This is how a typical Johad looks likeSomaliland has made rapid progress on it's own. Today the young nation stands proud and tall having de-facto recognition from important nations.
Somaliland has achieved a lot, it has progressed virtually without external help, today it has important partners like world bank to help in reconstruction of this ravagaed country.
Somaliland needs water, there is a paucity of perennial rivers, it rains but the run offs either drain into sea or dry up. Water conservation is a problem every where, especially with more developed nations facing the stark realities of issues emerging from their polluted fresh water sources, which cannot be used today without adequate treatment. It rains in horn of Africa and the issue is to conserve and harvest this rain water.
Somaliland needs a movement like we have had in India by Rajendra Singh who created JOHADS (Check Dams) in a dry state of Rajashthan leading to blue revolution. Making adequate water available and today some areas which I could have only imagined as desert are full of vegetation and bio diversity.
These Check dams are simple, they require voluntary labour of the villagers, who create mud and rubble embankments down the hill where rain water stream gush down. These then not only arrest the water flowing down and create a resorvior which comes handy for domestic and irrigation use, but the water that percolates down raises the water table creating scope for fresh and clean water wells not so long in future.
Somaliland needs a Rajendra Singh, the topography of the country is very suitable to create thousands of these JOHADS, and once they are made not only the water shortage will be met, but vegetation cover will increase, and when the water in the check dam dries out after few months the moist area can be used for cultivation.
Benefits are many...nothing better than having a raised water table with wells providing fresh water near these JOHADS after five or so years. Will someone in that country stand up and move the people to go and create these check dams.
For the interested I am giving link to Rajendra Singh's Tarun Bharat Sangh which caused a blue revolution in India...maybe it inspires.
http://www.tarunbharatsangh.org/
About The Magic Man himself... http://www.tarunbharatsangh.org/media/waterman.htm
People say lot of money and will of god is requied to move things...whereas it just takes one man and some hard labor and fortunes of masses can be changed for a whole lot better.
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