Sheluka; “water coming up from the ground”
The Barotse Flood Plain in Zambia’s Western Province is home to the Lozi people. The Lozi have traditionally lived on the forest edge of this vast sandy flood plain of the Zambezi River and its tributaries. Throughout Lozi history they have relied on annual rains to inundate the Barotse Flood Plain to provide water for crops, livestock and themselves. While times of drought are certainly not unknown, over the past decade the Lozi must survive a series of drought not seen in several generations.
This little girl fills buckets from a hand dug well with a plastic dipper attached to a stick.
In peri-urban and rural parts of the flood plain, the Lozi rely on wells dug into the underlying sand. They cannot dig below the shallow water table as the sand continuously collapses into the well. Following annual rains villagers chase the dropping water table, only able to access the upper one inch of groundwater.
100% of all water in Lozi villages away from the rivers and streams is from wells such as shown to the left in Kalenge Village in the Matebele Plain, a part of the Barotse Floodplain. That includes all water used for drinking, cooking, bathing and watering crops.
A simple, reliable and low-cost solution has been found.
In November 2019, during the driest part of the year, two water scientists (one from the USA, the other from Zambia) traveled to Kalenge Village to test the concept: drive sandpoint wells 20’ into the Barotse sands and cap with an old-fashioned hand pumps. We successfully installed four wells within three days. We also installed a well in Kalabo Town to show this simple technology can work in a peri-urban setting.
The Need
There is no spatial census data. The best estimate from aerial photography is between 10,000 to 15,000 people living in villages along the Matebele plain for example, a small portion of the Barotse Floodplain. These villages are miles from the nearest road and without electricity or any modern infrastructure, including reliable, clean water.
The Process
A scouting party is hired to travel into the remote villages and collect information such as village location, population, and wells needed to supply the village. The Village Headman and Council chooses locations of the wells.
Field data are submitted to the Project Sheluka Board of Directors. The Board matches need with available funds and directs installation of wells. After installation the wells become village property.
When Things Fall Apart
Failure is not uncommon to projects in Africa, and Zambia is no exception. Project Sheluka learns from both successful and unsuccessful programs. We fully recognize:
1) Village buy-in Project Sheluka works with Headmen and Councils not for them. They determine well location to assure the greatest benefit to the community and provide man-power to assist in well installation.
2) Never complicate the solution While tempting to use more modern technology, once high-tech equipment breaks, it remains broken. We use simple hand pumps that can usually be repaired in-village without technical expertise.
3) Gain and maintain trust People of remote villages are well aware of the good intentions of outsiders. They may be wary of ulterior motives of such programs. We build trust by exclusively hiring local folks and villagers to assess need and install wells.
4) Village ownership We install wells and train village custodians appointed by the Headman and Council in well maintenance and repair. The wells are property of the village as governed by their councils and Headmen.
What is Sheluka?
“Sheluka” is a Lozi word meaning “water flowing up from the ground”. Project Sheluka is group of water resource professionals (Our Team) and a field crew of locals presented with a serious problem and finding a simple solution.
Project Sheluka has only one objective — bring clean, reliable water to villages of the Barotse Plain. The Board of Directors and the In-Country Director do not receive salaries. 100% of funds are committed to our singular objective.