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DEPARTMENT OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY
Programme Guidelines
for
Intensive Family Food Production
and
Rainwater Harvesting
June 2007
ii
Acknowledgements The development of policy through which the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF)
now can actively provide water and the necessary support to enable “productive water uses by
the poor”, has a history which has enjoyed the encouragement and understanding of three
successive Ministers of Water Affairs, namely former Minister Ronnie Kasrils, former Minister Buyelwa
Sonjica and now, the current Minister Lindiwe Hendricks. This is a pro-poor policy which has already
proven its potential to impact the poorest households in our society in a very direct, tangible and
immediate way.
These Guidelines were drafted on instruction of Mr Tshilidzi Mathobo, DWAF Manager: Agricultural
Water Use Development Support, in preparation for full-scale implementation of the DWAF RWH
Programme. The Guidelines are based on practical experience gained during the implementation
and programme management of the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme. The following
Approved Legal Entities worked directly with poor households in four provinces during the pilot
programme, and contributed a significant amount of unpaid time, effort and expense to assist in
the development of these Guidelines:
� LIMA
� Mvula Trust
� Rural Integrated Engineering
� Umhlaba Consulting Group
The DWAF RWH Core Team was responsible for the drafting of these Guidelines, and consisted of
members from the following organisations:
� Socio-Technical Interfacing (coordinating)
� Border Rural Committee
� Dams for Africa
� Mahlatini Organic Seed
� Makhetha Development Consultancy
MaTshepo Khumbane worked with the Core Team in her personal capacity, and an effort has
been made to capture in these Guidelines at least some of the wealth of experience, insights and
techniques that she has developed over four decades of dedicated service to our rural poor.
Neither the policy, nor the DWAF RWH programme would have materialised, were it not for the cry
of ordinary rural women for “War on Hunger” during the World Summit on Sustainable Development
in Johannesburg in 2002. These women took up their picks and shovels and demonstrated in their
own backyards what they felt their government had to do to help poor rural women like
themselves. These pioneers made their own ‘dams’ and they started growing food in abundance
on small patches, they succeeded in their “War on Hunger”, because as they say: “we buried the
hunger” – by digging the dams and digging these highly productive trench gardens.
These Guidelines are meant as a tool in the next step of that “War on Hunger” – to help poor rural
women catch water where it falls, and use it to send strong healthy children into a bright future of
learning and fullfilment.
[Front page: MaTshepo Khumbane, “Hope of the destitute”, ‘The Star’, 28 Feb 2003. Photo: Courtesy ‘The Star’]
iii
Contents
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................................... ii
Contents ..................................................................................................................................................................... iii
Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................................. vii
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1
TARGETING FOR MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 1(A): EXTREME HUNGER ............................................................... 1 Where do the Millennium Development Goals come from? ......................................................................................................1 Do we really have a problem with achieving MDG1(a) in South Africa? ..................................................................................1 Does child nutrition really matter? .............................................................................................................................................2 The problem in South Africa ......................................................................................................................................................2
HOW CAN WATER HELP TO ACHIEVE MDG1(A)? ............................................................................................................. 3 What is the DWAF RWH Program? ..........................................................................................................................................3 Does it work? .............................................................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2 - HOW DOES THE DWAF RWH PROGRAM WORK? .................................................................. 5
RULES OF THE GAME ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Working directly with food insecure households .......................................................................................................................7 Working through Approved Project Implementers (APIs) .........................................................................................................7 Feasibility Study and Project Implementation Plan ....................................................................................................................7 Standard Contract between DWAF/PIA and APIs .....................................................................................................................8 Project Implementation ..............................................................................................................................................................8 Invoicing and Payment Processes ...............................................................................................................................................8 DWAF/PIA Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 3 - PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES .......................................................................... 11
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STAGE ............................................................................................................................... 11
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................... 12
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................................................................................... 13
API implementation team: overview of functions and staff....................................................................................... 13
Organisational set-up ............................................................................................................................................... 14 a) API staff .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 b) Site staff from the community ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Roles and Responsibilities of the ISD, FFP and TECH sections .............................................................................. 17
Standard Procedures for key implementation activities at Community Level .......................................................... 18
Books and Forms per team position ......................................................................................................................... 19
Reporting to the Funding Client ............................................................................................................................... 20
API’s In-house Monitoring and Evaluation .............................................................................................................. 20
PROJECT COMPLETION STAGE ....................................................................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER 4 - FACILITATION PROCESSES FOR COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS .......................... 21
OVERVIEW OF COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL FACILITATION PROCESSES ....................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 5 - INTRODUCING INTENSIVE FAMILY FOOD PRODUCTION (FFP) ..................................... 24
OVERVIEW OF FFP FACILITATION PROCESSES ............................................................................................................. 24
FFP INTRODUCTION FOR HOUSEHOLDS ......................................................................................................................... 24
PREPARING FFP FACILITATORS................................................................................................................................... 25
DEBRIEFING AND GUIDING FFP FACILITATORS ........................................................................................................... 26
FFP STAFF COLLABORATION WITH ISD AND TECH .................................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER 6 - RWH DAM CONSTRUCTION ........................................................................................................ 28
iv
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 28
Preparation at the household level ........................................................................................................................... 28
Construction process – from the household’s point of view ..................................................................................... 28
Preparation of implementation teams: roles and reporting ..................................................................................... 29
STANDARD RWH DAM.................................................................................................................................................. 29
RWH Dam structure ................................................................................................................................................. 29 Recommended size, shape and elevation .................................................................................................................................. 29 Standard RWH Dam ................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Alternative Designs .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Inlet and overflow structures .................................................................................................................................... 33 Standard Inlet Structure ............................................................................................................................................................ 35 Standard Overflow Structure .................................................................................................................................................... 36
Structural and component design routines ............................................................................................................... 37
CONSTRUCTION TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT ....................................................................................................................... 38
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS .............................................................................................................................................. 38
Dam siting ................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Excavation ................................................................................................................................................................ 39
Construction ............................................................................................................................................................. 40
Quality Assurance ..................................................................................................................................................... 42
RWH Dam Testing and Commissioning ................................................................................................................... 43
ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT ................................................................................................................................................ 44
Pumping .................................................................................................................................................................... 44
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................... 45
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................................................. - 1 -
APPENDIX A: WAR ON HUNGER ........................................................................................................................ - 3 -
Does it work? .................................................................................................................................................................... - 5 - An unexpected way out – “in my own four corners” ............................................................................................. - 5 -
The plight of many ................................................................................................................................................. - 7 -
“War on Hunger” – The evolution of a bottom-up policy ..................................................................................... - 8 -
The cost and value of the DWAF intervention ..................................................................................................... - 10 -
What is intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting? ............................................................ - 14 -
Victory in the first battle – Demonstration Phase outcomes ................................................................................ - 15 -
Key lessons learnt in the Demonstration Phase ................................................................................................... - 19 -
Weaponry for the ‘War on Hunger’ – planning for expansion ............................................................................ - 20 -
Missing weapons in the armoury ......................................................................................................................... - 20 -
RWH and intensive family food production: “What it is” and “what it’s not” ................................................... - 21 -
APPENDIX B: PROGRAMME DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................... - 22 -
APPENDIX B1. DWAF PROGRAMME FORMS ...................................................................................................... - 23 -
B1.1 DWAF Call for Expression of Interest: Advertisement ........................................................................ - 23 -
B1.2 Application for approval as Approved Project Implementer (API) ..................................................... - 24 -
B1.3 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Feasibility Study ........................................... - 27 -
B1.4 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Project .......................................................... - 33 -
APPENDIX B2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FORMAT ................................................................................ - 39 -
APPENDIX B3. PHYSICAL PLANNING ASPECTS ................................................................................................... - 45 -
APPENDIX B4. API BUDGET AND CASH FLOW FORMATS ................................................................................... - 51 -
B4.1 Project Budget Summary format .......................................................................................................... - 51 -
B4.2 Invoicing Schedule format ................................................................................................................... - 52 -
APPENDIX B5. API REPORTING & INVOICING FORMATS .................................................................................... - 53 -
B5.1 Bi-Monthly Progress Report format .................................................................................................... - 53 -
B5.2 Invoicing format ................................................................................................................................... - 54 -
v
APPENDIX C: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................................ - 55 -
APPENDIX C1. PROCEDURES .............................................................................................................................. - 55 -
C1.1 Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff ........................................................................ - 56 -
C1.2 Combined Procedures for ISD, FFP and TECH staff .......................................................................... - 57 -
C1.3 Procedures for introducing FFP at household level ............................................................................ - 58 -
C1.4 Procedures for buying materials .......................................................................................................... - 60 -
C1.5 Procedures for paying wages and salaries .......................................................................................... - 61 -
APPENDIX C2. FUNCTIONS OF SITE STAFF ......................................................................................................... - 62 -
C2.1 Duties of the Bookkeeper ..................................................................................................................... - 63 -
C2.2 Duties of the FFP Assistant ................................................................................................................. - 66 -
C2.3 Duties of the Storekeeper ..................................................................................................................... - 68 -
C2.4 Functions of the Quality Assessor ........................................................................................................ - 69 -
APPENDIX C3. BOOKS AND FORMS .................................................................................................................... - 71 -
C3.1 Stakeholder Agreement ........................................................................................................................ - 72 -
C3.2 Letter of Appointment for Site Staff ...................................................................................................... - 75 -
C3.3 Books and Forms used by the Bookkeeper ........................................................................................... - 76 -
C3.4 Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant ..................................................... - 87 -
C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Storekeeper .......................................................................................... - 98 -
C3.6 Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant .................................................... - 105 -
APPENDIX D: FACILITATION PROCESSES .............................................................................................. - 113 -
APPENDIX D1. DETAILED TABLE: COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL FACILITATION PROCESSES ............................. - 113 -
D1.1 VILLAGE LEVEL FACILITATION PROCESSES .............................................................................................. - 121 -
D1.1.1 Introducing the idea of intensive Family Food Production to the community ................................... - 121 -
D2.1 INDIVIDUAL MIND MOBILISATION PROCESSES ........................................................................................ - 122 -
D2.1.1 Mind mobilisation: introduction ........................................................................................................ - 122 -
D2.1.2 Household present situation analysis ................................................................................................ - 123 -
D2.1.3 Visioning (‘Helicopter planning’) ...................................................................................................... - 124 -
APPENDIX E: FAMILY FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITATION TOOLS ............................................ - 125 -
APPENDIX E1. FAMILY FOOD PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS ................................................................................ - 126 -
APPENDIX F: TECHNICAL AND CONSTRUCTION ................................................................................ - 131 -
APPENDIX F1. STANDARD RWH DAM: DRAWINGS ......................................................................................... - 132 -
APPENDIX F2. WORKSHOP DRAWINGS FOR ‘CENTRAL POLE & RADIAL ARM’ ................................................ - 147 -
APPENDIX F3. STANDARD RWH DAM: SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................ - 158 -
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
2. Excavation ..................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
3. Floor .............................................................................................................................................................. - 159 -
4. Walls .............................................................................................................................................................. - 160 -
5. Roof Poles ...................................................................................................................................................... - 162 -
6. Waterproofing ................................................................................................................................................ - 162 -
7. Inlet Structure ................................................................................................................................................ - 163 -
8. Overflow Structure ......................................................................................................................................... - 163 -
9. Roof Sheeting ................................................................................................................................................. - 164 -
10. Trap Door .................................................................................................................................................... - 164 -
APPENDIX F4. STANDARD RWH DAM: CONSTRUCTION MANUAL ................................................................. - 165 -
APPENDIX F5. STANDARD RWH DAM: STEP-BY-STEP ILLUSTRATED CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE .............. - 189 -
APPENDIX F6. STANDARD RWH DAM: CONSTRUCTION TOOLS & EQUIPMENT NEEDED .................................. - 190 -
APPENDIX F7. STANDARD RWH DAM LIST OF CONSUMABLE ITEMS NEEDED ................................................. - 192 -
APPENDIX F8. RAINWATER HARVESTING LAYOUT: EXAMPLES ....................................................................... - 193 -
APPENDIX F9. EXCAVATION CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................ - 199 -
vi
APPENDIX F10. RWH DAM SAFETY & MAINTENANCE MANUAL ........................................................................ - 203 -
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... - 203 -
F10.1 Daily operational Safety Measures for a RWH Dam ......................................................................... - 204 -
F10.2 Post-rain Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam ........................................................... - 205 -
F10.3 Annual Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam ............................................................... - 208 -
APPENDIX F11. ALTERNATIVE RWH DAM DESIGNS ....................................................................................... - 213 -
APPENDIX F12. RWH DAM DESIGN ROUTINES ............................................................................................... - 219 -
vii
Acronyms
ALE Approved Legal Entity
BK Bookkeeper
DoA Department of Agriculture
DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
EoI Expression of Interest
FFP (Intensive) Family Food Production
FFP-A FFP Assistant
FFP-F FFP Facilitator
FFP-M FFP Manager
IRR Internal Rate of Return
ISD Institutional and Social Development
ISD-F ISD Facilitator
ISD-M ISD Manager
LN-SI Large Number-Small Infrastructure projects
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MM Mind Mobilisation
PSC Project Steering Committee, consisting of elected community members
PVC pipes Poly-Vinyl-Chloride pipes
QA Quality Assessor
QAA Quality Assessor Assistant
API Approved Project Implementer
RWH Rainwater Harvesting
SK Storekeeper
TECH staff Technical and construction staff
TO Technical Officer
VIP toilet Ventilated Improved Pit toilet
1
Chapter 1 -
Introduction
Targeting for Millennium Development Goal 1(a):
extreme hunger
Where do the Millennium Development Goals come from?
The Millennium Development Goals were developed during the World Summit on Sustainable
Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, as the world’s agreed response to
poverty. 189 Heads of State committed their countries to the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.
South Africa is not only a co-signatory, but also played a significant role in the development of the
MDGs.
The MDGs are as follows:
MDG1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
MDG2. Achieve universal primary education
MDG3. Promote gender equality and empower women
MDG4. Reduce child mortality
MDG5. Improve maternal health
MDG6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
MDG7. Ensure environmental sustainability
MDG8. Develop a global partnership for development
MDG1 has the following further sub-goals:
� MDG1(a): “To reduce by half the number of people living with hunger,” and
� MDG1(b): “To reduce by half the number of people living on less than $1/day.”
Water features most prominently in MDG1a (reducing hunger) and MDG7 (aimed at water supply
and sanitation for all), but it is also an important ingredient to the achievement of many of the
other MDGs. For instance, the achievement of universal primary education requires learners to be
well-fed, which in turn depends on water. Improved health, as targeted by MDG4, 5 and 6, also
requires access to water for its achievement.
By signing the Millennium Development Goal Declaration, our country’s leaders have committed
government and citizens – all of us – to work together to achieve the MDGs. The Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry had to review critically how it could contribute to this process. The DWAF
Rainwater Harvesting Programme is part of DWAF’s response to MDG1(a) specifically.
Do we really have a problem with achieving MDG1(a) in South Africa?
One quarter of South African children suffer from stunting (UN, 2006), i.e. permanent physical and
mental damage/underdevelopment, before they reach the age of five. In our case the main
problem is usually not so much lack of energy foods (carbohydrate staples like maize porridge), but
2
lack of micro-nutrients (needed daily from fresh vegetables and fruit) and complex proteins (apart
from meat, this is also available in high protein crops like peanuts, certain types of beans and peas,
etc).
Does child nutrition really matter?
Why is child nutrition and child well-being so important to us as a nation? Three reasons stand out:
� Firstly, it is well accepted that “nutritional status is the best global indicator of well-being in
children.” (De Onis, et al. 2000)
� Secondly, where children eat well, it is mostly a good indicator that the whole family has
sufficient access to food. This is important, because half of South Africa’s people live on R20
a day and 1.3 million rural households are unable to meet their daily food needs
(BusinessReport, 13 July 2006). South Africa has committed herself to the Millennium
Development Goals, which among other things, call on countries to “halve the number of
people living with hunger by 2015.”
� Thirdly, good nutrition can help to break a vicious inter-generational cycle in the poor
household: malnourished children have a low life-long earning capacity, and therefore are
more likely, themselves, to have malnourished children, again with low life-long earning
capacity… and so on and on (after Zere and McIntyre, 2003). Instead, the DWAF RWH
Programme targets MDG1a, by trying to help the poor household to break into the ‘virtuous
nutrition cycle’ shown below:
Figure 1.1: The virtuous cycle of improved nutrition and economic well-being
(from Chopra, 2004)
The problem in South Africa
Households can get access to food either by purchasing it or producing it themselves. The social
support systems have already improved many households’ access to cash, but with 1.3 million
households still unable to meet their daily food needs, clearly more needs to be done.
It is accepted that own production at home is a very direct strategy to improve child nutrition.
However, poor households in SA always offer ‘lack of water’ as the main reason why they don’t
grow food gardens at home.
3
How can water help to achieve MDG1(a)?
The National Water Act 1998 is intended to protect, use, develop conserve, manage and control
water resources in an equitable and sustainable manner. In order to achieve some of these
objectives, under Section 61 and 62 of the Act, the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry may give
financial assistance in the form of grants, loans and subsidies.
The Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry has approved a subsidy scheme to provide financial
assistance in the form of a grant, which can be paid to a Water User Association (WUA) or other
Approved Legal Entity (also called Approved Project Implementers or APIs), for the capital cost
towards the construction of storage tanks for rain-water and related rain-water harvesting works for
poor households in rural areas and villages, for the purpose of family food production and other
household economic activities.
The objective of the DWAF RWH subsidy scheme is to provides access to water to the household to
enable poor households to grow fresh food at home, year-round, to create a constant supply of
micro-nutrients at home to prevent stunting in infants and toddlers before they reach school-going
age (and thus in the years before they can start benefiting from school nutrition programmes).
What is the DWAF RWH Program?
The DWAF RWH Program targets
“Millennium Development Goal 1a: extreme hunger”, by:
� First introducing intensive home food production (or any
other home-based productive water uses) through methods of
channeling and using rainfall run-off.
� Then, once a household has shown commitment by successfully
implementing their production system at home, they qualify for
a 30 000 litre underground rainwater storage tank, and
a manual water pump, which improves their water security
and enables them to expand to about 100-200m2 intensive
production in the backyard (i.e. about 1-2% of a hectare).
To develop the programme, pilot projects were carried out by five different APIs, with the purpose
of putting procedures in place based on the lessons learnt.
Does it work?
The “War on Hunger” paper (see Appendix A) reports on the excitement of and impact on rural
households who participated in the DWAF RWH Demonstration phase in 2006. Households have
reported that they had been able to produce much more intensively, i.e. they are getting higher
yields. Further, they are now able to also produce food in the dry season, thereby providing them
with fresh food throughout the year, which was impossible before. To quote from some of the
participating households describing the value of the programme to them:
� “the confidence that from now on we can have food all the time”;
� “being able to produce the whole year, instead of only in summer”;
� “the pride and joy of eating from one’s own handywork”; and “the amazement that we are
4
gaining so much more from our efforts using these intensive production approaches”;
� “the ability to produce without cash, because we use rubbish, natural remedies and make
our own seedlings”;
� “being able to gain, while we are caring for the environment by cleaning away rubbish and
using it for production”;
� “improved harmony and togetherness in our family.”
Improved food security and reduced child stunting has economic and social value to households –
and the nation.
The War on Hunger paper also offers an analysis of the costs of this once-off government
investment in ‘asset-building for the poor’, and the measured value of production achieved by
participating households. It shows that the government investment is offset within five years through
the value of production achieved by the food insecure household. Over a twenty year period, a
direct Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 15% on this government investment can be achieved by a
poor household.
5
Chapter 2 -
How does the DWAF RWH Program work?
Diagram 2.1: DWAF RWH Programme:- Appointment processes for APIs
DW
AF
EV
EN
TS
DO
CU
ME
NT
S
su
bm
itte
d b
y
RE
GIS
TE
RE
D
IMP
LE
ME
NT
ING
AG
EN
T (
RIA
)
DW
AF
AP
PR
OV
AL
S
DO
CU
ME
NT
S
BY
DW
AF
"Expression of
Interest" by
prospective RIAs
for the DWAF RWH
Programme
National DWAF
RWH Workshop
(2 days):
Introduction of
DWAF RWH
Programme
Training for RIAs
(2 days):
Requirements for
DWAF RWH
Feasibility study and
Implementation Plan
Training for RIAs
(4 days):
Requirements for
implementation of
DWAF RWH projects
Submission of
applications to be
approved as RIAs
RIA submits a Proposal
to do a Feasibility Study
and Implementation Plan
RIA submits
Implementation Plan
and
Request for Funding
Letter: informed of
approval as RIA;
invited to submit a
Proposal to do a
Feasibility Study
Contract: for RIA to
do a Feasibility Study
and develop an
Implementation Plan
Approval
as RIA
Approval
to do
Feasibility
Study
Approval to
implement
DWAF RWH
Project
Contract: for RIA to
implement a
DWAF RWH project
No No No
RIA implements
DWAF RWH
Project;
and submits
regular reports
6
Diagram 2.2: API RWH Projects:- Planning and implementation processes
Community process
Households participate in
'mutual care'/ learning groups
Household starts
intensive family food production
ongoing
mobilisation,
especially of
households
unable to
meet their
daily food
needs
Household accepts completed
RWH dam
RIA engages leadership and
community to commence
RWH project
Households volunteer;
and register their names
Awareness raising & creating
momentum
Introduction of intensive
food gardens
RWH dam (tank)
construction
Training and aftercare
completed
RIA - with local builders -
build dam, put on the roof,
and test for leakage
Administrative process
RIA consults local leadership,
community, and other
roleplayers and develops
RWH project proposal
RIA
reports regularly
to DWAF and
other
stakeholders
on progress
Approval to do
Feasibility Study
Legal entity approved
as RIA
Approval to implement
RWH project
DWAF approves
project closure
RIA actions: Household actions: Everybody!
DWAF Rainwater Harvesting - Project Implementation
7
"Expression of
Interest" by
prospective APIs for
the DWAF RWH
Programme
National DWAF
RWH Workshop
(2 days):
Introduction of
DWAF RWH
Programme
Training for APIs
(2 days):
Requirements for
DWAF RWH
Feasibility study and
Implementation Plan
Rules of the game
Working directly with food insecure households
The DWAF RWH Programme involves working directly with food insecure households at grassroots
level to first establish their intensive family food gardens and then, to
build the household RWH Dams. The Department cannot do this
itself on a significant scale, and therefore makes use of
implementing agents.
From time to time, DWAF or its Programme Implementing
Agent (PIA) will invite service providers to express interest in
becoming a Approved Project Implementer (API) for the DWAF
RWH Programme.
Please see above, the schematics in Diagram 2.1: DWAF RWH Programme:- Appointment processes
for APIs and Diagram 2.2: API RWH Projects:- Planning and implementation processes. Detail
descriptions follow in the sections below.
Working through Approved Project Implementers (APIs)
To be approved as a API, implementing agents must convince
DWAF/PIA that they:
� understand poverty at household level and its effects on
the poor person’s outlook on life;
� are committed and skilled to find, and work with food
insecure households towards food security through
intensive family food production and rainwater harvesting;
and
� have the capacity to successfully implement a complex infrastructure programme, namely
a large number of relatively small structures over dispersed and often difficult terrain.
Feasibility Study and Project Implementation Plan
Once DWAF/PIA approves a service provider as an API, the API
may apply to conduct a feasibility study for a RWH Project in a
specific village or project area.
In the API’s application, they must set out the detail and
costs to do the following:
� to perform the feasibility study
(see Appendix B3: Physical Planning Aspects)
[This would include aspects such as demographics and income profile, geo-technical
aspects affecting RWH Dam choice, etc.]; and
� to develop the Project Implementation Plan
(refer to Appendix B2: Project Implementation Plan format).
The Project Implementation Plan must be developed ‘bottom-up’ through close interaction with
the target village/area, municipal and Department of Agriculture and DWAF officials locally, and
must be based on the findings of a thorough feasibility study.
8
Training for APIs
(4 days):
Requirements for
implementation of
DWAF RWH projects
Standard Contract between DWAF/PIA and APIs
If the API’s Project Implementation Plan is approved, DWAF/PIA can next enter into contract with
the API to implement their Plan.
Important Note:
APIs must understand clearly that this is not a programme of ‘rolling out tanks’, i.e. simply
building (or ‘dumping’) large numbers of RWH Dams in people’s backyards. While it is
also important to achieve the numbers, implementation will not be viewed as successful
unless the household has been able to establish and successfully maintain an intensive
water-based production activity at home.
Indeed, the household’s production must be successful for them to qualify for a RWH Dam.
This avoids a great rush of demand for RWH Dams by households who may not use them
afterwards. Large numbers of unutilised dams would almost certainly eventually result in
cancellation of the whole DWAF RWH programme, to the detriment of those households
who really need – and would have used – a RWH Dam in their backyard.
Project Implementation
In implementing the project, the API continues with the close
‘bottom-up’ collaboration established with the target
village/area during the feasibility and planning phase.
Project implementation covers the following elements
(each of these are described in more detail in Chapter 3):
� Establishment of the Project Team and Project Steering
Committee (PSC) in the Project Village/Area
� ISD: Village level facilitation: to find the poor and facilitate local support for their efforts
� FFP: Household level facilitation: Mind Mobilisation and intensive Family Food Production
� TECH: RWH Dam Construction in participating households’ yards
� Measuring and Reporting Progress
� Project Closure
Invoicing and Payment Processes
The formats for APIs’ budgeting and cash flow planning, and for invoicing and payment
procedures, are contained in Appendix B4: API Budget and Cash Flow formats, and Appendix B5:
API Reporting and Invoicing formats.
Note: DWAF/PIA shall release project funds in accordance with the API’s monthly project cash flow
plan (invoicing schedule), as long as the API is able to report progress in step with their Project
Implementation Plan.
The API’s implementation budget consists of two components, namely:
� Grant funds for RWH tank construction costs, which includes site staff costs; and
� Professional fees and expenses of API staff.
9
The API shall submit bi-monthly invoices consisting of the following:
� Grant funds: advance claims and relevant retention amounts; and
� Professional fees and expenses in respect of completed work.
The diagram below illustrates the schedule of invoices for a typical 18-month project period:
Invoice 1
Invoice 2
Invoice 3
Invoice 4
Invoice 5
Invoice 6
Invoice 7
Invoice 8
Invoice 9
Invoice 10
Invoice 11
(Final)
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Month 13 Month 14 Month 15 Month 16 Month 17 Month 18 Month 24
Grant
advance
Invoice
9
RetentionInvoice
7
Invoice
8
Invoice
9
Invoice
10
Final
invoice
Fees
Expenses
Invoice 7Invoice 2 Invoice 3 Invoice 4 Invoice 5 Invoice 6
Invoice 7 Invoice 8
Invoice 8 Invoice 9 Invoice 10
Invoice 3 Invoice 4 Invoice 5 Invoice 6
Co
ns
tru
cti
on
co
sts
Pro
fes
sio
nal
fee
s
Invoice 1 Invoice 2
Example:
In the example above, Invoice 8 is submitted at the end of Month 14, and consists of the following:
i. Grant advance i.r.o. Month 16 and 17
ii. Retention monies claimable up to the invoicing date (i.e. end of Month 14)
iii. Fees and expenses i.r.o. the preceding two months (i.e. Month 13 and 14)
i.) Grant advance:
This invoicing schedule provides the API with upfront grant funds for construction, to help bridge the
costs for construction material, labour and site staff. Note that Invoice 1 consists of a grant
advance for three months, while subsequent grant advances are for two-month periods each, but
are claimed 30 days before they are needed. This provision has been made to help avoid
construction delays due to unavailability of funds.
Important Note: If the payment of grant advances is delayed by more than 60
days after recieval of a correct and complete invoice, and the API experiences
serious construction delays as a direct result of unavailability of grant funds, the
API must notify DWAF/PIA, and may then suspend their construction activities,
and may then claim site costs on a month-by-month basis for every month
thereafter, until the grant advance is paid. The API may then also request an
extension of their contract period equal to the number of months of suspended
construction.
ii.) Retention:
An amount of 5% retention shall be held by DWAF/PIA in respect of each completed RWH tank for
which an Initial Tank Acceptance form (Form QA05) had been signed by the household
representative, the Quality Assessor and the Technical Officer. The retention amount is payable
once the tank had been successfully tested for waterproofness and the Final Tank Acceptance
form (Form QA06) had been signed by the household representative, and a minimum period of six
months from the date of completion of construction has expired.
10
Note: In the example diagram above, the first retention amount is claimed in Invoice 7, which is
submitted in Month 12.
iii.) Professional fees and expenses:
Professional fees are paid in retrospect, for completed work, for the two months preceding the
invoicing date.
DWAF/PIA Monitoring and Evaluation
API Progress reports:
The standard format for APIs’ bi-monthly reporting to DWAF/PIA is provided in Appendix B5.
APIs are accountable to DWAF/PIA for project implementation. Payment of invoices is authorised
on account of the API’s proven adherence to their project implementation milestones. APIs shall
therefore submit progress reports bi-monthly with their invoices for grants and professional fees as
set out above.
The API shall submit a Project Closure report in accordance with the required format.
DWAF/PIA evaluation of API project outputs:
DWAF/PIA may from time to time carry out any evaluation and monitoring actions it deems
suitable. This may include evaluation of the number and quality of food gardens established and
maintained by households, the number and quality of RWH tanks built, the completeness and
acceptability of ancillary works, the quality and impact of FFP workshops and other training, the
quality and completeness of project record-keeping, the adherence of API activities to relevant
government policies, etc.
API Record-keeping:
The API shall keep complete and accurate records of all project expenses, including staff time and
expenses, and all construction related purchases and expenses, including all receipts and orders in
respect of the project. These records shall be kept in a neat and orderly fashion to enable
evaluation and auditing by a DWAF/PIA representative at any time.
DWAF/PIA auditing of API financial records:
DWAF/PIA may from time to time visit the offices of the API to inspect and/or audit the API’s project
records.
11
Chapter 3 -
Project Implementation Guidelines
PLEASE NOTE: In these Guidelines –
“PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT” means all the actions of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF)
or DWAF’s Programme Implementing Agent (PIA) to
manage interactions with the implementing agents and all other role-players
for all RWH projects under the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme.
“PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION”
means all the actions taken by a Approved Project Implementer (API) to
manage the processes required to implement a RWH project
in a project area (community or group of communities)
on behalf of and under appointment to DWAF/PIA.
Project Implementation Stage
Chapter 2 above has covered the work that has to be done before a project is approved for
implementation. Once the Project Implementation Plan has been approved, the Implementation
Stage shall start. The first thing to be done is to train and train.
DWAF/PIA will provide key input to the APIs’ key staff, who must then in turn train the rest of the API
staff and site staff from the community, on the following implementation aspects:
� The APIs’ ISD Managers on the LN-SI Project Implementation System, procedures and forms.
The API officials shall in turn train their ISD Facilitators, project steering committees (PSCs),
the bookkeepers, the storekeepers and the beneficiaries, etc.
� The APIs’ FFP Managers and Extension officers on aspects such as mind mobilisation,
helicopter planning, intensive Family Food Production, etc. They will in turn train FFP
Facilitators and FFP Assistants.
� The APIs’ Technical Management staff on design, construction and quality aspects. They in
turn shall train Quality Assessors and builders (not on general building techniques – but how
12
to build water-tight RWH Dams).
These guidelines contain the basic induction material for these processes, including the following:
� manuals and forms for on-site project administration (Chapter 3 + Appendix C),
� explanation of community facilitation, and individual mind mobilisation and helicopter
plans, as well as workshop outlines for the introduction of FFP to households (Chapter 4 +
Appendix D; and Chapter 5 + Appendix E),
� simple manuals on siting and building of RWH Dams, and standard plans, specifications and
construction methods approved by DWAF (Chapter 6 + Appendix F).
When adequate induction training has been provided, administrative procedures can then be put
in place and construction can start.
Under this Chapter 3, the Project Implementation Guidelines, which have been developed
specifically in the context of ‘Large Number-Small Infrastructure (LN-SI)’ Projects, will be covered.
Background
The Project Implementation Guidelines in this Chapter are based on a model developed by
Makhetha Development Consultants for implementation of sanitation projects. Using their model,
Makhetha Development Consultants were able to achieve 60% of the total national sanitation
implementation output in 2002. Every single VIP toilet constructed during this massive rollout,
involved personal interaction with and commitment from a specific rural household – no “toilets-in-
the-veld” or “twin-toilets-per-yard” were built to boost the numbers.
There are many similarities between household sanitation and homestead RWH projects:
a. Both involve the construction of large numbers of relatively small infrastructure in dispersed
and often geographically difficult sites;
b. Both types of infrastructure are built at people’s houses and become the property of the
household; and
c. Both require active involvement of the household in terms of physical preparatory work,
decisions about positioning of the infrastructure on the yard, and household training in the
use and maintenance of the infrastructure.
The main difference between sanitation and RWH structures, is that every single household needs a
toilet and have a daily need to use it. RWH structures, on the other hand, should only be built for
those households that really need them, and are likely to continue using them. This adds two
important dimensions to a RWH infrastructure project, namely:
d. The need for proper targeting, especially of families unable to meet their daily food needs;
and, therefore
e. The need to mobilise, motivate and equip participating households to make meaningful use
of and benefit from the RWH infrastructure – hopefully for twenty years into the future.
13
Project Implementation
API implementation team: overview of functions and staff
To achieve the challenges set out in items (a) to (e) above, the API implementation team must be
able to perform in three distinct functional areas, namely ISD, FFP and TECH (see Box below). The
work in these three areas is done through two complementary sets of staff, namely:
� API staff – who are staff in permanent or contract employment to the API; and
� Site staff from the community – who are appointed jointly by the API and the community’s
Project Steering Committee (PSC) for the RWH Project, and are paid from the Community
Bank Account for the RWH Project.
API staff for the three Functional Areas
“ISD” – Institutional and Social Development
Responsible for liaison with village leadership and other organisations; induction of site staff; and conflict resolution
API staff:
ISD Facilitator (based at the area office; can serve one or more projects)
ISD Manager (API head office staff); supplies specialist back-up to ISD Facilitators
“FFP” – Family Food Production:
Responsible for facilitation of all processes with participating households, e.g. Mind Mobilisation, training in intensive Family Food Production techniques, etc.
API staff:
FFP Facilitator (based either at the area office for several smaller projects, or at the project office in the village, if the project is large enough to warrant this)
FFP Manager (API head office staff); supplies specialist back-up to FFP Facilitators
“TECH” – Technical/Construction:
Responsible for the construction of the RWH Dams and related infrastructure and equipment.
API staff:
Technical Officer (based at the project office in the village)
Technical Management; to supply specialist back-up to the Technical Officers. [Note: this function is ideally fulfilled by the Area Manager, with back-up from the
Project Manager]
The API’s Area Manager ensures integration between the work of the ISD, FFP and TECH components in each Project Area under his/her jurisdiction, and is based in the area office.
The Project Manager may be based at the API’s head office, and carries overall responsibility for all
the API’s DWAF RWH projects.
Community administrative procedures are the responsibility of site staff from the community,
including a Quality Assessor, Bookkeeper and Storekeeper. As far as possible, Builders are
appointed from the local and surrounding communities. The FFP Assistants from the community
help the FFP Facilitator to prepare and support households in all the implementation processes.
14
Community site staff for the three Functional Areas
All community site staff are based at the project office in the project area or community
“ISD” – Institutional and Social Development
Site staff:
Bookkeeper
Storekeeper
- ISD site staff report to the API’s ISD Facilitator
“FFP” – Family Food Production:
Site staff:
FFP Assistants
- FFP site staff report to the API’s FFP Facilitator
“TECH” – Technical/Construction:
Site staff:
Quality Assessor (QA)
QA Assistants
Builders
- TECH site staff report to the API’s Technical Officer
The roles and responsibilities of both the API staff and the community site staff are discussed in more
detail below. The qualifications required for each position are also shown.
Organisational set-up
The proposed organisational set-up (organogram) for implementation of projects by individual APIs
is illustrated in Diagram 3.1: Proposed Organogram for API Implementation Team.
APIs are urged not to take the following proposed organisational setup lightly, but to study in depth
the reasoning behind this structure and the duty sheets for each of these positions (Appendix C2:
‘Functions of Site Staff’). A thorough look into Appendix C1: ‘Implementation Procedures’ and
Appendix C3: ‘Books and Forms’, would help clarify the necessary activities in LN-SI projects, and
thus the roles and responsibilities of each position on this team. The required interactions between
these proposed team positions have been tried and tested and were developed from bitter
experience.
From the Area Manager’s position downwards, this organogram can be duplicated in accordance
with the number of projects being implemented. Every Area Manager has under him/her a team
made up of Technical Officers (one per project or for two projects, depending on the proximity
and the size of the projects) one Institutional and Social Development (ISD) Facilitator and one
Family Food Production (FFP) Facilitator. The ISD and FFP Facilitators can look after a number of
projects concurrently, depending on the geographical spread and the number of households
participating.
The area of jurisdiction for each Area Manager does not necessarily follow the boundaries of the
District Municipality, but depends on the number of projects and proximity of those projects to
each other.
