“Oolaa” is the word in the Oromo language in southern Ethiopia that is most commonly used these days. Oolaa means “drought” and it is the dominating problem for 4.5 million Ethiopians – some of the total of more than 12 million people on the Horn of Africa who are threatened with starvation.
A few years ago, when the climate was “normal”, there were in the Oromoyla region, on the border of Somalia and Kenya, two rainy seasons:
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Ganna- the big rains – from March to May
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Hagaya – the small rains. From September to November
In the past few years the rains have failed in both the small and the big rainy season. Some areas have had hardly a drop of water for the past four years, and it has been particularly bad since the spring of 2010, among other reasons because of the weather phenomenon called “La Nina”.
Establishment of water activities
On the basis of talks with the local residents, DanChurchAid decided in 2008, in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), to start activities that could compensate for the lack of rain. A project was defined that was financed by ECHO, the EU’s fund for assistance in disaster situations.
The activities focused, among other things, on the formation of local groups in villages that should define how to avoid future disasters, of which drought was the very most important.
As drilling wells was considered impossible in most places because the ground water is too deep and difficult to reach, it was decided to work on collecting rain water in various ways.
The artificial lake
After many studies, Kubi was selected as one of the places where an artificial lake would be constructed that could collect rain water from the surrounding hills and retain for a long time.
Heavy machines dug the big hole, and many small artificial canals ensured that the rain water that fell on the hills ran down into the lake. In 2009, a year with almost normal rainfall, the final result could be seen.
Water Committee
In connection with the project the local residents have formed a Water Committee to be responsible for maintenance and to make rules for the use of the water.
One of the rules is that the water can only be used as drinking water for people and animals, but not for irrigation, as the water committee has judged that it would empty the lake too fast if agricultural production was supported.
Kubi Lake provides life saving water
The area around the lake has in the past 16 months only had rain once, for three days at the end of March 2011. In spite of that, the lake is at present 90% full in relation to the total capacity of 32.000 m3.
Kubi Lake was originally designed to be an extra reservoir for the approximately 2.500 people and their 18.000 animals that live in the area around the lake, but as a result of the current drought an additional 4.500 people with their 27.000 animals have moved to the lake and used the life saving water.
Users
Hassan Hussein originally owned the land where Kubi Lake is now, but he donated it to the project. He is now the Chairman of the Water Committee. He is not a rich man; his family has 7 members and they own 2 cows, 4 goats and a donkey.
When asked why the water doesn’t just leak out of the bottom of the lake, Hassan Hussein answers, ”We have been nomads for centuries and we know the places where the ground prevents the water from just draining away. We have used that knowledge in constructing the lake so the water stays where it is.”