‘Let us harvest rain water’
By Pelekelo Liswaniso
The famous Ku-omboka ceremony of the Barotse people of Western province has come and gone but not forgotten in many respects. Hopefully, the mighty Zambezi River will next year again burst to its seams from torrential rains and flood the Barotse plains to relive this spectacular ceremony once again.
Ku-omboka, which means, “to come out of water” was obviously to many visitors and local people, yet another big traditional celebration of lozi culture held every year.
It was the biggest celebration held in the Lozi flood plains of the upper Zambezi during which the Litunga or the Lozi king leads his people from the flooded plains to higher ground in Limulunga.
It is perhaps the only traditional ceremony, highly associated with deep waters to enable the Nalikwanda, the royal barge, to be paddled safely across the plains to higher ground. This ecstatic royal movement across an expanse of water attracts more interest as a celebration of local culture each year than any other in Zambia.
Memories of the festivities for those who travelled to Mongu, Lealui and Limulunga, to witness the ceremony will definitely remain fresh in their minds for many years to come while the exuberance of the abundant water in western province will equally linger in their hearts.
There will be wishes and fears of what can result from the flood plains and the obvious pointer, which immediately comes to surface, is that it was also reminder of the aftermath of the heavy rainfall which filled up the Zambezi river resulting in hundreds of people being left homeless across the country.
The Zambian government has in fact come under mounting criticism from local civic organisations for its apparent inability to assess recent flood damage and making a coordinated response to the crisis impossible.
Torrential rains, which began in early December 2006, have swamped at least 21 of the country's 73 districts, washing away houses, bridges and crops, while some schools have been forced to close and the Barotse people are among the hundreds of people displaced.
In addition, there has been little information about the extent of the damage, besides the repetitive line by government's Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) that assessment of the affected areas was "still ongoing" and the findings would be published in "due course".
Nonetheless, hats off to President Levy Mwanawasa, who was chief guest to the Litunga at this year’s Kuomboka ceremony, for assuring the nation that Government will soon start rehabilitating infrastructure destroyed by floods throughout the country.
Temporary shelter, clean water and proper sanitation and other non-food relief supplies are in short supply in the affected areas and the government is obviously worried that there could be an outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Further, rains are expected throughout this month.
Although this highly treasured traditional ceremony is over and was held successfully, there are major lessons about water, which the country needs to critically address in view of this year’s heavy rains and other similar wet seasons to come.
The issue, which has become a subject of discussion in many academic and development circles, is that the Ku-omboka ceremony should open people’s minds and that the nation should not take for granted the abundant water which the country is blessed with this year.
It is high time that the abundant water in the Barotse plains and elsewhere for that matter is conserved for future use because weather and rain patterns are unpredictable.
Some leading water development exponents, some of whom attended this years Ku-omboka ceremony feel its high time that the country began to take deliberate steps to harvest rain water during the rainy season and look at floods as a panacea to most of the country’s development problems.
Water brings life to our cities and plants and provides the habitat for living things. It is vital for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, industry and countless other purposes. When it is in abundant, it is crucial, therefore, that it is preserved.
The country’s rivers and dams are now full of water but there is no guarantee that the nation will have good rains again next year to flood our rivers and lakes. The country could actually be headed for a drought, who knows?
Zambia Water Partnership (ZWP) Executive Secretary, Professor Nyambe Imasiku, who attended the Ku-omboka ceremony, said Ku-omboka should send another message to the nation to learn to prepare for the future in how the country manages its water resources and food reserves.
ZWP is facilitating the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan as a solution to the efficient management of the country’s water resources and enhance national development plans.
“Yes, we can marvel at the abundant water in the Barotse plains and enjoy the Ku-omboka ceremony as we have done but let us also look at how we can harvest this rain water for agriculture and other purposes,” Prof Nyambe said.
Prof Nyambe, a geology senior lecturer at the University of Zambia (UNZA), said that rain water harvesting was a method of utilizing rain water for domestic and agricultural use and that this practice was already applied widely in many parts of the world.
Rain water harvesting is a method, which has been used since ancient times and is increasingly being accepted as a practical method of providing potable water in development projects throughout the world, he said.
“There is need for the country to seriously start harvesting water for agricultural use and other purposes. We are just looking at rain water running off and yet we can collect it and use it wisely,” Prof Nyambe said.
A water specialist, Chimwang’a Maseka, who is the project Manager for Partnership for Africa’s Water Development (PAWD) in Zambia, said that rain water harvesting had a wide application in urban and peri-urban areas where the reliability and quality of piped water was increasingly being questioned.
A study released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) also says that rain water harvesting is simply collecting rainwater that falls on your property and then putting it to use around your home or yard!
But how many people bother to collect rain water in Zambia? There is simply water run off everywhere and rain water is taken for granted. Very few people, if any, both in urban and rural Zambia harvest rain water.
