MSABI overview update November 2009

Maji Safi kwa Afya Bora Ifakara (MSABI): Project Brief

The concept: To use low-technology approaches and community-based management to improve the health and economic status of rural villagers, by providing access to clean and safe water and sanitation.

Background

Access to clean and safe water is a widespread problem throughout Africa that has serious consequences for both health and economic independence. There is an existing trend to use top-down management approaches and expensive, difficult to repair and maintain foreign pump technologies. Consequently, the roll out of these programs and the capacity of the community to maintain the infrastructure is limited. A recent study in 2008 by the International Institute for the Environment and Development concluded there are over 50,000 abandoned water points in Africa, representing a waste of US$215-360 million.

Water is a basis for health, wellbeing and economic status. WHO research concluded that for every US$1 invested in improved access to safe water there is an economic benefit of between US$5-28 through improved health, time availability and agricultural productivity.

The Millennium Development Goal 7 is specifically targeted to “halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation”. To achieve this target solutions are required that address the local community – educating and empowering them to create and manage their own water and sanitation assets using low cost, simple, locally manufactured technologies that are easy to maintain and repair.

Project Objective

To work in collaboration with disadvantaged rural Tanzanian communities to improve health standards related to water and sanitation, through education programs and infrastructure improvements, resulting in community empowerment leading to sustainable management of water and sanitation assets.

Project Solutions

Improving health using the following interventions:

·         Creation of new safe and clean water points

·         Hygiene, sanitation and nutrition education

·         Introduction to home based water treatments

·         Introduction of new latrine pit designs and practices

Other developments aimed for 2010 include new water points for farm areas with small scale irrigation schemes for improved cash crop production.

We are also linking with YOSEFO microfinance to allow community members to borrow money to afford a new water point.

Project Description

Our team is focussed on improving community health. We will introducing new knowledge and technologies with the aim to educate, capacitate and empower. These technologies are:

·         low cost,

·         simple,

·         easy to maintain and repair,

·         use local materials,

·         can be built locally,

·         can be operated and managed locally,

·         are environmentally sound,

·         are sustainable.

Our team is introducing four key technologies that that meet the above criteria:

·         “Rota Sludge” manual borehole drilling. This technology enables drilling to depths of 40m using human power.

·         Rope pumps. The community loves this technology. It is a sensible alternative to foreign hand pumps which have multiple expensive and difficult to obtain parts which regularly break. Rope pumps will be manufactured locally in Ifakara.  Rota sludge drilling and rope pump technology originates from Central America where there are over 70,000 installations in Nicaragua alone.  Rope pumps are increasing in popularity in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe. There are over 1000 installed rope pumps in the Njombe region of Tanzania.

·         Split system compost VIP latrines. MSABI will promote the use of shallow pit latrines that will protect the underlying shallow aquifer and also provide a valuable fertilizer product for crop production.

·         Clay filter pots. MSABI is working with a local women’s group on the production of clay filter pots for home based water filtration.

Capacity Building

MSABI is focused on empowering the local community to have the ability to install their own new water points and pit latrines. We have a team of 12 local staff who have been trained and are capable of providing community education, “rota sludge drilling, rope pump installations and pit latrine construction.

Community Commitment

Through local research and evaluation MSABI introduced a very successful community contribution scheme, whereby the community is invited to form groups and cost share with MSABI. For the villages of Idete and Namwawala the contributions include money, labour and materials:

·         New borehole and rope pump – TSH250,000 (group) –TSH500,000 (private), plus 6 persons labour for one week, bricks, sand and gravel.

·         Conversion of an existing open well to a rope pump – TSH100,000 plus 1 person labour for 2 days, bricks, sand, gravel and one bag of cement.

·         New latrine – labour to dig the pit, TSH50,000 bricks, sand, gravel and one bag of cement.

The contribution from the community is significant. For example, the total cost of a new water point (borehole and pump) is approximately TSH800,000.

Sustainability

MSABI is encouraging business creation. Under agreement from the community council each group will have the option to sell “safe and clean” water back to the community.  This business model has the following advantages:

·         Access to “safe and clean” affordable water. The practice of selling water in these two villages is already occurring – though the water is from contaminated shallow water wells. Each group will sign an agreement that ensures compliance with the price-fixing scheme.

