r,vor1d. rrrany fine innovtitions have

been achievecl. not only in design. butalso in methods of reaching perlple

lrncl inr ulr inq thertt itt cottlttttrrtitldevelopment pro.iects. Several clues-

tions arise constantly, ltowever and

one of the most important centres

around sLrstainability.

If we take i'ural Atiica as all exam-ple, many. pelhaps most, of all the

mechanizecl rural water sr-rpplv

systems instalied within recent years.

at great cost and with suprerne etlbrt.will have turned to rust -

rtfien

2

suspect the latter.

Looking at localmethodsPerhaps the tirne has cometo reintbrce a trend which,clearly. is being talkedIrbilut l;rr rttore : sludl tlt':v,,hat local r.'illagers do oftheil own accord ancl helP-ing the cornrnunitl, tor-rpgrade these etlbrts. Evi-dence suggests that r.racli-

tional methods ol' providinglvater. whilst sirnple in con-cept and design, have a

Elrcirt intlirrsic tnet'it

b;rsically. they often outlasttheir more modern counter-parts. Such methods usu-ulll :trLrtd the te:l ol tinlebecause the1,- actuallY wtlrkin practice. survivin-u gen-

erirtion altcr genctlttiotl.They are the result of a

long, evolutionary process

which has proven to be

'The designer knows he has

reached perf'ection. not whenthcre is no longer anYthing to

adcl. but rvhen there is no longeranything to take ar.vaY.'

Annn.FOR THE LAST 20 Years or mol:e.

durin-g an era of enhancecl internationalinterest in bringing imprcived water

literally - within the sPace of a

decade. We know that rnanY schemes

have failecl because far too littleemphasis has been placed on mainte-

nance. We also know that most govern-

ments Iack the fr-rnds and. in some

cases. the ivill. to rnaintain tl're large

number of instaliatior.rs tl.rat are pr-rt intoplace ever,v year. mainly with clonor

support. Corntnunities are asked tocontribute - but, all too often, they are

unwilling or unable to do so, trnd return

to their former traditional supplies. Ifthis is the case, a serious question

arises - is the rnethod that has been

chosen truly appropriate - or has the

w1'ong level of technologl' been

selectecl'lThis issue of Waterlines tocuses on

using upgraded, traditional ntethods toprovide water in rural Africa. Is this

one viable option that should be con-

sidered more seriously in iutr-rre'/o

=oEdtLE

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of

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oC6o-:ooOoOoz

Llnle.ss the new techrutLogt' r.s

WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO. 3 JANUARY 1997

of

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oc60-\ooooOoz

Zimbabwean villagers collect vtater .front a. spring-Jed gravity tank us contoct vvith thesource is eLintinated, qttalitr- is improved.

both practical ancl ell'ective. 'Iradition-

ally evolved waler lechnology harmo-rtize s r,i itlt its e nr iLortru.'nt - it is er)ln-piitible rvitl-r local conditions iincl cLrl-

tures. and this -uir.'es it great strength.

Ancient principles still holdSince the tilne of the ancients. localcraftsmen and those skilled in the art offindin-g and protectirlg w'ale1' soLrrccs.

have cler"ised wavs and rncars of bring-ing waLer to 'uvhere pcople lilc. Manytexts f'eature relcrences to ancient r,vells

ancl cisterns used fbr hundreds and. insoffre cases. thousancls of years. Threethousand vears ago. thc Persianslearned to dig tluttat.s to bring mountaingrour.rdwater. by the force of glavity.Io the aricl plains. These horizontaltlrnnels were built on a I'ruge scalein Iran. Pakistan. North Afiica ancl

Afghanistan. and man1, sun ive today.In Oman, 60 per cent of the rural popu-lation still depends on the sarne tech-noiogy. there called a .lhlaj, whichrecently has under-tone relurbishment.

In Yenien. where r.vater is abundanttor onll a short time every year. greatin-uenuit.v has been directed intoirnprovin-e the catchment and surlacestorage of water. There are manyexamples of remarkable f-eats of cisternconstruction. some l.roldin-s as much as

b0oUnrl ol u lrtcr. The cisteru: arc con-structed of stone and lined rvith gnrl-lrudh. a, locally produced iime mortar,wi.rich stays r,vaterproof fbr centuries.l

Surlacc sloragc rcserr"oirs. or ltaJ'ir.s.

are also r-Lsccl in Slrdan. These hu-se

cleplessions in the grouncl are sited inareas of naturiLl runotf. ancl nran1, hai.'e

been lehabilitatecl in reccnt years.2Sinrilar11,. etlbrts have been macie torestoi:e thc 2000 year'-olcl run-otT irriga-tion schemes built by thc Nabathear.rs

in Israel's Negev clesert. Therc alemanv other e.xtrmples.

