[webinar series] Beyond plastic tanks !

The series of three webinars offered by IRHA is part of a broader knowledge-sharing project funded by the Fédération genevoise de coopération. This project aims to raise awareness among development actors about issues related to rainwater harvesting, fostering an understanding of the importance of this resource. The goal is for each participant, at their own scale and level, to integrate rainwater harvesting into their respective projects. We are engaging alliance members to share their experiences on specific topics, such as rainwater harvesting systems. Two more webinars are also scheduled for September and October.

During the first webinar, three speakers raised awareness among the 25 participants about the sustainable use of rainwater harvesting systems by drawing on their projects and sharing their personal experiences:

- Dr. Tanuja Ariyananda, CEO of the Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum and SARNET, shared her insights on the widespread use of pumpkin tanks in the region. Despite rising costs for manufacturing these ferrocement tanks, they remain a cost-effective and necessary infrastructure to ensure access to water at all times.

- Sony Pun, Project Officer at Kanchan Nepal, shared her experience with rainwater reservoirs from a health perspective. He emphasized that these reservoirs are much safer than plastic tanks.

- Kule Francis Malikidogo, Program Officer at Caritas Kasese, presented his project in Uganda, which started in 2020, focusing on the production of calabash tanks. These tanks are not only more durable but also cheaper than plastic tanks.

These testimonies concretely illustrated the advantages of rainwater harvesting systems using more sustainable materials than plastic and encouraged participants to adopt these practices in their own development initiatives.

The schedule for the upcoming webinars is available here.