In addition to cooking, gathering firewood, and caring for children, a group of 35 women in Ouarkhokh also gather at their 4-acre cooperative garden twice daily to water their crops. During Senegal’s 8-month dry season, these women are only able to plant and water crops in about half of the garden plot. Hand watering is not only labor-intensive, but also costly, as the garden’s water is from a commercial source. Drip irrigation is an economical solution to these challenges.
CREATE! technicians and community volunteers set up the entire irrigation system in three days.
Last week, CREATE! field technicians worked with community volunteers to install a drip irrigation system in two acres of land within Ouarkhokh’s cooperative garden site. By providing access to a drip irrigation system, cooperative members can increase the amount of irrigated land in their garden plot by 75% and save money, time, and labor through efficient water use.
Drip irrigation will nearly double the overall year-round vegetable production in the garden plot.
The Ouarkhokh drip irrigation system will help cooperative members fully exploit the land in their garden through year-round irrigated agriculture. Women will save time and labor while learning valuable new agricultural and technical skills. Increasing yields of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and other vegetables will also improve local food security and increase incomes. Through drip irrigation, cooperative members can use their own skills and labor to improve the lives of their families!
Marieme Top, a cooperative member, is excited about the potential benefits of drip irrigation. She says, “we are so happy to now have the drip irrigation system in Ouarkhokh!”