In Ethiopia, rainwater holds incredible potential. Of the total population of over 74 million, 84% lives in rural areas and is dependent on rainwater for domestic and agricultural water supply. However, rainfall in the country is highly erratic, creating a high risk of drought periods between rainy seasons and intervals with very limited rainfall. In some areas in southwest Ethiopia about 2000 millimetres of rain falls annually, while less than a 100 millimetres falls over the Afar Lowlands in the northeast. Most rain falls intensively: people have an abundance of water for a few weeks, and then have to manage without for long periods of time.

Rainwater harvesting is far from a new concept in Ethiopia: its history dates back as early as 560 BC. In recent years, Ethiopia’s government has made serious

efforts to promote rainwater harvesting and there is evidence of economic growth in recent years. But the country is still facing enormous challenges. Water supply and sanitation coverage for all inhabitants are major problems, particularly in rural areas. Ethiopia has the highest absolute number of people without access to an improved water supply and sanitation in sub- Saharan Africa, accounting for over 50% of the (mainly rural) population. Non-functioning systems aggravate the problem. Erratic rainfall and recurrent droughts also require intensive efforts in managing water for landscapes, environment and agricultural production. Water is an integral part of a society’s development and the backbone for human dignity, health and poverty reduction. So how do we ensure the human right to access to clean water?

“Sun and rain are for all.”– Ethiopian proverb

RAIN is a non-governmental organisation based in the Netherlands. RAIN works across Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia. In Africa, RAIN collaborates with partners in Ethiopia,

Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania.

Ethiopia

Bahir Dar

Dire DawaAddis Ababa

Jima

RAIN in Ethiopia Ethiopia forms part of RAIN’s East & Horn of Africa Programme. Over the last 10 years, RAIN has been working through local partners on developing, studying and implementing rainwater harvesting systems throughout most of rural Ethiopia. Over the years, we have improved rainwater harvesting technologies, improved water management processes and, most importantly, created awareness of the potential of rainwater. We work with a broad range of people and organisations: from rural households and communities to national and regional policy makers. Such partnerships are necessary to make a difference.

RAIN’s main focus in Ethiopia is on providing a sufficient and clean water supply for agriculture, environmental

protection, sanitation and hygiene – both on community and household levels. The methods to collect, store, use and reuse rainwater – using run-off water, roofs,

floodwater and sub-surface water – are easy to apply and replicate. In all activities, RAIN works to strengthen local knowledge and capacities. In

this way we tap into the potential of Ethiopians who have a relevant contextual understanding

of the people, the environment and the climate. Together with local civil

society, government bodies, households and communities,

RAIN is able to carry out holistic interventions with infrastructure

development, community awareness, sustainability and participation.

Water for the environment & ecosystemsLoss of vegetation, soil erosion and prolonged droughts threaten many of Ethiopia’s regions. Rainwater, if managed correctly, has enormous potential to restore degraded land and conserve ecosystems. RAIN supports households and communities in using rainwater to protect their environment through our Recharge, Retention and Reuse (3R) approach. This landscape approach combines soil management, re-greening and water management to bring about improvements on an ecosystem level.

Often, raising awareness on the benefits of environmental protection is not enough. These benefits – such as the increased availability of water with new springs and high water table, and healthier soils and ecosystems – take a long time to realise. RAIN has been studying and mapping the different agro-ecological areas of Ethiopia,

and one of the key findings has been that communities will safely manage their environment if there is an incentive to do. Some of our projects therefore include eco-friendly economic activities such as beekeeping in gazetted areas, growing fodder to fatten goats, and gully prevention and control.

3R stands for the Recharge, Retention and Reuse of water. It covers the broad process of retaining and intercepting rainwater and runoff, conserving it in the soil and allowing it to percolate and refill the underground water table. Groundwater can be extracted with different techniques and retained in above-ground and below-ground tanks. Households and communities can easily reach and re-use this retained water in dry periods. The improved soil moisture regenerates and conserves the landscape, benefitting both the farmers as well as the environment.

Knowledge and capacity development within RAIN combines expertise and resources on land, water and ecosystems. We aim to study and improve rainwater harvesting and buffering technologies, as well as strengthen processes to achieve sustainable, resilient and healthy ecosystems. Sustainable agriculture and rural development depend on maintaining the fragile balance between productivity functions and planning, management and conservation practices.

