When setting up a healthy water and irrigation system, there are so many variables to get right. After you’ve controlled for storage, water quality, salinity, pressure and more, distribution is the next challenge!
At the Juru Greenhouse in Nakivale, water distribution is potentially the biggest problem. Lake Nakivale is just down the hill from our fields of cabbage, onions, eggplants and tomatoes, but lugging water up the hill and to the far ends of the fields is taxing. We’ve been able to solve the problem of getting the water up the hill to storage, but the farmers still face problems related to reaching their crops.
To solve this, we bought small flexible pipes that the farmers can use to funnel water anywhere they like. Then, using the tarps from day 29, the farmers can dig small reservoirs and fill them with water, making their jobs much easier and their work more efficient.
As we learned before, the greenhouse community estimates they lost approximately 6,000 USD worth of crops last season in large part because they lacked water access. With this whole new water system — from the piping up from the lake, to the water tank and its stand and to the tarps and flexible hoses — the community should be able to support sustainable growth
Prince, the chairperson for the Juru Greenhouse, spoke highly of the support they had received. “We are so grateful for ARC’s support because so many NGOs might come and offer help, but then they only do so once and then leave. But ARC stays.”