15
Diagram 3.1 – Proposed Organogram for API Implementation Team
The responsibilities of the people in the various positions are as follows:
a) API staff
Project Manager – The responsibility of the Project Manager is to oversee the whole implementation
process, which encompasses Institutional and Social Development (ISD) support, Family Food
Production (FFP) support and construction (TECH). Special emphasis is placed on productivity
(which covers both the gardens developed and quantity and quality of RWH Dams) and the
management of finances (both at head office and site offices) and staff induction and follow-up
training. The Project Manager can efficiently oversee up to four Area Managers. The Project
Manager is a person who has qualifications in civil engineering/agricultural engineering and project
management, and has a clear understanding of government policy relating to the programme.
ISD Manager – She/he shall be responsible for providing support to the ISD Facilitators in terms of
staff induction and follow-up training, updating manuals and shall be involved in the appointment
of site staff. She/he shall also monitor the work done by ISD Facilitators through site visits and
reports. She/he shall have relevant qualifications in community development.
FFP Manager – She/he shall be responsible for providing support to the FFP Facilitators in terms of
staff induction and follow-up training, and updating of manuals. She/he shall also monitor the work
done by the FFP Facilitators and monitor the experiments carried out at different households.
Where the RWH Dams are meant to enhance economic activities other than gardening she/he
shall source the people who can provide relevant advice and training to the households. She/he
shall have a relevant qualification in Agriculture.
16
Area Manager – He/she shall be responsible for the smooth running of the projects under his/her
jurisdiction. His/her primary responsibility shall be to ensure that the projects are implemented
efficiently and within the budget, as well as maintaining good relationships with the Project Steering
Committee (PSC) and the District Municipality. The Area Manager shall be a person who has
qualifications in construction plus five years experience in construction OR has more than ten years
experience in construction, and shall have experience in working on community based projects.
Technical Officer – He/she shall be responsible for supervising construction site staff, including the
Quality Assessor and the builders on the construction side. The technical officer shall have a
diploma in civil engineering OR a minimum of five years experience in construction. He shall be
expected to liaise to a large extent with the ISD Facilitator and the FFP Facilitator on administrative,
social and training issues.
ISD Facilitator – He/she shall be responsible for organising or providing induction training to
empower the PSC to participate meaningfully in the implementation of the project. He/she shall
also be responsible to ensure that the administrative procedures are properly followed by the site
staff in the procurement and issuing of materials. He/she shall have some qualification in
community development. He/she shall be fluent in the language spoken in the area.
FFP Facilitator – She/He shall be responsible for organising or providing training to empower
households to provide food for themselves through gardening or any other economic activity
which will make use of the RWH Dams. She/he will also monitor the progress made by households
and participate in the PSC meetings. She/he shall supervise the work of the FFP Assistants. She/he
shall have some qualification in Agriculture. She/he shall be fluent in the official language spoken
in the area.
b) Site staff from the community
FFP Assistant – She/he shall be responsible for facilitation processes at the households, to
encourage, motivate and guide them in establishing intensive food gardens and making sure that
the households achieve the requirements for the construction of their RWH Dams in time for the
TECH team to complete their work according to schedule. She/he shall have extensive experience
in facilitating poor households. She/he shall be a member of the community where the project is
being implemented.
Quality Assessor and QA Assistants – He/she shall be responsible for supervising builders and
making sure that the RWH Dam structures provided are safe and are of good quality. He/she shall
have a trade certificate in building OR extensive experience in building. He/she shall be a member
of the community where the project is being implemented.
Builder – He/she shall be responsible for building a safe and good quality rainwater dam. He/she
shall be a builder by profession. He/she shall be a member of the community where the project is
being implemented. Should the number of builders from the community not be adequate, builders
can be imported from other communities.
Bookkeeper – She/he shall be responsible for filling the job cards and keeping the financial records
for the project. She/he shall have passed Grade 10 and worked in this capacity before OR have
passed Grade 12, which included subjects such as accounting, economics and maths. She/he
shall be a member of the community where the project is being implemented.
Storekeeper – He/she shall be responsible for ordering and issuing of materials. He/she shall have
passed Grade 10 and worked in this capacity before OR have passed Grade 12, which included
subjects such as maths. He/she shall be a member of the community where the project is being
implemented.
17
Further detail on the functions of the site staff appears Appendix C2 as follows:
APPENDIX C2. FUNCTIONS OF SITE STAFF
C2.1 Functions of the Bookkeeper
C2.2 Functions of the FFP Facilitator
C2.3 Functions of the Storekeeper
C2.4 Functions of the Quality Assessor
Roles and Responsibilities of the ISD, FFP and TECH sections
The functions performed by ISD, FFP and TECH Sections are described in more detail below.
Institutional and Social Development
Of great importance to the implementation process is the ISD facilitation. Understanding the
cultures and the dynamics of the communities being served, as well as speaking the language, is
critical to the success of the projects. During the planning process the community and the
community leaders are made aware of the project by the ISD Facilitator. Once a draft of the
Project Implementation Plan has been drafted, the ISD Facilitator shall workshop it with the
community and include their input.
The typical responsibilities of the ISD facilitation in the project are the following:
� Establishment of the PSC (see Appendix C1.1)
� Conducting baseline surveys and demographic study of the project area (see relevant
sections of Appendix B2 and B3)
� Organising and conducting PSC induction training on “Committees’ responsibilities”
� Organising and conducting induction training of site staff on administration issues
� Ensuring that site staff follow the administrative and consultative procedures
� Organising and attending PSC and other related community meetings
� Checking, translating and distributing minutes
� Resolving conflict and other social issues that may affect the project
Family Food Production
The main objective of the project is to construct storage tanks for rainwater (RWH Dams) and
related rainwater harvesting works for poor households in rural area and villages, for the purpose of
family food production and other household economic activities. To promote family food
production, the community will require FFP support. To establish ongoing support and where
possible, this can be done in liaison with the Department of Agriculture and/or any other existing
role-players in family food production in the project area.
The typical responsibilities of the FFP support unit are the following:
� Introduction of the project and household mobilisation, including household vision-building
(e.g. through ‘helicopter planning’)
� Assisting the household in the planning of the garden and initial RWH Dam positioning
� Conducting training on the establishment of gardens and RWH and irrigation methods
� Conducting training on improved soil fertility practices such as intensifying gardening
through mulching, trenching, manuring etc.
18
� Conducting limited training on diversified production (integrated homestead farming
systems elements and interaction, e.g. crop/animal, wind, frost, other factors)
� Conducting training on household nutrition practices (balanced diets to fight malnutrition
and child stunting, safe food storage, affordable food processing, food preparation for
maximum nutritional value, etc)
� Promoting household experimentation, and stimulation of creativity as a buffer against
adversity
� Introducing and encouraging household record-keeping and self-monitoring practices
Technical Section
The preparation for construction starts with the interviewing of site staff. Required qualifications
have already been mentioned under each position (see above). The appointments are made
jointly with the PSC. (See Appendix C1.1)
The procedures mentioned in Appendix C1.4: ‘Buying materials’ and Appendix C1.5: ‘Paying
wages and salaries’ are then implemented. Once the material is available, training of the builders
starts. Obviously progress during this early period is slow, but generally, after two to three weeks,
the trained builders are able to operate on their own.
The following are the major responsibilities of the Technical section:
� Induction training of the Quality Assessors and QA Assistants on RWH Dam siting,
construction, quality requirements, etc.
� Training of builders
� Deciding on the RWH Dam type and shape
� Construction management (quality and quantity)
Standard Procedures for key implementation activities at Community Level
Standard procedures are given in Appendix C1 for the key implementation activities. These
procedures are to be followed strictly in the order they are written. A different colour code has
been used to show which person is responsible for each function or action. Functions in black are
to be performed by the Project Steering Committee, purple is for ISD, green is for FFP, red is for the
Bookkeeper, blue for the Storekeeper and pink for the Quality Assessor and other TECH staff.
APPENDIX C1. Procedures
C1.1 Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff
C1.2 Combined Procedure for ISD, FFP and TECH staff
C1.3 Procedures for introducing FFP at household level
C1.4 Procedure for buying materials
C1.5 Procedure for paying wages and salaries
� Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff
This procedure shows the process followed for the election of the PSC and sets out the
procedure for joint appointment of site staff by the PSC and API. See Appendix C1.1.
19
� Combined procedures – ISD, FFP and TECH:
This procedure shows the chronology of steps for the entire project, and indicates the
responsibilities of each section. See Appendix C1.2.
� Procedures for introducing Intensive Family Food Production (FFP) at Households:
This procedure explains the process of introduction of intensive Family Food Production as
experienced by the household, as well as a learning group approach to prepare groups of
households to be ready in batches for excavation and construction. See Appendix C1.3.
The on-site administrative procedures which are generally followed are given in Appendix C1.4 and
Appendix C1.5. These procedures manuals are placed on the wall in the site office where all the
role-players can see it and assess their input from time to time. The books or forms used by the
Bookkeeper and the Storekeeper are attached as Appendix C3.2 and Appendix C3.4 respectively,
and are given to the individuals who use them, and can be kept where they are easily accessible
by them.
� Procedures for buying materials:
Successful project implementation is impossible without good control and cost effectiveness
when materials are bought. While different Implementing Agents may have their preferences
for how to organise this, useful lessons have been incorporated in these Guidelines. A tried and
tested procedure is fully described in Appendix C1.4 (opening job cards, grant requests, buying
and distributing materials, etc)
� Procedures for paying wages and salaries:
This procedure covers good practice for control of staff output and handling of payments in
remote rural settings. The payment of builders/ building teams is also covered. See
Appendix C1.5.
Books and Forms per team position
The only possible way to handle such complexity in such large numbers, is through the
establishment and implementation of an excellent data management system. For this reason, the
development and refinement of a standard set of forms used on site by all team members, is critical
to successful and efficient project implementation.
Standard formats are presented for the Books and Forms used in the execution of the duties of
each team position on the site staff. The following Books and Forms can be found in Appendix C3:
C3.3 Books and Forms used by the Bookkeeper
C3.4 Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant
C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Storekeeper
C3.6 Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant
20
Reporting to the Funding Client
Two reporting formats have been developed for monthly reports for the technical section. The first
format shall be filled and submitted by the Technical Officers to the Area Manager. The Area
Manager shall then use this report to fill his/her own format to submit to the Project Manager (see
Appendix B5.1 “Bi-Monthly Progress Report format”). These records report on production, and the
frequency is meant to identify and deal with problems at an early stage.
Each Area Manager shall hold monthly meetings with the staff under him/her. Monthly reports shall
be tabled at this meeting. The ISD Facilitator monthly report shall be submitted to the Area
Manager and a copy given to the ISD Manager. The same shall apply to the FFP Facilitator and a
copy given to the FFP Manager. Copies of Cash Books and bank statements from the project site
are also submitted to the ISD Manager, while originals remain on site.
The Project Manager shall also hold monthly in-house Area Managers’ meetings, to discuss progress
on all the API’s on-going projects. Area Managers’ monthly reports shall be tabled in these
meetings, and Area Managers shall also be briefed on the progress regarding future projects. In
this forum, ideas and lessons from various projects shall be shared. Important lessons learnt are then
noted and are used for implementation of future projects.
Monthly coordination meetings shall be held at all involved District or Local Municipality offices.
These meetings are meant to get input as well as to give feedback to the District Municipalities and
other role players, such as the Department of Agriculture.
API’s In-house Monitoring and Evaluation
In-house monitoring and evaluation shall be carried out as part of the API project management
function. The Area Manager ideally visits the project site once a fortnight. Every RWH Dam that is
completed has to be checked by the Technical Officer, who then signs the Initial Tank Acceptance
Form (see Appendix C3.5: Form QA05 ) if s/he is happy with the RWH Dam.
Project Completion Stage
At the completion stage, the following activities happen:
� The household is trained on how to use and maintain the facility. This follows earlier detailed
training given on the activity that the water is to be used for, for example – gardening or
any other economic activity that will improve the household’s livelihood.
� The facilities are handed over to the households. This shall be done on a batch basis, as it
cannot all be done in bulk at the end of the project. It is recommended that the funder,
the municipality and a representative from the Department of Agriculture be present at the
handover. If there are any discrepancies, they can be pointed out and be repaired at this
stage.
� The completion certificate is signed by representatives of both the API and the Municipality.
21
Chapter 4 -
Facilitation processes for
communities and individuals
Overview of community and individual facilitation
processes
In Table 4.1 below, an overview and detail is given of a typical (NB: typical, but NOT fixed)
sequence of events to enable food insecure households in a village to undergo Mind Mobilisation
and engage in intensive family food production.
In Table 4.1 below, first, ‘village level processes’ are described. The objectives are:
• To enlist the support and understanding of village leadership and other organisations
involved in support to households
• To create awareness and understanding among the broader community
• To create interest among target households and elicit their participation
In the second part of in Table 4.1, ‘individual processes’ are described. This covers personal
experiences of the food insecure individual, and therefore includes all the processes in the Mind
Mobilisation workshop, and other processes that touch the individual. The following is covered:
• Finding target participants and eliciting their participation
• Mind Mobilisation workshop
• Follow-up household visits
• Follow-up workshops and training
Third, ‘follow-up support group activities’ are described. This covers the group’s support to each
other and their outreach to others suffering from the same problems.
Fourth, ‘follow-up and report-back to village leadership and other organisations’ are described.
TIP: THE TABLE BELOW IS VERY IMPORTANT!!
How to read this table:
First read through this concise table, focusing on the ‘Steps’ column, to get a
quick overview of what happens during each ‘event’. You can also note who is involved in that step, to better understand the step.
Next, you can study the detailed table in Appendix D1. The detailed table has three extra columns for each step. These columns give you more detail on:
• what is done during each step; • the purpose of that step (i.e. how this helps the food insecure individual
towards self-reliance); and • typical pitfalls to look out for during each step, which should help you to
facilitate that step better.
22
Table 4.1 Overview of community and individual facilitation processes for Mind Mobilisation
Event Step Who is involved in this step?
VILLAGE LEVEL PROCESSES
(To create an enabling environment in the village for support to food insecure individuals)
Meeting the community leadership
“Open the door” Facilitator(s), community leadership
Meeting(s) with organisations active in supporting food security
or other household support programmes in the village
Create partnerships
Raise awareness
Facilitator(s), representatives of organisations involved in
household support programmes in the village
Community mass meeting
Awareness raising;
HHs register to participate in the initiative
Facilitator(s), community
leadership, representatives of other organisations, community (especially struggling families)
Meeting with interest group/ target
households
Awareness raising;
HHs register to participate in the
initiative
Facilitator(s), representatives from collaborating organisations, target
HHs
INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES
(All processes that the individual experiences on her journey to food security.
Focused on own skills – personal and technical – for household survival)
Household visits
Find food insecure households;
HHs register to participate in the initiative
Facilitator(s), representatives from collaborating organisations, target households
Mind mobilisation workshop
Introduction Facilitator, maximum 10 target household members
Self-reflection Each participant
Admit problem to self and others Facilitator, participants
Extra support Counselor/facilitator, individual participant
Receive hope Storyteller, participants
Decide to change Participant
Vision and plan Each participant
Take action; learn practical skills Facilitator, participants
Learn how to amend wrong behaviour; learn new skills
Facilitator, participants
23
Event Step Who is involved in this step?
Establish mutual- support group & learn to share
Participants, facilitator
Learn to notice and care for others All
Participants return home
Return home and get started Target households
Start intensive gardening Target households
Follow-up household visits
First visit: Moral support & limited
technical advice Facilitator(s), target households
Later visits Facilitator(s), target households
Follow-up workshops
(see Chapter 5 below)
Learn how to amend wrong behaviour
Learn new skills Facilitator, participants
FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT GROUP ACTIVITIES
(Group members support each other and reach out to others with similar problems)
During household visits by the facilitator
Visit each other Facilitator and participants
Other group meetings Visit each other, cultivate friendship Participants, sometimes facilitator
FOLLOW-UP AND REPORT-BACK TO VILLAGE LEADERSHIP AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS
(Further building an enabling environment for moral and other support for households’ efforts)
Report-back to community leadership
Recognition by leadership of households’ efforts; consolidate moral
support for households
Facilitator and participants
Report-back and further collaboration with other organisations
Strengthen local support and collaboration
Facilitator and participants
24
Chapter 5 -
Introducing Intensive
Family Food Production (FFP)
Overview of FFP facilitation processes
Family Food Production is introduced to households through seven (7) bi-weekly FFP day-workshops
with participating households (the detail is described below). These day-workshops are typically
scheduled over a fourteen (14) week period.
During the programme start-up phase, each of these day-workshops is preceded by a session to
prepare the FFP Facilitators and FFP Assistants and followed by a debriefing session with the
facilitators.
Once the FFP Facilitators and FFP Assistants are fully trained, the need for facilitator preparatory
sessions diminishes. However, debriefing remains an important opportunity for the FFP Manager to
keep up to date on progress and to troubleshoot and give guidance to the FFP Facilitators.
FFP introduction for households
The seven day-workshops are very practical and cover the basic know-how a family needs to get
started on intensive home food production.
Workshop 1 – ‘Nutrition’ – tries to lift out and recognise prior learning among the group of
households, which is used in two ways: firstly to create awareness and encourage practical sharing
among households of knowledge available amongst themselves; and secondly, to enable
adaptation of the content of further workshops to build on what they know. In Workshop 1,
households also do ‘vision-building’, by analysing their current eating habits, identifying gaps and
planning what to plant to address those gaps. Finally, the preparation of deep trenches is
explained and demonstrated, and for homework, they dig their first trench and collect organic
material to fill it with.
In follow-up visits after Workshop 1, participants move together from house-to-house and help each
other prepare (pack) their first trench, under guidance of the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant(s).
Seeds and seedlings are planted in the newly made trenches as a demonstration and incentive.
The facilitator/assistants use the different situations encountered at the different homesteads to
highlight principles and solutions. A small checklist helps the facilitator ensure that she covers all the
basics in the course of the day.
Workshop 2 – ‘Mind Mobilisation’ – includes workshop and practical content. In the workshop,
participants analyse their present situation at home, and then develop a five-year food security
vision (their ‘Helicopter Plan’). The garden layout plan of at least one of the participants is then
demonstrated and discussed at her/his house by the group as a whole. The households’ homework
is to discuss and refine their Helicopter Plan with the rest of their household; and to continue
planting and to prepare another trench bed.
25
The sequence and content of the next workshops, namely workshops 3, 4 and 5, can be changed
to respond to the actual questions arising from the households’ gardening in this period. Workshop
3 covers growing seedlings, soil fertility and basic irrigation practice and Workshop 4 is on how to
prepare cheap remedies and plant food from waste.
Workshop 5 – ‘Fruit’ – is devoted to fruit tree planting. Households had already ordered fruit trees in
Workshop 1, after having identified their nutrition gaps. From Workshop 2 onwards, they were
frequently reminded to finish preparing their fruit tree holes. During Workshop 4, their orders were
finalised according to how many fruit tree holes they had been prepared by then: after this date,
there would be insufficient time for the organic matter in the holes to mature to be ready for
planting by Workshop 5.
Workshop 6 – ‘Food’ – is a celebration! By now everyone had already started to eat from their
efforts. This workshop covers affordable, healthy food processing and preservation, and ends with a
feast shared with neighbours and leadership in the community. This confirms their achievement and
fosters support and recognition from others.
Workshop 7 – ‘Water’ – is on safety and maintenance of the RWH Dam, and is conducted once the
construction of the RWH Dams of all households in the FFP Group had been completed.
Family Food Production:
Introduction for Households
These workshops follow after the necessary preliminary work has been done, e.g. ‘opening the
village door’ through consultations with leadership, government and relevant development
organisations active in the area, village scoping, and active identification and invitation of
interested households within the target group (i.e. especially households below the breadline).
Workshop 1: ‘Nutrition’ – nutrition visioning; planting & harvest planning; trench demonstration
Workshop 2: ‘Mind Mobilisation’ – present situation; garden layout visioning (Helicopter Plan)
Workshop 3: ‘Seedlings’ – growing seedlings; soil fertility; irrigation
Workshop 4: ‘Brews’ – for plant food; and for pest and disease remedies
Workshop 5: ‘Fruit’ – fruit production
Workshop 6: ‘Food’ – Food processing & celebration
Workshop 7: ‘Water’ – RWH Dam safety & maintenance; water management user education
Preparing FFP Facilitators
The content used for the preparation of FFP Facilitators covers more than the content introduced to
households in the 14-week introductory period. This better equips facilitators to deal with the wide
range of questions likely to be asked by households on their journey of discovery in home food
production. Further, FFP Facilitators remain available to households for follow-up throughout the
RWH project implementation, which would normally span a period of at least 18 months.
The FFP Facilitators’ Guide (under preparation by the Water Research Commission) is used to
prepare the FFP Facilitators, and is used by them as a constant reference in their work with
households.
26
Debriefing and guiding FFP Facilitators
Facilitation in impoverished environments is harsh and taxing. FFP Managers must have good
rapport with the FFP Facilitators and must remain sufficiently in touch with their work to foresee and
manage problems before they arise.
During the project start-up phase, FFP Managers must accompany FFP Facilitators and back them
up throughout their first round of workshop presentations. Debriefing needs to be thorough and
aimed at shaping the FFP Facilitator to hone her facilitation skills and content knowledge. FFP
Facilitators are encouraged to practice FFP at home to improve their practical know-how so as to
better relate to the problems encountered by participating households.
Debriefing also aims to pick up on practical issues arising in relation to the participants. This may
include matters like changes required to the content for remaining workshops, tensions among
participants, external impediments to progress, etc. Many of these matters may then be passed on
to the ISD Facilitator to address further.
A useful format for debriefing can be borrowed from the PRA facilitation techniques of the late
Jimmy Mascarenhas from Outreach in India, namely: Process, Content, Learning.
Once the FFP Facilitator is well skilled and confident, the FFP Manager can shorten the debriefing
sessions, but abandoning them is a recipe for trouble. From this point forward, the FFP Manager
would assume a monitoring role.
FFP staff collaboration with ISD and TECH
Construction cannot take place until a household has established an intensive garden, and
therefore project progress depends directly on the FFP staff. Delays in FFP progress could therefore
create major tensions in the team, for instance when the TECH staff are not receiving enough
‘households ready for construction’ from FFP staff. This could place tremendous pressure on FFP
staff, who must therefore plan their work well and find creative ways of encouraging enough
households to achieve project targets, without jeopardising good developmental process.
The diagram below shows typical planning of the work of the FFP section to ensure that enough
households are ready for construction each month to achieve project targets. In this example,
construction must start consistently on 20 RWH Dams per month in the full production period of the
project (please refer to the last column of the diagram). The first months have lower numbers to
allow for the training of builders, and the final months provide for ‘mopping up’ the final few tanks
to be constructed, as well as addressing final issues on snaglists for previously completed tanks.
The diagram is based on the assumption that not all households that register will achieve the
requirements to receive a RWH Dam. Therefore, a larger number of households are mobilised
initially, and drop-out is provided for in three of the four phases shown, namely mobilisation, garden
implementation and excavation, but not in construction (which is under control of the API and
should therefore not produce any incomplete RWH Dams).
The diagram also allows some lag time for slower households to still achieve the requirements for
receiving a RWH Dam before the last opportunity for construction passes them by. For instance,
households in “FFP Group A” are mobilised in Month 3, and have an opportunity to qualify for
construction up to Month 9.
27
Example of a staggered process of household mobilisation for a project of 160 tanks in 15 months
gro
up
to b
e m
ob
ilis
ed
this
mo
nth
tota
l m
obili
sed
not
gard
enin
g y
et
gro
ups
to s
tart
gard
en
ing
this
mo
nth
tota
l gard
enin
g
not
excavating y
et
gro
ups
to s
tart
excavati
ng
this
mo
nth
tota
l excavating
not
build
ing y
et
gro
ups
to s
tart
bu
ild
ing
this
mo
nth
1
2
3 A 20 20 8 A 12 12 4 A 8 8 8
4 B 20 40 16 AB 12 24 6 AB 10 18 18
5 C 40 80 32 ABC 24 48 10 ABC 20 38 34 A 4
6 D 40 120 48 BCD 24 72 14 ABCD 20 58 44 AB 10
7 E 40 160 64 CDE 24 96 18 BCDE 20 78 44 ABC 20
8 F 40 200 80 DEF 24 120 22 CDEF 20 98 44 ABCD 20
9 G 40 240 96 EFG 24 144 26 DEFG 20 118 44 ABCDE 20
10 240 72 FG 24 168 30 EFG 20 138 44 BCDEF 20
11 240 58 G 14 182 32 FG 12 150 36 CDEFG 20
12 240 46 G 12 194 34 G 10 160 26 DEFG 20
13 240 46 194 34 160 14 EFG 12
14 240 46 194 34 160 4 FG 10
15 240 46 194 34 160 0 G 4
240 19% 194 18% 160 0% 160
81% 82% 100%
67% 82%
67%
MO
NT
H
MOBILISED GARDENING EXCAVATING BUILDING
The chronology of activities of the FFP staff, and how it relates to the work of other site staff at the
households, is explained in detail in Appendix C1.3 “Procedures for introducing FFP at household
level”.
Also see Appendix C1.2 “Combined Procedure for ISD, FFP and TECH staff.”
In Appendix C3.4 “Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant”, the Form FFP02:
‘Household Milestones’, shows clearly how the work of the FFP staff precedes construction at the
households.
28
Construction processes at the household:
a RWH Dam is sited
b RWH Dam is excavated. The household may be required to dig a trial pit, and the
excavation may then be completed by a digging team
c Building materials are delivered and the household stores them safely
d Once all the materials are on site, the builders are informed to start
e RWH Dam is built
f Household signs the ‘Initial Tank Acceptance form’ when construction is ‘functionally
complete.’
g Household ‘user education’ is done on essential aspects of safety and maintenance.
h RWH Dam is tested for leakage as soon as water is available (this would usually be after
the next rains)
i Household signs ‘Final Tank Acceptance form.’
Chapter 6 -
RWH Dam construction
Introduction
The prospect of receiving a RWH tank of their own in their backyard, is a great incentive to
households to engage in FFP. Households are required to establish an intensive food garden to
qualify for the tank (or RWH Dam, as most rural households tend to call it). This is to avoid a rush of
applications which may result in a large number of unutilised structures, which in turn may erode
the standing of the RWH programme as a whole.
Preparation at the household level
REMEMBER: The construction processes at the household can start once the preceding
processes, as mentioned under Chapters 3, 4 and 5, have been completed, namely:
� Household has registered as a participant in the programme.
� Household has started to participate in the FFP workshops, has started and is maintaining an
intensive food garden at home, and has planned their RWH garden layout, including three
possible positions for their RWH Dam (Helicopter Plan).
� Household must agree to the conditions as listed on the DWAF Household Application
Form FFP01 before excavation can start, agrees to store building material safely, and agrees
any other contributions, which may include partial digging of the RWH Dam.
Construction process – from the household’s point of view
The process up to completion and commissioning of a RWH Dam in a particular household’s
backyard is as follows:
29
Preparation of implementation teams: roles and reporting
Successful construction at the households requires the successful execution of a number of
supporting processes:
� Finalisation of the appointment and induction training of TECH, ISD and FFP staff
� Establishment of the site office, opening of a community bank account, and opening of the
necessary sets of books and control systems for the project
� Households establish intensive food gardens at their homes, facilitated by FFP staff
� Bulk ordering (procurement), storage and control of building material, which is handled by the
ISD staff in collaboration with TECH staff
� Monitoring and recording of all processes and quantities, captured in a separate ‘job card’ for
each household. This is the responsibility of ISD staff, for which specific data is supplied by FFP
and TECH staff
� Construction supervision, by TECH staff
� Accurate bookkeeping and reporting, by ISD staff
� Handling of payments – to staff, builders and suppliers. This is an ISD responsibility.
The appointment and preparation of TECH staff, their relationships to other team members, and
their reporting forms were dealt with in Chapter 3. The mentoring of TECH staff is critical.
Standard RWH Dam
RWH Dam structure
During the Demonstration Phase of the Pilot Programme, more than sixty experimental RWH Dams
were constructed in 26 villages in four provinces. Several shapes, elevations, building materials and
construction methods were tried out by five different implementing agents, with design assistance
and construction advice provided by the Core Team. From the lessons of experience during this
experimental phase, a number of recommendations were derived.
Recommended size, shape and elevation
� Standard size: 30 000 liter
– this provides enough water for year-round vegetable and fruit production of 100-200m2 in
the yard (when combined with run-on RWH). This enables a constant year-round flow of
micro-nutrients in the household to prevent malnutrition and stunting.
� Shape: Round [walls: cylindrical; floor: flat]
– a round shape is geometrically stronger, and less prone to cracking and leaking than
square or rectangular tanks.
� Elevation: Underground
– tanks are built underground to catch both roof run-off AND surface run-off. In sloping
areas, half-buried dams can still catch surface run-off.
30
Not recommended:
Above-ground tanks which rely on roof run-off only are good for drinking water supplies, but are not
recommended for productive uses, for two main reasons, namely:
� They store too little water: three 10 000 liter tanks or six 5 000 liter tanks would be required to
achieve the recommended 30 000 liter capacity; but the 10 000 liter tanks are 3m tall and
thus physically too high to fit underneath the eve of most roofs.
� They rely on a small catchment area (the roof only), which in most parts of South Africa
cannot provide enough run-off for production.
Example: Surface vs Roof run-off in an area with 600mm annual rainfall
Summer Winter
Rainfall 400 mm 200 mm
Roof run-off
from RDP house roof
(at 90% efficiency)
Roof run-off area
=10m x 4m=40m2
Roof run-off
=40m2 x 400mm x 90% efficiency
=14 400 liter in 7 months
=2.1 kilolitre per month
Roof run-off area
=10m x 4m=40m2
Roof run-off
=40m2 x 200mm x 90% efficiency
=7 200 liter in 5 months
=1.4 kilolitre per month
Surface run-off
(yard only)*
from 30m x 40m yard
(at 20% efficiency)
Yard run-off area
=30m x 40m=1200m2
Yard run-off
=1200m2 x 400mm x 20% efficiency
=96 000 liter in 7 months
=13.7 kilolitre per month**
Yard run-off area
=30m x 40m=1200m2
Yard run-off
=1200m2 x 200mm x 20% efficiency
=48 000 liter in 5 months
=9.6 kilolitre per month***
Clearly, in both summer and winter, the surface run-off is far larger than the roof run-off.
* In this example, the surface run-off is conservatively calculated from the yard only. Quite frequently, much
more surface run-off is available from larger areas around the yard, e.g. roads, veld, neighbouring yards and
roofs, etc.
** This is more than double the monthly Free Basic Water allowance of 6 kilolitres per household
*** This is enough water to keep a food garden of 100m2 going throughout a dry winter season, and thus keep
a year-round flow of micro-nutrients available to the whole family.
31
Standard RWH Dam
The ‘Standard RWH Dam’ shall be a sunken cylindrical dam with block or brick walls, standing on a
mesh reinforced concrete slab, and roofed with IBR sheeting supported by two gum poles.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In instances where deviations from the Standard RWH Dam are necessary, the API must report these
instances to DWAF/PIA for monitoring purposes, but may proceed with the construction of an
alternative design approved by a professional engineer recognized by DWAF/PIA as having the
necessary level of experience in this field. These structures must also be inspected and signed off
by the engineer prior to handover. The structure may not exceed the accepted cost of the
Standard RWH Dam without specific written approval from DWAF.
Appendix F1 contains a full set of drawings for the Standard RWH Dam, showing the excavation,
floor, walls, inlet and overflow structures, roof, mix designs, and the required quantity of materials.
Appendix F1 can be printed for use on site, either as twelve separate A4 sheets (which could be
bound together as a booklet), or as a one-sided A0, or a double-sided A1 sheet (which could be
laminated for longevity). These drawings have been prepared as MS Excel sheets, and can
therefore be easily emailed and printed.
The main features of the Standard RWH Dam are as follows:
Standard RWH Dam:
Cement-block structure
Volume:
Shape:
Elevation
Floor:
Walls:
Roof:
30 000 liters
cylindrical
underground
mesh reinforced concrete
plastered cement-block
IBR roof sheeting on wooden beams or treated poles
It became clear from the pilot program that this dam type was favoured above all the others for
two main reasons: Firstly, it is a relatively cost effective solution in most situations. Secondly, the
materials and method of construction are known and understood by local builders. Therefore this
design has been selected as the ‘Standard RWH Dam’.
Other advantages of the design include the following:
� it is relatively easy and quick to construct;
� the design lends itself to the use of simple mechanical devices which significantly speed up
delivery – which clearly becomes important when large numbers of structures require
building;
� cement blocks/bricks and reinforced concrete are strong and durable materials;
� cylindrical walls require much less steel reinforcing than do rectangular walls, and the
arrangement of the reinforcing is also much simpler; and
� the excavation is relatively simple and not excessively deep.
32
Figure 6.1 – Section through Standard RWH Dam: Cement-block structure
A brief description of the RWH Dam is given here. For more comprehensive details and discussions
see Appendices F1, F3, F4 and F5.
The ‘Standard RWH Dam’ is cylindrical in shape with 2m high block walls, standing on a 100mm
thick mesh reinforced concrete floor-slab. The wall is built directly on top of the concrete slab. A
circumferential ring made up of 6mm high yield steel reinforcing bars is inserted in the mortar
between the various block courses; three 6m long bars are spliced together with 400mm overlaps
to make up this ring. The walls are plastered to a thickness of 15mm, and later coated with a
waterproof coating. The roof consists of 0.5mm thick galvanized IBR sheeting, supported by two
100/125 mm gum poles. Both the gum poles and the sheeting are tied down to the walls by
galvanized wire. A hinged trap door is created in one of the sheets for access into the tank. The
inlet and overflow structures consist of blocks or bricks built on top of a mesh reinforced slab, and
butt up directly against the dam. Three 110mm pipes built into the dam’s wall, let water from the
inlet structure into the tank, and likewise, three 110 mm pipes allow water to exit into the overflow
structure on the opposite side once the dam is full. The inside diameter of the dam is 5.2m, while the
height of the water from the floor to the invert level for both the inlet and overflow pipes is 1.43m. At
full supply level the capacity of the dam is 30m3.
Alternative Designs
� Notwithstanding the above stated advantages, there will be instances when other designs
with different geometric shapes and/or different materials, would be preferable to the
Standard RWH Dam, either from an availability/cost of materials consideration, or by reason
of difficult terrain. Following are some typical situations where an alternative design would
have alleviated problems experienced during the pilot phase:
� in areas where sand did not occur naturally, cement blocks tended to be extremely
expensive (e.g. the same type of block costing R2.50 in Vhembe, was R8.90 in Port St Johns).
In the latter case, a less sand-intensive building method would be preferred.
� in other areas, builders’ stone was unavailable and had to be trucked in over long
distances, and was thus expensive. In such instances, packed sand-cement structures
would obviate the need for concrete stone.
IBR sheeting
overflow
structure
timber polesinlet
structure
compacted
backfill
cement block
wall with a
circumferential
ring of 6mm
high tensile
steel between
courses
mesh reinforced concrete floor
plaster with
waterproof coatflexible
bandage
PVC pipes 4mm wire
2.5mm wire
33
� at one site, large boulders protruded into the floor and lower wall areas, requiring a
reinforced concrete shell rather than the Standard RWH Dam.
� in some remote and inaccessible areas, all material had to be carried by donkey up steep
hills, making any type of concrete structure inappropriate. Ironically, by their remoteness
such households are often most desperately in need of closer access to water, to prevent
malnutrition. In such cases, a motivation could be made for alternative light-weight
material, like geofabric and bitumen. However, special provision would need to be made
to enable households to reseal such structures at the required interval (typically five-yearly).
Appendix F11: ‘Alternative RWH Dam designs’ gives an indication of possible alternative designs,
but it should be stressed that these designs are departures from the preferred ‘Standard RWH Dam’
and the additional design and subsequent inspection costs incurred by APIs when using alternative
dam types will shift to the API.
Vital information for the API, and especially the Area manager and TOs involved with the
construction of the dams, is contained in the following Appendices:
Appendix F1 – Standard RWH Dam: Drawings
Appendix F2 – Workshop Drawings for Central Pole & Radial Arm
Appendix F3 – Standard RWH Dam: Specifications
Appendix F4 – Standard RWH Dam: Construction Manual
Appendix F5 – Standard RWH Dam: Step-by-step Illustrated Construction Sequence
Appendix F6 – Standard RWH Dam: Construction Tools and Equipment needed
Appendix F7 – Standard RWH Dam: List of Consumable Items needed
Appendix F8 – Rainwater Harvesting Layout Examples
Appendix F9 – Excavation Considerations
Appendix F10 – RWH Dam Maintenance and Safety Manual
Appendix F11 – Alternative RWH Dam designs
Appendix F12 – RWH Dam Design Routines
Inlet and overflow structures
RWH Dams collect rainfall run-off during rainstorms. During dry months, households want to catch
whatever run-off they can, every time there is even just a soft shower. Hard compacted areas are
ideal to prevent all the water from soft showers soaking away into the ground even before it
reaches the RWH Dam. However, during intensive summer rainstorms, the run-off streams can be
large and rapid-flowing and may carry substantial amounts of sediment, consisting of silt, small
34
stones, vegetation and debris. During such storms the RWH Dam may fill up rapidly to the level of
the overflow pipes, and thereafter any inflows will simply result in outflows via the overflow structure
on the other side of the dam. When the flows exceed the capacity of the inlet and overflow,
excess water is diverted away from the inlet by simple but important earth structures and
landscaping, namely the berms and spillways which channel the excess water around the dam at
a safe distance. This helps prevent erosionin the immediate surrounds of the dam and prevents
water from standing in pools against the dam. Appendix 8.1 illustrates how simple earth berms
need to be constructed to divert water into the inlet structure for the purpose of filling the RWH
Dam in the first instance, but then divert excessive flows around the dam via ‘spillways’ in the
second instance.
