Crops and communities flourish with water from new reservoirs

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 6 May 2000

WADI ARABA, Jordan--Concrete catchments built with Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) help are serving up water in the desert, in defiance of a severe drought that has parched much of Jordan.

In partnership with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), MCC expects to build 10 of the small concrete reservoirs in the next 12 months. After that, MCC Jordan country representatives Greg and Fay Foster say MCC hopes to continue funding three catchment projects a year through its revolving loan funds.

"The concrete catchments are so efficient because there's no seepage. And they last almost forever," said Greg.

The water catchment that serves Abu Atif and his extended family sits atop a rise of land in Wadi Araba, a desert area in southern Jordan. A bumpy, single track leads through sand dunes to the community.

Before MCC helped build his catchment in summer 1999, 14 families used water from a temporary reservoir to irrigate their small fields. Now 28 families use water from the 400 cubic meter/520 cubic yard catchment.

The catchment cost $6,800 Cdn./$4,500 U.S. The community paid 10 percent up front, received an MCC grant for 50 percent, and will pay off the remaining costs in coming years. MCC's portion came out the MCC revolving loan fund in the Wadi Araba region.

Now water pours into the catchment through a pipe, drawing water from an underground spring, some 200 meters/219 yards away. Through an interpreter, the slight, soft-spoken Abu Atif said he considers this catchment a "treasure underground."

Jordan has suffered a harsh drought for the last couple of years, leaving its already depressed economy in even worse shape. The water shortage has decimated food crops and left sheep farmers facing financial ruin.

The Fosters say MCC hoped to build more catchments last year, but needed to divert funds from that project to buy forage for farmers. That short-term response helped 64 families get their livestock through the summer.

CFGB has pitched in with another $45,000 Cdn./$30,000 U.S. to allow the catchment project to continue, using the same funding formula as Abu Atif's catchment. MCC is one of 13 church partners of CFGB, a Christian-based food aid and development organization.

In another village north of Abu Atif's land, bulldozers are just beginning to dig into a hill where a water catchment will provide water for nine families' fields.

Squatting in the sandy soil nearby, Hamad Tarrij Sidi explains that the water catchment will help him plant crops year round. That means he can sell produce in the dry season when he can fetch higher prices. He grows tomatoes, eggplants, beans and watermelon in this salty soil near the Dead Sea.

Abu Atif also expects the plentiful water will provide him with a longer growing season. His people have long been Bedouin nomads, raising their sheep and goats while moving across the land. In 1976, he and others began settling around some springs in Wadi Araba, and subsequently planted fields.

Erosion has harmed the springs over the years. A few years ago, MCC helped villagers temporarily develop plastic lined catchments. But the plastic, which required replacing every year or two, was expensive to maintain.

Abu Atif said the new concrete catchment has increased their production. It has increased the arable land around the spring. And it has increased the number of families who can use the water. "Now I'm not worried about the water from the spring," he said.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org