SolarCent

Community Management of Solar Water Pumps in Rural Namibia

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Last edit made by Helen Mengs on 2024-05-07. This is a wiki, do not hesitate to update information by clicking on "Edit with form".

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Key Data

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Organisation

CommonWaters Namseb

Duration

June 2020 - September 2023

Project Description

The project aims to improve the water supply in the Hardap region. Its main activity is the rehabilitation of 15 existing boreholes. In an upfront field visit, the sites with the highest yield potential are identified and analysed. Depending on the findings, CommonWaters installs new solar-powered groundwater pumps, replaces the water collection tanks and renews the distribution systems. At each site, the organisation supports the surrounding farmers in the set up of a small water management committee. Each committee is managed self-responsibly. It assures the basic maintenance of its system and collects a small amount of money from each user – the so-called SolarCent – to finance future repairs. Beyond the project, CommonWaters is working with the GIZ programme Farming for Resilience (F4R) to introduce solar-irrigation gardening in the communities that surround the boreholes to increase agricultural yields and food security in the region.

The project is characterised by several innovative elements. First, using a tailor-made approach, it prioritises repairing existing water provision systems over completely dismantling them in favour of new structures. Second, the project ensures local ownership through the established water committees. Finally, the collection of the SolarCent serves as a showcase for financing maintenance operations, even in very sparsely populated areas.

GBE Component

Small Projects Fund

Categories

• Financing
• Community-based Approaches

Factsheet

Location

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Country SPF

Namibia

Geographic coordinates of project site

24° 37' 28.70" S, 17° 57' 45.61" E

Latitude            Longitude

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• Community Management of Solar Water Pumps in Rural Namibia

• Financing

• Community-based Approaches