Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families

by CEFA (European Committee for Agricultural Training) Kenya & Somalia
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Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families
Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families

Project Report | Mar 30, 2021
GETTING READY!

By Fulvio Giberti | Project Manager

Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox
Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox

Dear Friend, 

 

Greetings from Somalia! 

 

Thanks to your support, the project "Give Clean Water & Energy to 350 Somali Families" is ready to start and help more than 2,400 people in Puntland, Somalia, to improve their access to drinkable water, clean energy, and safe food! 

The project team has been working hard in the past months to prepare the shipment and the installation of the Off-GridBox in El-Dahir village, despite the continuous challenges of the COVID19 pandemic and insecurity in the country. 

 

In particular, the following preliminary activities have been completed: 

- Identification of the target location for the installation of the Off-GridBox technology in collaboration with the local community and stakeholders.

CEFA team in Puntland had several consultations and field visits with the local community and stakeholders to identify the perfect location where the Off-Grid Box will be installed. As a result of this participatory process, the team selected a date palm farm located less than 2 km from the El-Dahir town center and accessible by a tarmac road connected to Bosasso port (95 km). The field currently cultivated with date palms measures 6,800 cubic meters, with 106 palm trees aged between 6-7 years old. In addition, there are 0.7 hectares of land that the project intends to use to establish a date palm demo farm with new imported seedlings. The Off-GridBox will fetch water from an 11-meters shallow-well located 200 meters from the main field.

- Collection of water samples and conduction chemical analysis to define the best water treatment system to be adopted by the Off-Grid Box. 

To define the most adapted water treatment system to be included in the Off-GridBox for purifying water and thus providing the surrounding communities and families with safe drinkable water, the project team collected water samples from the selected location. The samples were then sent to Nairobi to be analyzed. Based on the chemical analysis conducted, CEFA and Off-Grid Box decided to include, besides the active carbon and ultraviolet filters, a reverse osmosis system to remove residual sediment and dissolved solids. This system will significantly improve the quality and safety of the drinkable water accessible by the local community.

- Definition of a pilot farm's layout and design. 

On top of providing improved access to clean water and energy to 350 families in El-Dahir village, the Off-Grid Box will be used to irrigate crops and power food production equipment, boosting the local economy and increasing the availability of nutritious and safe food throughout the year.

A pilot farm managed by the local community will be established in the selected location to provide the farming community in Puntland capacity building through practical demonstration, extension services, and opportunities to increase their income. In particular, CEFA is working to strengthen the date palm value chain in Puntland, and the Off-Grid Box will provide sufficient energy to power: a) a highly-efficient irrigation system; b) two solar dryers; c) a labeling and packaging machines; d) an additional water point for washing and cleaning the dates.

The Off-GridBox will power a submersible water pump that will lift water to a water tank. The water will be then distributed in the field through a supplementary booster pump (also powered by the solar energy of the Off-Grid Box) by a ring-shaped drip irrigation system specifically designed for date palm irrigation. The pilot farm will also include a small-scale post-harvesting center to serve as an aggregation and processing center for date palm production in the region. This will improve the post-harvesting processing of dates, contributing to the extension of their shelf life, the reduction of production wastages, and better marketing and pricing opportunities. The post-harvesting unit will be able to process between 2,000 and 6,000 kg of dates per harvesting season, providing also an opportunity for aggregation of the post-harvesting processes from different producers and date farms.

- Development of a multi-party agreement with the local community, the regional farmer association, and the local government on the management and ownership of the Off-Grid Box.

To guarantee that the benefits of the installation of the Box will be fairly shared by the community members of El-Dahir and the surrounding villages, CEFA has successfully started a multi-party consultation process that has involved community representatives, local leaders, the regional farmer association, and the Puntland government. This process is leading to the signature of a commonly agreed Memorandum of Understanding that sets the respective rules, roles, and responsibility for the management, maintenance, and ownership of the Off-Grid Box.

- Capacity building of local technicians on the Off-Grid Box technology through technical training and field visits in Rwanda and Tanzania.

Four Somali technicians have successfully received practical training on the installation, functioning, and management of the box by the Off-Grid Boxtechnical team in Rwanda and Tanzania. The team traveled to the field to visit already installed Off-Grid Boxes in different contexts, having several opportunities to practically learn how to install, operate, and maintain this technology, beyond interacting with local technicians and users of the box to better understand potential opportunities and possible challenges. The trained technicians are now ready to receive and install the Off-Grid Box in Puntland, Somalia. 

 

The Off-GridBox is planned to be shipped and installed in Puntland between May and June 2021. Please keep supporting us to help us see this project taking over and to give more than 350 Somali families access to clean water, energy, and food! 

Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox
Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox
Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox
Training of local technicians on the Off-GridBox
Date palm pollination in El-Dahir pilot farm
Date palm pollination in El-Dahir pilot farm
Date Palm in El-Dahir, Puntland, Somalia
Date Palm in El-Dahir, Puntland, Somalia
Current irrigation system in El-Dahir farm
Current irrigation system in El-Dahir farm

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Organization Information

CEFA (European Committee for Agricultural Training) Kenya & Somalia

Location: Nairobi, Westlands - Kenya
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Project Leader:
Maria Saponaro
Nairobi , Westlands Kenya

Funded Project!

Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.
   

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