Funding from SIM Ethiopia
Camels are the source of life for the Afar. They represent wealth, stability, and resilience - but without water they are susceptible to repeated droughts and advances of climate change.
Afar Region is inhabited by an estimated population of 1.7 million of which about 92% is pastoralists and agro-pastoralists living in rural areas (CSA, 2008). The region is well know to possess large amount of livestock resources, with an estimate of 4.3 million goats (42%), 2.5 million sheep (24%), 2.4 million cattle (23%), 0.85 million camels (8.43%) and less than 0.2 million equines. Afar is generally characterized by arid and semi-arid climate with low and erratic bi-modal rainfall (Sugum and Karma seasons) with annual mean below 300 mm.
Large portion of the population don’t have access to clean and safe water. Every day women and girls spend half of their days walking to fetch drinking water. Pastoralists (men) migrate from their home every year for five to six months in search of water and grass for their livestock. In recurrent drought years they lose their herds when they can’t access water and pastures for their livestock. The drought causes livestock body conditions to get affected, their fertility and birth rates get reduced, triggers outbreak of opportunistic infections and causes massive livestock death. These conditions have become even more serious with the devastating effect of climate change exhibited with frequently insufficient “Sugum and Karma” rains that has been fueled with global warming.
Camel Water Center project was initiated in order to provide potable water for human and animals. Four water-wells were drilled since 2011-2014 in four kebeles (Hurunto, Kalala, Toloyla and Edeli kebeles) of Dulessa Woreda and are still serving the communities. All of them are functioning regularly and the community manages by itself. These wells are deep from 54 Mt to 90 Mt working with solar panels to pump water into long watering troughs for hundreds of camels passing through this area.