Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting: A Sustainable Solution to Water Shortage Problem in Makabe, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Makabe sub-ward is a peri-urban area outside of Dar es Salaam region, which is formally found in the Kibamba division in Mbezi ward, Kinondoni Municipal. Community needs assessment was conducted to identify problems, needs, and strengths in a community using a questionnaire as the main method which was supplemented with interview, listening, community mapping, focus group discussions and public forum. The research findings revealed that there were many problems facing the Makabe community .At the top of the list was the community's desperate need for greater and more efficient access to clean water. Also the findings show that there was no any DAWASCO service in the area and the cost for adding new infrastructure is very high. Not only that the available water sources are insufficient but also the underground water exploration and exploitation does not seem feasible. Furthermore the research revealed that, 98% of the houses in Makabe consist of galvanized corrugated iron roofed sheets and experiencing a mean of over 1000mm/year of rainfall. However, most people were unaware of what rainwater harvesting meant and why there would be a need to collect rainwater. The researcher took an enormous amount of effort working with and speaking to community to publicize the need for and benefits of RWH through training and brochures. Nine Training workshops were organized and 225 participants attended the training. More than 1,000 brochures on the importance of rainwater harvesting were distributed. After the training about 130 complete rainwater harvesting systems have been constructed in household level and 85 rainwater harvesting system are still in progress