·         This will potentially become a very successful business. With an approximate user base of 100 people, each using 20L/day @ TSH50, the initial investment will be paid in full within 50 days!

·         By contributing money and labour the community obtains a strong sense of ownership and are more likely to look after and maintain the investment they have made in clean and safe water.

Proof of Concept

We have completed our community education program in the villages of Idete and Namawala.  The response from the community is very positive and demand for our services is strong. 

In less than 6 months of operation MSABI has completed 30 rope pumps installations including 17 new boreholes, 9 open well conversions and 3 replacements of broken foreign pumps.  MSABI has received a total of TSH7,132,500 from community contributions.  MSABI is very happy to have proven we can find water in numerous areas where the local community considered impossible. The rope pump is proving to be a very popular and affordable option.  Further, the business model is largely successful with income generation largely above expectations.

The clay filter project is moving towards commercial production.  We have completed a large kiln and continue to work with a local women’s group on production techniques.  We have purchased laboratory equipment to test the efficiency of bacterial removal.  We hope to have the filter pots available to the community by mid-2010. 

Major Sponsors and Supporters

·         Australian Direct Aid Program

·         GHD Australia

·         Ifakara Health Institute

·         Swiss Tropical Institute

Web Diary

www.tanzaniawater.blogspot.com

Open source budget and expenditure

http://tanzaniawater.fileave.com/ 4

MSABI Pictures

MSABI education team providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene information to local Namawala village residents.

MSABI community council meeting at Namawala.

  The MSABI team after completion of our first borehole at Namwawala. 24.5m for 1,200L/hr.

MSABI team in action using the “Rota Sludge” drilling method.

The first MSABI rope pump installed over an existing open well, Namwawala. The works included a sanitary concrete plaster seal of the well, installation of the pump, concrete apron and site drainage. The community contribution was TSH100,000 plus bricks, sand, gravel and one bag of concrete.

MSABI borehole installation.  The cost for a group is TSH250,000 plus assistance from 6 people and materials of sand, gravel and bricks.

(Above) Before MSABI a dirty shallow well was the sole source of drinking water for a group of Sukuma people.  (Below) After installation of a MSABI borehole the water quality improvement is significant.  The leader of this family group has reported a decrease in worms and diarrhoea.

Picture of the MSABI installation at the Sukuma compound.  They are very happy to be pumping their own clean and safe water.

Small children wait their turn to pump water for their family

 A community group stand proudly next to their newly completed safe water point

 MSABI has very low overheads.  We have no office, car or paid foreign staff.  Here our drill equipment is transported to the job site using local methods.

Construction of the first MSABI environmentally safe split system VIP compost pit latrine.

Opening of the MSABI kiln located in Ifakara.  The kiln will be operated by a women’s group to produce clay pot water filters.  An example pot is shown in the picture.

A local woman potter constructs a prototype clay filter pot.

The filter is designed to fit into a common water collection bucket.

The filter in action.

Kimbiji - beaches south of Dar.

We have a guest visiting MSABI from GHD Australia.  Toby Turner works in the Brisbane GHD office and has played an important role with their Young Engineers group in fund raising for MSABI.

Last weekend myself and Toby went to the southern beaches of Dar es Salaam to finish the installation of a rope pump at an existing borehole located right on the beach.

To get to the southern beaches you take a ferry ride from the city centre.  I was surprised how pristine and beautiful these beaches are - and all within a 30 min drive to the heart of one of the largest cities in Africa.

Looking back across the entrance of the Dar es Salaam harbour and city.

This pump was set in concrete by the owner.  We came to install the rising main and rope.

First water flowing.

A glimpse of the empty beach.

This day was super hot.  After work time for a swim.  Toby enjoying the empty surrounds.