A good inlet structure together with the related earth structures should therefore:
� Channel as much water as possible safely towards and into the RWH Dam;
� Channel excess storm water around the RWH Dam to prevent erosion and excessive
wetness around the dam; and
� Reduce the amount of sediment and debris washing into the RWH Dam with the rainwater
(e.g. through a sediment trap and chicken wire sausages in the PVC inlet pipes).
However, even the best engineered sediment trap will not prevent very fine particles such as silt
and clay from entering the main reservoir, as these particles are held in suspension for a long time
before they settle out. This material must therefore be removed from the RWH Dam by the
household once a year. Both the inlet and the overflow structures should:
� Avoid water soaking the earth around the RWH Dam walls, which may cause its walls to
subside, crack and leak; and
� Prevent any open standing water which may cause drowning or mosquito breeding. The
inlet’s sediment pit should have a protective cover to prevent small children accidentally
falling in and drowning.
Standardised designs for simple inlet and overflow structures are included in these guidelines (i.e.
see Dwgs 12 through 19 of Appendix F1, and section XI of Appendix F4). However, because of the
wide range of conditions these structures need to cope with – both across the seasons and across
the country – this is an aspect that could benefit from further innovation.
What about Malaria?
The malaria-carrying anophaeles mosquito breeds in shallow, dirty, open water; for instance, an
animal hoof print in the mud surrounding watering holes, provides ideal breeding conditions.
These RWH Dams hold deep, relatively clean water, and are roofed, and should therefore pose no
malaria threat themselves.
It is important to ensure that surrounding structures (like shallow silt traps) don’t create breeding
conditions for mosquitoes.
Dr Cliff Mutero
Programme Leader
System-wide Initiative on Malaria in Agriculture (SIMA)
International Water Management Institute
35
Standard Inlet Structure
Water runs into the RWH Dam through three 110mm PVC pipes built into the dam wall slightly below
ground level on the uphill side of the dam.
Water flowing from ground- and other surfaces uphill of the dam, gets channeled towards these
‘holes in the wall’, by positioning small earth furrows and bunds along the natural flow path of the
water. The household can reshape and fine-tune these heaps and hollows over time to ensure that
the rainfall run-off is successfully diverted towards the RWH Dam. However…
The API must ensure that the RWH Dam is positioned correctly
and must do sufficient ground preparation
to ensure good – and safe – inflows into the RWH Dam.
Before the water enters the RWH Dam through the ‘holes in the wall’, it runs through a sediment
trap, where the water slows down so that most of the larger soil particles can settle out. A course
mesh across the pipe openings (or a fine chicken mesh ‘sausage’ pressed inside the inlet pipes)
keeps twigs, leaves, frogs, rodents and birds out, but must be scraped clean after each rainstorm.
Leaves especially can quickly block the RWH Dam inlet holes, and so a lot of the potential ‘rainfall
harvest’ may fail to enter the RWH Dam.
Figure 6.2 – Standard Inlet Structure
The inlet structure above (Rosinah Mutshotsho, Tshikonelo, Limpopo) shows the three 110mm PVC
pipe inlets through the RWH Dam wall, and the low U -shaped wall built on a concrete floorslab,
which forms the sediment trap. As can be seen, the pipes are slightly higher than the floorslab,
36
which helps the courser sand and stone to settle out before water enters into the dam. Also notice
the earth berm on the left and right, which helps to direct water into the inlet. There is not yet any
chicken mesh ‘sausage’ inside the pipe inlets. A shortcoming of this silt trap, is that a shallow
stagnant pool will remain after each rain event. Note too that this inlet does not have a protective
cover and therefore poses a safety risk for small children – this is an irregularity that will not be
permitted in the Standard RWH Dam.
The essential elements of a standard inlet are thus:
� PVC pipe inlets going through the wall of the tank;
� a mesh reinforced concrete floorslab;
� a low U-shaped wall, consisting of blocks or bricks, built on top of the floorslab. The blocks
are plastered on the inside of the sediment trap;
� a flexible waterproofing bandage applied in the corners and edges where the inlet butts up
against the wall of the dam;
� berms (raised earth mounds) or furrows that channel run-off into the sediment trap and inlet;
� chicken mesh ‘sausages’ inside the PVC pipes; and
� a hinged protective cover, which may be a steel grill or grate.
Standard Overflow Structure
Once full, the RWH Dam overflows through three PVC pipe openings in the downhill-facing wall of
the RWH Dam. These are installed in exactly the same way as the inlet pipes, and at the same level,
to maximise dam storage capacity.
The overflow structure is essentially a channel made up of two parallel block/brick walls on a mesh
reinforced concrete slab (see Figure 6.3 for a typical overflow structure), which conveys overflow
water away from the immediate surrounds of the RWH Dam.
The interface between the overflow structure and the RWH Dam should also be sealed as
described for the inlet structure.
On sloping ground, there will be a drop from the PVC outlet pipes in the wall, to the horizontal floor-
slab of the outlet structure, as indicated in Figure 6.1. Without the overflow structure, this would
result in an erosion pool/pit developing. Furthermore, the zero slope of the floor-slab limits the
acceleration of the flow as it travels along the overflow channel, thus minimizing scour effects at
the end of the overflow structure.
37
Figure 6.3 – Standard Overflow structure
The overflow structure above (Mrs Mutshekwa Masia, Tshikonelo, Limpopo) is a simple channel that
conveys water away from the immediate surrounds of the tank.
On steep slopes, the outlet floor could slope more sharply downhill, and energy can be dissipated
by installing protruding rocks in the channel floor, and especially at the end of the channel.
The text given in this section is relatively brief. For detailed information and discussion on the inlet
and overflow structures refer to Appendices F1, F3, F4 and F5.
Structural and component design routines
MS Excel routines have been developed for the structural design of all components of the Standard
RWH Dam. These design worksheets are contained in a CD included in this file. Extracts from the
RWH Dam Design Routine sheets are given in Appendix F12.
DISCLAIMER:
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry takes no responsibility for any mistakes that
may exist in these design routines. Adjustments to the standard designs supplied by the
Department may be made only with written permission from the Department, and the
consequences of such adjustments will remain the professional responsibility of the API.
These design routines enable the API to adjust the dimensions and design of RWH Dams, for
instance where local conditions dictate the depth, and therefore the required diameter for a
storage volume of 30 000 liters. They can be used to determine the cost of materials and labour.
38
Construction tools and equipment
The tools and equipment required to construct a Standard RWH Dam are listed in Appendix F6. The
required items are considered under the various tasks of siting, excavation, floor, walls, backfill,
plaster, roof poles, inlet & overflow, water proofing, roof sheeting. Furthermore, the items are
arranged in rows under the headings of ‘essential’, ‘hand’, ‘mechanical’, ‘power’ and ‘workshop’.
This gives APIs more than one approach to building the dams.
While the additional tools listed under the headings of ‘mechanical’ and ‘power’ are clearly more
costly than opting for the ‘hand’ approach, these costs should be weighed against benefits to be
derived, such as greater speed of construction and improved quality. It is obvious that where a
large number of RWH Dams are to be constructed, that the amortization of these items will be
relatively low per dam, and in this case the mechanical/power approach will make good
economic sense. It is also possible to adopt a middle-of-the-road approach, whereby the
mechanical items are opted for, but leaving out the power items.
It is recommended that a small workshop be established for making minor repairs to equipment
that breaks (see ‘workshop items’). The list shown under this heading could be extended
substantially, and clearly, the larger the number of RWH Dams to be built in an area, the more
useful does a well equipped workshop become.
Appendix F7 shows the consumable items required for the construction of a dam, and lists those
related to the mechanical/power approach separately.
Construction process
Dam siting
The RWH Dam will be a dominant feature in the household’s yard for many many years into the
future, therefore its positioning is important to the household. As part of the household
empowerment/ownership process, the API should always ensure that the household decides for
themselves where their RWH Dam is to be situated. The FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistants will assist
the households with their garden and RWH layout planning, which each household captures in their
own ‘helicopter plan’, which is simultaneously a household food security visioning and a five-year
food gardening action plan. During planning, the household is requested to indicate three possible
positions for their RWH Dam on their ‘helicopter plan’. A visit to the household is then arranged for
the TO and/or QA to join the household and the FFP staff in final selection of the RWH Dam position.
The TECH staff should help the household to select the best options from among their three
preferred sites. In the unlikely event that none of the preferred sites are technically feasible, the
TECH staff should explain the principles involved in correctly positioning a RWH Dam, and assist the
household in choosing a workable site.
The most critical consideration in positioning the RWH Dam is to ensure that adequate rainfall run-
off will enter the RWH Dam during rainstorms. Where hard impermeable surfaces are available, the
opportunity to capture occasional showers in the long dry season, would increase the effectivenes
of the RWH Dam dramatically.
Secondary considerations include ground conditions, surrounding structures and proximity and
elevation relative to the garden trenches to minimise the labour involved in extracting and carting
water, although the latter has proven to be less of an issue than first anticipated.
39
Some principles and examples are illustrated in the sketches in Appendix F8 and are thus only
briefly summarized here.
a. To start with, make a careful evaluation of the site in terms of which way the ground slopes,
the location of all existing structures, the existing vegetable garden, any adjacent roads or
fields that may be at a higher elevation, which areas are hard and which are soft, possible
roof run-off, run-off from hard areas.
b. If the site has a steep gradient, then the dam should be constructed with an additional
‘outlet’ pipe at its floor level, that leads out and through the downside embankment, at
which point there should be a valve. In this case, if possible, the garden should be situated
below this point (see Figure F8.2). This means that the RWH Dam may sacrifice some
catchment so that the garden may be gravity fed – a saving of human energy for the
householders.
c. If the site has a substantial catchment from an adjacent field or road that is at a higher
elevation, then the garden could be sited so that the flow from these areas would flood the
collector-pathways around the trenches and only then lead onto the RWH Dam, which
would then be situated at an elevation lower relative to the garden (see Figure F8.3).
d. Likewise, the garden followed by the dam should ideally be sited downhill of any hard
ground such as court yards, driveways, or other impermeable surfaces, such as steel
sheeted roofs.
e. Where irrigation is going to be via buckets, the garden and RWH Dam should be situated as
close to one another as possible.
f. If the ground is soft and porous and unlikely to have much runoff, but the house has a
relatively large steel roof, then consideration may be given to constructing an above-
ground dam to harvest this water. An outlet valve at the floor level of the dam allows gravity
feeding to the garden, which should ideally be placed down-slope of the RWH Dam (see
Figure F8.4).
g. It may be advantageous to construct berms or trenches to redirect runoff towards the RWH
Dam’s inlet rather than allow it to run past (see Figure F8.1).
Excavation
Once a suitable site for the dam has been selected, the excavation team should start with the
digging. It is recommended that the household digs the trial pit of 1.5m in diameter to the required
depth, approximately 2.2m below the datum line (see step 5 of Appendix F5). This will give an
indication of the hardness of the ground at the final depth, and if unpickable ground is reached,
the site can be aborted without too much loss of time and effort, in favour of another position
where the ground may be softer. (Note that a 1.5m diameter hole is only about 7% of the total
volume of the eventual excavation, which should have a 5.8m diameter for a Standard RWH Dam).
Once the correct level has been reached, a central pole (a 42.8mm diameter galvanised steel
pipe x 4m long) should be installed, complete with a radial arm and ‘pole stabilisers’ (to keep the
pole in the upright position). See Appendix F5 which shows the full sequence of the excavation
process and the installation of the central pole & radial arm, and also indicates how it is later used
in the construction process. Figure 6.4 below shows how the radial arm revolves around the central
pole.
40
Figure 6.4 – A typical radial arm which revolves around a central pole
Figure 6.4 shows a typical radial arm, pivoting on a central pole, which makes it a simple matter to
lay horizontal courses and construct walls that are perfectly vertical. The radial arm can telescope
in and out, so that it may be used for the excavation as well the block work and even for trimming
the plaster. Had this radial arm been available for this excavation, the hole would have had a
perfectly cylindrical shape rather than its current rather irregular shape. Note too that the central
pole and radial arm may also be used to achieve a perfectly level surface in the concrete slab.
Construction
The construction sequence for a Standard RWH Dam is fully illustrated in Appendix F5: ‘Step-by-step
Illustrated Construction Sequence’, and described in detail textually in Appendix F4: ‘Construction
Manual’ and Appendix F3: ‘Specifications’.
The various steps are summarized below for a Standard RWH Dam:
� Day 1: The API and builder set out the marking pegs for the inlet, the centre of the dam, and
the overflow. Next four profiles are also established in the form of a Maltese cross, each
profile being approximately 4.8m from the centre of the dam. Two fish lines are attached to
the profiles, one fish line per opposite pair of profiles, and hereafter these lines will be
referred to as the datum lines; they constitute the two major axes/centrelines of the dam. It
is a further requirement that the profiles are set up such that the fish lines are perfectly
horizontal and at a height of 600mm above the level of the ground at the start of the inlet
structure. From this point forward, all future measurements and levels are be referenced to
these datum lines. [The Day 1 activities are illustrated in steps 1 through 4 of Appendix F5].
41
� Day 2: A 1.5m diameter exploratory trial pit is dug at the centre of the dam to its final level,
2.2m below the datum level, and a further small hole is dug in the centre of the trial pit. [The
Day 2 activities are illustrated in steps 5 through 6 of Appendix F5].
� Day 3: The builder installs the central pole in the small hole that was made at the bottom of
the trial pit. [The Day 3 activities are illustrated in steps 7 through 9 of Appendix F5].
� Day 4,5,6: The builder slides the radial arm over the central pole, which in turn is stabilised by
the pole stabilizers. The digging team proceeds with the main excavation, guided by the
radial arm to obtain an excavation of the correct diameter and depth. [The Day 4,5,6
activities are illustrated in steps 10 through 18 of Appendix F5].
� Day 7: The builder installs Ref. 193 reinforcing mesh in the base of the excavation, and casts
the 100mm thick concrete floor, guided by the radial arm to achieve a level floor. To ensure
that the floor-slab is essentially impermeable, it should have a characteristic compressive
strength of 25MPa (see Table 1 of Appendix F1 for typical proportioning by volume) and be
finished with several cycles of wood and steel floating, with appropriate delays for
evaporation of any ‘bleed water’ that surfaces. Thereafter the surface is covered with a
PVC cover overnight, and then kept wet for a further 7 days. [The Day 7 activities are
illustrated in steps 19 through 34 of Appendix F5].
� Day 8: The blocks are built on top of the floor-slab, and once again the radial arm is used to
achieve a perfectly cylindrical shape with an inside radius of 2.6m – see Figure 6.4 above for
a view of a block wall being built using the central pole & radial arm – see also Appendix F2.
Circumferential ‘hoops’ made from 6mm high yield steel bars are built into he wall between
the courses. By the end of Day 8 the wall should be approximately 1m above the floor-slab.
[The Day 8 activities are illustrated in steps 35 through 43 of Appendix F5].
� Day 9: Some of the excavated ground should be backfilled in the space behind the wall, in
horizontal layers not exceeding 100mm, and compacted using hand stampers. The ground
should be earth moist for improved compaction, and backfilling may proceed all the way
to the top of the previous day’s block work.
Three 110mm PVC pipes x 300mm long are built into the wall on the inlet side of the
structure, such that their invert levels are 1.43 m above the floor-slab. Another three 110mm
pipes are likewise built into the wall on the outlet side of the structure.
Approximately 1.6m above the floor-slab, four 4mm galvanized ‘pole anchorage’ wires are
built in which will be used to secure the two gum poles for the roof.
Also at 1.6m above the floor-slab, 2.5mm galvanized ‘sheet anchorage’ wires are built into
the wall at a spacing of 350mm around the full circumference of the RWH Dam.
The final height of the wall should be 2m above the slab. [The Day 9 activities are illustrated
in steps 44 through 50 of Appendix F5].
� Day 10: Backfilling may continue as in Day 8 until ground level is reached.
The walls are plastered on the inside of the RWH Dam. It will be convenient to use the radial
arm to skim off the excess plaster and thus establish the design thickness of 15mm. The wall
is then wood floated for evenness and steel floated for increased density and smoothness.
Following the plastering operation, the pole stabilizers, central pole & radial arm may be
removed and taken to the next site. The PVC is removed from the hole in the slab, and the
sheath hole is backfilled with a moist sand:cement mixture in layers of 50mm and thoroughly
rammed with a 20mm steel rod.
Two treated 125/100 gum poles, 5.4m long, are inserted into openings in the top course of
the wall. They are then lifted to the correct height, positioned to the correct spacing, and
42
then built in with bricks. Two channels with predrilled holes at the correct spacing are a
convenient way of ensuring that the poles are correctly spaced and that their upper faces
are flush with the top of the wall [The Day 10 activities are illustrated in steps 51 through 72
of Appendix F5].
� Day 11: The four 4mm galvanizing wires that were previously built into the wall are now used
to secure the poles, one wire for each end of each pole. The un-plastered area
corresponding to the bricked up zones may now be plastered to match the rest of the
plaster on the inside of the tank.
The excavation for the inlet and overflow structures are dug, ref 193 mesh is cut to fit and
inserted, and an 80mm slab is cast for both structures. Once the floor has stiffened
sufficiently (allow at least two hours), the walls may be built. [The Day 11 activities are
illustrated in steps 73 through 84 of Appendix F5].
� Day 12: The walls of the inlet and overflow structures are plastered on the inside face.
Thereafter the walls inside the dam are coated with a waterproof coating (Chryso 228)
according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the corners, at the wall/floor interface, a
geofabric ‘ABE membrane’ is used to reinforce the coating. [The Day 12 activities are
illustrated in steps 85 through 87 of Appendix F5].
� Day 13: The roof sheeting is positioned over the poles, and the trap door is cut from one of
the sheets. Next the sheets are screwed down to the poles, trimmed to a circle (in plan),
and tied down to the walls with the 2.5mm ‘roof-sheet anchorage wires’. 10mm funnel
shaped holes are randomly drilled in the troughs of the IBR roof-sheets, spaced
approximately 500mm apart, to facilitate inflow of rainwater directly from the roof into the
RWH Dam. Finally, the trap door is fitted with two brass hinges, and a 12mm hole is drilled in
one corner to receive a brass padlock.
The corners and edges of the inlet and overflow structures where they butt up to the dam
also receive a waterproof coat, reinforced with a geofabric bandage strip.
The section of the RWH Dam’s wall protruding out of the ground is bagged (block brushed)
on the outside with a sand:cement slurry.
A ‘sausage’ shaped filter is made from chicken mesh and inserted into the PVC pipes to
keep frogs, rodents and vegetation out of the RWH Dam.
A protective grill/grate is fitted over the inlet to prevent small children from possible
drowning when the shallow sediment trap is full of water.
Mounds to direct water to the inlet are made using backfill and builders rubble. The site is
cleaned up, building equipment removed, and excess building material is relocated to the
next site. [The Day 13 activities are illustrated in steps 88 through 107 of Appendix F5].
The various dimensions of the excavation, floor-slab, walls, and roof are given in the drawings (see
Appendix F1), the specifications (see Appendix F3), and the construction manual (see
Appendix F4). Appendix F1 also contains the drawings for the inlet and overflow structures, and has
a table (Table 2) that lists the various construction materials along with corresponding quantities for
the RWH Dam, the inlet structure, and the overflow structure. These drawings also give a list of the
required materials and how much of each is required.
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance is the responsibility of the API technical staff, who must be fully capacitated not
only to deal with the final quality assessment, but also the overall QA, starting from the setting out
on ‘Day 1’ and ending with the final signing off of the RWH Dam when it had been tested
successfully for watertightness (see Appendix C3.6: Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor).
43
RWH Dam Testing and Commissioning
Once the construction process is complete, the API inspects the builder’s work, going through the
following checklists, which can be found in Appendix C3.6:
QA03: QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (FLOOR & WALL)
QA04: QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (ROOF & WATERPROOFING)
When the builder has corrected all mistakes to the satisfaction of the QA and the TO, and the tank
is deemed ‘functionally complete,’ the household signs the following form:
QA05: INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE form
During the final household training workshop, all the various tank and water management tasks
and the required frequency are workshopped with the household, and the household
representative receives a RWH Dam Maintenance and Safety Manual (see Appendix F10). Special
emphasis is placed on safety issues, such as keeping the trapdoor locked when not open for
irrigation, keeping the grate over the inlet in the closed position, removing water and sediment
from the sediment pit after every rainfall to prevent malaria, and not using the water for drinking
without prior treatment.
After the first good rains, the RWH Dam should hopefully be full and may then be checked for
leakage. This may be done by the householders themselves – by simply making a mark on the wall,
and then measuring the drop in the water level the following day. Providing no water is taken out
of the dam at this crucial period, and that no additional water flows into the dam, the level should
have gone down by just a few mm, perhaps 5mm from evaporation. If on the other hand the level
has dropped by 10mm or more, the API should be called in to verify that there is a problem, and if
the situation does not stabilize by the end of the rainy season, arrangements are to be made for an
inspection of the walls/floor when the dam is dry, and the application of an additional coat of
waterproofing. Then after the next good rains, when the dam is again full, the measuring process is
repeated to demonstrate that the dam is no longer leaking.
Once the tank has been tested successfully for waterproofness, the household signs the final tank
acceptance form:
QA06: FINAL TANK ACCEPTANCE form
When the dam has thus been shown to be fully functional and not leaking and the household has
signed final acceptance, the API may claim the final 5% retention from DWAF/PIA. This claim shall
be accompanied by a completed Household Tank Certificate, with ‘as built’ detail, photographs
and sketches as required, in respect of each completed tank. A laminated copy of the Household
Tank Certificate is to be handed to the household.
QA07: HOUSEHOLD TANK CERTIFICATE
44
Ancillary equipment
Pumping
Manual pumping is provided for through the supply of a treadle pump. The API shall demostrate
and supervise the assembly of the treadle pumps by the households themselves. The objective is to
ensure that households have sufficient understanding of how the pump works, especially the
elimination of air leaks to ensure proper functioning of the pump.
45
References
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2004. “Policy on Financial Assistance to Resource Poor
Irrigation Farmers.”
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2007 (forthcoming). “Regulations on Financial Assistance
to Resource Poor Farmers.”
Water Research Commission. K5/1575 (forthcoming). “Intensive Family Food Production –
Facilitators’ Learning Toolkit.”
- 1 -
Appendices
APPENDIX A: WAR ON HUNGER ........................................................................................................................ - 3 -
An unexpected way out – “in my own four corners” ............................................................................................. - 5 -
The plight of many ................................................................................................................................................. - 7 -
“War on Hunger” – The evolution of a bottom-up policy ..................................................................................... - 8 -
The cost and value of the DWAF intervention ..................................................................................................... - 10 -
What is intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting? ............................................................ - 14 -
Victory in the first battle – Demonstration Phase outcomes ................................................................................ - 15 -
Key lessons learnt in the Demonstration Phase ................................................................................................... - 19 -
Weaponry for the ‘War on Hunger’ – planning for expansion ............................................................................ - 20 -
Missing weapons in the armoury ......................................................................................................................... - 20 -
RWH and intensive family food production: “What it is” and “what it’s not” ................................................... - 21 -
APPENDIX B: PROGRAMME DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................... - 22 -
APPENDIX B1. DWAF PROGRAMME FORMS ...................................................................................................... - 23 -
B1.1 DWAF Call for Expression of Interest: Advertisement ........................................................................ - 23 -
B1.2 Application for approval as Approved Project Implementer (API) ..................................................... - 24 -
B1.3 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Feasibility Study ........................................... - 27 -
B1.4 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Project .......................................................... - 33 -
APPENDIX B2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FORMAT ................................................................................ - 39 -
APPENDIX B3. PHYSICAL PLANNING ASPECTS ................................................................................................... - 45 -
APPENDIX B4. API BUDGET AND CASH FLOW FORMATS ................................................................................... - 51 -
B4.1 Project Budget Summary format .......................................................................................................... - 51 -
B4.2 Invoicing Schedule format ................................................................................................................... - 52 -
APPENDIX B5. API REPORTING & INVOICING FORMATS .................................................................................... - 53 -
B5.1 Bi-Monthly Progress Report format .................................................................................................... - 53 -
B5.2 Invoicing format ................................................................................................................................... - 54 -
APPENDIX C: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................................ - 55 -
APPENDIX C1. PROCEDURES .............................................................................................................................. - 55 -
C1.1 Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff ........................................................................ - 56 -
C1.2 Combined Procedures for ISD, FFP and TECH staff .......................................................................... - 57 -
C1.3 Procedures for introducing FFP at household level ............................................................................ - 58 -
C1.4 Procedures for buying materials .......................................................................................................... - 60 -
C1.5 Procedures for paying wages and salaries .......................................................................................... - 61 -
APPENDIX C2. FUNCTIONS OF SITE STAFF ......................................................................................................... - 62 -
C2.1 Duties of the Bookkeeper ..................................................................................................................... - 63 -
C2.2 Duties of the FFP Assistant ................................................................................................................. - 66 -
C2.3 Duties of the Storekeeper ..................................................................................................................... - 68 -
C2.4 Functions of the Quality Assessor ........................................................................................................ - 69 -
APPENDIX C3. BOOKS AND FORMS .................................................................................................................... - 71 -
C3.1 Stakeholder contract ............................................................................................................................ - 72 -
C3.2 Letter of Appointment .......................................................................................................................... - 75 -
C3.3 Books and Forms used by the Bookkeeper ........................................................................................... - 76 -
C3.4 Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant ..................................................... - 87 -
C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Storekeeper .......................................................................................... - 98 -
C3.6 Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant .................................................... - 105 -
- 2 -
APPENDIX D: FACILITATION PROCESSES .............................................................................................. - 113 -
APPENDIX D1. DETAILED TABLE: COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL FACILITATION PROCESSES ............................. - 113 -
D1.1 VILLAGE LEVEL FACILITATION PROCESSES .............................................................................................. - 121 -
D1.1.1 Introducing the idea of intensive Family Food Production to the community ................................... - 121 -
D2.1 INDIVIDUAL MIND MOBILISATION PROCESSES ........................................................................................ - 122 -
D2.1.1 Mind mobilisation: introduction ........................................................................................................ - 122 -
D2.1.2 Household present situation analysis ................................................................................................ - 123 -
D2.1.3 Visioning (‘Helicopter planning’) ...................................................................................................... - 124 -
APPENDIX E: FAMILY FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITATION TOOLS ............................................ - 125 -
APPENDIX E1. FAMILY FOOD PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS ................................................................................ - 126 -
APPENDIX F: TECHNICAL AND CONSTRUCTION ................................................................................ - 131 -
APPENDIX F1. STANDARD RWH DAM: DRAWINGS ......................................................................................... - 132 -
APPENDIX F2. WORKSHOP DRAWINGS FOR ‘CENTRAL POLE & RADIAL ARM’ ................................................ - 147 -
APPENDIX F3. STANDARD RWH DAM: SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................ - 158 -
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
2. Excavation ..................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
3. Floor .............................................................................................................................................................. - 159 -
4. Walls .............................................................................................................................................................. - 160 -
5. Roof Poles ...................................................................................................................................................... - 162 -
6. Waterproofing ................................................................................................................................................ - 162 -
7. Inlet Structure ................................................................................................................................................ - 163 -
8. Overflow Structure ......................................................................................................................................... - 163 -
9. Roof Sheeting ................................................................................................................................................. - 164 -
10. Trap Door .................................................................................................................................................... - 164 -
APPENDIX F4. STANDARD RWH DAM: CONSTRUCTION MANUAL ................................................................. - 165 -
APPENDIX F5. STANDARD RWH DAM: STEP-BY-STEP ILLUSTRATED CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE .............. - 189 -
APPENDIX F6. STANDARD RWH DAM: CONSTRUCTION TOOLS & EQUIPMENT NEEDED .................................. - 190 -
APPENDIX F7. STANDARD RWH DAM LIST OF CONSUMABLE ITEMS NEEDED ................................................. - 192 -
APPENDIX F8. RAINWATER HARVESTING LAYOUT: EXAMPLES ....................................................................... - 193 -
APPENDIX F9. EXCAVATION CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................ - 199 -
APPENDIX F10. RWH DAM SAFETY & MAINTENANCE MANUAL ........................................................................ - 203 -
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... - 203 -
F10.1 Daily operational Safety Measures for a RWH Dam ......................................................................... - 204 -
F10.2 Post-rain Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam ........................................................... - 205 -
F10.3 Annual Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam ............................................................... - 208 -
APPENDIX F11. ALTERNATIVE RWH DAM DESIGNS ....................................................................................... - 213 -
APPENDIX F12. RWH DAM DESIGN ROUTINES ............................................................................................... - 219 -
- 3 -
APPENDIX A: War on Hunger
Some impacts of the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme
An unexpected way out – “in my own four corners” .......................................................................... - 5 -
The plight of many .............................................................................................................................. - 7 -
“War on Hunger” – The evolution of a bottom-up policy .................................................................. - 8 -
The cost and value of the DWAF intervention .................................................................................. - 10 -
What is intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting? ......................................... - 14 -
Victory in the first battle – Demonstration Phase outcomes ............................................................. - 15 -
Key lessons learnt in the Demonstration Phase ................................................................................ - 19 -
Weaponry for the ‘War on Hunger’ – planning for expansion ......................................................... - 20 -
Missing weapons in the armoury ...................................................................................................... - 20 -
RWH and intensive food gardening: What it is and what it’s not ..................................................... - 21 -
Executive Summary
Many South Africans are going hungry
Half of South Africa lives on R20 a day and 1.3 million rural households are unable to meet their
daily food needs in 2006. South Africa has committed herself to the Millennium Development Goals,
which among others, call on countries to “halve the number of people living with hunger by 2015.”
An important government initiative
In this context, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) is pilot testing a programme
that supplies poor rural households with a private water source which they can use for any
productive activity in the backyard – and most households choose family food production.
Households are introduced to intensive, but affordable, production methods (organic production
using run-on rainwater harvesting) and must show results to qualify for a RWH tank (or RWH dam, as
most rural households prefer to call it). Records to date show that households have gained R6.46
per day from homestead food gardening in their first year, and that production intensifies and
increases over time.
Not just infrastructure!
The DWAF RWH investment is in facilitation of food insecure families to implement intensive
production methods and then, the building of a 30 000 litre RWH dam in the successful household’s
backyard – an underground tank built with cement blocks on a concrete floor and with a sturdy
childproof corrugated iron roof.
A good state investment
In the upcoming expansion phase, the facilitation and building costs are expected to be about
R25 000 per household (including VAT), which is viewed as an excellent investment, as it can be
offset within the first five years by the value of household production from the RWH dam. The
household asset (the RWH dam) is expected to have a life-span of at least twenty years, and
enables a household to try out and support a range of water-based productive activities at home.
The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) over a 20 year period has been calculated at over 15%.
- 4 -
Truly bottom up
Strikingly, this DWAF RWH subsidy was approved on account of poor rural women’s cry for “War on
Hunger”, which was first made public at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in
Johannesburg in 2002. In several villages they had built their own RWH dams and had shown the
impacts that are possible. These women’s findings were confirmed once the DWAF subsidy was
approved and results started to become available from implementation of the DWAF RWH pilot
programme in several villages in four provinces.
Importantly, these women are adamant that many of them do not want to ‘go business’, and that
entrepreneurial activity should not be a requirement for participation in this DWAF RWH
programme. They feel income generation should be seen as a possible positive spin-off from the
programme, not a requirement, for fear that this
could discourage participation by exactly the most
needy and disheartened.
Value on top of value
The ‘intangible value’ of the DWAF RWH investment,
as experienced from the Demonstration Phase, is
evident from the testimonies of many participating
households, such as the following quotes:
“The confidence that from now on we can
have food all the time”; “the pride and joy of
eating from one’s own efforts”; “the
amazement that we are gaining so much
more from our efforts using these intensive
production approaches”; “the ability to produce without cash, because we use rubbish,
natural remedies and make our own seedlings”; “improved harmony and togetherness in
our family”; “being at home for our children, able to provide for them without having to
leave them behind alone to do so”; “being able to gain, while we are caring for the
environment by cleaning away rubbish and using it for production”; “being able to produce
the whole year, instead of only in summer”; “being an example and a motivation for
others”; “being able to produce in my own yard, without waiting for others”; “being able to
work on it anytime of the day, because it is right here, not far away”; “we can think of so
many new ideas now, like keeping fish, chickens, making jam”; “we have no time to go and
collect the child grants now and anyway, we are not so desperate because now we
always have some little cash, so we just let them pay the child support grant into our bank
accounts, instead of wasting our time to go and wait in lines for it every month.”
Water Research Commission training materials
DWAF is collaborating closely with the Water Research Commission on the development of training
material for family food production, in a project called “Participatory Development of Training
Material for Agricultural Water Use in Homestead Farming Systems for Improved Livelihoods”.
Support to others
Both the DWAF RWH “Guidelines” and the Water Research Commission training materials will be
available to organisations who want to implement related initiatives. The intention is that
municipalties or funding organisations who want to implement their own programmes, would be
free to make use of the lessons learnt so far.
“Only we can achieve the
MDGs. We are the ones going
hungry, not you, and so we are
the ones who must beat hunger.
“Your role can never be to do
this for us, your role is to walk
the road with us and to take our
hands only where we can’t cope
alone.”
- 5 -
“This is for people who
have nothing. One doesn’t
need money to be part of
this.”
- Ntombolundi Zitha
WAR ON HUNGER: Some impacts of the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme
Poor households in SA always offer ‘lack of water’ as the main reason why they don’t grow food
gardens at home. The DWAF strategy is clear: to enable poor households to grow fresh food at
home, year-round, to create a constant supply of micro-nutrients at home to prevent stunting in
infants and toddlers before they reach school-going age (and thus in the years before they can
start benefiting from school nutrition programmes).
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) is implementing a Pilot
Programme that targets “Millennium Development Goal 1a: extreme hunger”, in
two main steps, namely:
� introducing intensive home food production (or any other home-based
productive water uses) through methods of channeling and using rainfall run-off (in situ RWH).
� Then, once a household has shown commitment by successfully implementing their production system at home, they qualify for a 30 000 litre underground rainwater tank (RWH storage), which improves their water
security and enables them to expand their production to about 100-200m2 in the backyard (i.e. about 1-2% of a hectare).
In 2006, during the DWAF RWH Demonstration Phase 64 tanks were built in 26 villages in four
provinces, namely Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State.
Does it work?
This paper on “War on Hunger” reports on the excitement of and impact on rural households who
implemented their organic RWH food gardens in 2006. It also offers an analysis of the costs of this
once-off government investment in ‘asset-building for the poor’, and the measured value of
production achieved by participating households. It shows that the government investment is offset
within five years through the value of production achieved by the food insecure household. Over a
twenty year period, a direct Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 15% on this state investment can be
achieved by a poor household. On top of this, there is the economic and social value to
households – and the nation – of reduced child stunting.
An unexpected way out – “in my own four corners”
“My bags were already packed”, says Mrs Ntombolundi Zitha of Upper Ngqumeya village near
Keiskammahoek in the Eastern Cape. “I had reached the end of the line – I just had to find a way
of providing for my ailing mother and four children. I had no idea where I would go, or what I would
do, or whether there was anywhere I could find a job. My bags were already at the door when BRC
came with this idea of the home food gardens with rainwater harvesting.”
Border Rural Committee
(BRC) is an NGO which
has for many years
assisted ten villages in
the area with
development initiatives
and to obtain
compensation for losses
- 6 -
“My four corners.”
The words families use to describe their delight at
being productive where the family has full control
over all decisions, that they don’t have to wait for
anyone, and can live their life together as a family.
due to the Betterment Scheme implemented in the 1950s. In 2004, BRC had initiated a process in
Cata, a village across the valley from Upper Ngqumeya, to stimulate homestead food production.
MaTshepo Khumbane ran ‘mind mobilisation’ processes and ‘helicopter planning’ in Cata for a
week. Ever since then, BRC’s Mrs Zanele Semane has carried this flame of hope with the village
women. Now they are spreading it to other villages.
“This is for people who have nothing, but who want to get something from their own efforts,” says
Ntombolundi. “One doesn’t need money to be part of this. We use natural things to grow our
vegetables, like manure, and we spray with aloe for pests. We are not investing our money to buy
seed and fertiliser.”
Ntombulundi’s neighbours share her view.
Virginia Magwanca feels that: “the great thing about this is that we don’t need to depend on
anybody else. We want our children to get educated, but we want to support them in this without
having to go and find a job somewhere else. They need us here, at home.”
