Water and Food for 2,000 People in Rural Senegal

Friends of CREATE!,

All of us would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for your generous support that has allowed us to continue our vital partnerships with rural communities in Senegal, helping them sustain and improve their lives and livelihoods. Today, I’d like to share with you the story of one of our newest partner community, Keur Mandongo, and their path towards clean water access. This is the first step to CREATE!’s sustainable development program in any rural community in Senegal, and to start the process, the CREATE! team first checks the situation of the existing water well in the community that is to serve as the main water source for the project. The team then rehabilitates the well and tests the water to check its viability for the project.

In Keur Mandongo, the diagnosis of the well was carried out at the end of August, revealing a water column of 15 meters, with a static level of 5 meters. A four-person well-digging team, supported by community members from Keur Mandongo who contributed to the physical labor, then initiated the well's rehabilitation. To facilitate the process and assess the well's recharge capacity, the CREATE! team brought in an evacuation sump pump to remove water from the well. A manual winch, previously fabricated by CREATE! to assist in lowering workers into wells for cleaning, was transported from the organization’s office in Kaolack to Keur Mandongo. Over the next five days, the team thoroughly cleaned the well. Following this, the well diggers constructed a rim and performed internal repairs to stabilize the walls and prevent collapse. Upon completing the rehabilitation, the well's water column increased to 20 meters, demonstrating a highly productive water table. This outcome brought hope to the Keur Mandongo community.

Once the well was functioning properly, the next step was to clear the area earmarked for the community garden from all weeds and other debris and install the fence that would provide protection against animals and other pests. Following that, the required infrastructure for the gravity fed irrigation system was built, including the basins and the platform for the reservoir. Soon after, the drip irrigation system and the solar pumping system were installed. The installation of the drip irrigation system in Keur Mandongo is a major step forward for the sustainable agricultural development of the region. This irrigation system has several important advantages for local farms, particularly in the context of water management. It not only optimizes water use by allowing targeted and precise irrigation of plant roots, reducing water waste by distributing it directly where it is needed, but also minimizes water evaporation, allowing for more efficient use of available water. By allowing precise control of water flow, the drip system also helps reduce irrigation costs, including water usage and the energy required for pumping it, making it an environmentally friendly and sustainable tool.

By the end of November, the community of Keur Mandongo had access to about 25,000 liters of water for use every day. Together with this perennial clean water, they also had all the tools needed to start their community gardens. The availability of water also necessitated the need to learn about rational water management that not only preserves this precious resource, but also ensures that the plants benefit from sufficient irrigation to grow. To achieve this, several strategies were implemented, including the use of techniques to limit waste while ensuring adequate water supplies. With a well-functioning well and solar pump, the reservoirs and basins were always full and the community realized that on average, five basins were enough to irrigate the garden beds and water the nurseries. So the women were taught to be vigilant on the need and extraction of water. They were also taught to regularly maintain the well and the irrigation systems. While the drip system will water the majority of the garden, the women will manually water the nurseries that they are setting up near to the basins. In order to maximize watering efficiency and reduce evapotranspiration, nursery watering will be done at strategic times of the day, usually early in the morning, when the temperature is lower and the air humidity is higher. This will help limit water evaporation and ensure better absorption by the plant roots.

Keur Mandongo’s journey from clean water to thriving gardens has just started. We sincerely thank you for your generous support, which has made all of this possible. Your contributions enable us to continue our work, promoting resilience and sustainable development in all our partner communities like Keur Mandongo.