Improving communities by ensuring access to clean water in Zambia and Malawi
Improving water access in Zambia
Access to fresh water has long been a challenge for communities in the Katapazi Village in Zambia’s Kazungula district. Until recently, an estimated 37% of the population did not have access to clean drinking water; the women and girls of the village used to have to walk a kilometre to reach the closest water source which was either a stream or a shallow well. Ms. Beatrice Siambelele, a member of the Katapazi community, is among one of the many women and girls who had to take the long journey to fetch water, the quality of which was not guaranteed.
As a result of the Southern Africa Development Community’s (SADC) demonstration project in Zambia, solar panels were installed at the Katapazi Agricultural Camp. These panels are used to pump water from two boreholes, which is then stored into water tanks for domestic, livestock and irrigation purposes.
This project is being implemented under the European Union’s funded Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) programme with technical assistance of the Nexus Regional Dialogues (NRD) Programme "Fostering Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus Dialogue and Multi-Sector Investment in the SADC Region”.
— Ms. Beatrice Siambelele, member of Katapazi communityThe project has made life easier especially for the women and girls in Katapazi because thanks to the two boreholes and four water tanks, women do not have to travel long distances to fetch water for their families. The project has also empowered us women to start our own gardens where we grow a variety of vegetables that we sell in our community.
Transforming the agricultural sector in Zambia
To implement the demonstration project, three organisations collaborated: the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (CCARDESA), Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) and the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE). Each organisation provided expertise in climate-smart agriculture, integrated water resource management and renewable energy, respectively. Prior to starting the project, the three organisations conducted a baseline study and found that male-headed households were more likely to engage in investable growing than female-headed households. However, the project helped to promote gender equality in agriculture.
According to the study, maize, sunflower, groundnuts, and sorghum were the most grown crops. Maize was cultivated by 100% of the household surveyed and was used for both food security and as a cash crop. Sunflower, on the other hand, was primarily grown as a cash crop, with 79% of the households cultivating it.
