ORDA’s approach is small scale irrigation (up to 50 hectares of land—or about 125 acres), which government policy recognizes as a viable strategy for alleviating poverty and protecting against drought. To date, ORDA has constructed 88 small scale irrigation schemes, which irrigate nearly 3000 hectares of land and benefit more than 10,000 households.

ORDA constructs water harvesting structures following the strategic interest of the region in areas where drought is chronic. Though their main purpose is for irrigation, the rural poor use them for domestic purposes—such as washing clothes—and watering livestock. So far, we’ve developed 1485 water harvesting structures both at the household level (used for home gardens) and community level.

In areas where water is a scarce resource, ORDA is introducing new technologies like drip irrigation and pedal pumps. To date, 144 drip kits have been distributed to 144 farmers who pay for the pumps over time. The technology is highly efficient in that the water drips directly on the base of the plant.  This type of irrigation works best with high value fruits and vegetables to ensure a return on the investment for the technology.

Often, we choose to develop a system if we know there’s a need for irrigation in a particular area, or if farmers in an area have demonstrated an appreciation for the benefits of irrigation. However, many times when we choose a site, we’re acting on a specific request from the community.

We always work to build an irrigation solution that fits the area’s specific needs. Our team looks at local hydro-geological and socio-economic solutions and then selects technologies that will best serve the community.

ORDA forms a multi-disciplinary design team consisting of a structural engineer, economist, agronomist, surveyor, geologist and sometimes an environmentalist.

Together with members of the community, the team designs the appropriate irrigation system, communicates with partner organizations and puts together a proposal for the project’s construction. The team then seeks approval for the project from the local District Office and Water Bureau.

When it’s time to build, ORDA construction engineers provide technical expertise, oversight and direction while the community contributes labor and locally available materials. Together, ORDA team members and the people of the community construct the irrigation system.

Once the irrigation system is constructed, ORDA partners with the community to ensure that the system continues to work for years to come.

In order to keep the irrigation system running smoothly, we assign community members, some of whom are women, to a Water Users Committee. Participants are trained on irrigation system operation, maintenance and management.

Because irrigation is used for farming, crop management training is provided to all community members benefiting from the irrigation system. Sometimes training is conducted by members of another community who’ve benefited from a similar irrigation system.

Ultimately, the irrigation scheme is handed off to the community. A local Rural Development Office provides and coordinates ongoing supervision and monitoring, while ORDA continues to provide support through follow-up monitoring, technical advice and training in scheme management as needed.

Like our safe water scheme development projects, ORDA works side by side with the individuals of the communities we help to create irrigation solutions. Through this partnership, we assist the people of Amhara in actively creating their own success.

We divert water from existing rivers through canals to farmland, providing a continuous supply of water to the people who need it.

Springs are found mainly in mountainous or hilly terrain. The water may emerge either as a spring, or as an out flow into a river, stream, lake or the sea. Where the water emerges in the form of a spring, it can easily be tapped for irrigation purposes.

We educate the communities about how to capture water when it rains, which has several functions. It provides water to people and livestock, and for food and cash crops. It also recharges the ground water of an area, and reduces the likelihood of seasonal flooding.

The harvesting can be done in a variety of ways:

• Roof catchments, which capture water run-off from roofs.
• A series of ponds, consisting of several ponds connected to one another to collect the catchment’s run-off.
• Household ponds, which are constructed for individual households to collect water, mainly for irrigation and cattle-drinking purposes.
• Community ponds, constructed within a community to collect water, mainly used for irrigation purposes.

ORDA also assists communities in capturing seasonal floodwater from local streams (which is stored in ponds), and water conservation through water shed management.

Used when the amount of water collected by hand-dug wells is limited. When more water is needed, shallow or deep wells (depending on hydro-geological capacities of the area) are constructed.

One of the latest field irrigation techniques, we use this primarily when there’s low water availability and a high level of salt in the soil. Water is applied slowly and directly to the roots of plants, which minimizes water loss through evaporation and percolation.