Managing Water

by Mark Schwartz, Tsumkwe Region, Namibia

Water in the region is managed by rural villages and the national and local governments. The department of local water affairs contracts a company called NAMWATER. Farmers must receive permission from NAMWATER before they can irrigate their crops. There's at least one water tap in each settlement, and government and private houses have indoor plumbing.

by Deirdre Deakyne, Onambutu Village, Namibia

In Onambutu, the women are in charge of running the household and, therefore, also manage the water. It is the women and children who fetch water. Women cook the food, wash clothes, and bathe the children.

There is no irrigation in Onambutu. Crops are planted during the rainy season and farmers hope for good rains. Livestock is led to water by small herd-boys (often only four or five years old).

by Heidi Spaly, Eembahu, Namibia

A family in the village has a borehole in their field. They are in charge of the key to the tap and monitoring its use.

Farmers are mostly dependent on the rainfall. They determine when to begin planting based on the October, November, and December rainfall.

The schools manage their water taps themselves.