Ceramics could save more water, experiment says [Archives:2007/1032/Health]
March 12 2007
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Yemen could save more water if farmers use clay pots for irrigation, especially high quality pots, and more citizens can access safe and clean water when they use water filters, according to a recent experiment conducted by GTZ.
The German Agency for Technical Cooperation, known as GTZ, has recently conducted an experiment in the Hababah area, Amran governorate, utilizing locally made ceramic clay pots to ascertain the advantages of using ceramics in irrigation. The experiment aims to produce greater levels of output but with less input of water.
A small piece of land was equally divided into two parts, and a meter was installed close to the water source. Three different crops – tomato, onion and garlic- were planted. The first part was immersed with water – the traditional manner of irrigation in Yemen. The second one was irrigated with the use of clay pots.
According to Abdulhakim Al-Duba'ei who supervised the experiment, the piece irrigated by clay pots yielded better crops and saved 30 percent of the water. Farmers can save more water if they have at their disposal high quality and long-lasting pottery, as the locally made pottery is not well-fired and does not last very long, the experiment observed.
Shamlan's kiln
Considering the problems with local ceramics and the dangers lying behind the traditional pottery industry in Yemen, together with the pollution it leaves behind, GTZ saw that it was necessary to build a kiln that can produce high quality pottery and ceramics without harming the environment.
Dr. Klingler, Team Leader of the German GTZ-IWRM component, contacted several potters who were willing to build and support the construction of a kiln. In the beginning, Shamlan locals had a passive attitude, but Ali Saleh Sa'eed was different form the start, as he had a keen interest in the kiln, and also purchased a small plot of land for that purpose.
At the start, Dr. Klingler formed a small group of potters who were to be in charge of this kiln. After the kiln was built, more potters showed an interest in having similar kilns.
To that end, GTZ secured the services of long-time German ceramist Mr. Bernd Pfannkuche to design and construct the kiln. The kiln was designed to bear high temperatures up to 900 degrees. It also utilizes gas which is safe and does not harm the environment.
As planned, the kiln is to produce a wide range of potteries, together with irrigation ceramics and water filters, the latter two being the primary concern of the project.
Yemeni potters mostly depend on wood, a rare, expensive and environment polluting material, to fire the pottery. However, with any quality of wood they used, the local potters could not secure the required temperature to make high quality and long lasting ceramic.
Some potters used crude gas-fired kilns; however, this method poses dangerous problems for the potters. A potter was involved in an explosion caused by such a method, killing his infant and causing him serious injury.
Water filters
Where many Yemeni citizens, especially in the country side, have no access to safe and clean drinking water, GTZ decided to produce water filters in this recently built kiln. In this way they can help locals to get clean water using these water filters for YR 1500, according to Dr. Klingler.
He added that the application of colloidal silver could further enhance their safety and efficiency. The application of colloidal silver, widely practiced in some South Asian countries, would effectively eliminate over 99 percent of all bacteria found in contaminated water, according to Potters for Peace, a Central American NGO.
GTZ involves itself in three different sectors, with the aim of developing and upgrading peoples' lives in Yemen. These sectors are water, education and health. The involvement of GTZ in the water sector comprises both water sanitation and the provision of a clean water supply. When Yemen suffered from water shortages, GTZ started to think seriously about ways by which safe and clean water could be secured for Yemeni citizens, especially those in remote rural areas.
The Germans, right from the very beginning, realized the problem of the scarcity of water in Yemen, for the country has no rivers and further to this, rainfall rates fluctuate from one year to another. Though Yemen has a long coastal strip, the idea of having of water sweetening stations seems unpractical, particularly in poor countries which can not afford the high costs of such projects.
The Germans, represented through the German Embassy and GTZ, thought of easy and accessible solutions and alternatives to this water crisis by utilizing what is already available. Both participated in building and rehabilitating water cisterns. They also actively participated in awareness campaigns aiming to warn people against the irrational excavation of water wells and the unwise use of water.
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[archive-e:1032-v:14-y:2007-d:2007-03-12-p:health]