This concept of “my four corners”
(referring to the corner poles of her
own yard) is echoed in every village
where the Water for Food Movement
philosophy takes root. The women
delight in the freedom of becoming
highly productive in her own yard,
where she has full control and can stay
close to her children at the same time.
Men tend to agree, for various reasons: “It is good that it is in the yard, because I can still work on it
late if I have to go somewhere else during the day,” says Zwayise Sethinde.
“My whole family is interested now”, says his neighbour. “My
wife and children are helping me now, whereas in the past I
worked alone in the garden. It is exciting everyone, because
we are getting so much more from our efforts. It’s double-
double, our yields are much much better and we can now
produce right through the year, instead of summertime only.”
“We want to expand this to our lands, too, so that the
development of the whole area can take place. We want our
children to grow up with the understanding that one needs to
work for what you get,” adds Themba.
“It’s double-double! Our
yields are much much better
and we can now produce
right through the year.”
“Now we have food all the time.”
A glimpse of Ntombolundi Zitha’s food garden
in Upper Ngqumeya, Eastern Cape
– no fertiliser has been used.
- 7 -
“We are getting much better produce now that we are digging deeper. We started in March 2006,
and we were already eating spinach in April – in the past it would take three months before we
could get anything.”
“The water harvesting is important, because now we can also plant in winter, as the water is kept in
the trenches, instead of just running past and away. Now we have food all the time,” rejoices
Ntombulundi.
“We started with seedlings from BRC, but now we don’t even have to wait for someone to bring
seedlings from East London, we just make our own,” says Virginia.
Joyce Makhanthu, Chairperson of the Development Committee is amazed: “I am selling
vegetables now and getting money for schoolfees. Later, I just know that one can even build a
house with these vegetables that costs nothing!”
She is so right, because this is exactly what Theresa Molotsi in faraway Jane Furse in Limpopo
Province achieved in the early 1980s. From total desperation about how to help her hospitalised
malnourished child, MaTshepo Khumbane opened Theresa’s eyes to see how she could establish
one of these no-cost food gardens. Step-by-step she could – firstly – save her child, then gradually
expanded her garden and started selling from home, and later started buying-and-selling a range
of vegetables, snacks and other consumables. Indeed, she not only expanded her house, but
about ten years later she had enough cash to buy a second-hand vehicle. And her formerly
malnourished son has by now studied at College!
The plight of many
City-dwellers often find it unthinkable that, while our pulsating modern economy grows in leaps and
bounds, such small interventions could be so significant for the majority of people in our country
today. Yet the statistics confirm this:
“Half of SA survives on R20 a day” reads the headline in the “BusinessReport” of Thursday, July 13
2006. “Despite the low level of income, collectively, these households generated R129 billion of the
economy’s household expenditure in 2004”, reports financial research group Eighty20. “That
spending represented 15% of the economy’s total household expenditure of R839 billion, according
to Reserve Bank’s 2004 household expenditure report.”
The seemingly small efforts of these almost invisible poor households are important to us as a
country through their sheer numbers.
“The analysis showed that 60 percent of the 5.2 million households where individuals were living on
less than R20 a day, were in rural areas. It showed that 1.3 million of those households in rural areas
were unable to meet their daily food needs,” although “seven million children receive child support
grants and 10 million South Africans receive social grants.”
- 8 -
The seemingly small efforts of these households are also important because of the direct
and immediate way in which it improves their access to food and thus, control over their
own lives.
Clearly, Ntombolundi’s desperation is the desperation of many other families in the rural areas.
Further, the research showed that “a total of 15 million, or 36% of children in the country live with
both parents, and the rest live with one parent or without any.” The families from Upper Ngqumeya
are giving voice to the desire of millions of families across the country who wish to be together, so
that they can provide a safe haven and a home for their children to grow up cared for, disciplined
and loved – ready for a full productive life.
Small wonder then, that one meets with so much enthusiasm in villages like Cata and Upper
Ngqumeya, who have discovered that, through this seemingly small thing, they can take
control of and improve their lives.
“War on Hunger” – The evolution of a bottom-up policy
The former Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry,
Mrs Buyelwa Sonjica’s decision to approve the
DWAF subsidy programme for homestead
rainwater tanks, was based on evidence of their
impact on the poor from villages like Athol and
Strydkraal in Limpopo Province.
Women in both these villages initiated their own
rainwater harvesting (RWH) tanks after similar
“mind mobilisation” processes as those run in
Cata and Jane Furse by MaTshepo Khumbane.
Many of these women have similar stories to
Ntombolundi’s and Theresa’s – stories of
hopelessness and gloom turned to
determination and joy.
“War on Hunger” was the message of the women from Athol, Strydkraal and other villages, when
they formed the hub of the ‘African Village’ in the WaterDome during the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. Undeterred by her own illiteracy, Margret
Nyalungu of Athol village delivered a striking presentation in one of the conference sessions at the
WaterDome, making the point that rural people could do so many things for themselves, if they
were not hampered by bureaucrats, technocrats and politicians, who seem to the believe they
Margret Nyalungu and Martha Tsila
from Athol, Bushbuckridge, making
"War on Hunger" with peanuts for
protein.
”We have buried the hunger” were the famous
words of Emily Masha and her husband.
Their garden overflowed with food while newspaper
headlines rang: “worst drought in 100 years“ on
19 January 2004, in Sekhukhune, Limpopo.
- 9 -
can do nothing on their own. She and the other women from Athol displayed a video – which they
had recorded themselves on a borrowed video-camera – of a concrete weir that they themselves
had built to dam the water in a river for irrigation. Since then, 116 women in Athol have also each
built their own homestead rainwater tanks in their yards for their food gardens and a further 300
families are keen to start.
As DWAF officials and politicians played their role at the WSSD in Johannesburg to help formulate
the Millennium Development Goals, these rural women’s message about “War on Hunger” was
speaking into the minds of the likes of Kofi Annan, the Prince of Orange, presidents, ministers and
officials of countries from all over the world.
And indeed everybody’s efforts paid off: Millennium Development Goal 1 says: “To halve the
number of people living with hunger by 2015.”
South Africa was one of 189 countries to sign her commitment to the MDGs. The Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry is now working hard to play its part in putting this promise into action in
water supply and sanitation (MDG2), but for MDG1, it is helping rural people’s “War on Hunger”
through the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme.
“Only we can achieve the MDGs”, according to these grassroots women. “We are the ones
going hungry, not you, and so we are the ones who must beat hunger. Your role can never
be to do this for us, your role is to walk the road with us and to take our hands only where
we can’t cope alone.”
The Department heard them, and is now “taking their
hands” by providing poor households with the high
capital cost element – the large rainwater tanks – for the
homestead production system. But the whole system
entails a lot more – all of which is developed and
operated by the household themselves.
The DWAF subsidy is not only for food production, but for
‘any productive uses by the poor’, such as making
cement-blocks, water for someone wanting to do
people’s hair, water for processing and selling things,
water for raising small livestock, fish or any other
homestead economic or productive activity.
However, most households opt for food production in the first place when they have access to
more water – this was shown some years ago by a study by AWARD in 12 villages in Bushbuckridge.
Water is DWAF’s business, as is sanitation and forestry. The Department is looking critically at how it
can ensure that people have access to water for their livelihoods, whatever they choose to do,
whether it is agriculture, industry or a variety of enterprises. DWAF is especially seeking ways to
respond to poor people’s needs for water to help them out of poverty. Therefore, where poor
people themselves are taking such initiatives as these, DWAF is keen to respond.
Through the rainwater tanks, a household obtains a longterm asset that can help it pursue a range
of water-based activities, which may change over time. Often the types of initiaves people initiate
could benefit from partnerships with sister Departments, like Agriculture and Health. DWAF also
collaborates closely with local government to ensure synergies. In addition to its own programmes,
DWAF is also committed to support initiatives of its sister departments, e.g. by trying to ensure that
“Only we can achieve the
MDGs. We are the ones going
hungry, not you, and so we are
the ones who must beat hunger.
“Your role can never be to do
this for us, your role is to walk
the road with us and to take our
hands only where we can’t cope
alone.”
-
- 10 -
These ‘mutual-care groups’ give
effect to some of the most
important cornerstones of the
Water for Food Movement
philosophy:
– mutual care and motivation,
while avoiding fights over money
by enabling everyone’s own
efforts and rewards to remain a
household matter in ‘my four
corners’.
-Water for Food Movement
water alllocations are available to their initiatives. This is an important focus of the Water Allocation
Reform Programme.
In DWAF initiatives, such as the Rainwater Harvesting Programme, the Department seeks to
maximise the sustainability of household efforts in several ways, for instance:
• by following proper development approaches, which avoid undermining the household control and ownership of their home-based initiative and their rainwater harvesting tank (thus heeding the call that “you can never do it for us”);
• by making sure that households have realistic expectations of what they can achieve with
their rainwater harvesting dams, to avoid disappointment;
• by helping to make sure households have access to sufficient information and training for the enterprise they have chosen;
• by promoting household practices which does not depend on ongoing external support – a good example is to grow vegetables cheaply with organic waste and own seedlings; and
• by facilitating and encouraging the formation of ‘mutual-care groups’ among participating
households in a village, such as the Water for Food group in Upper Ngqumeya or the ‘learning groups’ in Umbumbulu in KwaZulu-Natal.
An important characteristic of these ‘mutual-care groups’, is that there is no economic inter-
dependence between the participants – this helps avoid the conflicts which are so common in
group-projects.
“The moment money comes into it, we start fighting
amongst ourselves,” according to the Charter of the
Water for Food Movement, as developed and
adopted by Lesotho women. So often, everything can
start falling apart because of such fights.
Therefore, instead of ‘projects’, these ‘mutual-care
groups’ are social groups – friends and neighbours who
share ideas, motivate one another and take care of
each other and of needy cases in their village as and
when these needs arise.
This gives effect to some of the most important
cornerstones of the Water for Food Movement
philosophy – mutual care and motivation, while
avoiding fights over money by enabling everyone’s
own efforts and rewards to remain a household matter
in ‘my four corners’.
The cost and value of the DWAF intervention
It is Government’s duty to its citizens and its taxpayers to ensure that its investments are justified and
that its interventions are worthwhile. It needs to make sure that the money may not perhaps have
been spent more usefully on something else to achieve the desired outcome.
In the case of the Rainwater Harvesting Programme, DWAF’s objective is to contribute the
achievement of Millenium Development Goal 1: To halve the number of people living with hunger
by 2015. Looking at the statistics reported above, this means halving the 1.3 million households in
South Africa’s rural areas who are “currently unable to meet their daily food needs”.
- 11 -
MDG1 is also about halving the number of people living on less than USD1 per day, but income
generation is not the primary objective of the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme.
Government – including DWAF – have a number
of programmes targeting income generation,
but with this Rainwater Harvesting Programme
DWAF is responding uniquely to the rural
women’s “War on Hunger” in the first instance.
Should they start making money, like Joyce in
Ngqumeya and Theresa in Jane Furse, this is
viewed as a very positive spin-off, providing the
family with a ratchet-up out of the food-
insecurity bracket.
However, keeping the focus of the Rainwater
Harvesting Programme on the “War on Hunger”
is critically important for a large number of these
rural women who are currently daunted by the
idea of having to “go business”. “Don’t push us where we don’t want to go. You don’t know our
circumstances, you don’t live our lives. We will decide the road, you can walk next to us, but not
ahead of us. This is our war, we must be able to fight it our own way. Don’t take over.”
This creates an interesting dilemma for DWAF. How does one calculate (and report on) the value of
the investment if the outcome is not measurable in money terms? This goes beyond the familiar
challenge in South Africa, of: “how does one put a value on the ‘soft issues’?”, to “how does one
value improved health and well-being and decreased anxiety?”
The key indicators used by the
United Nations to measure
progress on MDG1, revolve
around malnutrition of
children under five years of
age (U5 malnutrition), and
steps taken to address this
problem. U5 stunting is a
particularly severe problem in
South Africa, where a disturbing 25% of our children are physically and mentally underdeveloped –
and thus permanently damaged – through insufficient vitamins, minerals and protein in these early
childhood years.
As a result of this damage, “malnourished children have low life-
long earning capacity, and are thus likely to have malnourished
children themselves.” Thus this ghastly cycle continues from one
generation to the next. U5 nutrition is thus, by proxy, a good
indicator of the general nutritional status of the household as a
whole and even tells us something about the prospects for the
next generation.
According to a May 2006 UNICEF report, South Africa is not
progressing, but in fact presently losing ground on MDG1. The
problem is severe and urgent.
Millennium Development Goal MDG-1:
“To halve the number of people living with hunger by 2015”
In South Africa, this means halving the 1.3 million
households in our rural areas who are “currently unable to
meet their daily food needs” (2006).
“Some of us don’t want to ‘go business’.
Don’t push us where we don’t want to
go. You don’t know our circumstances,
you don’t live our lives. We will decide
the road, you can walk next to us, but
not ahead of us. This is our war, we
must be able to fight it our own way.
Don’t take over, you don’t know better
than we do what we need.”
U5 nutrition is thus, by
proxy, a good indicator
of the general nutritional
status of the household
as a whole and even
tells us something about
the prospects for the
next generation.
- 12 -
The DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme requires from implementers that “there should be
evidence of a process of targeting to ensure that this grant would contribute to the achievement
of the MDGs,” but in reality, a method has not yet been developed on how to adequately
measure the contribution.
From stories like those quoted above, the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme is clearly making
considerable impact on intangible matters, as evident from listening to poor people’s voices.
However, in the absence of money-based parameters to account for these ‘soft issues’, some
figures are presented below of the value of production achieved by Water for Food households at
Cata in the past year.
These figures are presented with reluctance, for fear that even reporting these figures would result
in us regressing to a consideration of the ‘money-outputs’ of the programme only, which would
again push our thinking and debates away from the “War on Hunger” objective, towards the more
familiar (but later-phase) subject of income generation.
The following figures come from records kept by Water for Food households in Cata, for eight
months from mid-2005. BRC summarised the results as follows:
Title First name SurnameSales of
produce
Value of
produce
consumed
or donated
Total value of
produce
Ms Sisiwe Kiba R 705.00 R 363.00 R 1,068.00
Ms Nothemba Languva R 2,492.50 R 623.50 R 3,116.00
Mr Zolani Luti R 963.00 R 120.00 R 1,083.00
Mr Pumzile Mboso R 1,435.00 R 775.00 R 2,210.00
Ms Nobuntu Ntshutsha R 484.00 R 987.00 R 1,471.00
Mr Mzwamadoda Pama R 965.50 R 302.25 R 1,267.75
Ms Nomzi Sampempe R 1,091.50 R 343.00 R 1,434.50
Ms Boniswa Tontsi R 746.00 R 441.00 R 1,187.00
Mr Mawethu Tontsi R 1,329.00 R 217.00 R 1,546.00
Ms Noluthando Vakata R 885.00 R 232.50 R 1,117.50
R 11,096.50 R 4,404.25 R 15,500.75
Cata Water for Food householdsValue of production over 8 months from mid-2005
Source: BRC internal report: Summary of records kept by Water for Food households, Cata.
These records apply to the eight months from mid-2005. The equivalent value of this household
production would be an average of R2325.11 per year, R193.76 per month or R6.46 per day.
Some remarks need to be made about these figures:
• Firstly, R6.46 per day seems trivial, but only until we compare it with the statement that “half
of SA survives on R20 a day”.
• Secondly, it is sobering to consider that these households would not have had access even to the portion shown as ‘produce consumed’ without this intervention, simply because they would not have had cash to purchase these vegetables instead. Thus, without this no-cost production approach which enabled them to ‘get something for nothing’, there would have been no pathway out of malnutrition and stunting for pre-schoolers. It is internationally
accepted that mothers’ continuous access to own produce is one of the most direct strategies to achieve adequate child nutrition.
- 13 -
• Thirdly, this produce came from the first seasons of production, with only a portion of the
home food garden established. Mrs Khumbane’s records show that her production per trench improves year-on-year as the trenches mature, and she advocates a ‘five-year food security plan’ to households, meaning that the number of trenches are gradually increased over a five-year period.
Value of household production,
if garden is expanded annually
by the same number of trenches
as developed in the first year
Value of household production,
if garden is expanded annually
by half the number of trenches
as developed in the first year
Year 1 R 2,325.11 R 2,325.11
Year 2 R 4,650.23 R 3,487.67
Year 3 R 6,975.34 R 4,650.23
Year 4 R 9,300.45 R 5,812.78
Year 5 R 11,625.56 R 6,975.34
Total value:
(first five years)R 34,876.69 R 23,251.13
Average per year:
(first five years)R 6,975.34 R 4,650.23
Results from a 2002 study by the International Water Management Institute confirm this gradual
increase in yield and overall output. MaTshepo Khumbane’s winter production alone (i.e. not
counting summer production when fruit adds significantly to the overall output), yielded a metric
tonne of vegetables in her backyard food trenches totalling 222m2 (i.e. a miniscule two-hundredths
{or 2%} of a hectare). Because of the intensive production, some of her crops yielded three times
the average yield typically achieved by top commercial farmers. Significantly, the year 2002 was
MaTshepo’s fifth year of production since settling at this home.
The number of months that a family of six people
would be able to each eat a portion of the crops
produced in this winter season (provided these
could be stored safely), is shown in the last column.
The variety of vegetables grown is highly important
to a balanced, nutritious diet that would help
address the stunting among children in South Africa.
A large component of the production which is not
contained in these figures, are the greens which
were fed to the pigs and the chickens (an
approximate further 500 kg) and the large variety of
herbs used for medicinal purposes for the family and
animals.
Part of this winter production was R2000 worth of
onions from a 50m2 portion of the garden – enough
to purchase half a year’s maizemeal for a family of
six. Through simple extrapolation, a mature 100m2
RWH garden, used both in winter and summer, could thus comfortably produce R8000 per year
worth of vegetables. This figure compares well with the projections based on the Cata figures
above.
food grownland
(sq. m)
food
(kg)
months of
daily portions
for 6 peopleBeetroot 30 126 7
Broccolli 23 57 2
Cabbage 12 96 8
Carrots 12 50 4
Cauliflower 10 69 4
Lettuce 20 64 2
Onion 50 350 65 (5.4 years)
Peas 43 65 5
Spinash 14 42 2
Other 8 34 -
953 kg
Source: International Water Management Institute
MaTshepo Khumbane, CullinanFood grown in Winter 2002
(=2% of a hectare) (=approx 1 tonne of veg)
222 sq.m
- 14 -
For the sake of this analysis, a conservative R5 000 per year value of production would thus seem
reasonable. Ignoring the intangible benefits then, how does the money-value aspect of the
household output compare to the cost of the DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme intervention?
Results of the DWAF RWH Demonstration Phase, November 2005 – July 2006, and subsequent
analysis and planning for expansion, has shown that the total cost of delivering a homestead
rainwater tank of 30 000 litres, plus the associated facilitation and training to establish household
production, ‘mutual-care’ groups, etc., is not expected to exceed about R23 000 (incl VAT) during
the expansion and roll-out phases.
Material and labour per 30 000 liter rainwater tank
(i.e. underground tank size equivalent to six large 5 000 liter plastic tanks,
which provides sufficient water for 100 sq m. RWH garden, cultivated winter and summer)
R 13,000.00
Facilitation, sustainability inputs, HH training, HH production establishment;
'mutual-care group' establishment; coordination with local authorities;
construction management; project implementation management; etc.
R 7,000.00
Total (excl VAT) R 20,000.00VAT @14% R 2,800.00
TOTAL DWAF INVESTMENT PER HOUSEHOLD (VAT inclusive) R 22,800.00
DWAF "War on Hunger" investment
(per household)
At ±R25 000 VAT inclusive, this would mean that the
value of production (not counting the intangible
benefits), could off-set the cost of the DWAF intervention
in less than five years. The rainwater tank has an
expected life-span of at least twenty years, and would
thus remain as a long-term asset to the current and
future family members, long after the value of
production has off-set the government investment in the
household production system.
What is intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting?
The “Intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting” approach presents an
opportunity to harvest some 220,000 litres of water from ground surface runoff each year to
produce food in home gardens throughout the whole year. Garden sizes of 100 to 200m2 can be
supported at each homestead with measured yields of 1.8 tonnes per year of low cost and
immediately accessible food. This approach promoted by DWAF has shown widespread success
nationally and has sustainable and measureable impact on homestead food security and variety,
cash-income and poverty. The “Intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting”
approach targets the very root of poverty by effectly addressing widely prevalent hunger and
especially child malnutrition.
On average in South Africa, only 6% of the total annual rainfall reaches the rivers – this is called
Mean Annual Runoff (MAR). The aim of rainwater harvesting is to make better use of the other “94%
of rainfall” for food production, targeting the most vulnerable and poor households. ‘Water
harvesting’ is a slightly broader definition and means ‘rainwater harvesting’ plus ‘grey water
recycling’.
The rainwater tank has an
expected life-span of at least
twenty years, and would thus
remain as a long-term asset to the
current and future family
members, long after the value of
household production has off-set
the government investment in the
- 15 -
Definition of Rainwater Harvesting: Rainwater
harvesting is the collection and concentration
of runoff water for productive purposes. It is also
defined as all the methodologies of
concentrating, diverting, collecting, storing,
utilizing and managing runoff for productive uses. Water can be collected from roofs and ground
surfaces for domestic uses, stock and crop watering. To overcome the unpredictability and
unreliability of rainfall in our part of the world, rainwater harvesting strategies propose to ‘slow
down, catch, store and use’ every drop that can be used. Most of the rainwater is channelled and
stored directly in the soil of the vegetable beds, while some can be stored in tanks and/or other
containers for later use.
Grey water is the end product of domestic activities (bathing, washing dishes and clothes and
cleaning) and this water is available throughout the year. After domestic activities, it is collected
into a drum. Ash is added to separate out the soap, and the cleaned water is then scooped out
when it is needed for irrigation of the food crops in the garden. This water is not suitable for drinking
or animal watering.
Stormwater runoff collection applies to water running off roads, pathways, roofs and the veld during
a rainstorm and is an important source of water, seldom stored locally. This can be diverted and
stored in tanks or dams. In villages this water often poses a threat because it runs fast, causes
erosion and damages fences, roads and houses. Surface runoff can be diverted directly into the
cropped area (called ‘run-on’ RWH) or into storage tanks or ‘dams’. Only small trenches and
furrows are needed to control and divert the flow. During this process, the deep-trenched beds are
irrigated directly and surplus water is diverted into tanks for irrigation in the dry months.
Photos showing home-food production based on this approach are shown overleaf. Many of these
were taken at households adjacent to collapsed irrigation schemes who have participated in food
production initiatives targeting nutritional insecurity and hunger.
Success is partly linked to the deep-trench intensive gardening approach, grey water re-use and
the rainwater harvesting methods. Importantly, underground storage of approximately 30 000 litres
is required to support production through the 3 to 4 month winter period. Gardens and tanks are
within the homestead boundary and therefore wholly controlled by one family, avoiding the
complexity of communal ventures.
Victory in the first battle – Demonstration Phase outcomes
Intensive trench beds just 8 weeks after
planting. Ma Tonisi, Keiskammahoek
Where it all starts – MaTshepo
Khumbane inspiring deep
trenching at Potshini, KZN
Rainwater harvesting strategies propose to
‘slow down, catch, store and use’
every drop that can be used.
- 16 -
The sequence of these photos is deliberate: intensive Family
Food Production is started without a RWH dam. The first beds
are watered with recycled domestic water, and by
channeling rainfall run-off in furrows, straight to the planting
trenches. Significant production can be achieved in this way.
The RWH dam comes later, and helps:
� by providing water during dry spells in summer,
� by making winter production possible, and
� by enabling households to plant larger areas (up to 100-200m2, which is about 2% of a hectare) of intensive high value production.
- 17 -
22
Mr Maphumulo’s RWH dam ready for a roof,
December 2005, Umbumbulu, KZN
“The
furrow the
trenches
drink
from”:-
run-on
rainwater
harvesting
from road
direct to
beds “The furrow the dam
drinks from”: -
rainwater harvesting
to a 30,000 litre RWH
dam, via a sandtrap
Run-off to fill many trenches and RWH dams –
from a 20 minute downpour!
Preparation of 1m deep trench with old tins,
maize stalks and manure.
sandtrap
RWH dam
Hard work, done with pride and determination:
Digging to ‘bury the hunger’
- 18 -
Underground RWH dam.
Note interesting sunken
roof which catches water
falling onto its own roof
Drums, gutters and an
innovative catchpit
A sandtrap doing its job well
- the dirt stays behind, while
clear water spills into the dam
Creativity! Home-made gutter in Limpopo
Tshilidzi Mathobo, DWAF Manager
of the RWH Programme, vigorously
testing a treadle pump! May 2006.
Underground RWH dam in the backyard,
safely roofed so that no child can fall in RWH dam - full of water!
The trap door in the roof must keep children
out, yet provide access to clean out the tank.
- 19 -
Key lessons learnt in the Demonstration
Phase
Some selected key lessons learnt during the
Demonstration Phase were as follows:
Production first!
It has been demonstrated that it is indeed possible to
establish gardens or other production first, before the
RWH dams are supplied. We have seen that this leads
to rapid uptake of intensive production practices,
and the realisation that a lot of food can be grown
with run-on water and grey water recycling. The RWH
dam then plays its proper role, namely to save crops during mid-summer droughts, and to make
winter production possible.
Go and look for the poor!
Development opportunities are ALWAYS more easily taken up by the better off in any village or
society, while the poorest families are often withdrawn from society to the extent that they don’t
hear about opportunities, don’t think they would be able to do what it takes, or in some cases are
shunned from participation because everyone thinks they are lazy.
This DWAF RWH initiative is specifically targeted at the ‘households unable to meet their daily food
needs’, therefore a focussed effort is required to overcome these very real difficulties. At the same
time, it has proved to be important not to exclude slightly better-off families, especially those that
are committed and active gardeners.
Ensure moral support and recognition from local leadership!
The need for involvement of local leadership goes well beyond compliance with ‘cooperative
governance’ requirements. Local leadership needs to understand the significance of the efforts of
these poorer households. Without the leadership’s outspoken recognition of poor households’
efforts and achievements, early successes often dwindle and things just settle back into old familiar
patterns.
Ensure commitment to the concept by the whole family!
One of the outcomes of the initiative, is to encourage family unity in sharing the burden for food
security. Furthermore, failure to involve the whole family has caused implementation delays, for
instance when decisions kept on being changed about where to dig the RWH dam in the yard.
No “one-type fits all”!
One of the aims of the Demonstration Phase was to test many types of construction and materials
and to select the most suitable for full-scale rollout of the DWAF RWH Programme. However, the
cost of building materials and other conditions vary so dramatically from place to place, that some
variety in the choice of tank-type is necessary. For instance, the cost of cement blocks varied
between R2.50 to R8.90 per block! In areas where there is no good sand and stone, concrete
structures become hideously expensive. Some homes are so remote and inaccessible, that all
materials have to be carried on donkeys up steep hills. Often these households are the ones who
most desperately need such a close-by water source to fight malnutrition. In these cases, the use of
light-weight materials like geo-fabric and bitumen, or plastic lining may work out cheaper.
High production from intensive
mixed plantings of cabbage,
beetroot and onions in trench bed.
- 20 -
These and many other lessons learnt are now being captured in a document called: “DWAF
Programme Guidelines for Intensive Family Food Production and Rainwater Harvesting.” These
guidelines will be used for further implementation of the DWAF RWH Programme, and will also be
made available to other organisations and funders interested in implementing similar initiatives.
Weaponry for the ‘War on Hunger’ – planning for expansion
The challenge that follows the Demonstration Phase, is to expand the DWAF RWH programme in
two ways:
• Firstly, in the 26 Demonstration villages, to expand from the 3-5 demonstration households to a further 50-150 per village (depending on demand/number of interested households), and with the assistance of the pilot-implementing agents (called Pilot-ALEs).
• Secondly, to expand to new villages and new ALEs, to test the transfer of the lessons learnt in the Demonstration Phase to new participants and partners.
The implementation of both these expansion activities can commence as soon as the current
moratorium on financial assistance under section 61 and 62 or the National Water Act (Act 36 of
1998) had been lifted.
Activities now required to prepare for this, include, among others, the following:
• Development of guidelines and induction training material for participating households, facilitators, builders and Approved Project Implementers (APIs);
• A planned national workshop to disseminate lessons learnt, solicit comment from stakeholders and stimulate the interest of potential new implementing agents;
• Recieval and adjudication of new proposals for expansion;
• Development of monitoring and evaluation procedures and capacity; and
• Refinement of DWAF internal programme management and financial procedures to enable the smooth running of programme implementation.
A key aspect of preparation for expansion is the development of best practice in the structuring of
implementation teams to achieve the range of facilitation, induction training and construction
outputs involved in:
– mobilising and training poor households for production; and – efficiently managing the construction of large numbers of small infrastructure.
Missing weapons in the armoury
The DWAF RWH Programme currently provides for facilitation and training to introduce RWH and
establish household production, and the supply of a RWH dam (or tank) of 30 000 liter capacity.
There is a real need to consider the following further aspects to
enhance the value of the RWH dams for households participating
in the DWAF RWH programme:
• water treatment – the supply of a cheap, robust water treatment technology which would enable the household to treat water from their RWH dam to make it safe to drink.
Many different homestead-sized technologies for rural households are available globally, and some have been tested in South Africa.
• pumping – cheap, easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain pumps like treadle pumps, hip pumps and some handpumps would
A treadle pump saves lots of
time to water crops, so that
more can be grown.
- 21 -
make it easier for families to get the water out of the RWH dam. The easier it is to draw
water, the less time it takes, and thus, the more food they can grow.
• fencing – child safety is the key priority in the DWAF RWH programme, therefore no RWH dam (tank) is supplied without a sturdy roof. Fencing of the dam
is not acceptable to the Department as an alternative safety precaution against children and animals falling in and drowning. However, fencing of the food garden itself is not a luxury, but an essential element of the production system. In most villages, animals and chickens roam free and there
are few things as disheartening to a family as finding their hard-earned food finished off by such animals.
RWH and intensive family food production: “What it is” and “what it’s not”
What it’s What it’s What it’s What it’s notnotnotnot What it What it What it What it isisisis
It’s not just a homestead RWH dam-building
project
It is a systematic programme to kick-start affordable but
intensive home food growing, followed by the building of a
RWH dam in the poor family’s backyard
It’s not “the answer” for every poor household
in South Africa
It is an important option for many of SA’s 1.3 million
households who are “unable to meet their daily food needs” in
2006
It’s not a ‘money-spinner’ or a
‘lucrative full-time career’ at home
It brings stability into the household by removing a lot of the
daily anxiety about where the next meal will come from
It’s often not attractive to people who are
already meeting their food needs easily through
other means
“This is for people who have nothing and want to get
something from their own efforts”
and
“You don’t need money to be part of this”
It’s not a couple of scraggly cabbages in the
backyard
It is intensive production on small areas.
“My whole family is interested now, because we get so much
more for our efforts”
The RWH dam is not social infrastructure, like
‘building them another house’
The RWH dam supplied by DWAF is productive
infrastructure which enables the household to produce things
year in-year out for twenty years or more
The RWH dam water is not clean enough to
drink, because the dam catches surface run-off
The RWH dam water is meant for productive use and is good
for drinking only if it is boiled or treated
No fence? Protecting seedlings from
goats and chickens with thorn
branches. Until the temptation lures
them even through these prickly
deterrents… August 2006.
- 22 -
APPENDIX B: Programme Documents
APPENDIX B1 DWAF Programme Forms
B1.1 DWAF Call for Expression of Interest: Advertisement
B1.2 Application for approval as Approved Project Implementer (API)
B1.3 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Feasibility Study
B1.4 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Project
APPENDIX B2 Project Implementation Plan format
APPENDIX B3 Physical Planning Aspects
APPENDIX B4 API Budget and Cash Flow formats
B4.1 Project Budget Summary format
B4.2 Invoicing Schedule format
APPENDIX B5 API Invoicing formats
B5.1 Bi-Monthly Progress Report format
B5.2 Invoicing format
- 23 -
APPENDIX B1. DWAF Programme Forms
B1.1 DWAF Call for Expression of Interest: Advertisement
- EXPRESSION OF INTEREST -
HOMESTEAD RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is implementing a homestead Rainwater Harvesting programme for food
production and other home-based productive water uses by poor rural families, towards achievement of the Millennium
Development Goal 1a: To reduce by half the number of people living with hunger by 2015.
CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
BY PROSPECTIVE IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES
TO BECOME APPROVED LEGAL ENTITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
HOMESTEAD RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
A prospective implementing agent will need to prove its experience and success in counselling and facilitation of
individual poor households, its understanding and successful transfer of the range of water harvesting and production
techniques appropriate to low-cost homestead food production and other home-based productive water uses by poor
families, and its proven skills in the construction management of large numbers of small infrastructure.
Detailed documentation is available from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Sedibeng Building, Schoeman
Street, Pretoria, Room S8XX, Tel 012-336 XXXX, as from Monday X September 200X.
The documents will be issued on receipt of a non-refundable document deposit of RXXX (xxx hundred) in the form of a
bank guaranteed cheque made out to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
Only Expressions of Interest complying with the following requirements will be considered:
i) Expressions of Interest submitted in the standard format supplied. ii) Expressions of Interest accompanied by a valid Tax Clearance Certificate for the submitting organisation, and for
each organisation participating in a proposed Consortium. iii) Expressions of Interest sealed in envelopes conspicuously marked as follows: Expression of Interest RWH01/200X.
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Sedibeng Building, Schoeman Street, Pretoria.
All Expressions of Interest and supporting documents must be sealed and be placed in the tender box on the ground
floor of Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s Sedibeng Building, Schoeman Street, Pretoria before 11h00 on
Wednesday XX September 200X. Electronic submissions will be accepted only in non-editable PDF-version.
Expressions of Interest will immediately thereafter be opened in public and no late submissions will be accepted.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is not obliged to accept any Expression of Interest and reserves the right
to accept any Expression of Interest in whole or in part.
The Department of Water Afairs and Forestry reserves the right to obtain further Expressions of Interest by prospective
implementing agencies to become Approved Legal Entities for the implementation of the Homestead Rainwater
Harvesting Programme in future.
DWAF
Logo
- 24 -
B1.2 Application for approval as Approved Project Implementer (API)
DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEDWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEDWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEDWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION FORM FOR APPLICATION FORM FOR APPLICATION FORM FOR APPLICATION FORM FOR APPROVAL AS DWAF APPROVAL AS DWAF APPROVAL AS DWAF APPROVAL AS DWAF APPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITYYYY (ALE) (ALE) (ALE) (ALE)
FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ASSISTANCE
FOR FOR FOR FOR RAINRAINRAINRAIN----WATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USES BY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POOR
APPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBER ALE/ALE/ALE/ALE/ Completed forms must be submitted to:
Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001 Fax: 012 323 5041
Enquiries may be addressed to: Mr Tshilidzi Mathobo Tel: 082 807 6160 Email: [email protected] 1. PARTICULARS OF THE PROPOSED APPROVED LEGAL ENTITY (ALE)
Full Name of the Proposed ALE
Location where ALE intends to apply for financial assistance for Rainwater Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor:
Province(s) District Municipality(s)
Office Fax no
Cellphone no.
Contact Person
Postal address Postal Code
2. PREVIOUS APPLICATION
Have this Proposed ALE previously applied to be approved as an ALE for Rainwater Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor?
If yes, specify and give date of the last case:
The following documents should be attached to this application. Please mark with a cross (X) Cover letter Other:
Copy of ID Document AND/OR Company registration
Company profile
Specify:
- 25 -
3. INFORMATION SOURCE
Where did you hear of the DWAF financial assistance? (Mark with an ‘X’. Please mark ALL the applicable source of information)
Land Bank Television
National Department of Agriculture Newspaper
Provincial Department of Agriculture Farmer's weekly or other magazines
Radio DWAF
Nu Farmer Other
4. DECLARATION
I /We declare that all the information provided in this application is complete and correct to the best my/our
knowledge
I/We understand that any false/misleading information supplied could lead to my/ our application being
disqualified.
