A major problem for the Maasai people of East Africa is accessing water for themselves and their livestock. A joint China-Africa project is providing intensive technical training and workshops to promote rainwater harvesting in the region.

In Kenya and Nigeria, demonstration sites have been established so that local communities and policy makers can see first-hand how rainwater harvesting can contribute to water resource management, poverty and hunger reduction.

Senior Fellow with the World Agroforestry Centre, Dr Dennis Garrity, is quoted in an article on Chinafrica saying that Africa “actually has more water resources per capita than Europe,” but the continent’s rain comes in bursts and is rapidly swept away or is never collected.

Previously, African countries have relied almost exclusively on rivers and underground water supplies. Only recently has the importance of rainwater harvesting as a buffer against climate-linked extreme weather become a reality in water planning.

“Rainwater harvesting is low-cost and simple to deploy and maintain, and able to transform the lives of households, communities and countries across the continent,” says the article.

The project is a joint effort between the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and China's Ministry of Science and Technology.

Read the full story: Using Nature's Bounty