GS1247 VPA 256 Northern Ethiopia Community Safe Water

The project will support the provision of safe water using borehole technology to hundreds of households within the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS), Ethiopia. By providing safe water, the project will ensure that households consume less firewood during the process of water purification and as a result there shall be a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion process. The ANRS is a largely rural province where local people typically use wood fuel on inefficient three stone fires and charcoal cookstoves to purify their drinking, cleaning and washing water. This process results in the release of greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of wood - this can be avoided if a technology that does not require fuel (wood or fossil) supplies clean water desired by households. Many existing boreholes were established by community groups or community based organisations and have fallen into disrepair because maintenance programmes have been poorly managed, or proven too expensive. The project team works with communities in ANRS, Ethiopia to identify broken down boreholes which will be rehabilitated, so that communities have reliable access to clean, safe water and breakdowns are fixed rapidly. The capacity of communities to maintain their boreholes will also be supported through the project to ensure that the water keeps flowing.