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ID: 123593Added: 2008-04-21 4:30Modified: 2008-09-11 5:37Refreshed: 2008-11-30 06:25 
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Document(s) 1 of 3
How Abu Minqar villagers in Egypt took charge of improving the management of their water resources and enhancing their livelihoods.Villagers in the poor, remote oasis village of Abu Minqar, in the middle of Egypt’s Western Desert, proved that people can take charge of their own water resources and manage it more efficiently and equitability. Through the Regional Water Demand Initiative’s (WaDImena) programme, this community is now able to secure their crops and livelihoods in spite of chronic water shortages.
The research project, which started in April 2006, aims to promote better use and distribution of water, building on people’s participation and indigenous practices. Empowering the community to take charge of managing their water has not only helped secure their crops and conserve on scarce water resources, but also respected their dignity and ensured that solutions will last a long time.
Like all of Farafra Oasis villagers, the farmers of Abu Minqar face numerous challenges: unlined canals, broken and nonexistent water gates, reliance on inefficient and unpredictable amounts of irrigation water, in addition to poor access to seeds, fertilizers, and agricultural information.
Farmers’ Association: By the People for the People
With the help of a WaDImena team from the Desert Development Centre (DDC) at the American University in Cairo– farmers founded their first association to improve agricultural water management in Abu Minqar.
The elected group attended a three-day workshop at the DDC training center in Cairo where they learned a variety of new, and locally appropriate agricultural practices. They also visited a successful, neighboring association in Farafra. Before returning to Abu Minqar, they had put together a timeframe for tasks to solve their community's most pressing agricultural problems. Improving their irrigation infrastructure and managing their water in the oasis more efficiently was top on their list.
Clearing the Way
Shortly after inauguration, the Farmer’s Association cleaned 6 km of secondary canals in the area. The farmers’ next goal was to line a secondary canal in their irrigation area. As with all secondary unlined canals in Abu Minqar, weeds had severely slowed down water flow, preventing up to 50% of the water from reaching the tail end of the canal.
During several association meetings, the farmers discussed the location, appropriate design and time plan for the lining of the canal. Professor Hassan Shams-el-Din from the Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI) accompanied the research team to Abu Minqar to assess the irrigation infrastructure and recommend strategies for canal improvement.
Estimated costs for lining the canal were 62,000 EGP (equivalent to USD 1100). The association’s members collected a total of 11,000 EGP from 22 of the 24 farmers who cultivate land along the 800m-long canal. The project team matched this amount with 51,000 EGP from the project‘s budget.
Canal improvement commenced under pressing time constraints – the existing canal would have to be dry, meaning crops alongside would not be irrigated in the interim. During the winter months, field crops can survive a period of up to eight weeks without water. The association and project team thus faced a challenge of finishing construction, as quickly as possible, since losing an entire season’s harvest was not an option.
In late January, the association members assisted by Hassan Husseiny, the DDC’s irrigation engineer, levelled the canal and determined the required slope, a process that took several days. Along the way, iron rods were installed to indicate the level the canal foundation needed to reach. But when the sand was delivered, a new issue arose: what equipment was available to build an even, 800-m long sand base for the canal? In this farming community of 4,000 people, basic farming and building tools such as hoes and shovels were harder to come by than was expected. A number of community members and four young hired workers from the oasis used self-made tools of welded iron scraps for levelling. Once completed, a construction company from Farafra was hired to pour the canal’s concrete foundation. The brick work was subsequently completed by a local contractor.
After less than six weeks of closure, the gates of the new zarayeb canal were opened – an event that drew dozens of people from Bir Wahid to the field.
Adel, a participating farmer, exclaimed: “The water is running so well, everybody here is very happy!” In turn, Magdy Ibrahim, the president of the Farmers Association commented: “It used to take around four hours for water to make its way from the well to my field, now it only takes 20 minutes!” Seeing the finished canal convinced even the more sceptical farmers, who had initially criticized the association’s action plan as just “empty words”. Mohammad, an earlier sceptic, expressed his appreciation for the association’s achievement after seeing the new canal. “The canal is only a first step, and the really important thing is not the canal itself, but the association,” he said. “Now there is an association in Abu Minqar that can actually implement improvement!”
 Hope UnderwayThe new canal promises to significantly reduce water loss by minimizing seepage and evaporation. It has also improved water access by allowing farmers at the tail end of the canal to receive water. Today, many farmers from around Abu Minqar are saying they would like to line their canals as well. “So when are we lining the next canal?” was one of the first questions Magdy, the president of the Farmers Association asked as he watched the water flowing through the new canal. The prospects look promising. The project has already raised 70,000 EGP from the German embassy to build a second canal in Abu Minqar. The new farmers' association may well complete its second lined canal in a matter of months. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more details about this and other WaDImena projects, kindly contact us at Nesrine Khaled - WaDImena Communication Assistant Doaa Arafa - WaDImena Research Assistant darafa@idrc.org.eg Document(s) 1 of 3
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