Catching the fall: Tracking the building of a rainwater harvester in Ghana

by Sidhaant Shah

In January, staff photographer Sidhaant Shah traveled with Global Water Brigades to Ekumfi Srafa Aboano in Ghana to build rainwater harvesters. With little water available for half the year, as well as unsanitary water supplies and practices, the village of about 1,500 people often struggles to access sufficient water supplies during the dry season. Malaria is common and stagnant water near local wells is a potential breeding ground for waterborne illnesses. Rainwater harvesters catch and store the water from the wet season to help make water available throughout the year.

The municipal water supply in Ekumfi Srafa Aboano is sporadic. During the dry season, even that supply dwindles.

Sahana Kribakaran, a third-year neuroscience student, and Christina Vu, a third-year physiology student, apply mortar and concrete layers to the outer wall of the rainwater harvester. Every day included at least eight to 10 hours of construction out in the hot and humid conditions.

After a day of fishing, the fishermen, who all catch the fish together, distribute the catch among themselves in a proportioned manner and set off to their respective homes.

Tawny Tran, a third-year business economics student, applies a final layer of cement to the access pit a family will use to collect water.

A little girl draws sources of potable water and sources of water that should only be used for cleaning and sanitation. This was one of the games led by UCLA students that helped the children realize the importance of understanding proper sanitation habits, which they may be able to teach their parents.

After a day of fishing, the villagers consume most of the fish themselves. The catch is also sold once a week on Wednesdays at the Mankessim bazaar. Mankessim is about an hour drive away from the village. Getting there costs about $5 per person round-trip, quite a sizeable amount for the fishermen.

A day was set aside to educate the children of the village about the importance of different water sources, along with the types of water that are potable and the types that should only to be used for cleaning and sanitation.

The frame of the rainwater harvester is made of flat chicken wire cut to form a cylinder 7-foot in diameter. Held together by more than 100 zip ties at its joints, the finished harvester holds about 16,000 liters of waters.

Out at sea, two boats drop a fishing net the size of a soccer field into the ocean, and more than 50 people join together to pull in the catch in sync with the waves crashing on the shore. The entire time they pull and heave, the people sing.