Rainwater harvestingSr,rcl.r local ingenuity dicl not die outr.vith the ancients. but is still much inevidence in cleveloping countries. lnsome parts of Mozainbique. notably inthe more remote parts of northern Mac-haze district. an are a known fbr its bar-renness and cleep grounclwater, the

local people build cisterns to coliectlainu'ater. Tl.ris appears to lre an age-olc'l rlrethod in a lancl rvirich lacks oper-ational plrmps ancl other lbrins ofirnprovcd rvater suppl1,. These cistems.which are hancl-dLrg. steep-sided hoiesin the grouncl. can hold betu'een -5 andlSmj o1' waier. The catchment areaaround the cistern is sloped in such a

wa)r that water leccls into the storagesystern. In nrany crscs. thcsc traclitionalcisterns u'ere built by a man firr hiswif'e or r.vives. and so \'\'ere erectecl on a

famil-v basis. In 199:1. 1,121 cisternswere recorded in northern Machaze.jCare International is cr-rrrently imple-menting a pro-gramme of repailine ancl

upgrading.John Gould. in his article on

upgrading rainrvatel catchrnent s)'stems

ln thie,April issue af Waterlineiapacity Buildingi per,haps the development buzzword of the }ate1990s. But how does it work in real life? Can all stakeholdersparticipate and balance their interests? And how can themomontum be sustained in the face of cutbacks and conflict?

, Thris iS$ue + produced in conjunction with the Delft-based :lnterna-tional Insiitute lor lnfraskuctural,:Hydraulic and Environmental Engineer-ing - highlights some resourceful solutions to these problems at differ-;ent levels:: lrom the'organization - how Sri Lanka's Water Board is turn-ing itself into a consumer-oriented institution; up to the basic level: howRhine riparians finally came to co-operate on pollutron control: and wehear how lsraeli and Palestinian expeds are faring in their struggle toovercome political differences to wori on joint aquifdr managemeni

Faced with a drop in aid. poor Souih African communities {ind thefrjnds t0.improve their W&S facilities, and Filipinos develop a trainingneiwork :Pl*s more stories from around the world bring us up io date onlocal capacity-building experiences.

\\,ATERLINES VOL. I5 NO. 3 JANUARY I997

ru[][rer bucket. The Ethiopian ',lindlassdates fronr antiqLlit),. The ancient wollclkncw ti're capstan and the windlass -both of which nray be descrihecl ris a

set of u,heels witl'r spokes but no rims"the ibrrner iraving its shafi vertical ar.id

lltC IirllcI itr rltlrlt lrol'izilrrlrrl.f ln clt'lrcase. hou,ever. the spokes by whici-lmen tulned the mechanism radiatecl oLrt

from the hub. Sirch rvincllasses are stillin nse in Ethiopia. ancl can be seen onwells protectecl at tire sr-rrlirce with a

raised r.l'eil-lining and apron. The shnftis rniicle of wood. rr-rnning on a r,voorlei-l

bearing. This method tit' raising \.vateris over a thonsancl -rears olC -- thehanging -eardens ot' Babylon arethou-uht to have been u,'atercd by a

chiiin of hr-rckets driven by a rvinillassof this type.

The u,indlass rncthorl o1' raisir.rgwater. which both li.uhtens the ioad antlis a hygienic way o1'sttx'ing lhe rope orchain. rvas used in Eulope fbr huuclrecls

of years. Although b;, the end ol' tlienineteenth ccntur) it had largely becnreplacerl by the handpunrp. sonte r.lellsin ren'rote :u'ens notably' S,,verlerrcontinued tcr use the rvindlass.

Irr Zimbabrve, thc lvinillass isthought to have been introduceci b1'

gold-miners at tl're turn of the centlrrr,"Since these shafts ofien penetl'atecir'vater. the,v- often tr,rrned into r,ve11s. Thclocal people reco-unizecl the u,indlass as

a sirnple ancl useful device rvhich cerLrlcl

be crir;ied easiiy. This 'nrodified' tech-rtologl, was soon .bsorbecl inio the tla-ditional way of lif'e and spread wicieiyacross lhe corlntry. Tens of thousandsol' horre-made u,indlasscs can still beseen raising r.r,,ater lbm tatniLy-ownecirvells throughout the ZirnhabrveiLncountryside. Tl-ie uplake of this tcch-nokrgl, into tr:i.rclitional culture did nottal<e place as part of a clevelopmentprograrnnle it was copied becarlse itwils seen a.c a l'aluablc tool whicrh rvas:inrple ro huild rnJ rnrrirrtrrirr.

