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Forging
ties
CSE and RELMA join hands to
promote RWH in Asia and Africa
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In March 2003, two members of Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA),
a Nairobi-based international organisation, travelled to Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan to experience community-led water
works. This visit by Maimbo Malesu, regional coordinator and Paito
Obote, program officer, marked a new beginning. CSE and RELMA have
entered into a partnership - ‘Green water harvester’s network’
to spread awareness about the potential of rainwater harvesting practices
(RWH) in Africa and south Asia.
The 18 nations forming this network are: Kenya,Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Rwanda, Somaliland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana,
South Africa, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. While
working together, CSE will focus on the south Asian region while RELMA
will cover eastern and southern Africa. Global Water Partnership,
an international organisation, is funding this project, which gives
both CSE and RELMA an added advantage to share and learn from the
experiences of other international actors.
 Obote
and Malesu’s journey began with the Rain Centre, Chennai, where
they got a thorough orientation on RWH. Malesu found the centre to
be ‘meticulously planned for the visitors’. The linkages
drawn between the national and local water scenario in the panels,
and the presence of a technical expert was admired. Later in the day,
the visitors went to see the 600 year old temple tank located at Pammal,
20 km south west of Chennai. An interaction with the locals about
the revival efforts amazed the guests. Obote said, "It is rare
to find initiatives like these in urban areas". Village Thalambedu
was the next stop. This visit looked at the tank management efforts
of a Madurai-based NGO,Dhan Foundation. Neerkattis (water managers)
shared their age-old water management practices with them.
Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra acquainted the guests with the instrumental
role of watersheds in ushering a new life in rural India. Hardevsinh
Jadeja, the ex-sarpanch and the initiator of the water works in village
Raj Samadhiyala. This village has enough water to irrigate, despite
years of water scarcity. Impressed by Jadeja’s work, Malesu invited
him to visit Africa. Laporiya in Rajasthan was the last stop, where
Laxman Singh, the dynamic local leader has developed a unique system
— chauka (dykes) for managing pastures and water.This visit has
paved the way to share and replicate experiences in both the continents.
For further information:
Sumita Dasgupta at sumita@cseindia.org
Maimbo M Malesu at M.Malesu@cgiar.org
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