Gardens Blessed By Grey Drops: International Development Research Centre

In a country where Muslims wash five times a day for prayer, Yemen has brought a unique model for making the best out of its

often wasted ablution water. It has reused it for a green purpose: watering traditional Yemeni gardens. Through the Regional Water Demand Initiative’s (WaDImena) programme in Yemen, the Yemeni community is now able to water over fourty five of its once-upon-a-time dried gardens.

Having started in May 2006, the project aims to promote conservation of groundwater in Sanaa Old City, building on indigenous practices in using alternative water resource and supporting Sanaa Old City conservation campaign. The project groundwater conservation efforts have, in turn, helped secure food and alleviate poverty in this city.

How greywater reuse started in Yemen?

The reuse of ablution water for the irrigation of gardens has, indeed, not been a known practice in the Muslim world; but Yemen was a unique exception. It all started with Yemeni wealthy people donating traditional gardens -called maqashem – which were placed directly next to every mosque. Each miqshama regularly received ablution waters from its adjacent mosque. The water, pumped from the well to the mosque for ablution, was released to a cisterin called birka by the gardeners in charge of miqshama, then to irrigating canals in the garden plots. Managing ablution water was, thus, a gardener’s responsibility. He would receive the water for free, in return for his services for the mosques and the neighborhood.

Yet, since the 1970s, the underground water situation has dramatically deteriorated throughout Yemen and the gardens have suffered much dryness and garbage pollution. Most gardeners have lost their traditional roles in supplying the mosque and the neighbourhood with water leading to social tensions.

What is Greywater?

And while most water management projects in Yemen have focused on water saving in irrigation and community-based awareness to save water, WaDImena project in Yemen shifted to reviving the traditional practice of reusing greywater. The concept of reusing greywater- or water wasted from showers, dish washers and ablution- seems a nascent topic discussed by researchers in the Middle East, let alone Yemen.

Ali Naji and Abdala Zeid- owners of Washaly miqshama – among several other owners, have now installed greywater treatment systems as a first step to effectively reuse mosque ablution greywater. "During the preparation of the site, neighbours came around to learn how greywater can be reused; they all showed interest in getting involved with the project,” said Ali.

Can Everyone Participate?

The project team- four young female researchers, technical engineers and students- was keen to engage the different groups concerned with garden conservation and the water sector. This included the gardeners community themselves, sheikhs, neighbours and local councils, in addition to the Ministry of Waqf, the Sanaa municipality and the Ministry of water and Environment. An awareness campaign was conducted for local stakeholders and policy-makers and was able to improve the perceptions, attitudes and practices of all the community. “We can say today that without this participatory approach we would not have been able to carry out any impact,” says Doaa Arafa WaDImena research assistant.

The result was the establishment of an Association for the Conservation of Sanaa Old City Traditional Gardens on 1 June 2007. More than 220 people joined to elect a board of directors and a supervisory committee, in which 3 women were nominated. “This is a the first incident in Sanaa City of involving the community to take charge of their own water resources and gardens!” says the project leader Frederic Pelat. It was quite a challenge but a major milestone in the community, added Pelat.

Can Research and Policy Meet?

The WaDImena project was keen in partnering with both the government and other organizations in this process. The project benefited from the technical support of INWRDAM, an expert organization on greywater reuse in the region during the installation and operation of the greywater system.

Moreover, WaDImena was able to link INWRDAM and the National Water Resource Authority to cooperate on scaling up the greywater reuse in irrigation of gardens. The government would provide the funding while INWRDAM would provide the technical support. “We agreed that INWRDAM and NWRA will cooperate in near future to promote greywater applications in different locations in Yemen,” said Mr. Ba-Sheib, Chairman of NWRA. NWRA will secure funding for greywater reuse for irrigation of mosque Maqashim while INWRDAM would provide the technical information on the greywater treatment types and benefit-cost analysis of greywater applications.

Thanks to WaDImena dialogue with the government and the greywater treatment system at the Washaly miqshama, greywater reuse in irrigation is now a model to be scaled up in different parts of the country.

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About WaDImena project in Yemen:

The Yemen project is one of eight pilot projects supported by the Regional Water Demand Initiative in the MENA region – or WaDImena - to generate innovative research on strategies and tools which contribute to better water use efficiency, equity and sustainability in this water-scarce region.

Water Scarcity in Yemen

Water scarcity in Yemen poses a serious problem on the development of the country. The per capita water share is 200 m³/year while almost 90% of the available water is used in the agricultural sector. The needs for water in growing cities have become dire. Water annual withdrawals are exceeding renewable resources by up to 36%. This led the country to launch a series of reforms in 1990s that highlighted water scarcity and over-exploitation of renewable and non-renewable resources as a way to reduce poverty. Water demand management offers one approach to mitigate this looming crisis.