Our projects depend on a good monsoon. It’s what we do. It’s in our name – we harvest water. We need the rains in order for the structures to work. Whilst the monsoons do come every year, some areas can receive hardly any rain at all. Last year, the structures in our project in the Rann of Kutch received very little rain.
‘Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’ lamented Coleridge’s stranded sailor. A lament that may well become a reality for us all as water scarcity takes hold. According to the World Data Lab’s Water Scarcity Clock, 2.3 billion people live in water scarce areas today likely rising to around 2.7 billion people within the next ten years. With only 1% of the world’s water useable,
If you have recently taken a ferry across the English Channel returning from a summer holiday, the furthest thing from your mind as you looked down at the grey, choppy waters was probably a long swim. I know my thoughts were more focused on whether my young children were safe as they peered over the railings, fascinated by the huge expanse of water below. This September, Mark Critchlow is taking part in his second swim across the channel as part of a four person relay,
Water is an essential part of life, but the average British person probably doesn’t consider the possibility of being unable to have access to it easily. Through creating and managing blog posts for WaterHarvest,
The Rann, of Kutch, is situated in the western part of the India. This region has been considered one of the hottest places in the country, with the maximum temperature having been recorded at 49.5° C. Dholavira is an ancient village in the Rann region and is part of the ‘Khadir Bet’, which consists of twelve villages and various ‘Vandhs’
With the rain seen in the UK over the last week, it’s hard to imagine the heatwave currently going on in India as they wait for the arrival of the south-west monsoon. These rains typically account for 90% of Rajasthan’s annual rainfall but are not guaranteed. In this week’s blog, we look at how important the monsoon is and what we, at WaterHarvest, can do about the increasing unpredictability of weather to ensure enough water for all.
This week’s blog highlights the importance of financial management and the role of Dinesh Sharma, the finance manager in our India office. Whilst Dinesh’s work is often in the background, it is fundamental to ensuring the impact of our donors’ money is maximised. At WaterHarvest, we continually evaluate our systems and processes to ensure strong financial management, whilst also trying to make reporting simple for our partners.
Dinesh Sharma has been finance manager of WaterHarvest India for 12 years.
This week our CEO, Nicola Floyd, attended the UNESCO International Water Conference in Paris. With over 37 government ministers, 1,000 scientists and water experts, 126 countries and many young people represented, this was an opportunity to take stock of how much progress has been made in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: Water and Sanitation for all. Currently, over 1.8 billion lack access to clean water and there are five million deaths from waterborne diseases every year. As the astronaut Ron Garan said when he looked down on earth,
In regions facing a water deficit, Roof Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RRWHS) are a vital way of providing cleaner drinking water to families in our project villages. However, the safety of this water must be ensured – improving the quality of the water is as important as increasing the quantity. Handpumps, therefore, play a vital role in making the water from a RRWHS safer, and this blog explains how the two solutions can work in tandem.
With the end of the fiscal year in March, Spring is always a time when, at WaterHarvest, we look to the year ahead. This is always an exciting time – where we take our heads out of the spreadsheets and look at the bigger picture. Where do we want to be in one year’s time? In five year’s time? In ten year’s time? We continually think about the people we are trying to help, how things are changing for them and how we can best help as many of them as possible.
