Donate Now

Our Projects · Rainwater for WASH

Support toCaritas Kasese

IRHA supports Caritas Kasese, which builds ferrocement calabash tanks to harvest rainwater in western Uganda.

OngoingRainwater for WASHsince 2024
© IRHA
WhereUganda, Kasese District (Rwenzori hills)
Whensince 2024
WithCaritas Kasese
Rainfall≈ 1,180 mm a year in Ugandanational average, World Bank; local figure to add

Key Figures

  • about25schools in the Rwenzori hills equipped with 5 and 10 m³ calabash tanks through a school programme completed in 2022 to verify: implementer and IRHA's role

The Challenge

to verify: local context – water access in Kasese schools, from Caritas Kasese. Calabash tanks are rounded tanks built on site by trained local masons from cement, sand, iron bars and wire mesh. According to the Calabash Tank Manual, cement tanks last more than 25 years, compared with 5–10 years for plastic tanks, and keep water cooler. Caritas Kasese also finds them cheaper than plastic tanks.

Average monthly rainfall and temperature in Uganda, 1991–2020
Rain in Uganda: about 1,180 mm a year, mostly two rainy seasons: March to May and September to November. Source: World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (observed 1991–2020) and World Bank average precipitation.

What We Do

  • Follow up rainwater systems built in schools. In February 2024, IRHA's President visited Kasese District and carried out a rapid assessment of the school programme.
  • Share Caritas Kasese's calabash know-how with other partners. In May 2023, a technician from Kasese built a calabash tank with masons of the Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum during a training in Sri Lanka.
  • Give Caritas Kasese a platform: in June 2024, its programme officer presented the project in an IRHA webinar.
  • Support small-scale research on rainwater harvesting with Caritas Kasese to verify: scope.

Progress So Far

  • About 25 schools in the Rwenzori hills were supported to build rainwater systems, mainly with calabash tanks of 5 and 10 m³ (programme completed in 2022).
  • The February 2024 rapid assessment found the systems highly functional and very useful.
  • The Kasese calabash experience has been shared at a technician training in Sri Lanka and in an IRHA webinar for development organisations.

Expected Results

  • to verify: objectives and targets of IRHA's current support

On the Ground

Swipe or use the arrows, and click on a photo to enlarge it.

Pupils of St Francis Kishumaru school in Kasese, Uganda, celebrating in front of their rainwater tank built with Caritas Kasese and IRHA · © IRHA
IRHA President sharing rainwater tank knowledge with a senior mason in Uganda · © IRHA
Children of an orphanage school with their new rainwater tank, Rwenzori, Uganda · © IRHA
Girl collecting water from a blue rainwater tank, Caritas Kasese, Uganda · © IRHA
Community celebrating clean water at a restored mountain spring, Kishumaru, Uganda · © IRHA
Rain clouds over the green hills of the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda · © IRHA

Partners and Funders

Caritas Kasese leads the work on the ground. Since 2020, its programme has focused on producing calabash tanks, which it finds more durable and cheaper than plastic tanks. Funders: to verify

Resources

No downloadable document yet.

From Our Blog Archive

archived posts: to re-publish on the new site, then update these links

Related Projects

Blue Schools Programmesince 2007Rain, Forest and People2018–2020PartageÖ – Sharing Rainwater Know-Howsince 2023 (first phase 2023–2024, second phase 2025–2026)

Every Drop Restores

Help communities catch, store and use the rain.

Support this projectAll our projects