Smoking out a rat

I have decided to publish an email I wrote to one of MSABI's sponsors.  It gives you an idea of some of the crap we have to deal with.  One of the blights on working in Tanzania is an attitude of "give it to me for free" which is really a creation caused by western society who pump in free unaccounted for money.  This maybe under a seemingly respectable NGO or simply a money handout.  (Please believe me when I say much money is lost, stolen and corrupted by many NGO's in this country.  But this is my opinion and experience only - feel free to make your own judgements.)  Anyway it creates an attitude of laziness and expectation that the "wazungu" should pay for everything and is a free game for trying to steal/con/request money.  It certainly makes for fun challenges when running a program like MSABI where the community must contribute! 

This particular sponsor/donor visited Tanzania this year and requested that we help a community just outside Dar es Salaam.  The place is called Kibaha and has a very very serious problem for access to safe and clean water.  I was happy to help with this project as it gave us the opportunity to test our drill team out on their ability to be mobile and relocate to other regions.  We were put in contact with a local community/social worker representative named Simon.  Simon has set-up a local prep-school and runs a free house for backpackers to come and visit - under the couchsurfing internet program.

Here is the email.

As you know we did a site inspection about 2 weeks ago.  Everything seemed fine and legit and even a council rep was with simon.

I turned up yesterday,  one day after our drill team had started work.  I smelt a rat immediately.  The agreed drill location had been changed to outside somebodies house.  Simon says the community is not ready to contribute because they dont believe there is water and they have been ripped off by the council on two previous occasions  for contributing money for some water scheme.   Anyway, so we are drilling at a private dwelling where the water will be sold to the community.  Simon hit me up for money straight away to pay for extra labour - which was not present - and my drill  team was labouring away themselves.  I said the owner should contribute some money to assist as this is now a private job.  He then tells me the owner gave him TSH200,000 for materials and water.  But all the materials are already existing from a previous house build job - so no need to buy them (IMO).  The day before (on the phone to my MSABI team leader Mr Hashim) I was told they have 4 people ready for work - but when I turn up Simon wants money to pay for them.    I ask some questions on prices and they are super inflated and then i ask for the remaining money to manage the job myself.  He then had to go away to calculate how much he spent.  I also asked for the owners phone  number which he wasn't able to provide.  Now I really smell a rat.  So we ask some questions of some of the locals to confirm that he is price gouging us.  Ok now I am on his tail.  He returns late in the afternoon and gives me TSH90,000 saying he has spent TSH110,000 in one day on water and cow manure. mmmm.  I tell him it is impossible to spend that much money.  Further, why didnt he hire the 4 labourers as he was supposed to.  Still he keeps his front and continues to lie.  I request the owners number again and he says he has to go to his house and find it.  He then disappears.  Now it is dark and we are stuck at the job site and I am starting to get pissed off.  My team leader Hashim finds him near his house and he tries to give Hashim a fake number for his friend who will pretend to be the owner.  Hashim is smart and sees through the trick.  Simon then tries to bribe Hashim.  Hashim returns to me and informs me that Simon admitted that he was trying to make a business from the drilling and he is scared of me.  We go and find him and I ask him straight what is going on.  Now the truth starts to flow.  He collected TSH400,000 from the client/owner of which he spent TSH200,000 immediately on a personal matter.  So I hammer him for being a liar and thief.  He starts crying a bit.  I don't yell, I am calm, more disappointed than anything - is all Africa like this???  And he is unable to account for the TSH110,000 that he is supposed to have spent.  So technically he has stolen TSH310,000 - from the owner/client not you (donar).  I give him an option.  Return the money to Hashim by tomorrow afternoon or we will shame him to the community and owner and take him to the police.  It is now well past dark and we have not had dinner and we are far from accommodation.  He says he is sorry and apologetic.  He wants to ask the owner for more money because they can  afford it.  I tell him no, stop being a thief.  We go to the house and sleep.  He phones at 10pm asking again to ask for more money from the owner, I tell him agian no.  He phones Hashim and tries for a deal - Hashim phones me.  I am woken at 3:30am by Simon coming into the house and knocking on my door.  He wants to talk.   Now I'm getting pissed off.  He can't get the money- he has tried to phone his friends and it will be impossible.  He apologises and is very sorry and says he has not slept (neither have I thanks) and this is the first time he has ever tried something like this (very doubtful). He begs not to be publicly shamed.  I tell him he must go to Dar today and see the owner and admit he has taken TSH200,000.  I now have the owners number and I will phone them now shortly to see if he has done what he said he would - assuming it is the real owners number.  Regarding the TSH110,000 he has to sit with Hashim today and the missing amount he has to repay to MSABI within one week.  I make it known this is his first and only chance with me and if I detect anymore lies or tricks our team will leave immediately and we will inform the police.  Also, the new site they chose is higher on the hill, hence more work for us and less  probability for good water.  

