Kabale gets water harvesting project
Mar 13, 2011
A multi-million rain water harvest project has been commissioned in Kabale district to enable residents access clean water.
By DARIOUS MAGARA
A multi-million rain water harvest project has been commissioned in Kabale district to enable residents access clean water.
Presiding over the function at Sefas Inn in Kabale on Thursday, the acting Kabale district LC5 chairman, Silver Baguma, said the sh7.2b project would also cover Kamwege and Isingiro districts where residents experience inadequate water supply.
The project code-named Bob Bag has a capacity of 1,400 litres of water.
It was recently invented by Americans and is funded by Relief International (RI), an American organisation with a branch in Uganda.
The portable and repairable bag costs sh125,000, but Baguma promised to convince his council to subsidise its cost and make it affordable to the residents.
However, it does not serve residents that have grass thatched houses since it requires a gutter fixed to an iron-roofed house to collect water whenever it rains.
The Kigezi diocesan water department coordinator, Rev. Reuben Byomuhangi, who has worked with RI Uganda, said they had trained 40 residents in water harvesting skills.
The RI manager, Tom Opio, said they work with people in developing countries to help them develop affordable solutions to their problems.
He said they would redesign the bag to make it suit the local needs of the people in Uganda.
“Over the past years, we have been looking at domestic rainwater harvesting from a business perspective. This innovation will go a long way in serving residents with clean water,†Opio said.
He said RI promotes business opportunities and transfer of technologies through the private sector.
“We believe that business provides a method of ensuring sustainable delivery of products and services that have a social benefit,†Opio added.
Byomuhangi said the water bag is safer, easy to use and can last for 10 years if well managed.
A multi-million rain water harvest project has been commissioned in Kabale district to enable residents access clean water.
Presiding over the function at Sefas Inn in Kabale on Thursday, the acting Kabale district LC5 chairman, Silver Baguma, said the sh7.2b project would also cover Kamwege and Isingiro districts where residents experience inadequate water supply.
The project code-named Bob Bag has a capacity of 1,400 litres of water.
It was recently invented by Americans and is funded by Relief International (RI), an American organisation with a branch in Uganda.
The portable and repairable bag costs sh125,000, but Baguma promised to convince his council to subsidise its cost and make it affordable to the residents.
However, it does not serve residents that have grass thatched houses since it requires a gutter fixed to an iron-roofed house to collect water whenever it rains.
The Kigezi diocesan water department coordinator, Rev. Reuben Byomuhangi, who has worked with RI Uganda, said they had trained 40 residents in water harvesting skills.
The RI manager, Tom Opio, said they work with people in developing countries to help them develop affordable solutions to their problems.
He said they would redesign the bag to make it suit the local needs of the people in Uganda.
“Over the past years, we have been looking at domestic rainwater harvesting from a business perspective. This innovation will go a long way in serving residents with clean water,†Opio said.
He said RI promotes business opportunities and transfer of technologies through the private sector.
“We believe that business provides a method of ensuring sustainable delivery of products and services that have a social benefit,†Opio added.
Byomuhangi said the water bag is safer, easy to use and can last for 10 years if well managed.