I have been in Damongo for just about a week now, and am slowly getting settled. Everything is both exciting and challenging, and I have so many things to share. I will make posts about my family and my work soon, but first, I would like to make some observations on two things that I have learned a great deal of in Canada (and may be near and dear to some of you Environmental and Water Resource Engineers) which is water and waste management in a developing city.
In Canada, we are aware that drinking from bottled water is not sustainable, as it creates waste and stresses groundwater aquifers. However, here in Ghana, bottled water, or sachet water, is the way to go. That is where we see human health and safety and the environment clash. People drink sachet water because there is not safe and reliable tap water (if there is even a water distribution system at all) that is easily accessible. I have yet to see a refillable water bottle used, because where would you fill it? Depicted here are some volunteers drinking what is called pure water sachets in Tamale.
In the majority of people’s homes in Damongo people rely on Borehole water for their drinking and cooking purposes (from what I have learned there are 2 boreholes in Damongo, a city of about 8000 people). Borehole water taps into a groundwater source, and is safe to drink. One of the boys in my household, Kofi, has a truck and he pumps it full of borehole water and distributes it to households, the hospital and schools, etc. The water is stored in tanks like the one seen below.
My family also has another water tank that is filled with river water. This is used for bathing, flushing the toilet, and cleaning clothes. It is also filled the same way by means of a truck. It is an interesting substitution to having piped connections, which have proven to be unsuccessful in many developing cities anyway. Many women still go to the borehole and carry the water back on their heads, but in my family, the women are relieved of that job because of the service they provide with the truck.
Now, what happens at the other end? There are trenches or open sewers that line the streets (so you have to watch your step) that are about 2-3 ft deep and about 2 ft wide in most places. There is a picture of the back of my house where we have our bath and where the water from the toilet goes.
So what happens to the water sachets when you are finished with them? They generally get tossed on to the ground. Walking down the street and you are done with your food, just toss it on the ground. Something that was hard to get used to at first, but there are plenty of animals to scoop up what you have thrown down. Goats and sheep and pigs and fowls and dogs are all walking around eating up food from the ground. I question how healthy it is, but overall it works. Animals drink and eat the waste that people make. The main thing that doesn’t work is the plastic sachets and plastic bags. The animals do not eat those, and they do not decompose quickly. When waste is collected in the house, I believe that it is burned, but I have yet to witness it. Currently, I am collecting my garbage in my room until I figure out where it will end up.
Well, that is that! An interesting observation about some fundamentals of the infrastructure of human societies and challenges we face socially and environmentally as one world! (i have a picture of a goat eating some trash, but this computer is slow, so i will post it later).
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