It seems there is no community support for what we are doing - but I wouldnt know for sure because who knows what Simon has done.  My guess he has not done much community consultation, instead trying to keep it quiet and sell the private borehole jobs for his shonky middle man business.  He tells me there are another 7 clients who need this project and can pay.  

My plan is see how today goes.  if the owner agrees to supplement the money to assist with the additional labour (note I am supplying 6 team members already - normally we work with 3), then we will finish the job.  Then we will hold a community meeting and explain our program - MSABI-public direct contract agreements.  

Im getting a bit angry now, especially how he treated my drill team - and his own community.  He is a theif of thw worst kind - masquerading as a social saint yet stealing from his own poor and disadvanted community who really need help with access to safe water.  He even made my drill team buy their own food, when he had stashed away nearly TSH400k.  Prick.  Wouldn't pay for the labour when the owner trusted him to use that money for that purpose. so on and so on.  Fun and games.

POST SCRIPT -  I phoned the owner last night and Simon was yet to talk to them.  So the gloves are off and he will be punished.  Regarding the stolen money - it is an issue between Simon and the owner.  MSABI is an innocent third party - I hope our name is not muddied from this.  MSABI will now deal directly with the owner.

So, I hope you can see it can be a tricky business operating a community program.  It is a roller coaster ride, but we are doing our best to improve not only infrastructure here, but societies attitudes as well.

Kibaha has a serious problem for water!

Would you drink this?  Who would cheat their community of clean water just to make a few hundred dollars?

Myself and friend Toby, who is here visiting from GHD Australia, lend a hand to our exhausted MSABI drill team.  Promised labour was not provided because one person decided to steal the money instead.

A nice quote from my friend Luke who visited. see below posts for more details on his trip.

I guess when you give money to not for profit organisations that run aid projects in countries like Tanzania we all think about how much of your hard earned dollars actually reaches people on the ground. 20 cents in the dollar? 40 cents in the dollar? I donated $600 for a well and it gave water to 800 school kids in Ifakara, Tanzania. Every single dollar of the $600 made its way to the people on the ground.   I really think larger organisations with greater financial capacity then Dale’s MSABI project should look at his model. They could make so much more of a contribution to the people on the ground if monies were not eaten up by the “middle men” that run them. As a Chartered Accountant & Registered Tax agent I spend my days questioning things and as a result my wife thinks I have become more cynical in relation to how the world goes round. Seeing  first hand that my money actually made a difference and it wasn’t just about getting a tax deduction for your donation was inspiring and has helped to strip back some of my cynicism

Profile of our new MSABI volunteer from Switzerland.

Raphaël von Allmen is a product designer. From december 2009 till june 2010, he will be working as a volunteer for MSABI in Ifakara (Tanzania) on the MSABI water, sanitation and hygiene project. 


Raphaël is motivated by the development of projects which address socio-ecological matters and include formal, technical or conceptual innovation. He believes the best way of improving things is by the active search of small solutions, within reach. Born in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) in 1983, Raphaël studied languages at high school, and after some travels, he graduated as a product designer from ECAL in 2007 (école cantonale d'art de Lausanne). His latest experience include furniture design, scenography of exhibitions and teaching assistanship in Zürich, Neuchâtel and Lausanne. Together with some friends, he also started a design collective called "DAREDO", which has been conducting several projects since 2006. [www.daredo.ch] In the last years, he also won some design competitions in Switzerland and Germany and his work has been exhibited in Europe and America. More info on: [www.raphaelvonallmen.com]

