Water for Healthy Food

The project is based in the rural area in the Northern Mozambique in the Monapo District that has a population of 305.000 people. The water coverage in 2007 was 24,6% mostly concentrated in the district town Monapo.
The families in the project area faces large problems with regard to water and sanitation and diseases, more than 80% of people experiencing severe problems with regard to basic diseases such as diarrhoea even colera, cough, malaria and other diseases.
The project consist of an intensive support to 200 women to build up a considerable vegetable production as well as to start growing fruits trees in an organized way. The deal is that the women commit themself to improve the sanitation and hygiene in their household becoming active and visible promotors in benefitting from good hygienic practices

Current status

Manual construction of wells or drilling of boreholes mounted with a rope-pumps was introduced in the project-area in 2006. Also training of local water-technicians is on-going.
With the better access to water more people grow vegetables and it is becoming an important part of the menu. Efforts needs to be put into methods of conservation of vegetables as well as a proper planning and timing in order to avoid peak production and excess production.

Improved nutritional and health status for 200 families in the rural Northern Mozambique due to stable production of vegetables and establishment of familiy fruit orchards @ 25 trees, secured via improved access to safe water sources supplied with a rope-pump.
30 women capable rope-pump fitting, maintain the water-source and the financial management, 200 women trained in production of nutritious food, conservation of vegetables, promote replications and high hygienic standard in household

Goals

• 20 water points with rope-pumps
• Water for 10 vegetables gardens and 200 family fruit orchard
• 30 women trained in maintenance of rope-pumps, 200 women in
• Reduction of malnutrition in 200 families with 50%
• 200 households with good hygiene & sanitation

The rope pump is produced in the area and is made with locally available materials. This also makes it easier to secure the maintanance.
The water filters are imported from India and effort is done to let it become a commercial product sold in local as urban shops.

People in the area are willing to put an effort into learning, specially when the benefits are visible, therefore intensive capacity building, hygiene and food safety training is done of 200 women that will carry visible results to the area and become models for others. In order to get the rope-pump, the 200 women will commit themself to follow certain agreed standard in sanitation and hygiene.

The support to establish two water points will increase the area of growing vegetables and planting trees from a neraby water-source, the families can put either money or time aside to introduce basic hyginic standards in their household