| Project Title: Rehabilitation of Community Water Harvest Ponds known (Berkeds) and Water Catchments Stone Dikes Structures |
| Donor: UNDP-RSL/EGER Somalia |
| Implementer: Somali Women Vision (SWV) |
| Location: Nugaal and Mudug |
| Regions: Garowe and Galkayo in Puntland |
| District: Burtinle |
Introduction and Background:
The UNDP-RSL Employment Generation for Early Recovery (EGER) is project sponsored and funded by UNDP Somalia to address the urgent issue of income generation, infrastructure rehabilitation/development and job creation in Puntland through a community based approach and providing direct income generation priorities for the most affected parts of both IDPs (Internal Displaced Persons), destitute and host communities by applying a community based approach and involving the beneficiary communities in all phases of project identification and implementation through CSOs.
The project focuses on local participation and ownership of the project, thus enhancing the sustainability of the project, and also empowering to the local communities and contributing too much needed improvements in living conditions in Puntland.
In order to address both the short term income generation as well as the longer term job creation, the EGER project implemented a wide variety of community priorities, ranging from infrastructure rehabilitations to vocational trainings and micro-finance. Women and youth are specific focus groups for the project, as they are most affected by the current conflicts and represent the most vulnerable groups within the Somali society.
The Case Study:
Mr. Abdiqani Yasin Adde
Story teller Mr. Abdiqani Yasin Adde is a Kalabaydh Village Commissioner and well respected among kalabaydh village community.
Evidently, Mr. Abdiqani explained extensively the cycle of the situation. Before the rehabilitation of Community Water Ponds Known in Somali (Berked) and previously non-exist Water Catchments Structures, but have newly constructed.
Mr. Abdiqani starts his story telling about this Case Study to explain as following:
| The geographical high altitude land escape location of kalabaydh villageYearly seasonal rainfall level are GU and DAYRThe affect of rainfalls when there is no watershed managementAnd how the human kind cannot abstain without water he reads short verse of Koran and said God have said “We made up from the water every Living Creature”. |
Mr. Abdiqani explains analytically to his audience why he selected the above four Critical Success factories against UNDP-RSL grant supports. He explained Kalabaydh community have tried to drill bore hole, but the ground water level leis beneath 300m to 500m and make impossible in terms of cost expenditure and later regular maintenance to capacity of our community.
So the people of kalabaydh have preferred to use cost effective water harvest ponds and their hand affordable in maintenance wise. He said we receive two main rain seasons, which is GU’ and DAYR. The rainfall water receives during the two seasons mostly passes swiftly because the landscape structure that inclined and makes steep slope to the south direction.
Before rainfall start community in the village put great effort and make culvert that supplies rain water to the mostly private owned water harvest ponds. Time and again most of the rainfall water receives damages the infrastructure i.e. roads, uproots the strong acacia trees and creates soil erosion.
After implementation Mr. Abdiqani Yasin also said the recent fund UNDP-RSL/EGER projects of Rehabilitating Community Water Harvest Ponds known (Berkeds) and construct Water Catchments Stone Dikes Structures in Puntland that implemented by Somali Women Vision (SWV) have changed four main areas the livelihoods of Kalabaydh village community:
| ->New Infrastructure made and excavated common use Water Harvest Ponds that actually will endorse both the human and animals to get drinking water when the water scarce starts in dry season.
-> Employment opportunities have created and many household earned cash for work that has changed the life style of poor families in kalabaydh village during the implementation of the EGER project in Burtinle district in Puntland. Moreover, women and Youth were the most benefited this quick impact project of Income Generation for Early Recovery. -> The Soil erosions controlling of contouring Stone Dike for Water Catchments structures in Kalabaydh has effectively reduces the speed of flood waters and stabilizes the fast moving rain waters retain to land and change the desert landscape into ever green land that produces new grass, and correspondingly a different new plant that starts to row in the area. -> The community gained skill and knowledge through training workshops that will leads them to comply with their future life styles when it comes water sanitation and resources sharing management without conflict between kalabaydh village communities. |
Mr. Abdiqani concluded his story telling of this Case Study to thanks God who make easy all stakeholders to agree and cooperate to support the poor communities in Burtinle district. Similarly, he thanks to UNDP-RSL program that its funds make possible this project to meet and achieve its main goals. Again he praised the commitment showed by Somali Women Vision (SWV) who implemented the EGER project and SOCA who regularly monitoring and supervising project implementation strategy on behalf of UNDP-RSL in order to make sure all stakeholder comply UNDP rules and regulations of the project implementation process.