Damming Sand

Photos in this post were taken by Edwin Angote,

Lahash's East Africa director. 

Early yesterday, I awakened during the night to pounding rain on the corrugated roof of the MAF guest house. Rain continued in the morning, gentle like a too-typical Portland rain at this time of year, until a hazy sun reappeared around noon. "A gift from God," Mariamu replied when I asked her, "What do you think of the rain?" and I'm sure she represented all the folks in and around Dodoma.

My first thought when I heard that downpour was, "Wow! How great for the sand dams," because we had just returned late Wednesday from a tour of eight of the nine sand dams constructed by the church where we are working in cooperation with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee). That tour over dozens of kilometers of rough bush roads was a mind-blowing eye-opener, with biblical phrases about deserts blooming and trees clapping their hands bouncing into my thinking. 

One of three dams constructed in 2008

The first three dams we visited were not a surprise to me. Those dams had been built a few months before we visited in 2009. Then, they were a total surprise. I had no idea sand could be dammed, but there they were, three dams filled with sand, and alongside the river, thriving crops of corn, tomatoes, beans, and more. We began to hear about sand dams as soon as we arrived here, and Dave wanted to know details. I held back, because I wanted him to have the surprise I did on first seeing the dams, which paid off, I think, in his surprise at seeing the dams and even more seeing the effects alongside what was once an almost dry rocky river bed, still visible in places below the dams.

A great difference from our 2009 visit, I detected quickly, is the enthusiastic leadership of Albert Wright, an American business man who, out of strong Christian convictions and desire to make a difference, has come here to lead the Water Project, the official name of the sand dam operation. Albert was our driver and ardent explainer of the current sand dam efforts.Two good friends from 2009 were with us, too, Shomari and Rasta, now both giving superior leadership after training in Kenya.

The well and pump at a newer sand dam.

But before I go on, a definition. A sand dam is concrete and stone barrier, built entirely by manual labor, across a river bed, about 40 centimeters in thickness and perhaps 150 cm. high. During rains, even light rains, the dams retain water that is carrying sand from the surrounding watershed. The still water releases sand behind the dam, which gradually fills completely with sand. Then the sand retains water, protecting it from rapid evaporation. Farmers dig holes which, depending on how long since the last rain, may be only a few centimeters deep when water appears. They fill 20-liter buckets and carry the water to the plants they're irrigating near the river bed (although some carry water far from the dams for use in home gardens). 

Cool, clear water

We moved on from those original dams near Dodoma to see five of the six additional dams now in operation, traveling along bush roads, often merely tracks through rough terrain. The newer dams are constructed differently, although serving the same purpose. Three of the newer dams we saw included a pump either in the middle of the dam or near at the side. This allows users to have much cleaner water than what comes from holes dug in the sand. At each dam, planting projects are going on. We saw many banana trees and other trees and plants that now occupy land that was uncultivated bush before. The project also now includes two tree nurseries, and plans for planting many trees. 

Another important difference from the earlier construction is the determined involvement of the community. Many meetings are held and agreements signed with those who will build the dam and then benefit from what it provides. All of those participants are rural farmers, most in severe poverty, who recognize what they will gain from their hard labor on a dam.

Plants growing where they could not have thrived before

As I heard that rain fall, I thought of those groups who have invested so much of their strength and energy in a dam, and I could well imagine their gratitude to God for rain that would carry sand to fill their dams and provide water they'd never before had. No wonder we could feel Albert's happiness at what his work with the water project has accomplished.