January 2022 // Manyara region // Northern Tanzania

Maasai Clean Water Project

Want to support? Make a donation to sponsor this village with a refill of clean water.

PTGF completes its first sustainable clean water project, providing over 18,000 liters (approximately 4,800 gallons) to a Maasai community of over 4,600 in the Manyara region of Northern Tanzania.

Problem

Global climate change has affected the lives of people all over the world. In the Maasai village of Silieyi, located in the Manyara Reigon of Northern Tanzania, they suffer from drought and unpredictable weather patterns.  As a result, they are forced to survive through severe drought while lacking access to clean drinking water. The women are the ones who suffer the most being that they often have to walk up to 10 miles both going and coming, to find contaminated water shared with the local wildlife and cattle. Their children are not able to gain a proper education as they are unable to learn when there is no water to drink.  And, the cattle and livestock, which measures the wealth of the family, fall ill and perish due to dehydration.

Solution

PTGF successfully built an above ground clean water platform, providing 18,000 liters (approximately 4,800 gallons) of purified drinking water to a community of over 4,600 Maasai men, women and children. Prior to construction, we created a sustainability and governance plan to ensure proper management and ethics as it relates to water distribution. This plan outlined the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the Water Governance Cabinet, consisting of multiple positions, along with a plan on how to maintain the water supply.  Our plan took into consideration the ethics of water distribution along with holding everyone accountable for managing the funds received and spent refilling the tanks.

More importantly, in a society that is dominated by men, PTGF ensured that women were front and center managing the business of water distribution within the village.  Empowering women is one of PTGF’s core values. Being that women are the ones who suffer the most from the lack of access to clean water, it was our duty to ensure they were the leaders of this initiative. Women now hold key roles such as Treasurer, Treasurers Assistant Secretary, Secretary’s assistant and Assistant to the Chair. 

Water Governance Cabinet & the PTGF Water Solutions Team

Water Cabinet Chairman.  Male

• Works directly with the Village Chief and is the leader of the Cabinet.

• Keep treasurer accountable.

• Regularly checks in with security/plumber and secretary.

• Audits Treasurer and Secretary’s books.

• Will not collect fees.

Chairman’s Assistant. Female

• Provides assistance to the Cabinet Chairman.

• Holds Chairman accountable.

• Assists with management of books and documentation.

Treasurer. Female

• Oversees all money and sales of the water.

• Oversees the buying of water for refills.

• Works with the Secretary to manage financial books.

• Works with the secretary to keep accuracy of books and security.

• Collects and manages all transactions

Treasurer’s Assistant. Female

• Collects funds for water and gives money to the secretary for water delivery and maintenance.

• Assists Treasurer with documentation of transactions.

• Holds Treasurer accountable.

Secretary. Female

• Works with the treasurer to keep accuracy of books.

• Works with the Treasurer to oversee water sales.

• Arranges maintenance for the water equipment.

• Manages and arranges for water delivery.

• Will not collect fees.

• Any and all sponsorships for water will be documented by the secretary.

Security. male

• Assures safety of the tanks.

• Responsible for access, locking and securing the water tanks.

• Works with the plumber to access tanks for refills, repairs and maintenance.

• Will not collect fees.

Plumber. male

• Responsible for the maintenance of tanks and valves.

• Checks levels and ensures working condition of the open/close main gate valves.

• Works with the Secretary and Treasurer to handle water sales.

• Works with Security for access to tanks/valves and refills.

Additional Responsibilities.

• The cabinet shall meet once a week for accountability.

• Every month the cabinet will meet with the village.

• The secretary gathers information about water sales and usage, and the Chairman presents this to the village for transparency.

Sustainability

Once the operational plan was agreed upon by the Chief of the village and the Water Governance Cabinet, we began construction. The building phase lasted 3 weeks and the tanks were fully equipped with a with a water catchment, secured construction and sufficient access. The tanks sit on an elevated concrete platform with a roof for protection. 

PTGF created a sustainable solution to ensure proper management of the water supply long term. We stood up a governance counsel called the Water Cabinet consisting of several positions required to manage the distribution and replenishment of the water supply.  The Cabinet is tasked with collecting funds from the villagers to cover the monthly cost of water delivery. An estimated monthly or bi-monthly (depending on consumption) fee of $460K Tanzanian Shillings (approximately $200 month) is the cost to fully replenish the above ground water storage tanks. The Cabinet and village is now responsible for managing the business of water distribution now that construction is complete. We successfully accomplished our goal, which was to ensure that clean water is available to the community,  reduce the distance the women travel to obtain water, and to start up an operational business to generate revenue.

The Experience Gallery

This project was made possible by donations made to Paint the Globe Foundation.

Want to support? Make a donation to sponsor this village with a refill of clean water