Pit Latrine construction started

Last weekend we started construction of our first MSABI split system VIP compost pit latrine.  The technology was developed in Zimbabwe and has been successfully used there for over 15 years.  MSABI is trying to introduce the concept of urine and compost production for fertiliser. The other huge benifit is that these designs utilise shallow pits that will be designed to be above the shallow water tables that are found in the region.  Hence the aim is to protect underground water assets from pollution,  and to turn a waste product into a valuable product.  Wishful thinking mabye, but it can be done, though it is going  to require a lot of community work, encouraging owners to uptake the technology and to properly use them.  The toilet requires a slight variation to the existing practices.  After use a handful of organic matter such as leaves, rice husk, ash, vegetable scapes are added to the pit.  Also, we have a separate drainage hole for wash water, to try and keep the compost dry.  There are two pits with one structure.  When one pit is full the other pit is started.  When it is full then the first pit should be ready for use on the farm (a period of 6-12 months maturation).  We also have a pedestal design that allows for urine separation.  Urine mixed with water is shown to be an excellent fertiliser for crops such as onions, maize and banana.

Below are some pictures of our first display pit latrine.  The Namawala community seem very interested in the pit latrine program.  We will officially launch it at an upcoming community council meeting (after completion of the display pit).  The community will be required to contribute bricks, sand, gravel and one bag of cement - as well as dig the pit themselves.

Open call for MSABI Volunteers

I would like to offer the opportunity for volunteers to join MSABI in 2010.  You will gain practical project management skills in a rural African environment.  You will obtain technical skills for the implantation of a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project.  You will be have the opportunity to work with a local team of Tanzanians.  Further, you will experience the "real" Africa and get to live locally and have opportunities to travel within East Africa.  You will be joined by a Swiss volunteer who is arriving in December and possibly another volunteer from Engineers Without Borders who will a arrive in January.  Further, we have an excellent, supportive local Tanzanian team who will make you feel most welcome.

What MSABI will require of you is the following:

• You will need to get here.
• You will need to cover all you living expenses. Budget around $200/month on accomadation and $100/month on food.  
• Minimum period of 6 months

MSABI will provide:

• subsidy for mobile phone calls related to work
• transport costs related to work
• help with locating accommodation
• organise work visa

Below is a short job description.

1.      Name of the project:    MSABI under Ifakara Health Institute..........

2.      Tasks for the civil servant (short job description):

Work description	Quota in %
Project management of a team of up to 12 locally employed staff working on the implementation of new safe water points and environmentally designed latrines.  Working in the field, in isolation, you will be responsible for project co-ordination, community liaison, and team management.  A background technical understanding of water/wastewater design and engineering is desired but not essential.  You will need to be independent, able to problem solve in difficult situations and above all have patience and always remain positive and friendly.	40%
Filter Pot project.  You will work closely with a local womens group to assist with the manufacture and marketing of clay pot water filters.	30%
Community education for hygiene and sanitation	10%
Materials procurements – money management	10%
Budgeting – computer office work	10%
More information on the project specifics can be found at: www.tanzaniawater.blogspot.com

3.      Required basic knowledge/skills:

      (Education, skills, experiences etc.)

·         Graduate from high school with good grades

·         Excellent English

·         Proven ability to work alone with minimal supervision

·         Proven ability to manage a small team

·         Proven ability to problem solve

·         Proven ability to manage money and budgets

·         Ability to live in a rural African village

·         Ability to work with minimal support

·         Ability to handle a hot, dusty and sometimes very wet environment

·         Enthusiasm and energy

·         Patience without losing temper

·         Experienced traveller

·         Independent

          

             Requested  education (nice to have):

(Bachelor, University degree, experiences abroad)

·           Bachelor of Engineering (civil or environmental) with experience in water and sanitation. Or Bachelor of Environmental Science.

·           Previous experience on engineering projects

·           Previous experience on community projects

·           Previous experience with a water/sanitation project

·           Previous travel experience to East Africa

·           Knowledge of the Swahili language

·           Open drivers licence and or Motorcycle licence (motorcycle experience valuable)

 4.      Duration: (in months) minimum 6 months up to 2 years.

5.      Place of work: Ifakara, Tanzania.  Working specifically in the remote rural villages of Idete and Namawala.  Opportunities to travel to other parts of Tanzania will exist.

6.      Who is the supervisor. ( Global Developments Group, MSABI - Dale Young)

If you are interested please email me at africadale@gmail.com

Regards,

Dale.

