Nelly Bassily | December 15, 2013
Interest in rainwater harvesting has increased in recent decades, as farmers face increasingly erratic weather patterns. Collecting rainwater for domestic use can be affordable and easy to set up in most households. Notes to broadcasters on this subject from Farm Radio Weekly issue #141 (January 2011) are available through this link: http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/01/17/notes-to-broadcasters-on-rainwater-harvesting-2/
More information is available from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting
The International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance was created in Geneva in November 2002. You can visit their website through this address: http://www.irha-h2o.org/
There is a wealth of information and lists of further resources on water harvesting in this Farm Radio International issue pack:
Water harvesting: an issue pack (Package 89, Script 3, December 2009) http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/89-3script_en.asp
Farm Radio Weekly has published some stories on water harvesting, including:
-Sahel: Fighting malnutrition with local food security and water management initiatives (FRW #122, August 2010) http://weekly.farmradio.org/2010/08/02/sahel-fighting-malnutrition-with-local-food-security-and-water-management-initiatives-irin-rfi-reuters-bbc-icrisat/
–Zimbabwe: Collecting rainfall in the city (FRW #141, January 2011) http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/01/17/zimbabwe-collecting-rainfall-in-the-city-ips/
-Kenya: Rainwater harvesting improves rural livelihoods (FRW #15, March 2008) http://weekly.farmradio.org/2008/03/17/1-kenya-rainwater-harvesting-improves-rural-livelihoods-various-sources/.
If you want to create programs on water harvesting, you could talk to progressive farmers, older traditional farmers, organic farmers, NGOs with an interest in water or in adapting to climate change, and governments or companies with an interest in water.
Find out whether any farmers harvest rainwater or surface water in your listening area.
-What methods do they use? Are these methods effective when there is an extended period of low rainfall?
-Do farmers make collective efforts to harvest rainwater? Has the government or have NGOs helped these efforts? What are the results of efforts to harvest rainwater or surface water?