On behalf of the Proposed ALE (ALE name in full)
I (Full name and position in block capital letters)
do hereby apply to be approved as an Approved Legal Entity (ALE) for implementation of financial assistance for Rainwater Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor, as more fully described in the policy of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
Witness no. 1: ______________________________ Initials and Surname: ______________________________ Witness no. 2: ______________________________ initials and Surname: ______________________________
5. RECOMMENDATIONS BY ALE MANAGEMENT
Recommendations by the ALE Authorised Representative is required: The information has been verified. The application is hereby recommended/ not recommended. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Signature: _________________________________ Date: ____________________________________
Authorised Representative: (Name of ALE in full)___________________________________
- 26 -
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
DWAF Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support The application is approved/not approved for the following reasons: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature: _________________________ Date: _________________________
FOR OFFICE USE: DWAF OFFICIALS ONLY Complete the checklist before submitting the application form for approval
I, certify that
this application has been signed in my presence on (date)
20 / / at
ITEMS
Application is fully completed with Application is fully completed with Application is fully completed with Application is fully completed with
the following information completedthe following information completedthe following information completedthe following information completed
Cover letter
Copy of ID Document (if individual) AND/OR Company registration (if organisation)
Company profile
Documents received and certified completeDocuments received and certified completeDocuments received and certified completeDocuments received and certified complete
Name ame ame ame SignatureSignatureSignatureSignature DateDateDateDate
- 27 -
B1.3 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Feasibility Study
APPLICATION APPLICATION APPLICATION APPLICATION FORFORFORFOR DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORM FOR FOR FOR FOR DWAF DWAF DWAF DWAF APPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITYYYY (ALE) (ALE) (ALE) (ALE) FOR FOR FOR FOR FINANCIAL FINANCIAL FINANCIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE
TO DO TO DO TO DO TO DO A A A A FEASIBILITY STUDYFEASIBILITY STUDYFEASIBILITY STUDYFEASIBILITY STUDY AND AND AND AND DEVELOP A DEVELOP A DEVELOP A DEVELOP A PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLANPROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLANPROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLANPROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
FOR FOR FOR FOR RAINRAINRAINRAIN----WATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USES BY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POOR
APPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBER Completed forms must be submitted to the nearest DWAF Offices, addressed to:
Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001 Fax: 012 323 5041
Enquiries may be addressed to: Tel: 012 336 8066 Email: [email protected] 1. PROPOSAL DETAILS
DWAF Programme DWAF Pro-Poor Homestead Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme ALE1.1 Project Name Duration Start date (dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy) End date (dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy) 1.1 Approved Legal Entity (ALE) Status (Choose one option) 1.1.1 We have already been approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor OROROROR 1.1.2 We have applied to be approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor OROROROR 1.1.3 Our application to be approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor has been refused.
- 28 -
2. ORGANISATION DETAILS 2.1 Lead Organisation (ALE) Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Street address City/Town Street code Contribution details 2.2 Collaborating Organisations Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details
- 29 -
3. PROJECT LEADER DETAILS (responsible for planning, management, financial accountability, project admin, etc.) Title Initials Surname Proposer First name Telephone Code Number Fax Code Number Cellphone E-mail Years experience Qualifications 4. TEAM DETAILS
PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE STAKEHOLDER LINKAGES
(ensuring support and participation of relevant government and civil society organisations) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE VILLAGE AND HOUSEHOLD FACILITATION
(village understanding and support, poverty focus, household ownership and participation, sustainability issues) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORT FOR GARDENING (OR OTHER PRODUCTIVE USE)
(household support for cropping or other productive use planning, record-keeping, etc) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE TECHNICAL QUALITY
(RWH system layout, tank design, construction, etc.) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications OTHER TEAM MEMBERS Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications
- 30 -
COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT CONTACT
(contact person based in village, involved in implementation, who will help ensure continuity and sustainability) Village Name Contact’s relationship to village Title Initials First name Surname Telephone 5. BUDGET DETAILS 5.1 Feasibility Study Costs Item Amount (R) Professional fees Direct expenses Total for current financial year : 20../20.. (i.e. 1 December 2005 – 31 March 2006) Professional fees Direct expenses Total for next financial year : 20../20.. (i.e. 1 April 2006– 31 March 2007) 5.2 Implementation Plan Development Costs Item Amount (R) Professional fees Direct expenses Total for current financial year : 20../20.. (i.e. 1 December 2005 – 31 March 2006) Professional fees Direct expenses Total for next financial year : 20../20.. (i.e. 1 April 2006 – 31 March 2007) 5555....3333 Budget Details Budget Details Budget Details Budget Details (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) Financial Year 20../20.. 20../20.. Project Total Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Professional fees Direct expenses Total (excl VAT) VAT @14% Grand Total (incl VAT)
- 31 -
5.4 Additional Funds (Describe additional funds that are available in support of this project or related activities) 6. FURTHER INFORMATION REQUIRED WITH THIS PROPOSAL (Compulsory) 6.1 Attach Tax Clearance Certificate 6.2 Attach Credit Order Form
7. DECLARATION
I/We declare that all the information provided in this application and attached proposal is complete and correct to the
best my/our knowledge
I/We understand that any false/misleading information supplied could lead to my/ our application being disqualified.
I/We agree that conditions as stipulated by DWAF will apply to this application for financial assistance:
On behalf of the ALE (ALE name in full)
I (Full name and position in block capital letters)
do hereby apply for financial assistance to do a Feasibility Study and develop an Implementation Plan for implementation of Rainwater Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor, as more fully described in the policy of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
Witness no. 1: ______________________________ Initials and Surname: ______________________________ Witness no. 2: ______________________________ initials and Surname: ______________________________
- 32 -
8. RECOMMENDATION BY ALE MANAGEMENT
Recommendations by the ALE Authorised Representative is required: The information has been verified. The application is hereby recommended/ not recommended. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Signature: _________________________________ Date:
Authorised Representative: (Name of ALE in full)___________________________________
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
DWAF Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support The application is recommended/not recommended for the following reasons: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature: _________________________ Date: _________________________
- 33 -
B1.4 Application for DWAF financial assistance for a RWH Project
APPLICATION APPLICATION APPLICATION APPLICATION FORFORFORFOR DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORMAPPLICATION FORM FOR FOR FOR FOR DWAF DWAF DWAF DWAF APPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITAPPROVED LEGAL ENTITYYYY (ALE) (ALE) (ALE) (ALE) FOR FOR FOR FOR FINANCIAL FINANCIAL FINANCIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE
FOR FOR FOR FOR RAINRAINRAINRAIN----WATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USESWATER TANKS FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USES BY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POORBY THE POOR
APPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBERAPPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBER Completed forms must be submitted to the nearest DWAF Offices, addressed to:
Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001 Fax: 012 323 5041
Enquiries may be addressed to: Tel: 012 336 8066 Email: [email protected] 1. PROPOSAL DETAILS
DWAF Programme DWAF Pro-Poor Homestead Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme ALE1.1 Project Name Duration Start date (dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy) 01 December 2005 End date (dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy)(dd/mm/yyyy) 1.1 Approved Legal Entity (ALE) Status (Choose one option) 1.1.1 We have already been approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor OROROROR 1.1.2 We have applied to be approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor OROROROR 1.1.3 Our application to be approved as a DWAF Approved Legal Entity (ALEe) for the Purpose of Submission of Proposals for Assistance for Rain-Water Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor has been refused.
- 34 -
2. ORGANISATION DETAILS 2.1 Lead Organisation (ALE) Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Street address City/Town Street code Contribution details 2.2 Collaborating Organisations Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details Name Department/Division Postal address City/Town Postal code Contribution details
- 35 -
3. PROJECT LEADER DETAILS (responsible for planning, management, financial accountability, project admin, etc.) Title Initials Surname Proposer First name Telephone Code Number Fax Code Number Cellphone E-mail Years experience Qualifications 4. TEAM DETAILS
PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE STAKEHOLDER LINKAGES
(ensuring support and participation of relevant government and civil society organisations) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE VILLAGE AND HOUSEHOLD FACILITATION
(village understanding and support, poverty focus, household ownership and participation, sustainability issues) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORT FOR GARDENING (OR OTHER PRODUCTIVE USE)
(household support for cropping or other productive use planning, record-keeping, etc) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications PERSON ENSURING ADEQUATE TECHNICAL QUALITY
(RWH system layout, tank design, construction, etc.) Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications OTHER TEAM MEMBERS Title Initials First name Surname Years experience Qualifications
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COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT CONTACT
(contact person based in village, involved in implementation, who will help ensure continuity and sustainability) Village Name Contact’s relationship to village Title Initials First name Surname Telephone 5. BUDGET DETAILS 5.1 Facilitation Costs Item Amount (R) Facilitation costs (facilitation, training, construction supervision) Direct expenses for facilitation (for Demonstration Phase, community buy-in, HH training, etc) Total for financial year : 2005/2006 (i.e. 1 December 2005 – 31 March 2006) Facilitation costs Direct expenses Total for financial year : 2006/2007 (i.e. 1 April 2006– 31 March 2007) 5.2 Construction Costs: Rainwater Facilities Item Amount (R) Material Labour Total for financial year : 2005/2006 (i.e. 1 December 2005 – 31 March 2006) Material Labour Total for financial year : 2006/2007 (i.e. 1 April 2006 – 31 March 2007) 5555....3333 Budget Details Budget Details Budget Details Budget Details (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) (Summary of Totals) Financial Year 2005/2006 2006/2007 Project Total Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Total cost (excl VAT) (R) Facilitation Costs Construction Costs: Rainwater Facilities Grand Total
- 37 -
5.4 Additional Funds (Describe additional funds that are available in support of this project or related activities) 6. FURTHER INFORMATION REQUIRED WITH THIS PROPOSAL (Compulsory) 6.1 Attach Tax Clearance Certificate 6.2 Attach Credit Order Form
7. DECLARATION
I/We declare that all the information provided in this application and attached proposal is complete and correct to the
best my/our knowledge
I/We understand that any false/misleading information supplied could lead to my/ our application being disqualified.
I/We agree that the following conditions will apply to this application for financial assistance:
• The subsidy/grant will be payable to the ALE as follows:
-an advance payment for material and labour, and
-payment of ALE fees in accordance with a fee payment schedule agreed in the ALE contract.
-Final payment will be made on completion of the service on receipt of valid invoices and completed Household
Approval of Completed Rainwater Tanks forms i.r.o. each beneficiary household.
• The individual beneficiaries have accepted that they will be responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of
their rainwater tank and will not hold DWAF responsible for future maintenance or replacement of the rainwater
tanks or any ancillary infrastructure or equipment, or for any injury, loss or death resulting from the construction,
use or otherwise of the rainwater tank and ancillary infrastructure or equipment.
I/We undertake to supply the following further information to DWAF:
� A full ‘post factum’ cost breakdown i.r.o. all cost items (time, expenses, capital, etc.) related to this project, to
facilitate realistic analysis for future roll-out planning, on completion of the Demonstration Phase, and again on
completion of the Expansion Phase.
� ‘Lessons learnt’ reports on facilitation and technical issues, according to detailed requirements by DWAF.
� Household Approval of Completed Tanks, i.r.o. each beneficiary household.
� Household Application Form i.r.o. all prospective beneficiary households prior to approval of the Expansion Phase.
On behalf of the ALE (ALE name in full)
I (Full name and position in block capital letters)
do hereby apply for financial assistance for implementation of Rainwater Tanks for Household Productive Uses by the Poor, as more fully described in the policy of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
If more than one signatory: (Full name in block capital letters)
Signature:
Place : Date:
- 38 -
Signature:
Place : Date:
Witness no. 1: ______________________________ Initials and Surname: ______________________________ Witness no. 2: ______________________________ initials and Surname: ______________________________
8. RECOMMENDATION BY ALE MANAGEMENT
Recommendations by the ALE Authorised Representative is required: The information has been verified. The application is hereby recommended/ not recommended. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Signature: _________________________________ Date:
Authorised Representative: (Name of ALE in full)___________________________________
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
DWAF Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support The application is recommended/not recommended for the following reasons: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature: _________________________ Date: _________________________
- 39 -
APPENDIX B2. Project Implementation Plan format
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme
Project Implementation Plan – Table of Contents
0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
1. INTRODUCTION 2
1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Project Objectives................................................................................................................. 2
2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION MAP 2
3. PLANNED SCOPE OF WORK 2
3.1 Number and type(s) of tanks to be built................................................................................. 2
4. METHODOLOGY 2
4.1 Registration of Beneficiary Households ................................................................................ 2
4.2 Establishment of intensive gardening /trench beds/ other ...................................................... 3
4.3 Construction of tanks ............................................................................................................ 3
4.4 Safety precautions................................................................................................................. 3 4.4.1 Safety during excavation and construction .................................................................. 3 4.4.2 Safety of tanks after construction ................................................................................. 3 4.5 Handover .............................................................................................................................. 3 4.5.1 Stage 1............................................................................................................................. 3 4.5.2 Stage 2............................................................................................................................. 3 4.6 Festivals and confirmation processes .................................................................................... 4 5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TEAM MEMBERS 4
5.1 Institutional and Social Development (i.e. village & higher level facilitation) ....................... 4
5.2 Family Food Production (i.e. household facilitation & mentoring) ........................................ 4
5.3 Technical and construction.................................................................................................... 4 6. ORGANOGRAM 4
7. PARTNERSHIPS/ RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 4
8. CONFORMITY TO POLICY GUIDELINES 4
8.1 Labour-based Construction (this has to be maximised).......................................................... 4
8.2 Employment Policy (criteria for employing unskilled labour) ............................................... 4
8.3 Wages and Labour standards................................................................................................. 4
8.4 Financial Procedures............................................................................................................. 4
8.5 Design Standards .................................................................................................................. 4
9. PROJECT COST 5
9.1 Budget and Cash Flow .......................................................................................................... 5
9.2 Cash Flow Forecast............................................................................................................... 5
10. TIME SCHEDULE (programme) 5
10.1 Milestone Schedule for the Project........................................................................................ 5
11. MONITORING AND EVALUATION 5
12. REPORTING 5
12.1 Key Performance Areas and Indicators ................................................................................. 5
12.2 Monthly Reports................................................................................................................... 5
12.3 Project Closure Report .......................................................................................................... 5
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Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme
Notes on the required content of Project Implementation Plans [Important note: Your Project Implementation Plan shall be accompanied by a “DWAF RWH Project
Application Form”, where you shall indicate collaborating organisations on your project team and shall
provide a summary of your proposed project budget]
0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [½-1 page] [Give a brief overview of the proposed project purpose, size, location and cost. This should enable a
decision-maker at DWAF to know at a glance what you are proposing to implement]
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
1.2 Project Objectives
• PROJECT DESCRIPTION MAP [Attach a 1:50 000 Project Description Map, with informative text boxes (see example text boxes at the end of
these Notes) to cover the information listed below:]
-location of village (GPS co-ordinates)
-demographics and income profile
-community organisations/structures
-village water systems
-general slope and topographical aspects
-geotechnical aspects affecting tank choice
-status quo general gardening practices
-appropriate garden intensification options (trenching, raised beds, etc.)
-available rainfall & required runoff collection area for 30m3 tank
3. PLANNED SCOPE OF WORK
3.1 Number and type(s) of tanks to be built
4. METHODOLOGY [Describe how you would approach the project, covering at least the aspects below]
4.1 Registration of Beneficiary Households
-awareness [how will awareness be created]
-use of existing or establishment of new organizational structures? How?
-criteria setting [describe how you plan to participatively develop agreed project criteria with local
stakeholders, in addition to DWAF's criteria below]
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DWAF’s Criteria:
The Household must be willing to:
-establish or have already established intensified gardening;
-receive, safely store and issue the building material to the builder;
-dig a portion of the excavation for the RWH Dam (e.g. a trial pit of 1.5m diameter, 1.5m deep); and
-provide water if there is a yard tap available
4.2 Establishment of intensive gardening /trench beds/ other [Describe how you plan to encourage and mentor households to adopt intensified gardening/production
practices]
-exposure / cross visits [where, how, objectives, how you will ensure these objectives are achieved]
-training / workshops / garden establishment
-supply of seedlings, and how you plan to prevent continued dependence on seedlings (and other
inputs/services) from outside
-etc
4.3 Construction of tanks [Describe how you plan to construct tanks in a way that ensures that the household feels in control of the
process and outcome throughout]
-training [who, what, when?]
-siting
-digging
-material procurement and distribution (bulk buying, storage, etc.)
-record keeping of material - HH to builder
-building of tanks
• Safety precautions
4.4.1 Safety during excavation and construction
4.4.2 Safety of tanks after construction
4.5 Handover
4.5.1 Stage 1
-practical completion of tank by builder
-snag list by ALE and HH
-remedial work by builder
-ALE hands over to HH and HH signs
-payment of builder
4.5.2 Stage 2
-practical completion of a batch by ALE
-snag list by ALE and client (inspection of tanks on sample basis)
-remedial work by ALE
-payment of fees to RIA less retention (retention will be released based on (a) expiry of normal
maintenance period for such structures, (b) the tank has been tested for leakage).
- 42 -
4.6 Festivals and confirmation processes [Describe how you will facilitate household and community acceptance and celebration of improved production
practices. Describe how you will encourage local leadership’s moral support to participating households]
5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TEAM MEMBERS
5.1 Institutional and Social Development (i.e. village & higher level facilitation)
5.2 Family Food Production (i.e. household facilitation & mentoring)
5.3 Technical and construction
6. ORGANOGRAM [Also explain qualifications/expertise of individuals shown in the organogram, and attach CVs]
7. PARTNERSHIPS/ RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS [Describe which processes you plan to follow to ensure support from and (where relevant)
collaboration with local stakeholders, such as those listed below] 7.1 DWAF Regional Office
7.2 Department of Agriculture [Local Extension for future agricultural support? Training in organic
production for local agric staff as part of your implementation?]
7.3 District Municipality [IDP, LED?]
7.4 Local Municipality [IDP, LED?]
7.5 Community organisations, Home Based Carers, etc
7.6 NGOs
7.7 Other, e.g. Consultants working on related matters in the community
8. CONFORMITY TO POLICY GUIDELINES [This may be important with regard to government regulations such as basic employment regulations, Extended Public Works Programs etc, not necessarily just RWH policy. At the minimum, make a statement that you will
comply]
8.1 Labour-based Construction (this has to be maximised)
8.2 Employment Policy (criteria for employing unskilled labour)
8.3 Wages and Labour standards
8.4 Financial Procedures
8.5 Design Standards
- 43 -
9. PROJECT COST
9.1 Budget and Cash Flow
9.2 Cash Flow Forecast
10. TIME SCHEDULE (programme)
10.1 Milestone Schedule for the Project [Please show milestones and timing for milestones per batch of tanks – effectively, #4.1-4.5 above are
milestones.
Particularly, please show monthly targets for tank construction. This will form the basis for monthly
grant advances and fees payments, less retention on current batches.]
11. MONITORING AND EVALUATION [Describe your own internal monitoring procedures to ensure quality of facilitation and construction, and to
prevent any fraudulent practices.]
12. REPORTING
12.1 Key Performance Areas and Indicators
12.2 Monthly Reports
• Project Closure Report
- 44 -
Example Text boxes for ‘Section 2: Project Description Map’
[These text boxes should be inserted onto your area map as required in
Section #2 above. The text boxes shown below are examples, and you
may come up with your own. The intention is to minimise the requirement
for text in the proposal, and to enable the DWAF decision-maker to see at
a glance your proposals & recommendations and the reasoning behind
these]
Province: Eastern Cape DM: Chris Hani LM: Emalahleni Ward: 3
Ward HH income profile Income level No of HHs
Interpretation of these data with reference to the MDGs: [i.e. your recommendation]
Project Area Name: Ndonga Villages and current gardening activity
Village GPS Number of
HHs in village Demo tanks completed
Active gardens
Proposed tanks
Hala 2 200 0 40 10 N
EW
Intensified gardening/ production options:
Soil types: Current gardening practices: Recommended intensification options: [i.e. your interpretation of soils and local conditions and your recommendation, e.g. trenching or other] Motivation for recommendation:
RWH planning Rainfall
Summer Winter Required run-off collection area
for a 30m3 tank
Garden area from a 30m
3 tank
350mm 190mm
200m2 at 10% run-off
60m2 at 100% run-off
[These are arbitrary figures, just as examples. Calculate for your
proposed project area]
110m2
Recommended Tank type Tank type:
- 45 -
APPENDIX B3. Physical Planning Aspects
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Setting the scene
2.3 NATURAL RESOURCES
2.2 WARDS, POPULATION, INCOMES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE ETC
2.1 LOCATION AND MAPS
2.4 CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES
3.0 On-site planning
3.1 FIRST PRINCIPLES
3.2 SKETCH PLAN OF THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE PLOT.
3.2 SKETCH PLAN OF THE PLOT ITSELF
3.3 GARDEN LAYOUT
3,4 SELECTING RWH CATCHMENTS
3.5 ESTIMATING WATER REQUIREMENTS
4.0 Implementation
4.1 SKETCH PLAN OF PLOT
4.2 IRRIGATION
______________________________________
1.0 Introduction
Project submissions to the Department will be channeled through approved APIs. In order to ensure
that the scale of the operation will be such that the provision of organisational structures for the
implementation of the processes can be economically justified, applications will have to be
submitted on behalf of villages or communities and activities may extend over more than one
financial year.
The emphasis on all facets of the process will be centered on mobilising local organisations and
people and submissions to the Department will need to include a clear outline as to how and by
whom this is to be achieved. In common with other similar projects, community members will have
to be trained to fill supervisory, administrative and technical roles. These will be over and above
the important role that will have to be played by community facilitators.
- 46 -
The initial submission to the Department should include a “scene set” and suggestions follow as to
how this can be approached as well as notes on the content and nature of training that may be
required.
2.0 Setting the scene
2.1 LOCATION AND MAPS
The locality can be shown on a scan or photostat of a road atlas map. The next level of detail is a
1:50,000 topographic map (now available on CD) that provides an indication of the layout of the
village or villages, land slopes, roads and land use as well as streams and dams. Orthophotos, large
scale aerial photographs with contour lines, can be used for identifying individual residences and
plots, while the “Google Earth” satellite images have even further extended possibilities. What has
become evident is that GPS is an essential management tool when working in the deep rural areas.
The importance of good mapping cannot be overestimated; it forms the basis of virtually all the
overall planning actions that follow. There is no better way of presenting what is happening in the
villagers than by annotating the photographs or maps with short texts.
2.2 WARDS, POPULATION, INCOMES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE ETC
Information is available on CD at electoral ward level from the compilations developed by the
Municipal Demarcation Board (SA Explorer) that are now in their third edition. The data is derived
from the latest population census and provide the information required for decision-making
concerning the selection of applicants for grants. Apart from income estimation statistics are
provided on the availability of electricity, potable water, and sanitation.
2.3 NATURAL RESOURCES
Climatic conditions, particularly rainfall, have a significant impact on the likely role to be played by
the programme in promoting food security and income augmentation. There are two valuable
sources of information The ARC Atlas that is in the process of being released in electronic format in
AGIS, the DOA website, is a condensation of the maps and databases comprising the Land Type
Survey of South Africa compiled over the past 25 years. The Atlas is a valuable resource in that
once the coordinates of the sites have been established the planner is well informed about the
circumstances of the natural resources available to the villages. The second edition agro
hydrology Atlas developed with WRC funding by the KZN University, also in the process of release,
and is comprehensive and includes detailed information on climate and water resources.
2.4 CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES
It is important that the building methods and materials being used in the area be established and
recorded. Allied to this every effort should be made to establish the prices of local materials, or
locally available materials, and the transport facilities currently utilised. Obviously this can have a
major impact on the construction materials and methods recommended for the tanks. The need
to establish the position of the soils in respect of both the establishment of gardens as well as the
excavation of the tanks by digging test pits has been stressed. Normally this would not be
necessary on each site but sufficient test pits would be required to ensure that the overall properties
of the soil in the village was established.
- 47 -
3.0 On-site planning
3.1 FIRST PRINCIPLES
People want to grow vegetables, fruit and maize next to the house where they know they will be
safe. What do they need to do this successfully?
For high production and good-quality it may be necessary to “create” deep fertile soils for the
vegetable beds best achieved by trenching and back filling with organic materials. Then for this
effort to be rewarded an adequate supply of water is essential. This is where rainfall harvesting
comes in because it does not require complex infrastructure to transport it over long distances. But
people must know how to capture this water and how to use it. It is very often possible to get by in
the rain season even when there are dry spells but in the typical long South African dry season
production of vegetables is only a proposition if water can be stored. And this of course is the
objective of the present scheme, tanks to store water for the dry season.
The combination of trenching for good soils, finding sources of rainwater that can be led on to
vegetable beds or into storage tanks without running the risk of flooding and damage and the
siting of storage that will not be a danger to children or to health means that very careful attention
must be paid to planning how the plot should be planned so that the it is utilised effectively in the
long-term. It is most important that the storage tank be sited so that filling it with available
rainwater and delivering the stored water to the garden beds requires a minimum of attention.
3.2 SKETCH PLAN OF THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE PLOT.
It is important that the position of the house and plot relative to roads, other gardens and fields and
of course neighbouring houses be established. This does not have to be a survey with accurate
dimensions. All that is required is a simple diagram with paced distances. Levels are, however, very
important because it is levels that determine where water flows. Approximate but adequate levels
can be established using simple apparatus such as a builders line level. Remember that water will
be received from adjoining plots and roads and passed on to other plots.
3.2 SKETCH PLAN OF THE PLOT ITSELF
Ultimately it will be desirable that each plot has a helicopter plan, a detailed sketch showing the
position of each vegetable bed and fruit tree and the planting pattern for the seasons and the
paths and channels that supply them with water. This is not required at the initial planning stage,
what is required is a sketch that enables various ideas to be penciled in and evaluated with
attention being given to the origin of the water and the position of the tank relative to the beds.
Should it be decided that a file be maintained for each site then this should include the final sketch
plan showing the position of the buildings, proposed garden and infrastructure.
3.3 GARDEN LAYOUT
This is probably where planning should begin, and seldom does. The harvesting of water during the
rain season and the way in which this is distributed to the beds is important. The process is entirely
dependent on the gravity flow of water in paths that double up as earth channels so is dependent
on the micro topography of the garden as well as the infiltration characteristics of the soil. For all
practical purposes the beds can be considered as small level basins. Planning and setting out
these beds is as much an art as a science but there are principles that should be followed that can
be demonstrated and learned. It is absolutely essential that these basin beds be set out in
- 48 -
accordance with contour lines scratched out on the soil surface but initial planning can be done
on a sketch plan provided these include at least approximate contour lines.
During the dry season plants will largely be dependent on irrigation. Because in the dry season
water is a scarce commodity the transport of the water from storage to the beds well normally be
by pipe, hose, bucket or watering can. Irrigation water supply is consequently flexible and can be
applied to beds originally set out to facilitate the distribution of run on water during the rain season.
3,4 SELECTING RWH CATCHMENTS
In the case of water to be stored and used for irrigation or household applications priority should be
given to clean water from roofs and paved areas. If the roof area is large enough to provide all
the water that can be stored this may obviate the need for underground storage. Water can be
run direct from gutters and down pipes into the storage tank. Gutters are frequently a problem but
there is merit in catching the water in shallow screeded channels around the bottom of the walls
and channeling it into underground tanks. The areas of impervious surfaces should always be
noted and the yield during the summer months estimated. The expected rainfall for the area
should be established at the outset, this information is readily available. The computer program
Planwat includes default values for the percentage yield from a variety of catchment surfaces
ranging from corrugated iron roofs to grazing areas.
Once the catchment area and the position and area of the vegetable beds have been
established the potential locations for the storage tank become fairly obvious.
Run on water for summer production is usually gathered from higher lying areas of the plot or
adjacent lands and veld while roads are an obvious source. There is a tendency to overestimate
the area required and this may result in unnecessary flooding of the garden. The furrows dug to
gather and distribute the water can be sized and arranged to limit damage in heavy storms and
while there are some elementary rules that can be followed experience in a specific area is
important. Depending on topography and soil characteristics it may be possible to dig interceptor
ditches deep enough to catch the base flow and prolong the delivery period after a storm.
3.5 ESTIMATING WATER REQUIREMENTS
It is quite possible to make fairly accurate estimates of crop water use and consequently of
irrigation requirements anywhere in the country and to relate these estimates to water harvesting.
The Sapwat / Planwat computer programs make this feasible. These processes will be facilitated
when Sapwat3, an interactive merging of the two programs, is released early in 2007. For reasons,
that will now be explained, it is preferable to utilise the programs at the feasibility studies stage to
develop tables and graphs for specific areas for use by field personnel.
Irrigation quantities during the dry season are a function of the reference evapotranspiration (short
grass) calculated by means of the Penman-Monteith equation. During the winter in the summer
rainfall region where most of the villages are located the temperature and humidity do not vary
widely and consequently crop water requirements reflect this trend in uniformity. However, crop
water and irrigation requirements can vary considerably and are influenced by the following
factors:
� Crop growth characteristics, particularly length of growing season,
� Crop selection and planting dates,
� Intensity of occupancy of the beds throughout the season,
- 49 -
� Crop management including weed control and planting density,
� Irrigation method and management and
� Methods of augmenting and monitoring soil profile water content.
The objective is intensive production on a limited area with a restricted water supply. Some
householders aim to plant more than one crop in the winter season on each bed while others
prefer one crop per season. They may not be able to afford the additional cost of seed. Some
crops such as spinach is picked for six months or longer, and requires watering throughout the full
period. Facilitators must understand the principles of vegetable and fruit production, and must
obviously receive adequate induction training. They should be consulted on the conditions and
practices that influence planning.
Irrigation deserves greater attention than it normally receives. There is a perception that
vegetables have very shallow rooting systems and require daily irrigation. Seedlings do require
particular attention initially but when grown in the deep beds created by trenching most crop
varieties develop deep roots and research has shown that irrigating once a week or even once
every two weeks can be a satisfactory practice during the winter months in an intensive system.
Similarly there is a perception that innovative new methods of irrigation can achieve miracles in
respect of water saving and production. Flood has come to be regarded as an undesirable
method that wastes water while drip is believed to be the modern approach that saves water.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Both methods, and a number of other approaches, can
produce excellent results and many factors including personal preferences and circumstances can
influence the decision. Opting for any particular approach will in any event not guarantee
success.
To illustrate this point there is no more effective way of providing plants with the water they require
than by planting them along a shallow level furrow the two meter length of the vegetable bed and
filling the furrow with a watering can or bucket. Similarly a small level basin can surround a tree.
This procedure ensures that one knows exactly where the water is being placed and how much has
been applied. If a hose, fed from a manual pump or even a tap, is affordable this can cut the
drudgery. Normally in a small household garden watering is not a major chore especially if it can
be spread over several days. When water is in extremely short supply this is the approach that can
help it go much further than one would have thought possible.
4.0 IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 SKETCH PLAN OF PLOT
The general dimensions, buildings, existing gardens or other facilities can be sketched in and
distances can be measured by tape measure or by pacing. What is important, however, is that the
contour lines be sketched in as well. This is not a difficult procedure but facilitators will require some
training. Probably the simplest procedure is to scratch out the contour lines on the ground and
then to sketch them in using other features to position them on the drawing. These contour lines
can then be used to plan the position and orientation of the garden beds and water channels and
pipelines.
It is not necessary to use survey instruments to establish levels. This can be done using a simple
builders line level suspended on fishing line or alternatively by constructing an A-frame with a
plumb bob providing the vertical reference line. Conventional boning rods can then be used to
project levels from reference pegs across the plot.
- 50 -
4.2 IRRIGATION
Facilitators will need to understand the basic principles of irrigation. These are not complex and are
largely concerned with the availability of water in the soil profile within reach of plant roots. Only
too often people believe that it is essential to keep the water content of the soil at the magic “field
capacity” level, now referred to as “upper limit” in order to eliminate plant stress. Unfortunately this
only too often leads to over irrigation that is not only a waste of water but as often as not leads to
the roots being starved of oxygen resulting in plant wilting. The golden rule of irrigation is to know
what the water content of the profile is and at what depths the roots are extracting water.
The difficulty is that the ebb and flow of soil water is hidden below the soil surface and it is not easy
to establish the position. Successful irrigation scheduling is based on the dipstick principle rather like
measuring the level of the oil in the sump of a motor engine at regular intervals. This can be done
by means of sophisticated equipment or very simply by digging a hole with a spade and looking
and feeling! Practical alternatives include homemade probes and gouge augurs. Generally once
irrigators have followed one of these methods for a period and have got to know their conditions
they develop a feeling for when irrigation is necessary.
- 51 -
APPENDIX B4. API Budget and Cash Flow formats
B4.1 Project Budget Summary format
Date:
Name of RIA
Project Name
Project number
Number of RWH tanks
Item Activity Cost Cost/Tank % of Total
1 Grant (construction)
2 Professional fees
3 Reimbursement of direct expenses
Sub Total
VAT
TOTAL
Project Budget Summary
DWAF RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
- 52 -
B4.2 Invoicing Schedule format
DWAF Rainwater Harvesting Programme - Invoicing Schedule RIA Name:
Project Name 1 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Month 13 Month 14 Month 15 Month 16 Month 17 Month 18 TOTAL
Grant Advance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Fee Invoice 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Monthly TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Project Name 2 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Month 13 Month 14 Month 15 Month 16 Month 17 Month 18 TOTAL
Grant Advance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Fee Invoice 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Monthly TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Project Name 3 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Month 13 Month 14 Month 15 Month 16 Month 17 Month 18 TOTAL
Grant Advance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Fee Invoice 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Monthly TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
TOTAL Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10 Month 11 Month 12 Month 13 Month 14 Month 15 Month 16 Month 17 Month 18 TOTAL
Grant Advance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Fee Invoice 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
Monthly TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (VAT incl)
…
- 53 -
APPENDIX B5. API Reporting & Invoicing formats
B5.1 Bi-Monthly Progress Report format
Date of this report [months & year] : Sept-Oct 2009
Name of Registered Implementing Agent:
1. Name of Project:
1.1 PROJECT STATISTICS This period
Cumulative
(actual to date)
Cumulative
(target to date)
Project No [no]
District Council [name]
Local Municipality [name]
Estimated Number of Target Households [no]
Start Date [date]
End Date [date]
1.2 PROGRESS
1.2.1 Intensified Gardening
Households Registered [no]
Households doing intensified gardening [no]
1.2.2 Construction
Job Cards opened [no]
Tanks excavated [no]
Tanks under construction [no]
Tanks completed & INITIAL ACCEPTANCE signed [no]
Number of tanks grant payment justified [no]
Tanks tested and FINAL ACCEPTANCE signed [no]
Number of tanks retention payment justified [no]
Number of tanks inspected by client [no]
Rate of construction [no]
Number of BUILDERS/ building teams [no]
% completion [%]
1.2.3 Financials (subsidies)
Subsidies requested [no]
[value]
Subsidies paid [no]
[value]
Retention requested [value]
Balance (Budget less Subsidies Paid) [value]
1.2.4 User Education
Households that have received user education [no]
Workshop 1-2 [no]
Workshop 3-6 [no]
Workshop 7 [no]
1.2.5 Comments/ Recommendations/ Suggestions:
RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
BI-MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT
- 54 -
B5.2 Invoicing format
Date of Invoice
Invoicing period for Grant Advance: for Fees:
Name of RIA
Project Name
Project Number
Number of RWH tanks for Total Project:
Summary Report on Previous Grant Advance: -R (incl VAT)
Number of RWH tanks:
claimed for
in Previous Grant
Advance period:
actually constructed
(i.e. INITIAL TANK
ACCEPTANCE signed)
in Previous Grant
Advance period:
DATE SUPPLIER / SERVICE PROVIDER
Is this supplier
VAT registered?
Y / N
SUPPLIER INVOICE No.AMOUNT
(Excl VAT)
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
-R
-R
-R (incl VAT)Actual cost of tanks (Incl VAT) -R
Grant Advance now claimed: -R (incl VAT)
-R (incl VAT)
Retention now claimed: -R (incl VAT)
-R (incl VAT)
Professional Fees now claimed: -R (incl VAT)
PERIOD STAFF MEMBER HOURS WORKED RATE (R/h)AMOUNT
(Excl VAT)
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
-R
-R
-R (incl VAT)
Expenses now claimed: -R (incl VAT)
PERIOD STAFF MEMBER HOURS WORKED RATE (R/h)AMOUNT
(Excl VAT)
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
00/00/2009 -R
-R
-R
-R (incl VAT)
Grant Advance & Retention now claimed -R (incl VAT)
Professional Fees & Reimbursables now claimed -R (incl VAT)
-R (incl VAT)
Expenses now claimed:
Number of RWH tanks for which FINAL TANK ACCEPTANCE has been signed since the Previous
TOTAL now claimed:
TOTAL now claimed:
REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES - PROFESSIONAL STAFF RIA Reference
No
TOTAL (Excl VAT)
VAT @14%
VAT @14%
Professional Fees now claimed:
Grant Advance now claimable
(see invoicing schedule):
Number of RWH tanks claimed for in this Grant Advance period:
Grant Advance now claimed:
TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE
Retention now claimable
(see invoicing schedule):
Retention now claimed:
Expenses now claimable
PAYMENTS MADE FOR CONSTRUCTION AND SITE STAFFRIA Reference
No
Invoice
Previous Advance claimed:
Professional Fees now claimable
(see invoicing schedule):
TOTAL (Excl VAT)
VAT @14% (on all supplier invoices, including non-VAT registered suppliers)
FEES - PROFESSIONAL STAFF RIA Reference
No
DWAF RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMME
Number of RWH tanks for which FINAL TANK ACCEPTANCE has been signed since the Previous
Retention claim:
TOTAL (Excl VAT)
- 55 -
APPENDIX C:
Project Implementation Tools
APPENDIX C1. Procedures
APPENDIX C1.1 Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff
APPENDIX C1.2 Combined Procedure for ISD, FFP and TECH staff
APPENDIX C1.3 Procedures for introducing FFP at household level
APPENDIX C1.4 Procedure for buying materials
APPENDIX C1.5 Procedure for paying wages and salaries
- 56 -
C1.1 Procedures for electing PSC and appointing site staff
- 57 -
C1.2 Combined Procedures for ISD, FFP and TECH staff
STEPS ACTIVITY PURPOSE RESPONSIBILTY SUPPORTDURATION
in weeks
1INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIPIntroduce the programme, seek buy-in, arrange for mass-meeting ISD-F/ISD-M FFP-F/FFP-M 4 PSC
2FIRST
MASS MEETING
Introduce the programme and the team, highlight the need for PSC and the criteria for election.
