-Before, we had to go away from our homes to work as daily labourers elsewhere, because there was not enough to do on our own land outside of the harvesting season. Now, because of the dam and the increased opportunity to work on our land, we are able to stay and work around our homes. The dam and related projects has given us the possibility to find the direction for the future, says one of the farmers living in one of the communities benefiting from the dam, and the watering canals leading out of it. About 840 households are literally enjoying the fruits of the project, and this number includes about 300 households more than the estimate made around the time of the designing and planning of the project. This is the result of the other component of the project that focused on conserving the upper catchments, as well as rehabilitation of nearby gullies. This has allowed more land to be utilized and more families to benefit from the project.
The distribution of the water is supervised by 20 “water-committees”, five from each of the four tabias ( sub-districts) benefiting from the project . The committees are established to regulate the use of water, as well as resolving and preventing possible conflicts related to the water from the dam.
The impact of the dam is easy to see- lush and green fields where maize, onion and tef as well as vegetables is growing. This is the result of “watershed management”, meaning the technique where one utilizes the water in a geographically limited area where the water naturally run towards one exit point. This approach is and important part of the work being done by REST in Tigray, the northernmost region in Ethiopia, where a number of areas have been without any rain for between five and twelve months. People in the area have grabbed the opportunity given by the project with both hands. A representative of the local police force in the area says the following about the impact of the project: - I haven’t been working here for more than a year, but my job is relatively relaxed, it seems like people here have more than enough with working on their fields.
The Norwegian support through the Development Fund to RST is part of the Ethio-Norwegian development cooperation within the area of Natural Resources Management and Food Security.
Read more about the Agura Dam on : http://www.norway.org.et/News_and_events/etiopia/dam_opening/
Read more about the Development Fund in Ethiopia (Norwegian language) on: http://www.utviklingsfondet.no/Utviklingsfondet_-_forsiden/Vare_prosjekter_og_samarbeidsland/Etiopia/Artikler/
Read more about the Relief Society of Tigray on: http://www.rest-tigray.org.et/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1