Reminder of our Full Transparency Policy

Just a reminder that our budget and accounting details are available online at the following web address:
http://tanzaniawater.fileave.com/

MSABI believes in full transparency.  It is the least we can  do to support our donors.  All receipts are scanned and posted online.  Our accounting details are also provided in spreadsheet form.

Another batch of 15 pumps on the way

Here I am attempting to weld the rope pump frame.

Getting some welding lessons from apprentice Adam.  Note this picture is staged as Adam had to set the angle of his hat just right.  They insisted that I use the eye shield.

John welding the rope pump frame.

But when it comes to themselves they prefer not to use any eye protection.  John told me I should bath my eyes in tea water if they were sore that night.  My eyes were fine, but John was complaining this morning that he had the sorest eyes last night.

Adam sporting a slightly different hat angle.

I spent yesterday hanging out with my friend John who is the local "fundie" who makes all of the rope pumps for MSABI.  I had a go at welding as I want to learn how to construct the pumps.  I can report I have a fair way to go - my welding skills are not great, but I do know how to burn holes!  John is constructing our next batch of pumps - 15 in total.  We are improving the materials to make the pumps stronger and John (after much badgering from myself) is finally catching on that making a quality product will result  in more sales over the long term.

I went to the villages today.  It is sooo hot here at the moment, it should start raining here any day soon.  We started a new borehole in Idete today.  The team seem in good spirits which is nice.  I did receive some annoying news that one local council member stood up at a recent community meeting and said that MSABI is not providing safe water and the community should stop using us.  He has no idea and is playing games.  He is involved with the local water office who have been of no support to us at all.  They will not come to the villages because we will not provide them with any form of kick-back - so they would rather make things up about us.  I will let the community decide, they seem to be supporting us so far - they are not dumb.  Its laughable anyway, the only reason we started work here is because we wanted to help reduce incidences of cholera/typhoid/diarrhoea caused by people drinking from contaminated shallow wells - of which they had to dig themselves because the government certainly wasn't going to come and help with safe water.  So there you have a small incite into some of the bs we have to deal with sometimes.

On a more positive note, the team in Kilwa have started their second job and report to me that there is so much demand for our services there that they could stay easily till the end of the year.

Also, in Kibaha we are told that they need at least 5 boreholes to be fully funded privatley.  This is before we have even arrived to drill the one sponsored borehole that we have promised there.  Kibaha is about 50km on the outskirts of Dar es salaam.  Basically, what Im saying is that access to safe water is a huge problem faced by the majority of Africans and there is a huge demand for our services - of which the community is prepared  to pay for - and in my view they should pay for it.  We must stop just frivously giving away money to Africa - it just breeds corruption and laziness- what we must support is job creation - sharing our knowledge and promoting the rewards of business creation.  But I will stop here - that is for another post another day.

Completion of Idete open well

I have attached some photos below of the MSABI Idete team completing the finishing touches to a new water point.  We had a lot of trouble with this location as it is situated on the foothills of the Udzungwa Mountains - and has shallow underlying rock.  After drilling 10m we had to stop as the rock was just too hard - we had water but the flow rate was not quite enough.  Our experienced open well digger Helman convinced us that he could widen the borhehole to increase the inflow rate.  He laboured away for over 1 week and his hard work paid dividends with lots of fresh water inflowing into the well (over 800 L/hr).  The local community in this area are so happy as previously fetching water was a job that took over 4 hours!!!  Now they have their own fresh and safe water supply.  They are planning an "official" opening party for us.

This same Idete drill team is now far away working in Kilwa (500km south of Dar).  They have at least 2 jobs to complete before they will return to their home village.  Our Namawala drill team is also working in another village at the moment.  They are at Mgeta town which is further down the Kilombero Valley.  They too have had problems with rocks at one of the sites and I was told this morning that they have solved the problem by also widening the borehole into an open well.

The Idete MSABI team applies finishing touches to a new water point on the foothills of the Udzungwa Mountains - where previously residents had to walk 4 hours to obtain water.

Members of the community look on in anticipation as the first water flows from the new MSABI rope pump.

Job finished! Time for lunch. Ugali (maize dough) and beans