Set date for electionsISD-F/ISD-M
FFP-F/FFP-M,
AM, TO2 ISD
3SECOND
MASS MEETING
Explain in detail the responsibilites of the PSC and criteria for election of PSC members.
Elect the PSC.
Highlight the Programme's criteria for selection of beneficiaries. Identify interest groups.
ISD-F/ISD-M
FFP-F/FFP-M2 FFP
4FIRST
PSC MEETING
Explain the responsibilities of the PSC, and its Executive. Election of the Executive.
Explain recruitment procedures and criteria for site staff.ISD-F/ISD-M 1 BK
5SECOND
PSC MEETING
Interviews of site staff (FFP-A, BK, SK, QA, builders).
Identification of site office.ISD-F
FFP-F, AM, PSC,
TO1 SK
6INTRODUCTORY TRAINING
FOR SITE STAFFTraining on site procedures and filling of forms ISD-F FFP-F
7 REGISTRATION OF BENEFICIARIESAll beneficiary households must register with the BOOKKEEPER.
List a "FFP Group" (20-25 households) for FFP-F and FFP-A to work with.BK ON-GOING
8THIRD
PSC MEETING
Verification of the first 'FFP Group'-list (20-25 households) with the PSC and other interest groups.
Repeat for each new group of households.FFP-F FFP-A, ISD-F 2
9 INITIAL HOUSEHOLD VISITSThe FFP-F and FFP-A visits households on the "FFP Group"-list and fill in DWAF 'Household Applications'.
Agree household contribution and explain DWAF acceptance conditionsFFP-A FFP-F ON-GOING
10TRAINING OF PSC
(on-going)Training of PSC on roles and responsiblities, project management, leadership, conflict resolution, etc. ISD-F FFP-F
11TRAINING OF SITE STAFF
(FFP-A, BK, SK & QA)Continued training on site procedures and filling of forms ISD-F FFP-F, TO
12TRAINING OF "FFP GROUP" OF
HOUSEHOLDS
The 'FFP Group' of households should complete at least Workshop 1 & 2, and establish their intensive FFP
garden (first two trenches) at home, before excavation can start.
Workshops 3 - 7 and cross-visits follow over time.
FFP-F, FFP-A ON-GOING
13 HOUSEHOLD VISITS Hands-on advice and monitoring of trench preparation and planting. FFP-F, FFP-A
14 REQUEST FOR GRANTSA grant request is prepared for the material needs of those members of the 'FFP Group' who are ready for
construction.BK
15 FIRST SITING OF TANKSHouseholds draw their Helicopter Plans (garden layout plans), showing at least three preferred sites for
their tank. FFP-F, FFP-A
16 FINAL SITING OF TANKS
TECH staff visit household with FFP-A to verify the best tank positioning among the household's preferred
sites. If all three are technically unsound, alternative positions are suggested for the household to choose
from.
TO, AM FFP-A
17 DIGGINGHousehold completes digging an agreed portion of the tank excavation (e.g. 1.5m diameter, 1.5m
deep), then the QA assigns a DIGGING TEAM to complete the excavation.HH
18PROCUREMENT
OF MATERIALSRefer to "Procedures for buying materials" SK BK, TO, AM
19CONSTRUCTION
OF TANKS
Once the excavation is ready and ALL materials on site, the QA assigns a BUILDER, who constructs tanks
according to specification, QA verifies quality using QA checklists. QA consults TO if any problems arise.BUILDER QA, TO
20 PAYMENT OF WAGES/SALARIES Refer to "Procedures for paying wages/salaries" BK
21
22 INITIAL HANDOVERIf conditions allow tank testing for leakage at the time the tank construction is completed, then final
handover is not necessary. TO, QA, BUILDER
23 FINAL HANDOVER Will be done after the tank has been tested for leakage. TO, QA
24 HOUSEHOLD TANK CERTIFICATES Hand over HOUSEHOLD TANK CERTIFICATES TO, QA
INTEGRATED PROCEDURES - ISD, FFP AND TECHNICAL
TECH:
AM,
TO,
QA,
BUILDERS
REPEAT 9, 12- 19 UNTIL ALL THE REQUIRED TANKS HAVE BEEN BUILT
- 58 -
C1.3 Procedures for introducing FFP at household level
FFP-A activites with "FFP GROUP" and at HOUSEHOLDS When Who FormsBookkeeper registers households (BK01),
makes an "FFP Group"-list, and
passes this on to the FFP Facilitator
FFP Facilitator confirms the list with the Project Steering Committee
2-3 months from
project start
date
Bookkeeper
FFP Facilitator
PSC
(BK01) Household Register
"FFP Group"-list
Initial household visit:
1. Fill in the DWAF 'Household Application' form
2. Discuss and agree HOUSEHOLD's contribution towards RWH Dam construction
3. Discuss DWAF acceptance criteria
4. Check HOUSEHOLD's implementation of furrows and trenches (if any)
5. Supply seedlings to HOUSEHOLDS with ready trenches
6. Inform HOUSEHOLD of date for Workshop 1 and/or Cross Visit
Week 1 (w9)FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
(FFP01) DWAF RWH 'Household Application' form
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(BK02) Household Job Card
FFP Facilitator passes an updated "FFP Group"-list and
(FFP01) 'Household Application' forms to the Bookkeeper
Bookkeeper opens (BK02) Household Job Cards
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(BK02) Household Job Card
Cross visit
1. Households visit existing intensified gardens with RWH
2. Households visited explain how their systems work, and how they did it
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Workshop A1: 'Nutrition'
1. Nutrition visioning
2. Planting and harvesting planning
3. Trench demonstration
Week 2
(w10)
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Hard cover books for all participants, to paste:
(FFP05) Household's "What We Eat"-chart (nutrition self-monitoring)
(FFP06) Household's "Plant to Eat"-chart (planting & harvest planning)
Household visit (TRENCHING):
1. Support with trench preparation
2. Support with nutrition self-monitoring
3. Support with household planning for planting and harvesting
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
Workshop A2: 'Mind mobilisation'
(training in two groups of 10 people)
1. Present situation at homesteads
2. Garden layout visioning ('Helicopter Plan')
3. Garden layout demonstration
Week 3
(w11)
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Participants' hard cover books to paste:
(FFP07) Household's "Present Situation"-drawing
(FFP08) Household's "Helicopter plan"-drawing
NOTES:
-A full cycle of FFP work with one "FFP Group" (20-25 households) takes 28 weeks (6.5 months)
-The columns below show the full facilitation cycle with one typical "FFP Group":
the FFP-A activities with the "FFP Group" and at HOUSEHOLDS; when it takes place; and who is involved in this activity; and
the forms used for this activity.
-For six "FFP Groups" (i.e. about 120 people), the following would apply:
the full cycle would take ±11 months (in addition to the initial 2-3 month project set-up phase);
two fulltime FFP-A may be required for the first 8 months; thereafter, one fulltime or two parttime FFP-A;
the sequence of the training workshops may be changed, to combine some of the FFP Groups for some of the activities;
additional FFP Groups can be mobilised, should the project be extended to more than 120 tanks.
Procedure for introducing Family Food Production at household level
- 59 -
FFP-A activites with "FFP GROUP" and at HOUSEHOLDS (continued) When Who FormsHousehold visit (INITIAL TANK SITING):
1. Garden layout support
2. Initial tank siting
Week 3-4
(w11-12)
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(FFP08) Household's "Helicopter Plan"-drawing
Household visit (FINAL TANK SITING):
1. Final tank siting
2. Marking out trial pit for household to dig
Week 4
(w12)
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Quality Assessor
Technical Officer
(initially assisted by
Area Manager)
(FFP08) Household's "Helicopter Plan"-drawing
(QA01) Tank Siting & Excavation form
Workshop A3: 'Seedlings'
1. Growing seedlings (supply of seed as per nutrition workshop)
2. Soil fertility (liquid manure, greywater, mulch, organic matter demonstration)
3. Irrigation
Week 6
(w14)
FFP Assistant
FFP FacilitatorParticipants' hard cover books
Household visitWeek 6-7
(w14-15)FFP Assistant
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
Workshop A4: 'Brews'
Pest and disease control
Week 8
(w16)
FFP Assistant
FFP FacilitatorParticipants' hard cover books
Household visitWeek 8-9
(w16-17)FFP Assistant
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(FFP10) FFP/HH "Household Harvesting"-chart
Workshop A5: 'Fruit'
Fruit production
Week 10
(w18)
FFP Assistant
FFP FacilitatorParticipants' hard cover books
Household visitWeek 10-11
(w18-19)FFP Assistant
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(FFP10) FFP/HH "Household Harvesting"-chartWorkshop A6: 'Food'
1. Food processing
2. Celebration
Week 12
(w20)
FFP Assistant
FFP FacilitatorParticipants' hard cover books
Monthly household visitsWeek 12-28
(w20-36)FFP Assistant
(FFP02) FFP 'Household Milestones' form
(FFP04) FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
(FFP10) FFP/HH "Household Harvesting"-chart
Workshop A7: 'Water'
1. RWH Dam safety & maintenance
2. Water management (crop water requirements, irrigation, greywater, footpumps)
Week 28
(w36)
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Quality Assessor
TECH Team
Participants' hard cover books
Handover of tanks
FFP Assistant
FFP Facilitator
Quality Assessor
TECH Team
(QA05) Initial Tank Acceptance form
(QA06) Final Tank Acceptance form
(QA07) Household Tank Certificate
- 60 -
C1.4 Procedures for buying materials
Invite quotations: Fill the "BULK MATERIAL NEEDED" list (SK01) and issue
"INVITATION TO QUOTE" (SK02)Storekeeper
DECIDE WHERE TO BUY (after discussions with PSC, normally the cheapest
supplier is chosen
Technical Officer, Site
staff and PSC
Order Material (SK03); record "BULK MATERIAL RECEIVED" (SK05); and
"MATERIALS ISSUED TO HOUSEHOLD" (SK06)Storekeeper
Pay materials: Fill "CHEQUE REQUISITION FORM" (BK05/SK04) Storekeeper
Check that all required material is on site and fill "MATERIAL ON SITE form"
(QA02)Quality Assessor
Assign a BUILDER to do the job Quality Assesor
PROCEDURES FOR BUYING MATERIALS
SK02:
Invitation
to Quote
SK01:
Bulk
Material
Needed
list
SK03:
Standard
triplicate
Order
Book
SK06:
Material
Issued to
Household
SK05:
Bulk
Material
Received
BK04/SK04:
Cheque
requisition form
QA02:
Material
On Site
form
- 61 -
C1.5 Procedures for paying wages and salaries
Open the "WAGES REGISTER" (BK04) to record
DAYS WORKED by BK, SK, FFPA AND QABook-Keeper
Prepare "INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORMS" (QA05) Quality Assessor
Compile "REGISTER OF COMPLETED TANKS" (BK10) Book-Keeper
Compile "PAYROLL" (BK06 and BK07) Book-Keeper
Prepare the "CHEQUE REQUISITION FORMS" (BK05/SK04)
for payment of BUILDERS, BK, SK, FFPA AND QA Book-Keeper
Attach "WAGE REGISTER", "TANK ACCEPTANCE FORMS"
with "JOB CARDS" (BK02), and "PAYROLL" to the
"CHEQUE REQUISITION" and submit to a PSC MEMBER to sign,
en-route to the AREA MANAGER
Book-Keeper
Prepare the "CHEQUES" and pass them on to be signed by the
SIGNATORIESArea Manager
Record the "CHEQUES" in the "CASHBOOK" (BK08)
and issue them to the EMPLOYEES.
(They should sign the "PAYROLL")
Book-Keeper
Do the "CASHBOOK RECONCILIATION" (BK09) at month-end Book-Keeper
PROCEDURES FOR PAYING WAGES AND SALARIES
CHEQUES
BK04:
Wages
register
BK10:
Register of
completed
tanks
BK06:
Staff project
payroll
BK07:
Builders
project
payroll
BK05/SK04:
Cheque
requisition
form
BK09:
Cashbook
reconciliation
QA05:
Initial job
acceptance
forms
BK08:
Cashbook
BK04;
QA05;
BK02;
BK06 & BK07;
BK05/SK04.
- 62 -
APPENDIX C2. Functions of Site Staff
APPENDIX C2.1 Functions of the Bookkeeper
APPENDIX C2.2 Functions of the FFP Facilitator
APPENDIX C2.3 Functions of the Storekeeper
APPENDIX C2.4 Functions of the Quality Assessor
- 63 -
C2.1 Duties of the Bookkeeper
Duties of the BOOKKEEPER
1. FILLING JOB CARDS, PREPARING GRANT REQUESTS
and PAYING SUPPLIERS
1.1 Open the “HOUSEHOLD REGISTER” Form BK01
Record the names, ID numbers and house numbers /tank
numbers of the people who want tanks in the Household
Register (Form BK01). A hardcover notebook is
recommended for this purpose.
1.2 Compile a “FFP Group”-list of 20-25 households from the
“HOUSEHOLD REGISTER” (Form BK01).
Hand this list to the FFP-A to do household visits and fill the
“HOUSEHOLD APPLICATION” Form FFP01
1.3 Open “JOB CARDS” Form BK02
for households who have filled the “HOUSEHOLD
APPLICATION” (Form FFP01). This list is from the FFP-Assistant.
Record the following information on each Job Card
(Form BK02) for those people who are ready to build:
• Tank Number (where available, the House Number can be used as the Tank
Number)
• Project Name
• Project Number
• Name of householder
• Address of householder
• ID Number of householder
• Number of people in the household
1.3 After the QUOTES have been received and the PSC has
decided on where to buy materials, the following should be
recorded in the “JOB CARD” (Form BK02):
• Unit cost and total cost for each type of material
1.4 Prepare the “GRANT REQUEST” Form BK03 with assistance
from the TECHNICAL OFFICER
1.5 After receiving the following documents from the
STOREKEEPER, pass the documents to a PSC MEMBER to sign,
then to the AREA MANAGER for preparation of the CHEQUES:
- 64 -
• Form SK03 “ORDER” (two copies)
• Form SK04 “MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION”
Take note: The QUOTE can be kept on file where it is accessible for both the
STOREKEEPER and the BOOKKEEPER until the expiration date, then a new QUOTE
should be requested.
1.6 Ensure that the CHEQUES are signed by the SIGNATORIES
1.7 Record the CHEQUES in the “CASH BOOK” Form BK08
1.8 Return the CHEQUE and the “ORDER” (original copy) to the
STOREKEEPER to place the order with the SUPPLIER.
Keep the “MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION” Form SK04 and a
copy of the ORDER
1.9 After the material has been received by the STOREKEEPER,
the following documents:
• invoice; and/or
• delivery note
will be given to the BOOKKEEPER and they have to be
attached to the documents retained in 1.8 above and filed
2. PAYMENT OF WAGES AND SALARIES
2.1 Open the WAGES REGISTER Form BK04
to record days worked by the FFP-A, QA, SK and BK and
their wages
2.2 After receiving signed ”INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORMS”
Form QA05 from the QA, complete JOB CARD (Form BK02)
2.3 In the “BUILDERS PAYROLL” Form BK07 , enter the tank
number for all the tanks built per builder to calculate the
wages at the end of the month.
2.4 Prepare the “WAGES CHEQUE REQUISITION” Form BK05 with
the following attachments:
• Form BK04 “WAGES REGISTER”
• Form BK06 “STAFF PAYROLL”
• Form BK02 “JOB CARD” and
Form QA05 “INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORM”
for every tank built; and the
• Form BK07 “BUILDERS PAYROLL”
- 65 -
2.5 Get the “WAGES CHEQUE REQUISTION” signed by the
PSC MEMBER
2.6 Pass the documents to the AREA MANAGER to prepare the
CHEQUES
2.7 Ensure that the CHEQUES are signed by the SIGNATORIES
2.8 Record the CHEQUES in the “CASH BOOK” Form BK08
2.9 Issue the CHEQUES and ask those being paid to sign the
“PAYROLL” Form BK06 or Form BK07
2.10 File the documents in the “INVOICES FILE” except for the
“INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORMS” Form QA05 which
should be detached and filed as an attachment to the
relevant JOB CARD Form BK02
3. CASH BOOK and
BANK RECONCILIATION STATEMENT
3.1 For every CHEQUE issued an entry is made into the
expenditure side of the “CASH BOOK” Form BK08
3.2 Deposits for subsidies are entered into the income side of
the “CASH BOOK.” (This information will be found on the “BANK STATEMENT” at the end of the month)
3.3 BANK CHARGES (from the “BANK STATEMENT”) are also entered into
the expenditure side of the “CASH BOOK”
3.4 INTEREST (from the “BANK STATEMENT”) is also entered into the
income side of the “CASH BOOK”
3.5 At the end of the month (after the “BANK STATEMENT” is received), the
“BANK RECONCILIATION” Form BK09 is prepared
4. REGISTER OF COMPLETED TANKS
4.1 For every completed tank, the “REGISTER OF COMPLETED
TANKS” Form BK10 is filled in.
- 66 -
C2.2 Duties of the FFP Assistant
Duties of the FFP Assistant
1. Get a “FFP Group”-list (20-25 registered
HOUSEHOLDS) from the BOOKKEEPER and confirm
the list with the PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE
2. Undertake INITIAL HOUSEHOLD VISITS,
and at each HOUSEHOLD:
2.1 Fill in the DWAF ‘HOUSEHOLD APPLICATION’ Form FFP01
2.2 Discuss and agree HOUSEHOLD's contribution towards RWH
Dam construction
2.3 Discuss DWAF acceptance criteria
2.4 Check HOUSEHOLD's implementation of furrows and
trenches (if any)
2.5 Supply seedlings to HOUSEHOLDS with ready trenches
2.6 Inform HOUSEHOLD of date for Workshop 1 and/or Cross Visit
3. Arrange a ‘Cross Visit’ for the “FFP Group” to see
trenches, gardening and tanks (RWH Dams)
4. Arrange Workshop 1: ‘Nutrition’
5. Undertake household visits (for TRENCHING),
and at each HOUSEHOLD:
5.1 Assist with trench implementation, nutrition self-monitoring
forms, and household planning for planting & harvesting
5.2 Fill in the FFP ‘GARDEN MONITORING’ Form FFP04
5.3 Tick the ‘HOUSEHOLD MILESTONES’ reached on Form FFP02
6. Arrange Workshop 2: ‘Mind Mobilisation’
- 67 -
7. Undertake household visits for INITIAL TANK SITING,
and at each HOUSEHOLD:
7.1 Ask HOUSEHOLD to show & explain their garden layout plan
7.2 Specifically, check that the HOUSEHOLD has indicated
3 tank poitions on their “Helicopter Plan”-drawing (FFP08).
7.3 Fill in the FFP ‘GARDEN MONITORING’ Form FFP04
7.4 Tick the ‘HOUSEHOLD MILESTONES’ reached on Form FFP02
8. Arrange FINAL TANK SITING
8.1 Prepare a list of HOUSEHOLDS ready for final tank siting, to
pass on to the QUALITY ASSESSOR
8.2 Work with the team and ensure that the HOUSEHOLD’S
“HELICOPTER PLAN”-drawing (FFP08) is used when filling
“TANK SITING & EXCAVATION” Form QA01
9. Arrange Workshops 3-7
10. Undertake further follow-up household visits,
and at each HOUSEHOLD:
10.1 Fill in the FFP ‘GARDEN MONITORING’ Form FFP04
10.2 Tick the ‘HOUSEHOLD MILESTONES’ reached on Form FFP02
11. Repeat Steps 1-10 for new “FFP Group”
12. Arrange Workshop 7: ‘Water’ as soon as the last
“FFP Group”-member’s tank is complete
13. Undertake follow-up household visits,
and at each HOUSEHOLD:
13.1 Fill in the FFP ‘GARDEN MONITORING’ Form FFP04
13.2 Tick the ‘HOUSEHOLD MILESTONES’ reached on Form FFP02
- 68 -
C2.3 Duties of the Storekeeper
Duties of the STOREKEEPER
1. BUYING MATERIALS
1.1 Prepare the “BULK MATERIAL NEEDED LIST” Form SK01 FROM THE
“JOB CARDS” Form BK01 and fill in the “INVITATION TO QUOTE”
Form SK02
1.2 Obtain 2 to 3 QUOTES
1.3 After the decision has been made by the PSC where to buy, and
the BOOKKEEPER has informed you that money has been
deposited into the Community Account, prepare the “ORDER”
Form SK03
1.4 Prepare the “MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION” Form SK04 and
submit the “ORDER” (2 copies) and the “BULK MATERIAL NEEDED
LIST” Form SK01 to the BOOKKEEPER
After the CHEQUE has been written, take the “ORDER” (original
copy) and the CHEQUE to the SUPPLIER
1.5 CHECK THE MATERIAL WHEN IT IS DELIVERED THAT:
• The quantity is the same as what you have ordered
• The quality is good, no broken items or torn cement bags
Only when you are satisfied with the material, sign the DELIVERY
NOTE or INVOICE and keep a copy which you will later give to the
BOOKKEEPER.
1.6 Record the material in the “BULK MATERIAL RECEIVED” notebook
Form SK05
1.7 Issue the material to the householders and record in the
“MATERIALS ISSUED TO HOUSEHOLD” notebook Form SK06
- 69 -
C2.4 Functions of the Quality Assessor
Duties of the QUALITY ASSESSOR
1. Tank Siting & Excavation ‘Visit 1’:
Attend final tank siting household visit with the TECHNICAL
OFFICER and FFP-A, and preferably the FFP-F:
1.1 Check the HOUSEHOLD’S “HELICOPTER PLAN”-drawing
FFP08 for their three preferred RWH Dam positions.
With the HOUSEHOLD, select the most suitable of the
three positions, OR if all are technically unsound, then
with the HOUSEHOLD, select an alternative position.
1.2 Mark out the center position of the excavation and the
diameter of the trial pit which the household must dig
(1.5m diameter, 1.5m deep).
1.3 Fill and sign the “TANK SITING & EXCAVATION”
Form QA01: (the ‘Visit 1’-portion)
2. Tank Siting & Excavation ‘Visit 2’:
2.1 Check that the HOUSEHOLD has completed digging
the trial pit. When it is done, assign a DIGGING TEAM to
complete the excavation.
2.2 Fill and sign the “TANK SITING & EXCAVATION”
Form QA01: (the ‘Visit 2’-portion)
3. Tank Siting & Excavation ‘Visit 3’:
3.1 Check that the excavation pit has been completed,
then pass the HOUSEHOLD’s name to the office so that
materials can be ordered for them.
3.2 Fill and sign the “TANK SITING & EXCAVATION”
Form QA01: (the ‘Visit 3’-portion)
- 70 -
4. Check that all the building materials have been delivered,
so that you can allocate a BUILDER to build the RWH Dam.
Fill the “MATERIAL ON SITE” Form QA02
5. Check on the progress of construction
6. When the RWH Dam is completed, it needs to be checked
by:
� The QUALITY ASSESSOR,
who fills the “QUALITY ASSESSOR’S CHECKLIST (FLOOR &
WALLS)” Form QA03 and the “QUALITY ASSESSOR’S
CHECKLIST (ROOF & WATERPROOFING)”Form QA04 ; and
� The TECHNICAL OFFICER,
who will, in agreement with the HOUSEHOLD, confirm the
quality, and sign the “INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE”
Form QA05 to authorise payment for the BUILDER.
7. When the tank has been tested for leakage, the “FINAL TANK
ACCEPTANCE” Form QA06 must be signed by the
HOUSEHOLD, the API’s Representative and the Client’s
Representative
8. Prepare and hand over the “HOUSEHOLD TANK CERTIFICATE”
Form QA07 to the HOUSEHOLD
- 71 -
APPENDIX C3. Books and Forms
APPENDIX C3.1 Stakeholder Agreement
APPENDIX C3.2 Appointment letter
APPENDIX C3.3 Books and Forms used by the Bookkeeper
APPENDIX C3.4 Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator
APPENDIX C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Storekeeper
APPENDIX C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor
- 72 -
C3.1 Stakeholder Agreement
Mogalakwena Household Rainwater Harvesting Project
Magaga Matlala DM
Mrs Meriam Makgoba
Mogalakwena
Councillor Ntlala
Mvula Trust
Mr John Sarng
Mogalakwena Household Rainwater Harvesting Project
Project Number: DWAF07-12345 at
[Place and District]
Approved project budget: 55,555,555.55R (VAT included)
NOW THEREFORE the Parties agree as follows:
1. The Project1.1 The Project Scope
Construction of 120 [number of units] household rainwater harvesting tanks (of 30 000 liter capacity each)
The Parties hereby confirm that the necessary requirements for community involvement have been complied with.
[name of the Service Provider/Consultant] the Service Provider/Consultant, represented herein by
[name of representative of the Service Provider/Consultant] , duly authorised)
(collectively referred to as the Parties)
Entered into between:
[name of municipality] hereinafter referred to as the Municipality, represented herein by
in his/her capacity as the Municipal Manager, duly authorised, and the community of
[name of community] hereinafter referred to as the Community, represented herein by
in his/her capacity as the Chairperson of the Project Steering Committee, duly authorised, and
2.3 Should the dispute still remain unresolved within five days (excluding weekends and public holidays), it shall be referred to the Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry for a final decision, which will be binding on all Parties.
1.3 Reporting to the Community on the Project and its Progress
1.2 Community knowledge of the Project
2. Resolution of Disputes
The Project Steering Committee shall report to the Community on the Project and its progress on a monthly basis, and as and when the need
may arise.
* Community awareness has been conducted, with special effort to raise awareness among food insecure households;
* Project Steering Committee has been established representing key stakeholders in the area covered by the Rainwater Harvesting Project;
* The preliminary scope of works has been discussed with the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and accepted in a duly constituted PSC
meeting; and
* Community participation has taken place through the PSC and the Ward Councillors concerned.
WHEREAS the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in terms of section 61 and 62 of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998), has
the mandate to provide financial assistance for Household Rainwater Harvesting tanks for productive water uses,
AND WHEREAS the Community wishes to participate in a Rainwater Harvesting Project under the DWAF Household Rainwater Harvesting
Programme,
AND WHEREAS the Municipality agrees to the implementation of the
Mogalakwena, Magaga Matlala
2.1 The Parties agree that in the case of a dispute, the Project Steering Committee and authorised representatives of the Municipality shall
meet within five days (excluding weekends and public holidays) of written notice of the dispute by either Party, and/or shall attempt to
resolve the dispute amicably.
2.2 Should the dispute remain unresolved after five days (excluding weekends and public holidays), either Party may refer the dispute in
written form to a meeting between the Municipal Manager and the Chairperson of the Project Steering Committee, who shall attempt to
resolve the dispute within five days (excluding weekends and public holidays.
in accordance with the relevant DWAF policy, guidelines and specifications for the Household Rainwater Harvesting Programme
- 73 -
3. Warrant of Authority
SIGNED AT ON THIS THE
DAY OF IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE UNDERMENTIONED WITNESSES.
WITNESSES:
1.
2.
SIGNED AT ON THIS THE
DAY OF IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE UNDERMENTIONED WITNESSES.
WITNESSES:
1.
2.
SIGNED AT ON THIS THE
DAY OF IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE UNDERMENTIONED WITNESSES.
WITNESSES:
1.
2.
The persons signing this agreement warrant their authority to do so.
M. MAHLALA
MUNICIPAL MANAGER
M. MAHLALA
SERVICE PROVIDER/CONSULTANT
M. MAHLALA
PSC CHAIRPERSON
- 74 -
Name Organisation Signature
1 Jenny Mahlakoane Mogalakwena project steering committee
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Acknowledgement of the Preliminary Scope of Works
by the Project Steering Committee Members
- 75 -
C3.2 Letter of Appointment for Site Staff
Letter of Appointment
Mrs, Mr, Ms, Miss______________________________________________(Full name of the appointee)
is hereby appointed to the position of:_____________________________ by the_______________
RWH Project Steering Committee, Project Number_______________
The following are the conditions of employment:
1. Days and Hours of work:
You will be required to work 45 Hours per week, 5 days per week - Mondays to Fridays.
a) Starting time will either be 07h30 or 08h00 depending on local conditions agreed upon
b) Lunch breaks will be one hour ( Always leaving one person on duty to help community)
when convenient.
c) Finishing at 16h30 or 17h00 depending on agreed upon local conditions
2. Wages
Wages will be R__________ payable on a monthly basis, at the agreed upon time.
Staff will may be requested to work overtime, from time to time - this time can be taken in agreement
with the supervisor at an hour for hour basis in lieu of overtime worked.
3. Duties
Duties are attached in the jobdescription annexure. However, depending on the project demands, you
may be required to perform other duties in the project from time to time.
4. Public Holidays
All official South African holidays will be observed. Weekend work will not be compulsory, but will
depend on agreements by the parties concerned.
5. Absence from Work
Absence from work will only be entertained if there is a medical practitioner's sick note or arrangements
have been made with the supervisor. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of earnings or dismissal
after warnings. (The guidelines stipulate that a maximum of four days' absence is ground for dismissal).
6. Termination of Employment
The term of this contract is equal to the construction period of the RWH project.
The term of this contract may be terminated in writing, by yourself or the employer, giving one week's
notice during the first 3 months' of employment or one months' notice thereafter.
Signature of Employer: (RWH-PSC)
Chairperson:________________________
Secretary:__________________________
Member: ___________________________
Date:________________
Signature of Employee:_______________________________
Date:_________________
- 76 -
C3.3 Books and Forms used by the Bookkeeper
BK01: HOUSEHOLDER REGISTER
(form to be copied to a hardcover notebook)
Note: Information will be collected with the help of the PSC and FFP-A,
but will be entered into this book by the Bookkeeper
BK02: JOB CARD form
BK03: GRANT REQUEST form
BK04: WAGES REGISTER form
BK05: WAGES/MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION form
(this form is also used for SK04)
BK06: STAFF PAYROLL form
BK07: BUILDERS PAYROLL form
BK08: CASH BOOK form
BK09: BANK RECONCILIATION form
BK10: REGISTER FOR COMPLETED TANKS form
- 77 -
Form BK01
Project Name:
Project Number:
House Number Householder Name Householder ID NumberHousehold
size
HOUSEHOLD REGISTER
(form to be copied to a hardcover notebook, and to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
- 78 -
Form BK02-A
TANK NO:
Project Name: House No./ Address:
Project Number: Householder Name:
Tank type: Householder ID Number:
Intensified garden planted (date): Household size:
Tank completion date:
TOTAL TANK COST Builder's name:
Item UnitNumber of
unitsUnit cost TOTAL MATERIAL COST
water litre 1200
19mm concrete stone m3 1.8
river sand m3 1.8
builders sand m3 0.5
plaster sand m3 0.6
cement (50kg bags) (Cem1) bag 30
building blocks m2 33
5.4m x 125/100 gum poles each 2
5.7m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 3
5.4m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
4.5m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
3.0m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
6mm Y-bars (6m length) each 27
Ref. 193 mesh (2.45m wide) m 14
4mm galvanised wire (cutting length=2000mm) kg 1
2.5mm galvanised wire (cutting length=900mm) kg 4
1.6mm binding wire kg 1
sheet fixing wood-screws (6mm x 65mm) each 32
sheet fixing roof washers each 32
padlock (brass) each 1
110mm PVC pipe (Class 4) m 2
ABE membrane (200mm wide) m 16
Lancosat 228 (=20kg bag + 5 liter tin of polymer) pack 2
OR Superlaykold (2x20 litre tins)
[ONLY IF LANCOSET UNAVAILABLE]litre 40
Labour UnitNumbr of
unitsUnit cost TOTAL LABOUR COST
Digging Pit
Collecting Material
Superstructure
Site Management Fee
(to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
5. Operate and maintain the tank safely, and will ensure that an adult will at all times protect children and animals from falling into the
excavations or the tank
TOTAL COST OF TANK (1) + (2)
SUB-TOTAL (2)
SUB-TOTAL (1)
Signed:_______________________________________
HOUSEHOLD JOB CARD
RWH Dam Type A: Cement-block structure Total Material Required
6. Not hold DWAF responsible for future maintenance or replacement of the tank, or any related infrastructure or equipment, or for any injury,
loss or death resulting from the construction, use or otherwise of the rainwater tank and related infrastructure or equipment.
I, the signatory on behalf of this household, undertake to:
1. Establish an intensive garden by digging trenches of 5m² by at least 60cm deep to qualify for a tank
Date: ____________________________
2. Dig 1.5m diameter by 1.5m depth of the tank
3. Provide safe storage of building material and equipment for the building of the tank and related infrastructure
4. Use the water from the tank for gardening or other productive purposes, but we know that the water is not safe for drinking
79
Form BK 03
Project Name: Batch No.:
Project Number:
Householder ID NumberJob card /
House No.Tank Type Amount
TOTAL REQUESTED
GRANT REQUEST (to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
Householder Name
80
Form BK04
Project Name:
Project Number:
Name:No. of
days
Rate per
dayAmount
Total
Prepared by:
Date:
WAGES REGISTER(to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
Month:
Signature:
81
Form BK05/SK04
Payee:
Signature:
Amount:
Reasons:
Order:
Name: Signature: Date:
Project Name:
Project Number:
WAGES/MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION FORM(to be filled by the Bookkeeper / Storekeeper)
a) Order indicating the quotation number and its validity
b) Invoice/receipts (when available)
a) Wages Register
b) Staff Payroll
c) Builder Payroll with attached Job Cards and Initial Job Acceptance forms
Note: No cheque may be issued unless the following are attached:
Cheque No.:
or
For Materials Purchases:
For Wages:
Committee Member:
Technical Officer:
Requested by Bookkeeper / Storekeeper:
AUTHORISED BY:
82
Form BK06
Project Name: Month:
Project Number:
Cheque No. Amount
Prepared by: Signature:
Date:
Date:
STAFF PAYROLL
(to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
Staff Name (in full) Staff Signature
Checked by ISD Facilitator:
Checked by Technical officer:
TOTAL
83
Form BK07
Project Name: Month:
Project Number:
Details of tanks built (tank numbers) Cheque No. Amount Builder Signature
Prepared by: Signature:
Date:
TOTAL
Checked by Technical Officer:
Builder Name (in full)
BUILDERS PAYROLL (to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
84
Page of
Project Name: Month:
Project Number:
Date Details Total Date Cheque No. Details Materials &
Transport
Builders
Payments
QA BK SK FFPA
Payments
Balance B/F
Interest Received Bank Charges
Prepared by: Signature:
Checked by Technical officer:
Date: Date:
BALANCE
E X P E N D I T U R E
Checked by ISD Facilitator:
TOTAL EXPENDITURETOTAL INCOME
Form BK08
Cheque Amount
CASH BOOK
Bank statement no.:
I N C O M E
(to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
85
Page of
Project Name:
Project Number:
(A)
Date Amount
(B)
Sub Total ( A ) + ( B ) (C)
Date Cheque No. Payable to Amount
(D)
Prepared by: Signature:
Date:
Date:
-R
-R
CASH BOOK RECONCILIATION FOR THE MONTH OF
(to be filled by the Bookkeeper. Fill only on receiving Bank Statement)
Form BK09
Add: Outstanding Deposits (Deposits made but do not appear on this bank Statement):
TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEPOSITS
Details
Checked by Technical officer:
Checked by ISD Facilitator:
Balance as per Cash Book ( C ) - ( D )
TOTAL OUTSTANDING CHEQUES
Balance as per Bank Statement (date):
-R
-R
(amount):
Less: Outstanding Cheques (Cheques that do not appear on this bank statement):
86
Form BK10
Project Name: Page:
Project Number: Date:
House Number Householder Name Householder ID NumberType of
tank
Intensified Garden
Planted
(Date)
Completion of
Construction
(Date)
Initial
Handover
(Date)
Completion of
User Education
(Date)
Final Handover
after testing for leakage
(Date)
Prepared by: Signature:
Date:
REGISTER FOR COMPLETED TANKS(to be filled by the Bookkeeper)
Checked by Technical Officer:
- 87 -
C3.4 Books and Forms used by the FFP Facilitator and FFP Assistant
FFP01 DWAF 'Household Application' form
FFP02 FFP 'Household Milestones' form
FFP03 FFP Workshop Attendance Register
FFP04 FFP 'Garden Monitoring' form
FFP05 Household's "What We Eat"-chart (nutrition self-monitoring)
FFP06 Household's "Plant to Eat"-chart (annual planting & harvest planning)
FFP07 Household's "Present Situation"-drawing
FFP08 Household's "Helicopter Plan"-drawing
FFP09 Household's "Weather & Water"-calendar
FFP10 FFP/HH "Household Harvesting"-chart
- 88 -
FFP01
Tank No:
Yes/No m
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Signature:
Position:
Signature:
HOUSEHOLD APPLICATION FORM FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FOR A RAIN-WATER TANK FOR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTIVE USES BY THE POOR
1. Project details
DWAF Programme: DWAF Pro-Poor Homestead Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Programme
DWAF Registered Implementing Agent (RIA):
Project Name: Project number:
Interviewer: Date (dd/mm/yyyy) :
2. Applicant and household details
Name of person being interviewed: Identity Number:
Name of head of household: Identity Number:
House No. / Address:
Age Distribution (write number of people per age group below) Total number of people in household:
0 – 5 years old Monthly household income (tick): Sources of household income (tick):
6 – 12 years old 0 – R400 Sale of crops/ livestock
13 – 18 years old R400 – R1100 Other productive activities
19 – 45 years old R1101 – R3500 Govt Grants
46 – 60 years old R3501 – R5000 Remittances from relatives
> 60 years old Above R5000 Employment/Wages
3. Domestic water services
Is there a household/domestic
water scheme in your community:
How far are you from the nearest water point (standpipe)
(distance in meters ):
How often is water available: All the time …… Hours in Day …… Days in Week Irregular
Who is the responsible municipality (WSA):
Who is responsible to make sure there is water every day (WSP):
4. Rainwater harvesting
Are you collecting
rainwater now?
