First Participatory Assessment: Water Supply and Sanitation Situation
at Evululuko (urban) and Epyeshona (rural) (May 2007)
The CuveWaters project aims to identify the most appropriate technologies
for water and sanitation management in the Cuvelai Basin and to introduce
these technologies with full community participation. In this realm it is
necessary to understand the socio-technological system and to gain insight
into people’s perceptions of their living conditions.
To achieve this, an initial situation analysis was conducted by the
Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN) and the Institute for
Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) during May 2007. The main focus was water
use patterns and sanitation management of residents living in an informal
settlement in Oshakati (Evululuko) and in a rural village (Epyeshona, about
10 km north of Oshakati). The analysis combined qualitative social-empirical
methods with participatory rural appraisal methods (PRA). Participants in
Evululuko were comprised of the local Community Development Committee and
selected residents (20 in total). In Epyeshona, about 27 village residents
representing members of the Water Point Committees and the Water User
Association contributed to the workshop.
In each of the 3-day empirical workshops several tools served to examine
living conditions, available infrastructure, quantities and qualities of
water used, payment issues, perception of sanitation and problems occurring.
The quantities of water used differ from rural to urban settlements (higher
in Evululuko), while there is less difference in the identification of
different water sources and their uses. In general it is difficult for
communities to pay regularly for their water services. This influences
access to the nearby water supply – communal taps can be closed because of
outstanding bills. The residents try to cope by using other – in general
more health-risking – water sources such as the open water pipeline (canal)
or water from dams and ponds. Individual taps are found in several
households and are often used by neighbouring residents. The main problem
here is that the charges for water seem to be intransparent and inequitable.
In Evululuko it was found that most people also have limited access to
suitable and – especially for women – safe sanitation facilities. The most
common toilet type used is a VIP toilet (ventilated improved pit latrine).
With regard to gardening activities, house gardens to supplement the variety
of food are more common in the urban setting than in the village. Gardening
is mainly restricted to the rainy season; only few households practise it
throughout the year by watering with grey water or tap water.
The technology options presented, such as individual or community
sanitation systems, decentralised waste water treatment with waste water
re-use and rainwater harvesting, were received with great interest. Further
information for and from the participants is needed to fine-tune and adapt
the technology options to the local conditions and needs of the people. This
was carried out in a second empirical survey during August/September 2007. A
synthesis report of these empirical surveys is available on this website. |