The concept of lining a u,eil rvith\lont'\ irnd lrJtling iontt, lr()ieut i\ c e l\ering was introcl-rcecl into Zimbabwe'scutrture in a ditfereni u,ay as part ofa N4inistly of Health campaign. Metir-ods r.vhich prevelrt rvell-collapsc. liniiirnpr"ove both sat'ety and watcr qualitl'.have been prornoted by Helltli Assis-iants anil their successors iol over ,:15

1,e ars. The cornbined ,rse ol a r,r,incllasson a stabilizeci r'r'eil was alreaill' com-monpiace sonie 20 yeiils ago. The suc-cess of tire culrcnt upgradecl farnilyrve11 programnre.5 is. no doubt" blisedon the long-established. traditionaiacceptance of the inethod.

'fhe potential ibr siniilar programrresrising i-Lpgraiicci wclls r,r,ithout the use

of a hanilprLi'np. has also been realizeclin Zanrbia" wirere sirrple upgraded

traditional wells. using tl're bucket aiidwindlass. are being used. There is alscr

considerable potential in northernNamibia, where examples of owner-built windlass-wells can be seen. Suc-cessfully introduced intoMozrmbique lrnd inWestern Tanzania. thenon-handpurnp option i\cumently being consid-ered for the remote partsof South Africa. It hasenormolrs and, as yetunreaiized, potential fbrmany villages throughoutthe continent.

For areas nearer theHorn of Africa ernd in theMiddle East. the remark-able shatltf, anotherhygienic rnethod of rais-ing water liom shallorvwells, has enormouspotential. Like the rvind-Iass. the shadtj can bedated back to 1550 sc.and is still used toclay.

Lessons?Whilst using upgradedtraditional rnethods as ameans of providing wateris of growing interest,they have been largelyoverlooked in mostrecent progriimmes, andreplaced by rrrore moderntechniques.

The new technical approach iscertainly seductive - prornoting thelatest technical advance will always becommercially expedient and politicallyacceptabJe whether it be il hancl-pump or mechanized supply. And inthose situations which are ready andable to absorb and suppolt sr-ich meth-ods. there can be nothing more appro-priate - ihe new technoiogy wiil pro-vide more water of better quality. Butthere is overwhelming evidenoe that.lor the more remote areas of Africa,rvhere the poorly developed infiastruc-ture and the capacity of the recipier.rtsto manage their own sr"rppiies is lim-ited, an alternative approach must besought.

It is true that most of the more basic.traditional methods highlighted in thisissue of Waterline.s do not providewater of the qLrality expected in rnod-ern programmes even whenupgraded. inost could not meet Wf{Ostandards for water quality. Neither dothey produce water in volume; andthey also have their lirnitations in termsof rnaking deep groundv,,ater available.Such factors have played a part indiminishing the potential roie they

might have played during the recentphase of mral water deveiopment.

Surely, however. another cioser look:rt lraditionlrl indigenou. inn.rr Ati,,ns.ancr, building on iocal knowleclge to

A moclified fiuni!1' wel.l - ctLthough WoterAidprovided the tnoterials, the owner tlitl the rest!

po6

=ooooOoz

provide a more sustainable watersupply can oniy be productive. Animproved water supply is one that pro-vides cleaner water more leliably. Eachstepping stone in ihe developmentprocess mlrst not be too far fiom theone preceding it. Upgraded traditionalsupplies can ofTer water of improvedquality, and can provide facilitieswhich are milre permanent" By goingstep by step, at a rate which localresoLlrces can manage. there will be noend to truly sustainable development.

Referencesl. McIrher. 2.. 'Hilrr tl:r' Y.rrre n ir tr) iil: ro rneer

the airns of tfre Water Decade.' llhterline.s 2. 1.2. Dodge" Cole P, Zclcnika, M.. 'Rehabilitation

of haJirs rn Sudan.' lVaterlines 6. l.-?. Wesson. R., 'A Water Resources Study ofNorthern l,{achaze Drstrict'. Care International.Mozambique. 199,1.

,1. Sprague de Camp. L.. Tlte Ant:ient Engineers.Billantine Books. Nerv York. 1974.

5. Morgan, P R.. Chimbunde, 8.. Mtirl<wa. N.,Waterkeyn, A.. 'Now in r.rry backl,ard -Zimbablve's upgraded tarnily well progralnme.'WcLterlines 1r4.1.

Peter Morgcut can be corttacted at Bor MP 1162,

Mornt Pleusant. Harttre. Zimbubwe. E-mail:mo rgm'L @ ha ra re. i af r i c a. c ont

WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO. 3 JANUARY 1997