How much rainwater do you
collect now: (size of tank )
How long does
the water last?
What do you use the rainwater for?
What surfaces do you have to collect rainwater from: Grass roof Sink/Tile roof Other sloping hard surface
If you are collecting rainwater now,
why do you want another tank?
Do you have space for an
underground rainwater tank:
Are you and your household willing to dig
the agreed portion of the hole for the rainwater tank:If not, who will dig it for you:
5. Water use plan
What will you use the rainwater for?
( NOTE : Water from underground
tanks is not safe for drinking):
Growing crops (what types) :
Livestock (what animals and how many):
Other productive activities (describe):
What is the size of the land you
can plant on (in square meters ):Is this area fenced?
If not fenced, how will you
protect your crops?
What gardening
skills do you have:
What gardening tools and equipment
do you have (spade, hoe, etc):
Date: (dd/mm/yyyy)
Are you and your household willing to be trained in food production/ crop growing: Yes/No
6. Application to participate in DWAF RWH Programme
Do you agree that the RIA submit your application to DWAF to take part in the RWH Programme:
Date: (dd/mm/yyyy)
APPLICATION FOR DWAF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Name of Responsible Community Organisation:
Name of Community Representative:
Do you accept that the household will be responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of their rainwater tank and will
not hold DWAF responsible for future maintenance or replacement of the rainwater tanks or any ancillary infrastructure or
equipment, or for any injury, loss or death resulting from the construction, use or otherwise of the rainwater tank and ancillary
infrastructure or equipment.
Name of Household Applicant:
- 89 -
FFP02
TANK No: House No./ Address:
Project Name: Householder Name:
Project Number: Householder ID Number:
FFP Group: Construction Batch:
Form kept
by:
BK
FFP-A
BK
FFP-A
HH
HH
HH
HH
FFP-A; QA
HH
HH, FFP-A
HH
QA
QA
QA
SK
QA
QA
QA
HH
Date:
QA
Household Tank Certificate has been handed over
Household has received all building materials _ HH and SK has signed SK06: Materials Issued to Household form
Household has signed Final Tank Acceptance
_ QA 'Visit 2' on QA01: Tank Siting & Excavation form
_ QA 'Visit 3' on QA01: Tank Siting & Excavation form
_ HH, QA and TO has signed QA05: Initial Tank Acceptance form
_ QA has signed QA03: Quality Assessor Checklist (Floor&Wall) and QA04: Quality Assessor Checklist (Roof&Waterproof)
Compiled by FFP-Facilitator:
QA has checked that all building material is on site _ HH and QA has signed QA02: Material On Site form
_ HH, RIA Representative and Client Representative has signed QA06: Final Tank Acceptance form
Household has done initial tank siting
Household has finished digging trial pit
TECH Team has tested the RWH Dam watertight
_ FFP08: HH Helicopter plan (HH should show 3 possible positions for tank on this drawing)
_ QA 'Visit 1': RWH layout sketch on QA01: Tank Siting & Excavation formQA has done final tank siting
TECH Team has finished building the RWH Dam
Household has signed Initial Tank Acceptance
Digging team has completed the excavation
Household has established intensive food garden
Self-monitoring has been introduced
Forms
_ Household entered in Household Register (BK01)
_ DWAF RWH Household Application form filled (FFP01)
_ Job Card (BK02) opened, HH has signed acceptance of conditions
_ Workshop 3-'Seedlings': Growing seedlings; soil fertility; irrigation (FFP09)
_ Workshop 4-'Brews': Pest and disease control
_ Workshop 5-'Fruit': Fruit production
_ Workshop 6-'Food': Food processing and celebration
_ Workshop 7-'Water': RWH Dam safety & maintenance; water management user education
Milestones
Household registered
Household livelihoods information captured
Household has agreed on DWAF conditions
Household participation in FFP workshops
FFP 'Household Milestones' form(to be filled by the FFP-Facilitator)
_ FFP09: HH 'Weather & Water' calendar
_ FFP10: HH Harvesting chart
From FFP Workshop Attendance Registers (FFP03), mark this household's attendance of:
_ Cross visit
_ Workshop 1-'Nutrition': Nutrition visioning (FFP05); planting and harvesting planning (FFP06); trench demonstration
_ Workshop 2-'Mind Mobilisation': Present situation (FFP07); garden layout visioning (FFP08); garden layout demonstration
_ HH has received and signed QA07: Household Tank Certificate
FFP-A
_ FFP04: FFP Garden monitoring form
_ FFP05: HH 'What We Eat' chart (household nutrition self-monitoring)
_ FFP06: HH 'Plant-to-Eat' chart
_ FFP07: HH Present Situation drawing (self-drawn)
_ FFP08: HH Helicopter Plan (self-drawn)
_ Photo of intensive gardening (FFP-A to pass this on to QA for QA07: Household Tank Certificate)
- 90 -
Form FFP03
Workshop Date:
Workshop:
House Number Householder NameHouseholder
ID NumberFFP Group
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
(to be filled by the FFP-Assistant)
FFP Workshop Attendance Register form
Project Name:
Project Number:
- 91 -
FFP04
Month1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8
No of beds; initial gardening
No of trench beds and size of each
No of other intensive beds and size of
each
Seedling production: No of seed beds
and size, Seeds planted and how much,
Source of seed
Crops planted: Bed 1, Bed 2, Bed 3, Bed
4, etc
Methods of watering; run-on, greywater,
tap, other
Other activities in the garden (livestock,
fruit, liquid manure, pest and disease
control……)
Food processing (dry, bottle, etc). How
much?
Month1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8
Who works in the garden?
Who benefits
(food flow: how much, how often)
% Garden under production
(area planted /total area)
Successional planting
(seed planted over time: type,
amounts….)
Help given to others
(often, sometimes, never). Explain.
Attendance of workshops (1-7)
Attendance of cross visit
FFP Garden Monitoring form(to be filled by the FFP-Assistant)
IMPACT OR CHANGES OVER TIME
- 92 -
FFP05
AdultsSick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids Adults
Sick/old/
pregnantSmall kids
we draw a circle around food
we got from our garden
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Household's "What We Eat" chart (Nutrition Self-Monitoring)(to be filled by the Household)
GL
OW
fo
od
s (
ve
ge
tab
les
an
d f
ruit
)
Vit
C,
caro
tein
ca
rro
ts, o
ran
ge
sw
ee
t po
tato
,
ora
ng
e p
um
pkin
, to
mato
(?)
ora
nge
s,
na
rtjie
s
Iro
n
gre
en
bea
ns,
lett
uce,
be
etr
oo
t
GO
fo
od
s
(s
tarc
h)
Sunday
GR
OW
fo
od
s (
pro
tein
)
pe
an
uts
, dry
bea
ns,
pea
s
What did we eat today?m
aiz
e,
po
tato
, sw
ee
t po
tato
Saturday
Unknown:
such as Rama
Sugar in tea and porridge; softdrinks such as Coke and
SweetAid; biscuits, sweets
Fats and oils:
sunflower oil, butter, margarine, animal fat
- 93 -
FFP06
Date:
Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 52
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type carrot carrot carrot carrot carrot carrot
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
Type
Variety
�
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 52
Protein:
pe
anuts
, d
ry b
ea
ns,
pe
as
Vit C, carotein
ca
rro
ts, o
rang
e s
we
et
po
tato
, o
rang
e p
um
pkin
,
tom
ato
(?),
ora
ng
es
Iron
gre
en b
ea
ns,
lett
uc
e,
be
etr
oo
t
Household's "Plant to Eat" chart(to be filled by the Household)
What we plan to plant each week? (Example: Plant carrots every three weeks
to eat carrots all year. Choose different varieties to suit the season)
Starch:
ma
ize
, p
ota
to, sw
ee
t p
ota
to
- 94 -
Form FFP07
Household's drawing of their yard and current situation
(assets in the yard, who lives/eats there, the household's ways of making ends meet)
This drawing is a form of baseline
(and can be read together with information on FFP01 - Household Application)
To be drawn on newsprint (flipchart paper)
or any other suitable paper.
Household's "Present Situation"-drawing(to be self-drawn by the Household)
- 95 -
Form FFP08
Household's vision plan of their garden layout in five years' time
(="five-year food security plan")
To be drawn on newsprint (flipchart paper)
or any other suitable paper.
The household to also show three possible positions
for the RWH Dam on this 'Helicopter Plan'.
Household's "Helicopter Plan"-drawing(to be self-drawn by the Household)
- 96 -
Month: FFP09
… … … … … … …
� Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough?
......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given
� �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind
��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny
��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy
��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain
…...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain
…...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam
… … … … … … …
� Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough?
......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given
� �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind
��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny
��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy
��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain
…...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain
…...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam
… … … … … … …
� Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough?
......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given
� �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind
��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny
��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy
��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain
…...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain
…...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam
… … … … … … …
� Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough? � Wet deep enough?
......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given ......buckets given
� �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind � �Wind
��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny ��Sunny
��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy ��Cloudy
��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain ��Rain
…...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain …...mm rain
…...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam …...cm water in RWH dam
(to be filled by the Household)
Household's "Weather & Water"-calendar
- 97 -
FFP10
TANK No:
FFP Group:
Number Price Total
Beetroot R - R - R -
Cabbage R - R - R -
Carrot R - R - R -
Green Pepper R - R - R -
Lettuce R - R - R -
Onion R - R - R -
Peas R - R - R -
Potato R - R - R -
Spinach R - R - R -
Tomato R - R - R -
R - R - R -
R - R - R -
R - R - R -
0 0 0 0 0 0 R - R - R -
Date:
Date:
Checked by FFP-Facilitator:
Compiled by FFP-Assistant:
Type of CropNumber
Planted
House No./ Address:
Construction Batch:
Householder ID Number:
Householder Name:Project Name:
Project Number:
FFP/HH "Household Harvesting"-chart(to be filled by the Household and FFP-Assistant)
Total value
of harvestNumber
Consumed
Number
Donated
Sold
Number
Harvested
Discrepancy (no. planted -
no. harvested)
Number Used Monetary value of
produce consumed
or donated
- 98 -
C3.5 Books and Forms used by the Storekeeper
SK01: BULK MATERIAL NEEDED LIST form
SK02: INVITATION TO QUOTE form
SK03: ORDER BOOK
(standard triplicate order book)
SK04: MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION form (use form BK05)
SK05: BULK MATERIAL RECEIVED form
(to be copied to hardcover notebook)
SK06: MATERIALS ISSUED TO HOUSEHOLD form
(forms to be bound together into a book)
99
Project Name:
Project Number:
concre
te
stone
cem
ent
gum
pole
s
6m
m Y
-bars
Ref. 1
93
mesh
bin
din
g w
ire
wood-scre
ws
PVC
pip
e
(Cla
ss 4
)
ABE
mem
bra
ne
19m
m
50kg
5.4
m x
125/1
00
5.7
m
5.4
m
4.5
m
3.0
m
6m
length
2.4
5m
wid
e
4m
m
2.5
mm
1.6
mm
6m
m x
65m
m
110m
m
200m
m
w
Units: litre m3 m3 m3 m3 bag m2 each each each each each each m kg kg kg each each each m m pack
House
NumberHouseholder Name Householder ID Number Tank Type
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. of
Units
No. o
Units
Date:
Form SK
Checked by Technical Officer:
Date:
Lancosa
t 228galvanised
wire
0.5mm galvanised IBR
sheeting
Compiled by Storekeeper:
TOTAL MATERIALS NEEDED
padlo
ck (bra
ss)
Materials:
BULK MATERIAL NEEDED LIST
(to be filled by the Storekeeper)
roof w
ash
ers
Date:
wate
r
river
sand
build
ers sand
pla
ster sa
nd
build
ing b
locks
100
Form SK02
Project Name: Supplier's Name:
Project Number: Physical Address:
Contact Name:
Date of Quote:
Item Unit Number of units Unit Cost Total Cost
water litre 1200
19mm concrete stone m3 1.8
river sand m3 1.8
builders sand m3 0.5
plaster sand m3 0.6
cement (50kg bags) (Cem1) bag 30
building blocks m2 33
5.4m x 125/100 gum poles each 2
5.7m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 3
5.4m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
4.5m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
3.0m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
6mm Y-bars (6m length) each 27
Ref. 193 mesh (2.45m wide) m 14
4mm galvanised wire (cutting length=2000mm) kg 1
2.5mm galvanised wire (cutting length=900mm) kg 4
1.6mm binding wire kg 1
sheet fixing wood-screws (6mm x 65mm) each 32
sheet fixing roof washers each 32
padlock (brass) each 1
110mm PVC pipe (Class 4) m 2
ABE membrane (200mm wide) m 16
Lancosat 228 (=20kg bag + 5 liter tin of polymer) pack 2
OR Superlaykold (2x20 litre tins)
[ONLY IF LANCOSET UNAVAILABLE]litre 40
Compiled by Storekeeper:
Date: Date:
Note: The above prices are valid for days/months from the date of the quote.
Checked by Technical Officer:
INVITATION TO QUOTE(To be filled by Storekeeper)
TOTAL:
Subtotal materials
Less Discount
Transport
Subtotal:
VAT (@14%):
101
Form SK 03
Use standard triplicate Order Book
Order Book(to be used by the Storekeeper)
102
Form BK05/SK04
Payee:
Signature:
Amount:
Reasons:
Order:
Name: Signature: Date:
Project Name:
Project Number:
WAGES/MATERIAL CHEQUE REQUISITION FORM(to be filled by the Bookkeeper / Storekeeper)
a) Order indicating the quotation number and its validity
b) Invoice/receipts (when available)
a) Wages Register
b) Staff Payroll
c) Builder Payroll with attached Job Cards and Initial Job Acceptance forms
Note: No cheque may be issued unless the following are attached:
Cheque No.:
or
For Materials Purchases:
For Wages:
Committee Member:
Technical Officer:
Requested by Bookkeeper / Storekeeper:
AUTHORISED BY:
103
Form SK05
DateDelivery Note
or Invoice No.
Quantity
ReceivedORDER NO. Description Supplier Storekeeper's signature
BULK MATERIAL RECEIVED(to be copied to a hardcover notebook and used by the Storekeeper)
Project Name:
Project Number:
104
Form SK06
TANK NO: Item Quantity Date Issued Householder Signature
Tank type: water
19mm concrete stone
Project Name: river sand
Project Number: builders sand
plaster sand
House No./ Address: cement (50kg bags) (Cem1)
Householder Name: building blocks
Householder ID Number: 5.4m x 125/100 gum poles
5.7m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting
5.4m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting
4.5m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting
3.0m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting
6mm Y-bars (6m length)
Ref. 193 mesh (2.45m wide)
4mm galvanised wire (cutting length=2000mm)
2.5mm galvanised wire (cutting length=900mm)
1.6mm binding wire
sheet fixing wood-screws (6mm x 65mm)
sheet fixing roof washers
padlock (brass)
110mm PVC pipe (Class 4)
ABE membrane (200mm wide)
Lancosat 228 (=20kg bag + 5 liter tin of polymer)
OR Superlaykold (2x20 litre tins)
[ONLY IF LANCOSET UNAVAILABLE]
Storekeeper's Signature:
MATERIALS ISSUED TO HOUSEHOLD(to be filled by the Storekeeper. Forms to be bound together into a book)
- 105 -
C3.6 Books and Forms used by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant
QA01: TANK SITING and EXCAVATION form
QA02: MATERIALS ON SITE form
QA03: QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (FLOOR & WALL)
QA04: QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (ROOF & WATERPROOFING)
QA05: INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE form
QA06: FINAL TANK ACCEPTANCE form
QA07: HOUSEHOLD TANK CERTIFICATE
- 106 -
Form QA01
Project Name:
Project Number:
Tank type:
Date of visit:
Yes/No
Yes/No Yes/No
If the final tank position is not
one of these three, what are
the reasons?
Yes/No
Mark the centre position of
the excavationYes/No Yes/No
m diameter circle
m deep
Yes/No
Quality Assessor Name and Signature: Householder Signature:
Date of visit:
m diameter circle
Is there any water in the pit? Yes/No m deep
Yes/No
Quality Assessor Name and Signature: Householder Signature:
Date of visit:
Excavation Depth: m
Excavation Diameter: m
Checked QA's Comments
Quality Assessor Name and Signature: Householder Signature:
VISIT 1: FINAL TANK SITING
TANK SITING and EXCAVATION form(to be filled by the Quality Assessor or QA Assistant)
TANK NO:Batch No:
Date of Inspection:
The household has developed sufficient intensified garden beds to qualify for a tank:
1m clear perimeter at the top
House No./ Address:
Householder Name:
Hole excavated to required depth
Hole excavated to required diameter
Floor of excavation flat
Loose material removed from floor of excavation
Layout drawing of homestead, showing tank position, intensified garden beds, water flows, etc:
VISIT 3: EXCAVATION COMPLETE
Householder ID Number:
The household has dug
VISIT 2: HOUSEHOLD PORTION OF DIGGING COMPLETE
Have these reasons been
explained to the household
and accepted by them?
Mark the diameter for the household's portion
of the excavation
The household must dig
The household's portion of the excavation is complete, and a digging team can now be
assigned
Household "Helicopter Plan" with the household's three
preferred tank positions was made available to QA:
The final tank position is one
of the household's preferred
tank positions:
The household must dig a
The household is ready
to start digging their portion
Are there any
special conditions
(e.g. rocks, water) :
The household has dug a
Digging was…
mm � Easy
� Medium
� Hard
digging?
hole collapse during
Yes No
Did the sides of the
Rock was found at
depth:
Excavation:
� underground
or
� half-buried
or
� above-ground
Tank elevation (tick one):
- 107 -
Form QA02
Project Name:
Project Number:
Tank type:
Checked QA's Comments
UnitRequired
quantity
Quantity
on siteHouseholder Signature
water litre 1300
19mm concrete stone m3 1.8
river sand m3 1.8
builders sand m3 0.5
plaster sand m3 0.6
cement (50kg bags) (Cem1) bag 33
cement blocks m2 34.4
bricks each 18
5.4m x 125/100 gum poles each 2
5.7m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 3
5.4m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
4.5m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
3.0m x 0.5mm galvanised IBR sheeting each 2
6mm Y-bars (6m length) each 27
Ref. 193 mesh (2.45m wide) m 15.6
4mm galvanised wire (cutting length=2000mm) kg 1
2.5mm galvanised wire (cutting length=900mm) kg 4
1.6mm binding wire kg 1
chicken mesh sq.m 1
sheet fixing wood-screws (6mm x 65mm) each 32
sheet fixing roof washers each 32
M5 x 20mm gutter bolts and nuts each 16
padlock (brass) each 1
hinges (brass) each 2
110mm SV PVC pipe (to SANS 967) m 2
ABE membrane (200mm wide) m 16
Chryso L228 (=20kg bag + 5 liter tin of polymer) kit 2
protective cover (galvanised with accessories) each 1
Quality Assessor Name and Signature:
Householder Signature:
Item
Householder ID Number:
MATERIALS
All required materials delivered to household for building to start
Cement stored in dry, under-roof room
Other materials stored safely
No damaged materials
Quality of river and plaster sand good
Materials on site correspond with SK06:Materials Issued to Household form
House No./ Address:
Householder Name:
MATERIALS ON SITE form(to be filled by the Quality Assessor. Forms to be bound together into a book)
TANK NO:Batch No:
Date of Inspection:
- 108 -
Form QA03
Batch No:
Date of Inspection:
Project Name: House No./ Address:
Project Number: Householder Name:
Tank type: Householder ID Number:
Completion Date of Tank:
Drawing no.: Builder's Name:
Checked QA's Comments
QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (FLOOR & WALL)(to be filled by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant)
TANK NO:
SLAB
Slab is 100mm thick and has a flat and level surface
Concrete mix: 2 bags cement to 2.5 wheelbarrows river sand to 2.5 wheelbarrows stone
Ref. 193 mesh reinforcing placed at mid-heigth of slab
No visible cracks in slab
Slab surface smooth and not crumbly
WALL
Blocks filled with mortar (to strengthen weak blocks)
Mortar mix: 1 bag cement (32.5 or 42.5) to 3 wheelbarrows building/plaster sand
One ring of 6mm Y-bar used in every course of blocks (or at prescribed intervals for bricks)
Y-bar overlaps at least 300mm at each splice
Y-bar positioned towards centre of block
Walls built vertically with horizontal courses
Walls plastered on inside (15mm thick minimum)
Plaster mix: 1 bag cement to 2 wheelbarrows plaster sand
No visible cracks in plaster
Plaster surface is smooth and not crumbly
No hollow sections in plaster
Wall structure and surface of adequate quality to be sealed
INLET/OVERFLOW
Backfill around tank up to or slightly above water level on sunken tanks
Backfill compacted in layers of 100mm at o.m.c. with hand stampers
Inlet sediment pit built
Tank inlet functionality: check relative elevations of inlet pipes and pit floor wrt ground surface
Overflow provided with protective spillway
Overflow functionality: prevents seepage into the ground at wall, and erosion at discharge point
LANDSCAPE The excavated ground has been shaped into mounds to direct rainfall run-off to the inlet
Ground in contact with the tank has been landscaped to prevent run-off collecting against walls
A pathway has been opened up through the excavated heaps for water from the overflow and other
excess run-off to be directed safely away from the tank structure
CLEAN UP
Hard mixing patches and traces of aggregate removed
All rubbish and cement bags removed or burnt
All untidy heaps and loose stones in the vicinity raked even
Site in as good or better a state than before construction started
Builder's Name and Signature:
Quality Assessor's Name and Signature:
m
Tank shape:
� Diameter: m
or
� Inside length: m
Inside width: m
Floor material:
Other detail:
l
Wall material:
Water volume:
Height inside to overflow:
Tank "as built" details (FLOOR & WALL):
- 109 -
Form QA04
Batch No:
Date of Inspection:
Project Name: House No./ Address:
Project Number: Householder Name:
Tank type: Householder ID Number:
Completion Date of Tank:
Drawing no.: Builder's Name:
Checked QA's Comments
No sharp/jagged edges sticking out around tank
Sheeting cut for overhang of 50mm to 100mm over perimeter of tank
Roof sheeting type as per drawing
depth of sheet ( 36mm for flekspan)
QUALITY ASSESSOR CHECKLIST (ROOF & WATERPROOFING)(to be filled by the Quality Assessor and QA Assistant)
TANK NO:
ROOF
Roof beams fully cover top of tank
thickness of sheeting (0.5mm or more)
Beam ends must be creosoted or similarly treated
Roof sheeting tied as least two courses from the top with 2.5 mm wire
Holes punched in lower end of roof sheeting or channel/gutters installed to catch
Roof sheeting overlaps
Spacing of roof sheeting screws
Beams anchored to wall at least 400mm below top with 3.15mm wire
Lockable hatch built into roof
SEALING
Wall sealant (waterproofing coat) was applied/painted over plaster
Wall sealant covers entire wall with no unpainted surfaces showing
Wall/Floor joint sealant done
CLEAN UP
Hard mixing patches and traces of aggregate removed
All rubbish and cement bags removed or burnt
All untidy heaps and loose stones in the vicinity raked even
Site in as good or better a state than before construction started
Quality Assessor's Name and Signature:
No sharp edges on hatch opening
Builder's Name and Signature:
Other detail:
Joint seal:
Floor seal:
Wall seal:
Roof beams:
Tank 'as built' details (ROOF & WATERPROOFING):
Roof cover:
- 110 -
Form QA05
Project Name: House No./ Address: I, hereby accept the tank
Project Number: Householder Name:
Tank type: Householder ID Number:
I, hereby accept I, hereby give authorization
that the tank is complete and of good quality. for the builder to be paid the amount of R
GPS Co-ordinates: Comments:
South
East
INITIAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORM(to be filled by the Quality Assessor)
Date:
Signed:
(Householder's name)
TANK NO:
Signed:
Date:
(Technical Officer)(Quality Assessor's name)
built, as being complete and of good quality. I will sign the final
acceptance form after the tank has been tested successfully for
waterproofness.
Tank completion date:
Signed:
Builder's name:
- 111 -
Form QA06
Project Name: House No./ Address: I, the signatory
Project Number: Householder Name:
Tank type: Householder ID Number: on behalf of this household, declare that:
I, hereby hand over I, hereby accept
the complete and functional tank. the tank as complete and functional.
GPS Co-ordinates: Comments:
South
East
(Name of RIA Representative)
Signed:
Builder's name:
FINAL TANK ACCEPTANCE FORM(to be filled by the Quality Assessor)
Date:
Signed:
(Householder's name)
TANK NO:
Date the leak test was carried out successfully:
4. We will operate and maintain the tank safely, and will ensure that an adult will
at all times protect children and animals from falling into the tank
the tank, or any related infrastructure or equipment, or for any injury, loss or death
resulting from the construction, use or otherwise of the rainwater tank and related
infrastructure or equipment
1. We accept a completed and functional water tank2. The tank has been tested and does not leak
3. We know that the water is not safe for drinking
Signed:
Date:
(Name of Client Representative)
- 112 -
Number of people eating at this house every day:
S: ° ' " �
E: ° ' " �
Digging was…
mm � Easy
� Medium
� Hard
digging?
� underground
or
� half-buried m
or
� above-ground
m 2 Tank shape:
� Diameter: m
or
� Inside length: m
m2
Inside width: m
House O Old vegetable beds
Water flow direction N New intensified vegetables beds
Tank F Future (planned) intensified vegetable beds
Manager: Agricultural Water Use Development Support DWAF Registered Implementing Department of Water Affairs and Forestry [RIA NAME]
Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001 [RIA POSTAL ADDRESS]
Fax: 012 323 5041 Tel: [RIA TEL NO]
Household Tank CertificateEnquiries: Tel: 012 336 7500 Enquiries: [RIA CONTACT]
Email: [email protected] Email: [RIA EMAIL ADDRESS]
Interviewer: Date:Householder's Details: I, the signatory on behalf of this
household, declare that:Family Name & Initials
Location: First Name 1. We accept a completed and functional water tank
2. The tank has been tested and does not leak
Village Name Telephone No 3. We know the water is not safe for drinking
House No (if applicable) ID No.
Ward No. Productive Water Use:
District
Province Does this household suffer from hunger? Yes No
All the time Which months of the year?
Sometimes
Excavation:
Signed (Household):
5. We will not hold DWAF responsible for future
maintenance or replacement of the tank, or any
related infrastructure or equipment, or for any injury,
loss or death resulting from the construction, use or
otherwise of the rainwater tank and related
infrastructure or equipment
GPS Coordinates:
Date:Rock was found at
depth:
hole collapse during
Yes No
Did the sides of the
Signed (RIA): Date:
Tank elevation (tick one): Tank details:
Roof cover:
Roof beams:
Height inside to overflow:
Wall material:
Water volume: Wall seal:
Floor seal:
lRWH collection:
Hard surfaces:
H
T
Permeable surfaces:
4. We will operate and maintain the tank safely, and
will ensure that an adult will at all times protect
children and animals from falling into the tank
Form QA07
RWH layout sketch: Photos:
Floor material:
Other detail:
Joint seal:
- 113 -
APPENDIX D: Facilitation processes
APPENDIX D1. Detailed Table: Community and Individual facilitation processes
TIP: THIS TABLE IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL FOR FACILITATORS!!
How to read this table:
First read through the ‘Steps’ column to get a quick overview of what happens during each ‘event’. You can
also note who is involved in that step, to better understand the step.
Next, you can study the detail in the last three columns for each step. These columns give you more detail on:
• what is done during each step; • the purpose of that step (i.e. how this helps the food insecure individual towards self-reliance); and • typical pitfalls to look out for during each step, which should help you to facilitate that step better.
The Detailed Table covers the following broad categories of facilitation, colour-coded as shown below:
D1.1 VILLAGE LEVEL PROCESSES (to create an enabling environment in the village for support to food insecure individuals)
D1.2 INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES (all processes that the individual experiences on her journey to food security. Focused on own skills – personal and technical – for household survival)
D1.3 FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT GROUP ACTIVITIES (group members’ support to each other and outreach to others with similar problems)
D1.4 FOLLOW-UP AND REPORT-BACK TO VILLAGE LEADERSHIP AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS (further building the enabling environment for moral and other support for households’ efforts)
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Event Who is involved in
this step? Step What is done during this step?
How does this step help the food insecure
individual towards self-reliance? Pitfalls during this step
D1.1 VILLAGE LEVEL PROCESSES (to create an enabling environment in the village for support to food insecure individuals)
Meeting the community leadership
Facilitator(s), community leadership
“Open the door”
Meet community leadership; tell them about the initiative; explain how Mind Mobilisation works; explain how rainwater harvesting works; ask if the leaders would support this; ask what else you should know about that could influence the initiative; get contact details for others involved in household support initiatives; explain what the leaders can do to help and what they should please try to avoid
Help leadership understand the significance of hungry family’s own efforts; help leadership realise the power of their own actions in encouraging/discouraging food insecure households; get leadership’s help in convincing broader community not to undermine the target HHs efforts
1. There is a danger that well-meaning leaders want to take over and do things for households, instead of allowing them to do things for themselves so that they can grow in confidence and self-reliance;
2. Leadership rejects facilitator(s) and/or proposed initiative
Meeting(s) with organisations active in supporting food security or other household support programmes in the village
Facilitator(s), representatives of organisations involved in household support programmes in the village
Create partnerships
Raise awareness
Same as above.
Informs organisations of the planned initiative and seeks their support and/or collaboration.
If there is a good match of objectives, plan how you can work together to make sure potential target HHs join the initiative.
Improves coordination between different initiatives; seeks synergies; avoids confusion and overlaps that would be to the detriment of the progress of the food insecure households
1. Other organisation(s) reject facilitator(s) and/or proposed initiative
2. Incompatibilities between existing and proposed new initiatives
Community mass meeting
Facilitator(s), community leadership, representatives of other organisations, community (especially struggling families)
Awareness raising;
HHs register to participate in the initiative
See “Introducing the idea”
Meeting with interest group/ target households
Facilitator(s), representatives from collaborating organisations, target HHs
Awareness raising;
HHs register to participate
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D1.2 INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES (all processes that the individual experiences on her journey to food security. Focused on own skills – personal and technical – for household survival)
Household visits
Facilitator(s), representatives from collaborating organisations, target households
Find food insecure households;
HHs register to participate in the initiative
Mind mobilisation workshop
Facilitator, maximum 10 target household members
Introduction
Opening Prayer & Welcome,
Housekeeping rules,
Introductions & Expectations
Each participant Self-reflection
Draw own “Present situation
analysis”:
Each participant reflects on her own situation, honestly and in detail. She captures this on flipchart in a detailed drawing of her homestead, who eats there and how they survive.
Reflecting on her situation, she confronts herself with the stark reality. In day-to-day life people get so used to their situation that they stop questioning whether this is what they want from life, and stop looking for alternatives.
Facilitator, participants
Admit problem to self and others
Plenary report-back and joint
discussion on each workshop participant’s “Present Situation Analysis”
Healing cannot start until a person admits to herself that she has a problem. In presenting and discussing her ‘Present day analysis’ she admits to herself and others that she has a serious and overwhelming problem, which, for a long time, she has been unable to overcome.
This is a very hard, but very important step.
Counselor/facilitator, individual participant
Extra support Individual counseling (where
necessary)
Most people find talking about their present situation painful and many break down and cry. Some individuals are traumatised and inconsolable.
If there is only one facilitator, she may want to call for a break at this point and spend some time alone with the individual to support her through this very difficult experience. Ideally there should be a second counselor/facilitator available to work with the individual separately while
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the rest of the group continues.
Mind mobilisation workshop
Storyteller, participants
Receive hope
“Tshepo’s Story”:
Listen to the life-story of someone (Tshepo or other) who was in the same position and succeeded in getting out
By hearing first-hand from someone who ‘made it’, she receives hope that there is a way out – a way that is difficult and which will require great personal sacrifice, but which is not impossible
Decide to change
She decides that she wants to change
At this point people experience a mixture of fear and excitement. Once she has taken the decision to change, energy levels are usually high and she is eager to take practical action. This energy is next channeled into a visioning and planning exercise
Each participant Vision and plan
Draw own “Helicopter Plan” (also called the “five-year food security plan”).
This is done by “flying over” her yard in her mind’s eye and drawing onto flipchart paper her vision of what she would like it to look like in five years’ time.
She develops a vision of how she wants to be, and draws up a doable plan of action of how she can get there.
This becomes her ‘roadmap’ for the next five years. She takes this home and henceforth plans her daily activities towards achieving the Helicopter Plan in five years.
This helps to keep her focused and motivated in periods of low morale, and also helps avoid that she becomes discouraged by trying to do too much in the beginning
Facilitator, participants
Take action; learn practical skills
Practical demonstration: deep trenching for intensive gardening
Adults learn best by doing. By practically measuring out a new trench bed, digging it, placing the organic stuffing, and planting some seedlings, she becomes less likely to put off starting her own when she gets back home.
Preparing the demonstration bed with other participants binds the support group closer together and helps them remind each other how to do it once they get home.
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Facilitator, participants
Learn how to amend wrong behaviour; learn new skills
Learn about any of a range of topics, depending on the immediate need and interest of the particular group
Some topics can be covered during the MM workshop, others can be done in follow-up trainings, which may take place in the village, e.g. at one of the participants home, or in rotation at several homes
Participants, facilitator
Establish mutual- support group & learn to share
Discussion on how to support each other henceforth
The individual establishes supportive ties with others who are going through the same process and together they pledge to motivate and counsel each other
All Celebration party Cement good relationships and goodwill among the participants
Facilitator, participants
Seed or seedling sharing Participants witness and experience how to share, discuss how it is better to give and receive, rather than to grab and hide
All
Learn to notice and care for others
Candle lighting
Each participant commits to notice others who are in similar trouble, and to draw them in too, and share the message of hope
Participants return home
Target households
Return home and get started
Discuss and refine Helicopter Plan with other HH members
Start intensive gardening
-Prepare first trench bed and plant seedlings.
-Water with grey water.
Follow-up household visits
Facilitator(s), target households
First visit: Moral support & limited
technical advice
-Visit the household.
-Ask her to show her helicopter plan and explain what changes her family have suggested. Praise and encourage her!
-Ask her to walk and talk through her garden, and to explain her future plans for it. Praise and encourage her!
-The main objective of the first household visit is to praise her, so that her hope and
determination can be strengthened.
-Limit your technical advice at this stage: give simple responses to specific questions she may have, or give some small pieces of key advice to point her in the right direction.
DON’T criticize! Praise her every effort.
DON’T get carried away and overwhelm her with lots of technical advice! There will be lots of time to shape and refine the practices in the months ahead.
Later visits -Ask her to walk and talk through -Showing interest in what she does and in her ideas strengthens and encourages her,
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her garden.
-Notice and praise progress, new ideas, etc.
-Give technical advice as appropriate
-Ask to see her helicopter plan and notice whether she uses it regularly (or is it kept only to please you?).
-Ask her to show her monitoring tools and tell everyone what interesting things she has learnt from using them
and gives everyone a chance to learn from each other’s ideas.
-Through your behaviour you can remind and show her how the helicopter plan is a living planning document that helps the whole family to keep the dream alive and plan and replan their activities from day to day.
-The same applies to her monitoring tools.
Follow-up workshops
Facilitator, participants
Learn how to amend wrong behaviour
Learn new skills
Learn about “Family Time Management Charting”
She recognises the wrong behaviour that got her into trouble in the first place, and implements mechanisms to counteract this in future
Facilitator, participants
Input and group discussion on Self-reliance
Facilitator, participants
Moral regeneration charting
Facilitator, participants
Family nutrition
Facilitator, participants
Food processing and storage
Facilitator, participants
Planting calendar
Facilitator, participants
Harvesting calendar with harvest estimates
Facilitator, participants
Monitoring tools
Facilitator, participants
Other topics, according to needs identified by participants
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Event Who is involved in
this step? Step What is done during this step?