RAIN offers trainings in Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing (GIS & RS) to regional

agriculture bureaus, where the staff learns essential technology in managing and improving land and water productivity. We train community-based water management committees for each water-harvesting system built, and we have developed Guided Learning of Water Systems (GLOWS) training programmes for both communities and practitioners. RAIN also organises learning and experience sharing events, including symposiums and conferences, technical training workshops, webinars and study trips.

Water for food & agriculture Rainwater harvesting has enabled Ethiopian farmers to produce food for their own families and their communities throughout the year. Because food and agriculture systems in Ethiopia are mainly rain-fed, a slight change in rainfall can have a serious adverse effect on production. Rainwater harvesting offers a solution for people to store water for irrigation and livestock. This can be done in different ways. Improving the water availability in the soil is one important step, which restores the land and enables farmers to cultivate more and healthier crops.

RAIN sees a considerable potential to expand rainwater harvesting for food security. RAIN works with regional government agriculture bureaus, Ethiopian development organisations and international agencies such as IFAD and FAO to advance knowledge on appropriate

technologies, to pilot technologies and to deliver solutions to communities that are effective and easily managed. For example, RAIN works with communities to rehabilitate their environments using rainwater and build rainwater harvesting structures. This enables them to irrigate crops, raise livestock and keep bees, amongst other endeavours. They use rainwater to grow food and secure an income that reduces their dependency on food aid.

Water for health Ethiopia has a large, predominantly rural population with poor access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Rainwater harvesting is an ideal strategy to address water shortage in the severely water-stressed areas and ensure access to clean water at community and household levels. As people will always have multiple uses for water, water use planning and infrastructure management is crucial in our process. RAIN and its partners support the creation and strengthening of an environment in which local people can assert and realise their water rights: the right to sufficient safe drinking water, as well as the right to adequate sanitation and hygienic living conditions. The Multiple Use water Services (MUS) approach is one of the approaches we employ.

Knowledge development & capacity strenghtening

On a community and household level, we mainly focus on pastoralist communities where access to WASH services is relatively difficult due to their remote location or harsh environments. Here, the lack of access results in a particularly high burden for women and children. RAIN has a special focus on sanitation and hygiene in schools. We support the construction of sanitation facilities and enable a clean water supply through rooftop water harvesting systems, among others. We work with schools using the Student-Led School Sanitation and Hygiene approach (SLSSH), where students are the leaders of their own change processes. The focus in SLSSH is on changing attitudes, to ensure a lasting generational transformation.

Multiple Use water Services (MUS) is an approach that meets people’s domestic and productive needs while making the most efficient use of water resources. The approach takes into account different water sources and their quality, quantity, reliability and distance from point of use. A MUS approach can be used to plan a new water service or to upgrade existing domestic or irrigation services.

RAIN

Barentszplein 71013 NJ Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Telephone: +31 (0)20 58 18 250

info@rainfoundation.orgwww.rainfoundation.org

IntelligenceRAIN provides knowledge management services that link information and theory with practice and people. Drawing on our experience in implementing and advising on rainwater harvesting technologies and programmes in various countries, we deliver knowledge products and provide knowledge sharing activities such as workshops, training courses and webinars. Regular discussion and collaboration with experts and partners in our extended network allow us to keep our expertise fully up to date as well as spread new ideas and innovative practices.

ImplementationRAIN has extensive experience in programme and project management in the field of water harvesting and buffering. We have implemented programmes and projects in various countries in East and West Africa as well as Southeast Asia. Our strength lies in our local and international partner network and our hands-on experience in applying unique approaches to rainwater harvesting. RAIN actively promotes the 3R and MUS approaches in which rainwater harvesting plays a key role. Our experience, network, expert knowledge and skills have proven to be valuable to international programmes and projects on rainwater harvesting.

AdviceRAIN’s consultancy services support programmes from the field level to the institutional level. We help to integrate the technical, institutional and social aspects of water harvesting and buffering, from project and programme design to technical advice at the landscape level as well as strategic advice and capacity building. We use approaches like 3R, MUS and landscape approaches, all based on environmental sustainability principles. Our programme advice is practical and geared towards results. We help project officers and management staff to translate programme objectives into tangible actions and outputs.

Contact us

RAIN: our role and services

We aim to make our approaches and processes easy to understand, scalable to other areas and we provide a platform for knowledge exchange, generating ideas through discussions and sharing. We bring together various actors under our Rain-for-Food community of practice. The evidence generated from our own and our partners’ projects is the strength of such a knowledge and sharing platform.

We would like to grow our partnership and increase collaboration with you. We welcome you to contact us for experience sharing, programme design and development; technical assistance through consultancy; and (joint) project implementation.