“It’s time we learnt the importance of capturing water. Rain water harvesting is a way to capture the rainwater when it rains, store that water above ground or charge the underground and use it later.
This happens naturally in open rural areas. But in congested, over-paved metropolitan cities like Lusaka there is need to create methods to capture the rain water,” Mr. Maseka explained.
In some countries, people use rainwater to irrigate trees, lawns and other landscaping.
“You can substantially lower your water bill, help reduce local flooding and reduce landscaping and property maintenance needs--- all by putting water harvesting ideas to use around your home.
Whether you're building a new home on an single lot, designing a major subdivision, or just making a few improvements around your yard, water harvesting can be easily incorporated into your plans,” Mr. Maseka added.
And according to the FAO study, rain water harvesting is a proven technology to increase food security in drought prone areas.
In other words, drought prone areas such the Southern province particularly the Gwembe valley should take rain water harvesting very seriously.
Erosion control and recharge of ground water are additional advantages of water harvesting techniques.
According to FAO, it has also been observed that in most countries that extension and irrigation staff have often very limited knowledge about the various water harvesting techniques and the associated socio-economic implications.
An example on how to harvest rain water is that if you live in a single dwelling house or a multi-tenant block of flats, for example, is that you already have 80 percent of the rain water harvesting system. What needs to be done is to re-orient the plumbing design.
According to FAO, the present design of your house will take all the rainwater from the roof and all the ground level areas surrounding the house and flow the water towards the street. (where it floods the street, clogs the storm drains and sewer lines for a few days, before flowing away as sewage water).
From the roof tops, bring the rainwater down using closed PVC pipes and direct it to a sump. Include a simple 3-part filteration unit consisting of sand, brick jelly and broken mud bricks.
If you do not have sump, use a well. In many parts of the Zambia, old wells when they go dry are used as garbage dumps. Please clean the well and put the rain water into it.
If you do not have a well, construct a baby well (about 2ft in diameter and about 16 feet deep based on soil structure).
Another method of rain water harvesting is by collecting ground water and stopping its flow at a gate by putting a concrete slab with holes in it, build a two feet deep pit, across the full width of the gate. Collect and connect a pipe and flow the water to a well or a baby well.
And according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of India, a rainwater harvesting system comprises components of various stages - transporting rainwater through pipes or drains, filtration, and storage in tanks for reuse or recharge.
One can only hope that this will open people’s eyes and minds and not take the huge water resources now available and ensure that in future, steps are taken to harvest rain water because the practice is simple and goes a long way in enhancing economic development.
The famous Ku-omboka ceremony of the Barotse people of Western province has come and gone but not forgotten in many respects. Hopefully, the mighty Zambezi River will next year again burst to its seams from torrential rains and flood the Barotse plains to relive this spectacular ceremony once again.
Ku-omboka, which means, “to come out of water” was obviously to many visitors and local people, yet another big traditional celebration of lozi culture held every year.
It was the biggest celebration held in the Lozi flood plains of the upper Zambezi during which the Litunga or the Lozi king leads his people from the flooded plains to higher ground in Limulunga.
It is perhaps the only traditional ceremony, highly associated with deep waters to enable the Nalikwanda, the royal barge, to be paddled safely across the plains to higher ground. This ecstatic royal movement across an expanse of water attracts more interest as a celebration of local culture each year than any other in Zambia.
Memories of the festivities for those who travelled to Mongu, Lealui and Limulunga, to witness the ceremony will definitely remain fresh in their minds for many years to come while the exuberance of the abundant water in western province will equally linger in their hearts.
There will be wishes and fears of what can result from the flood plains and the obvious pointer, which immediately comes to surface, is that it was also reminder of the aftermath of the heavy rainfall which filled up the Zambezi river resulting in hundreds of people being left homeless across the country.
The Zambian government has in fact come under mounting criticism from local civic organisations for its apparent inability to assess recent flood damage and making a coordinated response to the crisis impossible.
Torrential rains, which began in early December 2006, have swamped at least 21 of the country's 73 districts, washing away houses, bridges and crops, while some schools have been forced to close and the Barotse people are among the hundreds of people displaced.
In addition, there has been little information about the extent of the damage, besides the repetitive line by government's Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) that assessment of the affected areas was "still ongoing" and the findings would be published in "due course".
Nonetheless, hats off to President Levy Mwanawasa, who was chief guest to the Litunga at this year’s Kuomboka ceremony, for assuring the nation that Government will soon start rehabilitating infrastructure destroyed by floods throughout the country.
Temporary shelter, clean water and proper sanitation and other non-food relief supplies are in short supply in the affected areas and the government is obviously worried that there could be an outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Further, rains are expected throughout this month.
Although this highly treasured traditional ceremony is over and was held successfully, there are major lessons about water, which the country needs to critically address in view of this year’s heavy rains and other similar wet seasons to come.
The issue, which has become a subject of discussion in many academic and development circles, is that the Ku-omboka ceremony should open people’s minds and that the nation should not take for granted the abundant water which the country is blessed with this year.
