Water for Eritrea

instagram | facebook | teog.ngo | clip

The small country at the Horn of Africa is extremely poor and predominantly agricultural. Especially rural areas struggle providing a year-round supply of sufficiently clean water, which is crucial for further development. As more and more traditional wells dry up during the dry season, the walks to the nearest waterholes become longer and longer. In cooperation with the organization ArcheMed e.V., which is operating for many years in Eritrea, this infrastructure project is planned to provide clean water for a village.

The project region is located in Begu Valley, approximately 100 km from the capital Asmara. There are a few villages in this area leading a simple, agricultural life.

During our first expedition in April 2014 we investigated several suitable locations suitable for the construction of a water supply. Thereby, one location on a hillside appeared to be specifically suitable for the construction of sand storage dams. In September 2015 the reconditioning of a borehole resulted in a temporary relieve of the water scarcity. The long term goal however is the construction of a sand storage dam to ensure a safe and sustainable water supply. The dam will reach approximately 8 meters height and have a sufficient water reservoir for a yearlong water supply of the village. The construction of the infrastructure is accompanied by an intense knowledge exchange between local and German engineers and students as well as a wide range of workshops in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene for the local community. It is them who perform the actual construction work together with the local engineers.

The start of the construction work was at the beginning of 2017, since then the construction continues step by step with every rain event. While the work for the wing walls was finished in 2019, the pandemic delays the construction of the centre part, which is conducted step by step following rain events. Thanks to the innovative construction method a maximum efficiency and longevity is reached. At the same time the dam is also already now functionally, though with less steps respectively, and providing an increasingly important contribution to the water supply of the community.

Thanks to your donations and co-funding of the German BMZ, roughly 80% of the overall construction volume has been completed by the end of 2019. The COVID pandemic has slown down construction lately (community work could be conducted) but now we are resuming construction.

We have already achieved a lot thanks to your support and we hope to complete also this last phase of the project now successfully together with you!