Page 17 - WATER SECTOR MAGAZINE VOLUME 3

Total Land Care integrated approach to

combat water and sanitation challenges

By STAFF WRITER Sawasawa observed that although this practice is not yet socially accepted in many African
cultures, advances are being made for its adoption and many farmers have realized the benefits
Founded in 1999, Total Land Care (TLC), is of planting fruit trees on old pit sites.
one of the non-governmental organizations
in the country which has embarked on a TLC was founded by Trent Bunderson, Zwide Jere and Ian Hayes to sustain and expand 12-
combination of approaches in an effort to deal year agricultural and natural resource management programs funded by USAID; the Malawi
with the challenges facing access to clean water Agroforestry Extension Project. After these programs, TLC was registered as a non-profit, non-
and sustainable sanitation. governmental organization in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania and in 2011, TLC
was registered in Switzerland as TLC Global to diversify funding opportunities.
Apart from forestry, sustainable agricultural
practices, rural-based enterprises, TLC also TLC’s mission is to improve the livelihoods and standards of living of smallholder farm
realized the challenges that many rural villages households across the region. Program design and implementation involve an integrated
have accessing clean water and embarked on community-based approach to address basic needs and challenges identified with communities.
water and sanitation programs. These include low agricultural production and diversification, food insecurity, poor nutrition,
vulnerability to variable weather and climate change, limited access to capital, credit, inputs
TLC Director of Operations and GIS Expert and markets, high incidence of common diseases due to lack of potable water and sanitation,
Haig Sawasawa explained that TLC realizes increasing shortages of wood for fuel and building needs, and the degradation of natural
that access to clean water presents huge health resources from population growth and poor land-use practices.
risks that significantly reduce productivity for
farmers, as well as school attendance among The key concept is to instill responsibility among rural communities and households to tackle
children and the distance to access water also their own needs, with special emphasis on building resilience to climate change.
increases labor and time spent by girls and
women to collect water for household use. TLC facilitates this process by collaborating with communities to conduct a needs assessment
and to evaluate land-use practices, crops, and livestock best suited to the agro-ecologies and
TLC, therefore, introduced covered shallow interests of different beneficiaries. This is followed by developing community-based action plans
wells in the areas that it works. Each of these that involve various interventions to address different needs. The ultimate aim is to establish a
shallow well is equipped with a hand pump foundation of knowledge, skills and resources to enable the transition from subsistence survival
that is easy to install and maintain by the to business-based livelihoods that can grow and prosper.
villagers. According to Sawasawa, the shallow
wells have not only proved to be hygienic but TLC projects in Malawi are located in the districts of Karonga, Chitipa, Rumphi, Mzimba,
also cost effective as the cost of a pump and its Nkhata Bay, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Dowa, Mchinji, Salima, Lilongwe, Dedza, Ntcheu,
installation is approximately $1,500 (almost Balaka, Mangochi, Machinga, Zomba, Mulanje,Thyolo, Blantyre, Chiladzuru, Chikwawa and
MK1,275,000) with transport, staff supervision, Nsanje. The organization also has a number of projects in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia.
cement and local materials while a borehole,
which requires a drilling rig, is approximately
$10,000 (MK8,500,000).

“Related to safe water is ecological sanitation.
TLC introduced the arborloo system of eco-
sanitation that eliminates the need for the
handling of composted excreta,” said Sawasawa.
The arborloo technology involves digging a pit
one meter deep and 60 centimeter in diameter,
covered with a dome-shaped concrete slab.
Slabs, which cost almost $5 (almost MK4,250)
each, can be built by village artisans after
undergoing training by TLC staff.

Sawasawa explained that a temporary structure
is erected around the latrine for privacy and
after use, a handful of wood ash mixed with soil
(from a pail kept inside the latrine) is dropped
into the pit to speed up fecal decomposition and
to reduce odor and flies which spread disease.

“The pit has a retention time of 6-9 months.
Thereafter, the concrete cover is moved to a new
pit, along with the structure around it. The old
pit is then covered with soil and left for a period
A well-managed borehole can also be useful for of 9 months. The waste can be used safely as
irrigation manure for growing fruit trees or vegetables,”
he added.
Using integrated approach such as tree planting and drilling boreholes can combat
water and sanitation challenges
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