It is high time that the abundant water in the Barotse plains and elsewhere for that matter is conserved for future use because weather and rain patterns are unpredictable.
Some leading water development exponents, some of whom attended this years Ku-omboka ceremony feel its high time that the country began to take deliberate steps to harvest rain water during the rainy season and look at floods as a panacea to most of the country’s development problems.
Water brings life to our cities and plants and provides the habitat for living things. It is vital for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, industry and countless other purposes. When it is in abundant, it is crucial, therefore, that it is preserved.
The country’s rivers and dams are now full of water but there is no guarantee that the nation will have good rains again next year to flood our rivers and lakes. The country could actually be headed for a drought, who knows?
Zambia Water Partnership (ZWP) Executive Secretary, Professor Nyambe Imasiku, who attended the Ku-omboka ceremony, said Ku-omboka should send another message to the nation to learn to prepare for the future in how the country manages its water resources and food reserves.
ZWP is facilitating the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan as a solution to the efficient management of the country’s water resources and enhance national development plans.
“Yes, we can marvel at the abundant water in the Barotse plains and enjoy the Ku-omboka ceremony as we have done but let us also look at how we can harvest this rain water for agriculture and other purposes,” Prof Nyambe said.
Prof Nyambe, a geology senior lecturer at the University of Zambia (UNZA), said that rain water harvesting was a method of utilizing rain water for domestic and agricultural use and that this practice was already applied widely in many parts of the world.
Rain water harvesting is a method, which has been used since ancient times and is increasingly being accepted as a practical method of providing potable water in development projects throughout the world, he said.
“There is need for the country to seriously start harvesting water for agricultural use and other purposes. We are just looking at rain water running off and yet we can collect it and use it wisely,” Prof Nyambe said.
A water specialist, Chimwang’a Maseka, who is the project Manager for Partnership for Africa’s Water Development (PAWD) in Zambia, said that rain water harvesting had a wide application in urban and peri-urban areas where the reliability and quality of piped water was increasingly being questioned.
A study released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) also says that rain water harvesting is simply collecting rainwater that falls on your property and then putting it to use around your home or yard!
But how many people bother to collect rain water in Zambia? There is simply water run off everywhere and rain water is taken for granted. Very few people, if any, both in urban and rural Zambia harvest rain water.
“It’s time we learnt the importance of capturing water. Rain water harvesting is a way to capture the rainwater when it rains, store that water above ground or charge the underground and use it later.
This happens naturally in open rural areas. But in congested, over-paved metropolitan cities like Lusaka there is need to create methods to capture the rain water,” Mr. Maseka explained.
In some countries, people use rainwater to irrigate trees, lawns and other landscaping.
“You can substantially lower your water bill, help reduce local flooding and reduce landscaping and property maintenance needs--- all by putting water harvesting ideas to use around your home.
Whether you're building a new home on an single lot, designing a major subdivision, or just making a few improvements around your yard, water harvesting can be easily incorporated into your plans,” Mr. Maseka added.
And according to the FAO study, rain water harvesting is a proven technology to increase food security in drought prone areas.
In other words, drought prone areas such the Southern province particularly the Gwembe valley should take rain water harvesting very seriously.
Erosion control and recharge of ground water are additional advantages of water harvesting techniques.
According to FAO, it has also been observed that in most countries that extension and irrigation staff have often very limited knowledge about the various water harvesting techniques and the associated socio-economic implications.
An example on how to harvest rain water is that if you live in a single dwelling house or a multi-tenant block of flats, for example, is that you already have 80 percent of the rain water harvesting system. What needs to be done is to re-orient the plumbing design.
According to FAO, the present design of your house will take all the rainwater from the roof and all the ground level areas surrounding the house and flow the water towards the street. (where it floods the street, clogs the storm drains and sewer lines for a few days, before flowing away as sewage water).
From the roof tops, bring the rainwater down using closed PVC pipes and direct it to a sump. Include a simple 3-part filteration unit consisting of sand, brick jelly and broken mud bricks.
If you do not have sump, use a well. In many parts of the Zambia, old wells when they go dry are used as garbage dumps. Please clean the well and put the rain water into it.
If you do not have a well, construct a baby well (about 2ft in diameter and about 16 feet deep based on soil structure).
Another method of rain water harvesting is by collecting ground water and stopping its flow at a gate by putting a concrete slab with holes in it, build a two feet deep pit, across the full width of the gate. Collect and connect a pipe and flow the water to a well or a baby well.
And according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of India, a rainwater harvesting system comprises components of various stages - transporting rainwater through pipes or drains, filtration, and storage in tanks for reuse or recharge.
One can only hope that this will open people’s eyes and minds and not take the huge water resources now available and ensure that in future, steps are taken to harvest rain water because the practice is simple and goes a long way in enhancing economic development.
posted by aydpels @ 6:04 AM
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