HABU COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY SCHEME IN BOTSWANA

Completed by our Botswana office, in partnership with local NPO firm, Initiatives, a groundwater project has brought a secure source of water to the community of Habu, while providing a reference for the introduction of more water-security measures in other rural areas of the country.

The objective of the Habu Community Water Supply Scheme project was to design, construct and commission borehole infrastructure to supply water to the community and their livestock, excluding cattle.

Work started on developing and negotiating an ownership, as well as an operation and maintenance model for the infrastructure.

A formal hand-over protocol was also established for what would be a first of its kind in the country. This process was aligned with state’s new policies to introduce water-user associations and committees in rural areas.

The social components took the lead, as success relied on the development of an effective governance system and toolkit to train the committee. Technical training in the basic maintenance of the infrastructure also took place at installation.

An umbrella committee was established to communicate with the broader community.

It comprised representatives from all relevant organisations and a dedicated field-service support representative, fluent in Setswana, was appointed to regularly engage the public.

In addition, budget was allocated to the establishment of a separate team dedicated to community-relationship building. It also communicated with other agencies operating in the area.

Infrastructure comprises five tanks on stands that supply taps located at a central point for each of the five wards and the pumps are powered by solar energy.

The water committee consists of two caretakers and five water monitors who manage the volume of water collected by each household. Community members pay for their consumption by registering with a water association.

The project is a sound example of our expertise in community development projects. We have extensive experience in community-based management, monitoring and evaluation, as well as construction/implementation. This is in addition to community institutional development, livelihoods analysis and training.