How does this step help the food insecure
individual towards self-reliance? Pitfalls during this step
D1.3 FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT GROUP ACTIVITIES (group members’ support to each other and outreach to others with similar problems)
During household visits by the facilitator
Facilitator and participants
Visit each other
Encourage everyone to walk together from house-to-house to look, listen and learn from each other during household visits
Learn from each other, get new ideas
Get motivated to do as much or more than neighbours
Cement good neighbourly relationships
Notice each other’s hardship and discover ways to help
Avoid too much attention being lavished all the time on the ‘star’ in the group.
Avoid jealousy and unhealthy competition (healthy competition is good, though!)
Protect the spirit of mutual care.
Other group meetings
Participants, sometimes facilitator
Visit each other, cultivate friendship
Share ideas, sorrows, joy.
Give feedback to those who may have been unable to attend the facilitator’s household visits, or training workshops.
Discuss how to draw in others with similar problems.
Discuss problem cases in the village and how to help (e.g. child headed HHs, injured or disabled individuals, etc)
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Event Who is involved in
this step? Step What is done during this step?
How does this step help the food insecure
individual towards self-reliance? Pitfalls during this step
D1.4 FOLLOW-UP AND REPORT-BACK TO VILLAGE LEADERSHIP AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS (further building the enabling environment for moral and other support for households’ efforts)
Report-back to community leadership
Facilitator and participants
Report-back and further collaboration with other organisations
Facilitator and participants
Further background information and/or examples for some of these steps are given in the sections below.
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D1.1 Village level facilitation processes
D1.1.1 Introducing the idea of intensive Family Food Production to the
community
Example of input from facilitator, when introducing the idea to target households:
The text in Box D1.1 below was developed by Zanele Semane of Border Rural Committee in Eastern
Cape. She used this very successfully in two villages during the DWAF RWH Pilot Phase to get poor
households gardening intensively, and enthusiastically! The results of her work are also reported in
the “War on Hunger” paper in Appendix A.
Box D1.1: Introducing the idea of intensive Family Food Production
“In our area we have a problem of poverty, and within poverty, the worst part is hunger. In this area, for how many months of the year do people have food?
People here plant seasonally, only when the rains allow, and this does not give enough food for the year.
This idea is about being able to plant all the time, around the year, to get a lot more food.
First, you ‘make your own river in the yard’, by digging a furrow to channel the rainwater when it comes, to where you want it.
Second, you dig a trench to plant in.
This trench will drink from your ‘river-furrow’ every time it rains.
When you dig the planting trench, you put the top soil to one side, and the other soil to the other side.
• Dig 1m deep, or if you hit rock, no problem, then you will just raise the bed (heap it up) to get it 1m thick. • Each trench you can make as long as you wish, one or two or more spades long. • The width must be narrow enough so you can reach everywhere in the bed without ever stepping into it, so that
the soil can stay soft and lovely for the plant roots to grow easily. The bigger the roots, the bigger the plant.
Third, you fill the trench with any rubbish that will rot over time:
• Put in: dry grass, leaves, rusting tins, ash from the cooking fire, wet or dry manure • Do not put in: plastic, glass, rubber, tins that won’t rust
Heap up above the ground, to compensate for subsidence as the rubbish rots away. This looks just like a grave. It is a grave for hunger. We are going to bury the hunger.
Your last layers will be a layer of manure, with a layer of top soil over that. Don’t mix these two last layers if you want to plant immediately.
Fourth, you can plant immediately, rain or no rain. Keep your plants wet with any little water you can find, like water from washing the dishes and bathing.
Later, you can think about water storage to help during dry periods.
Whoever is interested to plant throughout the year, can do this. If you are willing to use your ten fingers to work hard, you can do this. Fortunately, each trench you have to dig only once in your life, after that they keep on providing food for you, even into your old age. That is why people call them their ‘special pension’.”
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D2.1 Individual Mind Mobilisation processes
D2.1.1 Mind mobilisation: introduction
Base information for facilitator(s):
• Water for Food Movement Charter
The Charter was developed by women of Water for Food Movement during a celebration
held in Lesotho. The Charter expresses the women’s determination to take control of their
own lives through simple practical activities, to support each other in the fight against
hunger and poverty, and to take note and draw in others around them who face the same
problems.
• Water for Food Movement Vision
In the Water for Food Movement’s vision of the future, active households in communities are taking
responsibility for their own livelihoods, starting with food as a priority to liberate the minds and
rebuild the family as the primary institution for the re-socialisation of the youth. It envisages
communities progressing by caring for each other. It emphasises three “layers” in the development
process of a household, namely household food security, then participation in community projects,
then participation in business enterprises, and urges all not to get in trouble by trying to skip a step.
Example of input from facilitator, when introducing the idea to target
households:
“If you don’t change your situation, no-one else will.
Why is this a movement? Because it costs nothing, you don’t even pay five cents.
Yet you benefit a lot, therefore you pass the benefit forward to others around you, again without
cost to yourself.
Now, when someone asks if you have a job, you will no longer be saying: ‘No, I’m not working’. You
will be saying: ‘Yes, I work at home’.”
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D2.1.2 Household present situation analysis
Participant finds a quiet place to sit and draws her/his own present yard and household situation
(as detailed as possible) on flipchart paper
Present back to other participants in plenary
The facilitator and other participants ask questions about household well-being and
yard features (taking hints from the drawing)
Notes can be made of the report-back
This drawing and notes on the household’s present situation analysis is effectively a baseline study
of that household.
Example to read:
Mind Mobilisation Household Report
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D2.1.3 Visioning (‘Helicopter planning’)
Participant draws her/his Helicopter Plan on flipchart (as detailed as possible)
showing how she/he would like her/his yard to look in five years’ time
She presents this back to other participants in plenary
The facilitator and other participants ask questions to lead the thinking towards
interim goals and reality checks.
Example questions:
� “Are you sure the water flows in that direction on your yard during a rainstorm?”
� “You already have 2 beds, how long did that take you? How much would you realistically
be able to do by (target date) (Christmas, next month, etc)”
Example of Mrs Khumbane’s original household
Helicopter Plan.
Note how sections have been changed over time and
pasted in over the original.
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APPENDIX E:
Family Food Production facilitation tools
APPENDIX E1. Family Food Production Workshops
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APPENDIX E1. Family Food Production Workshops
Family Food Production: Introduction for Households
These workshops follow after the necessary preliminary work has been done, e.g. ‘opening the door’ through consultations with leadership, government and relevant development organisations active in the area, village scoping, identification and invitation of interested households within the target group (i.e. households below the breadline) and (possibly) mind mobilisation.
Family Food Production:
Introduction for Households
WEEK 1 -
Workshop 1: Getting started
1.1 Training needs review: Participatory assessment of participants’ current experience and training
needs/interest
1.2 Vision-building: family nutrition workshop – participating households analyse their current eating
habits and analyse nutrition gaps
1.3 Verbal introduction of the idea of intensive Family Food Production through rainwater
harvesting and deep trenching (see Appendix D1.1.1 for the full text)
WEEK 3 -
Workshop 2: Making a deep trench and planting seedlings for Go, Grow and Glow foods
House-to-house practical
WEEK 5 –
Workshop 3: Irrigation – deep watering and recording
House-to-house practical
WEEK 7 –
Workshop 4: Brews – for plant food and remedies
House-to-house practical
WEEK 9 –
Workshop 5: Sowing seeds for succession planting
House-to-house practical
WEEK 11 –
Workshop 6: Fruit tree planting
House-to-house practical
WEEK 13 –
Workshop 7: Food processing and CELEBRATION!
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E1.1.1 Family nutrition workshop
The problem of poverty, of which hunger is the worst
• How many months of food are available in your village to those households that are unable
to meet their daily food needs?
What are we eating?
• What we eat daily/weekly/regularly/hardly ever
• Special foods we eat for special needs (e.g. high blood pressure, young mothers)
• Foods we feed weaning children and under five-year olds
What would we prefer to eat if there was no limitation?
• What we would eat daily/weekly/regularly/hardly ever
• Special foods we would eat for special needs (e.g. high blood pressure, etc.)
• Foods we would feed weaning children and under five-year olds
Participatory diet gap analysis
(analyse ‘foods we regularly eat’ into three main food groups: go, grow & glow foods)
• Men
• Women
• Children
Which diet gaps can we fill from homestead agricultural activities
(list of achievable foods in our area)
• U5 children
• Young mothers
• High blood pressure
• Others
WEEK 3 -
Workshop 2: Make trench and plant
2.1 Practical: House-to-house demonstration of how to make trenches and furrows, picking up on
lessons as we go.
-All participants move together from house-to-house, participating in preparing the trenches and learning something new from each different situation
-Create a pathway for run-on to each trenchbed as you go = ‘the furrow the trench must drink from’. Engage everyone in the planning, layout and making of the ‘furrow the trench must drink from’.
-(Pre-plan what to bring, and explain):
Plant things to eat every day (as opposed to watching a cabbage grow for three months, then eat it in one day). Recap on the insights gained at the nutrition workshop, and how it has lead to the selection of seeds and seedlings being planted today.
1. Seedlings
2. Carrot seed – deep soft aerated soil needed, only then straight long carrots can be grown
(Ask “who can grow nice long straight carrots? Show us how”)
3. Seed/sand mix to enable even spreading of tiny seeds
4. Spring onion (quick to be harvest-ready; green flavourful source throughout the year)
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5. Mustard spinach
Households’ homework:
• Finish first hole each
• Care for planted vegetables
• Dig and fill fruit tree holes
• Nutrition monitoring: Go, Grow & Glow self-check chart
WEEK 5 –
Workshop 3: Irrigation
House-to-house visits (Query-based responses to questions encountered)
Look at/discuss the following:
• Check on plants
• At each homestead, measure how deep each bed is wet.
• Garden layout – ask how they planned the run-on to each bed
• Progress with tree holes? Still want the original number of fruit trees?
• Check on monitoring (ask to see GGG chart, discuss)
Irrigation training: Main objective: to overcome practice of shallow watering
• At each homestead, measure how deep each bed is wet.
• Encourage them to water a different bed each day – thoroughly – instead of all beds a little
bit everyday
• Introduce monitoring of irrigation
o record sheet: when and how much each bed is watered
o record sheet: write every day how deep the wetting front is (use steel peg)
o record sheet: how do the plants look in each bed every day (wilting, curling leaves,
etc)
o rainfall (ensure access to rainguage in village)
Households’ homework:
• Monitor irrigation and rainfall (need own Irrigation Record Sheet, and daily access to steel peg and rainguage)
• Nutrition monitoring: Go, Grow & Glow self-check chart
• Finish fruit tree holes
• Care for planted vegetables
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WEEK 7 –
Workshop 4: Brews
House-to-house visits (Query-based responses to questions encountered)
Look at/discuss the following:
• Each house: Progress with tree holes? Finalise number of fruit trees per household according to ready holes (from now on the holes need to digest to be ready for fruit tree planting in Week 11)
• Check on plants. Point out nutrition deficiencies, if any. Point out pests. (To lead into brews)
• How did it go with irrigation monitoring? Measure how deep beds are wet. Ask householder to show and explain her Irrigation Record Sheet to the group. Discuss together.
• Has it rained? Did the ‘furrows that the trenches drink from’ work well? How would you change your lay-out in future?
Brews:
-Together, make brews for plantfood
-Make brews for pest control
Households’ homework:
• Brews homework?
• Monitor irrigation and rainfall
• Nutrition monitoring: Go, Grow & Glow self-check chart
• Care for planted vegetables
• No preparation for next workshop’s sowing of seeds?
WEEK 9 –
Workshop 5: Sow seeds
House-to-house visits (Query-based responses to questions encountered)
Look at/discuss the following:
• Each house: Remind them that the fruit trees are coming in two weeks’ time
• Check on plants. Point out nutrition deficiencies, if any. Point out pests. Who wants to explain how they made and used brews?
• How did it go with irrigation monitoring? Who wants to show Irrigation Record Sheet and what she has learnt from using it?
• Nutrition monitoring: Has anyone been able to fill some of the Go, Grow & Glow gaps with
food harvested from their trenches?! What will you do once you have harvested all the food growing in your garden now? (Lead into sowing of seeds discussion)
Sow seeds: Show how to prepare seedbed, sow seeds to make seedlings for next round of planting
-Sow seeds
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WEEK 11 –
Workshop 6: Fruit tree planting
-Everyone to gather at central place to await arrival of fruit trees,
-hand out fruit trees,
-plant a tree each house-to-house at first,
-once everyone is confident on how to do it, small groups can go and help each other house-to-house
-all trees must be planted on the day of arrival!
-all trees must be watered after planting
Households’ homework:
• Water fruit trees!
• Monitor irrigation and rainfall
• Nutrition monitoring: Go, Grow & Glow self-check chart
• Care for planted vegetables
• Prepare for food processing and celebration!
WEEK 13 –
Workshop 7: Food processing and CELEBRATION!
Detail to be added
Good, low-cash food preparation, processing and storage methods (How to prepare and store food to get the maximum nutritional benefit from it)
Celebration to affirm achievement by poor households
Leadership and neighbours invited to share in the feast to solicit recognition and support for poor households’ efforts
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APPENDIX F: Technical and Construction
APPENDIX F1 Standard RWH Dam: Drawings
APPENDIX F2 Workshop Drawings for ‘Central Pole & Radial Arm’
APPENDIX F3 Standard RWH Dam: Specifications
APPENDIX F4 Standard RWH Dam: Construction Manual
APPENDIX F5 Standard RWH Dam: Step-by-step Illustrated Construction Sequence
APPENDIX F6 Standard RWH Dam: Construction Tools and Equipment needed
APPENDIX F7 Standard RWH Dam: List of Consumable Items needed
APPENDIX F8 Rainwater Harvesting Layout
APPENDIX F9 Excavation Considerations
APPENDIX F10 RWH Dam Safety & Maintenance Manual
APPENDIX F11 Alternative RWH Dam designs
APPENDIX F12 RWH Dam Design Routines
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APPENDIX F1. Standard RWH Dam: Drawings
Printing options for on-site use of these drawings:
� Twelve A4 sheets, bound as a booklet, OR
� Two A1 sheets, laminated back-to-back, OR
� One A0 plan sheet
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INLET OVERFLOW
OVERFLOWINLE
3000 mm
5700 mm
5400 mm
4500 mm
3000 mm
5700 mm
5400 mm
4500 mm
5700 mm
2800 (mesh radius)
10mm x 300mm
central peg
Table 1 - Mixes for RWH Tanks
+ +
OPC
50kg
Bedding Mortar Mix
1 bag cement
3 barrows builders
Plaster Mix
1 bag cement
2 barrows plaster
sand
Concrete Mix
1 bag cement
1.3 barrows conc
sand 1.3 barrows
20 Lt
sand stone
sand sand
sand sand sand
20 Lt
OPC
50kg
OPC
50kg+
+
+
Appendix 6 : Standard RWH DamSunken Cylindrical Tank : 30m3 : Block Wall on top of
RC slab : May2007
Dwg 8 : Elements of DesignDwg 5 - Sectional Dimensions
Dwg 3- Arrangement of ref 193 mesh in floor (cut from 2.4m x 60m roll)
Dwg 7 -
Spacing of
roof sheets
1650 5200 1500
5680
140 140
20001500
bolt cutter
400 overlap
IBR sheeting
overflow
structure
timber polesinlet
structure
compacted
backfill
cement block
wall with a
circumferential
ring of 6mm
high tensile
steel between
courses
mesh reinforced concrete floor
plaster with
waterproof coatflexible
bandage
PVC pipes 4mm wire
2.5mm wire
70
280
80
2840 (excavation radius)
fencing pliers
fill in with
offcuts
870 870
200
200
2600 (inside radius of
wall)
2800
(trim radius)
trap door
brass
padlock
brass hinges
INLET
grill
covering
Dwg 11 - Section through Wall at Roof-Pole
1off x 6mm high tensile steel bar
per mortarbed
100mm thick concrete slab with
ref 193 mesh in the centre
125/100 treated
timber poles
flexible bandage - 200mm 'abe membrane'
impregnated with 'Chryso L228'
15mm plaster layer
water proof coat (Chryso L228)
0.5mm IBR sheeting
6 x 65mm sheet fastening wood-
screws every alternate ridge
4mm galvanised anchorage wire
390 x 188 x 140 mm thick blocks
compacted
backfill
bagging
Crest of Inlet
Dwg 10 - Detail for Fixing Beam (view from outside of wall)
Dwg 9 - Detail for Fixing sheets to Wall (view from outside of wall)
0,5mm IBR
sheeting
upper and lower
2.5 mm galv wires
twisted together
400
350350
6mm hoop steel
0,5mm IBR
sheeting
4mm mm
galv wires
twisted
together
inside dam
400
870
6mm hoop steel
datum
line BB 100/125
timber pole
brick up opening
after installing pole
builders
square
profile
no. 1profile
no. 2
profile no. 3
profile no. 4
excavation
perimeter
for inlet
structure
excavation
perimeter
for
overflow
4800 4800
4800
4390 4240
2840
500
500
600
600
2100 2000
100
670600
backfill
900mm long x 2.5 mm galv roof-
sheet anchorage wires bent in
half, and threaded into hoop
steel. Spacing @ 350mm.
3 x 110mm
overflow
pipes
3 x 110mm
inlet pipes
350
380overlap of
6mm x 6m long
hoop bars
200
200
870 870
radius of excavation for dam
2m long x 4mm
pole-anchorage
wires
140mm
block wall
centre-lines of
timber poles
Dwg 13 - Section A-A through Inlet Structure
Dwg 12 - Plan of Inlet Structure Dwg 14 - Plan of Overflow Structure
splash zone -
two or more
brick courses
80mm concrete slab reinf with ref 193
terrain
drop
15002600 to centre
of dam
140
channel zone - one
course of bricks
A
600
600
200
200
flexible bandage where dam and
inlet structure touch
110 mm pvc
pipes x 300mm
long.
50
50
50
500
top of wall
crest
peg
1500 to floor-
slab
2nd course of blocks
2600 to centre
of tank
1650
80mm concrete slab reinf with ref 193 mesh
140
crest
zone
top of wall
Dwg 15 : Section B-B through Overflow Structure
flexible bandage where dam and
overflow structure touch
110 mm pvc
pipes x
300mm long
500
500
50
50
50
1500200
200
70 70
A
140140
B B
5%
20%
13%
5%
0%
15%
15%
15%
50%
5%
15%
10%
15%
15%
5%
9%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2.45m wide ref 13 mesh
4 mm wires (cutting length = 2000mm)
2.5 mm wires (cutting length = 900 mm)
1.6mm binding wire
6m x 6mm hoop Y bars
river sand (total = 1.8m3)
19mm stone (total = 1.8m3)
50kg bags
water (200-litre drums)
cement blocks
bricks
pvc pipe (6 pipes x 300mm long)
barrows mortar sand (total = 0.5m3)
barrows plaster sand (total = 0.6m3)
200mm wide flexible bandage
waterproof coat (superlaycold)
5.4m x 125/100 poles
0.5mm x 5.7m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 5.4m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 4.5m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 3.0m galv IBR sheeting
sheet fastening wood-screws (6mmx65mm)
roof washers
brass lock
brass hinges
M5 x 20mm gutter bolts and nuts
protective cover
chicken mesh (strainers for PVC pipes)
m
kg
kg
kg
bars
barrows
barrows
bags
drum
sq m
bricks
m
barrows
barrows
1m
litres
poles
sheets
sheets
sheets
sheets
screws
screws
lock
hinges
bolts
cover
sq m
Table 2 : Bill of materials (including inlet and overflow)
material % waste
assumed
floor
wall / roof
wall / roof
floor / wall
wall
floor / inlet
floor / inlet
floor/wall/inlet
floor/wall/inlet
wall / inlet
overflow
wall
wall
wall
floor/wall
wall
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
trapdoor
trapdoor
trapdoor
inlet
inlet/overflow
area of
application
1.6
3
3
3
0.5
1.4
18
0.5
0.5
4
4
1
1
14
1
4
1
27
28
28
30
6
33
2
8
9
16
36
2
3
2
2
2
32
32
1
2
16
dam I & O
unitsquantity incl
waste
Dwg 2 - Section through Datum line AA
Dwg 1 - Set up of
Profiles and outline of
Excavation
da
tum
lin
e B
B
datum line AA
2.4 x 5.6 mesh
2.4 x 1.2
mesh
2.4 x 5.6 mesh
2.4 x 1.2
mesh
Dwg 4- Arrangement of 6mm hoop steel bars, and 4mm & 2.5 mm
galvanised wires - at 400mm below roof level
Dwg 6 -
Position of
Roof Poles
Note: The 12 pages shown above may be printed and either handed out as stapled sheets, or arranged as above and laminated. The main emphasis in these drawings is the finished product. See appendix F4 and F5 which respectively describe and illustrate the construction process.
Navigation: It is useful to set the screen on 25% to view all the pages at once, then click near the image you are looking for and revert back to 100% for detailed view. Note however that the sketches are somewhat distorted on the screen, with the y-axis being larger than the x-axis. This is a necessary 'trick' to obtain the correct aspect ratio when printing.
1650
concrete to secure
lugs - approx
1000mm x 100mm x
200 mm deep
15mm plaster
200280
12 x 100 = 1200
108
17 hole
22
1500
100
all 13 mm
holes
50
4001100
300
30 30
30
30
710
13off x 12mm bar x
750 long @ 100 ctc16 mm bar x 1000 long
lug : 60 x 6 x flatbar
x 130 long
270400
lug : 60 x 6 x flatbar
x 300 long
beam : 60 x 6 x
1500 long flatbar
Dwg 18 - Lug detail : 4
off Dwg 19 - Beam detail : 2 off
Dwg 17 - Section KK
Dwg 16 - Plan of Protective Grate for Inlet
K K
60
Table 3: Additional Notes on the Drawings and Tables
Dwg 1 : The quality of the eventual structure will be improved and the time taken to build it will be reduced if profiles are erected
before any construction commences. These should take the form of a Maltest cross, with each profile approximately 4800mm
away form the centre of the dam. Nylon fish lines may be strung between the the profiles (fastened to the nails in the horizontal
plank). The two datum lines (AA and BB) so formed make it easy for subsequent measurements, and are used to establish the
position of (1) the centre of the dam, (2) the perimeter for excavating, (3) the walls, (4) the timber poles, and (5) the sheeting.
Dwg 2 : The datum lines are equally useful for setting out the various key elevations, such as depth of excavation, depth of floor-
slabs, invert level of PVC pipes, top of the wall. The horizontal planks of all four profiles must be 600mm above the 'crest level' of
the yet-to-be-built inlet structure. The crest level is the prevailing ground level on the perimeter of the inlet structure 4390mm
from the centre of the dam - it determines all the levels associated with the dam and inlet structure, but not that of the overflow
structure, which is determined by the 'overflow level'. (The overflow level is not related to the crest level or datum lines, and is
simply the prevailing ground level at 4240mm from the centre of the dam - it determines the level of the overflow's floorslab).
Dwg 3 : The configuration of the assembled ref 193 mesh used to reinforce the concrete floor is shown. The individual pieces of
1.2m x 2.4m (2off) and 5.6m x 2.4m (2 off) are cut from a 60m roll. They are assembled and tied together with 1.6mm binding
wire in a suitable flat space somewhere outside the hole, and trimmed into a circle of radius 2.8m. The assembly is now lowered
into the hole, and then lifted onto 50mm high concrete 'spacer-blocks' every 800mm in both directions. This has the effect of
positioning the mesh in the centre of the 100mm slab. Note that the minimum overlap is 400mm. There is a 40mm clearance to
the side of the excavation.
Dwg 4 : Three 6mm x 6m reinforcing bars are tied together, with a minimum overlap of 380mm, to form a hoop that lies in the
centre of the wall at the start of each course. At the top of the eighth course 900mm long x 2.5mm sheet-anchorage wires, bent
in half, are inserted into the hoop and made to protrude radially outwards. These wires are spaced 350mm appart all the way
around the circumference. In addition four 4mm U-shaped pole-anchorage wires are positioned directly below where the future
timber poles will be installed, i.e. 870mm off datum line BB. The legs of the U are unequal, being respectively 600mm and
1250mm, while the base of the U is 150mm, making the full length 2m long. These wires also placed beneath the hoop steel.
The long leg is on the outside of the dam.
Dwg 5 : The key dimensions of the tank for a 30m3 capacity are indicated. The tank protrudes by at 500 mm out of the ground.
Dwg 6 : Three 110mm PVC pipes, each 300mm long and spaced 200mm apart, are positioned in the inlet and overflow sides of
the dam. Their invert levels are 670mm below the datum lines.
In the top course two 125/100 treated timber poles, 5.4m long, are placed in prepared openings in the wall and spaced 870 mm
from datum line BB. If the poles are not straight they must be rotated so that they arch upwards as this increases the stiffness of
the roof. Finally the poles are bricked in, and later fastened using the 4mm wires, with the long leg of the wire going over the pole
Dwg 7 : This shows the layout of the IBR roof sheeting. The first sheet is placed such that its central ridge lies directly below
datum line AA. The other sheets are simply lipped in the sequence indicated. The sheets must extend over the edge of the wall
by the same amount on both sides. Although the sheets are 762mm wide, after overlapping their cover width is only 686mm.
One of the 5400mm sheets is cut to make provision for a trap door, which has two strong 100mm brass hinges to attach it to the
adjacent 5.7m sheet. Six M5 x 20mm gutter bolts and nuts are used to attach each hinge. (Consult appendix F11 for the detailed
sequence showing how to make the trap door). The tap door is locked by means of a pad-lock.
The sheets are fastened to the poles using the appropriate screws (see dwg 11), and to the wall by means of wires as indicted in
fig 9 and 11. Finally the sheets are cut to a radius of 2800mm, which should ensure that the sheets overlap the outside wall by
approximately 60mm.
Dwg 8 : This is a cross section through datum line AA and shows the various components of the dam. Each component may be
identified in table 2, where the quantities are given.
Dwg 9 : This elevational view of the outside of the wall shows how the roof sheeting is anchored to the wall using 2,5mm
galvanised fencing wire that was embedded into the wall at least 400mm below the top. The wires are spaced 350mm apart all
the way around the circumference. Two wires are used at each point, each 900mm long. The first is anchored into the wall in the
mortarbed between the eight and ninth course - as expalined in dwg 5. The second is bent into an upside down U, the legs of
which are pushed through 3mm holes drilled in the roof sheeting. The hole spacing should not be less than 30mm, and clearly
the base of the U must correspond with this spacing. The upper and lower wires may now be tied off as indicated.
datum line AA datum line BB
datum
line AA
4mm galv pole-
fastening wires
Dwg 10 : This is a view of the wall from the outside of the tank, and shows how the roof-pole opening is filled in with brick and
mortar once the pole is in the correct position. Thereafter the pole is fastened to the wall by means of the 4mm galv wires that
were previously embedded at least 400mm below the top of the wall. See also notes under 'Dwg 4'.
Dwg 11 : This shows a section of the wall built on top of a 100mm mesh reinforced concrete slab. In this wall 10 courses of 390
x 188 x 140 blocks are used, with 12mm mortarbeds and perps, giving a vertical module of 200mm. Clearly this module will vary
from area to area depending on the height of the blocks. A hoop, made up of three 6mm high tensile steel bars, is built into each
mortar-bed in all but the bottom bed. 4mm galvanised wires are built into the wall to anchor the beams - discussed more fully in
dwg 4. A 15mm thick layer of plaster is applied to the wall's internal face (see table 1 for proportioning). This is followed by the
application of two coats of 'Chryso L228' to the walls as per the instructions on the packaging. Where the wall meets the floor a
200mm abe membrane is placed, impregnated with 'Chryso L228'. The membrane reinforces the corner, and prevents leakage in
the event of cracks developing at the wall/floor interface (which may occur as a result of thermal, or moisture, or settlement
movements). The upper section of the drawing shows how the IBR sheeting is fastened to the timber poles - every alternate ridge
there is a 65 x 6mm sheetfixing woodscrew anchoring the sheets to the poles. Around the circumference U shaped 2.5mm
wires (each 900mm long) are pushed through drilled holes in the ridges of the sheeting and tied off against other 2.5 mm galv
wires (also 900mm long) that were previously built into the wall approximately 400mm below roof level (see also dwg 9).
Dwg 12 : This is a plan view of the inlet prior to the installation of the protective cover. It consists of a 1650mm x 1200mm x
80mm thick concrete slab reinforced with ref 193 mesh. The mesh is cut such that it has a 40mm clearance relative to the walls
of the excavation, and its cut size is therefore 1570mm x 1120mm. Prior to casting, the mesh is supported on 50mm concrete
blocks spaced at 800mm in both directions. 390 x 140 x 188 high blocks are laid on top of the slab as indicated, with only one
course in the 'crest' zone where the water runoff flows in, and an additional course in the 'berm' zone which touches the dam's
wall. Finally two coats of ChrysoL228 are applied in the areas where the inlet and tank touch. Before the second coat is applied,
a 200mm wide abe membrane is laid down and this must be fully impregnated by the second coat.
Dwg 13 : This is a sectional view of the inlet structure taken through the centre line. Note that the crest is 600mm lower than
datum line AA - and this becomes the reference level for the construction of the inlet.
Dwg 14 : The same principles apply here as for the construction of the inlet discussed above in dwg 12. The main differences are
that the floor slab is slightly smaller (1500mm x 1000mm x 80mm), and bricks rather than blocks will suffice (since the overflow
channel does not need to be deep).
Dwg 15 : This is a sectional view of the overflow structure taken through datum line AA. Note that the elevation of the structure is
referenced to the prevailing level of the ground at the exit of the overflow, and thus bears no relation to datum line AA.
Dwgs 16 - 19 : These dwgs show how a protective grill may be placed over the inlet. There is sufficient detail given for a
workshop to manufacture it.
Table 1 : This gives the mix proportions for mortar (for building the walls of the dam, inlet and overflow); for plaster (to render the
respective wall on their inside faces); and for concrete (for the various floorslabs). In each case the proportioning relates to one
bag of cement.
Table 2 : This is a bill of materials for the complete tank. These quantities include a wastage factor on some of the materials -
see the last column for the percentage waste assumed.
Table 3 : This table makes brief observations on the various drawings shown here describing the Standard RWH tank. For a
more in depth discussion on the various materials and construction approaches see appendices F4, F9, and F11.
600
datum line AA
75/50 timber
pole x 1m long
75 x 25 mm
horizontal plank x
1.5m long
4800
4390
crest
leveloverflow
level
4240
'spacer blocks'
@ 800mm in
both directions
da
tum
lin
e B
B
crest
leveloverflow
level
- 134 -
builders
square
profile
no. 1profile
no. 2
profile no. 3
profile no. 4
excavation
perimeter
for inlet
structure
excavation
perimeter
for
overflow
4800 4800
4800
4390 4240
2840
500
500
600
600
2100 2000
100
670600
radius of excavation for dam
Dwg 2 - Section through Datum line AA
Dwg 1 - Set up of
Profiles and outline of
Excavation
da
tum
lin
e B
B
datum line AA
datum line AA datum line BB
75/50 timber
pole x 1m long
75 x 25 mm
horizontal plank x
1.5m long
4800
4390
crest
leveloverflow
level
4240
- 135 -
2800 (mesh radius)
10mm x 300mm
central peg
Table 1 - Mixes for RWH Tanks
+ +
OPC
50kg
Bedding Mortar Mix
1 bag cement
3 barrows builders
Plaster Mix
1 bag cement
2 barrows plaster
sand
Concrete Mix
1 bag cement
1.3 barrows conc
sand 1.3 barrows
20 Lt
sand stone
sand sand
sand sand sand
20 Lt
OPC
50kg
OPC
50kg+
+
+
Dwg 3- Arrangement of ref 193 mesh in floor (cut from 2.4m x 60m roll)
bolt cutter
400 overlap
2840 (excavation radius)
fencing pliers
fill in with
offcuts
2.4 x 5.6 mesh
2.4 x 1.2
mesh
2.4 x 5.6 mesh
2.4 x 1.2
mesh
'spacer blocks'
@ 800mm in
both directions
- 136 -
Dwg 5 - Sectional Dimensions
1650 5200 1500
5680
140 140
20001500
70
280
80
backfill
900mm long x 2.5 mm galv roof-
sheet anchorage wires bent in
half, and threaded into hoop
steel. Spacing @ 350mm.
3 x 110mm
overflow
pipes
3 x 110mm
inlet pipes
350
380overlap of
6mm x 6m long
hoop bars
200
200
870 870
2m long x 4mm
pole-anchorage
wires
140mm
block wall
centre-lines of
timber poles
Dwg 4- Arrangement of 6mm hoop steel bars, and 4mm & 2.5 mm
galvanised wires - at 400mm below roof level
- 137 -
INLET OVERFLOW
OVERFLOWINLE
3000 mm
5700 mm
5400 mm
4500 mm
3000 mm
5700 mm
5400 mm
4500 mm
5700 mm
Dwg 7 -
Spacing of
roof sheets
870 870
200
200
2600 (inside radius of
wall)
2800
(trim radius)
trap door
brass
padlock
brass hinges
INLET
grill
covering
Dwg 6 -
Position of
Roof Poles
datum
line AA
4mm galv pole-
fastening wires
da
tum
lin
e B
B
- 138 -
Dwg 8 : Elements of Design
IBR sheeting
overflow
structure
timber polesinlet
structure
compacted
backfill
cement block
wall with a
circumferential
ring of 6mm
high tensile
steel between
courses
mesh reinforced concrete floor
plaster with
waterproof coatflexible
bandage
PVC pipes 4mm wire
2.5mm wire
5%
20%
13%
5%
0%
15%
15%
15%
50%
5%
15%
10%
15%
15%
5%
9%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2.45m wide ref 13 mesh
4 mm wires (cutting length = 2000mm)
2.5 mm wires (cutting length = 900 mm)
1.6mm binding wire
6m x 6mm hoop Y bars
river sand (total = 1.8m3)
19mm stone (total = 1.8m3)
50kg bags
water (200-litre drums)
cement blocks
bricks
pvc pipe (6 pipes x 300mm long)
barrows mortar sand (total = 0.5m3)
barrows plaster sand (total = 0.6m3)
200mm wide flexible bandage
waterproof coat (superlaycold)
5.4m x 125/100 poles
0.5mm x 5.7m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 5.4m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 4.5m galv IBR sheeting
0.5mm x 3.0m galv IBR sheeting
sheet fastening wood-screws (6mmx65mm)
roof washers
brass lock
brass hinges
M5 x 20mm gutter bolts and nuts
protective cover
chicken mesh (strainers for PVC pipes)
m
kg
kg
kg
bars
barrows
barrows
bags
drum
sq m
bricks
m
barrows
barrows
1m
litres
poles
sheets
sheets
sheets
sheets
screws
screws
lock
hinges
bolts
cover
sq m
Table 2 : Bill of materials (including inlet and overflow)
material % waste
assumed
floor
wall / roof
wall / roof
floor / wall
wall
floor / inlet
floor / inlet
floor/wall/inlet
floor/wall/inlet
wall / inlet
overflow
wall
wall
wall
floor/wall
wall
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
roof
trapdoor
trapdoor
trapdoor
inlet
inlet/overflow
area of
application
1.6
3
3
3
0.5
1.4
18
0.5
0.5
4
4
1
1
14
1
4
1
27
28
28
30
6
33
2
8
9
16
36
2
3
2
2
2
32
32
1
2
16
dam I & O
unitsquantity incl
waste
- 139 -
Dwg 10 - Detail for Fixing Beam (view from outside of wall)
Dwg 9 - Detail for Fixing sheets to Wall (view from outside of wall)
0,5mm IBR
sheeting
upper and lower
2.5 mm galv wires
twisted together
400
350350
6mm hoop steel
0,5mm IBR
sheeting
4mm mm
galv wires
twisted
together
inside dam
400
870
6mm hoop steel
datum
line BB 100/125
timber pole
brick up opening
after installing pole
- 140 -
Dwg 11 - Section through Wall at Roof-Pole
1off x 6mm high tensile steel bar
per mortarbed
100mm thick concrete slab with
ref 193 mesh in the centre
125/100 treated
timber poles
flexible bandage - 200mm 'abe membrane'
impregnated with 'Chryso L228'
15mm plaster layer
water proof coat (Chryso L228)
0.5mm IBR sheeting
6 x 65mm sheet fastening wood-
screws every alternate ridge
4mm galvanised anchorage wire
390 x 188 x 140 mm thick blocks
compacted
backfill
bagging
Crest of Inlet
- 141 -
Dwg 13 - Section A-A through Inlet Structure
Dwg 12 - Plan of Inlet Structure
A
600
600
200
200
flexible bandage where dam and
inlet structure touch
110 mm pvc
pipes x 300mm
long.
50
50
50
500
top of wall
crest
peg
1500 to floor-
slab
2nd course of blocks
2600 to centre
of tank
1650
80mm concrete slab reinf with ref 193 mesh
140
crest
zone
70
A
1401650
15mm plaster
200280
600
datum line AA
crest
level
- 142 -
Dwg 14 - Plan of Overflow Structure
splash zone -
two or more
brick courses
80mm concrete slab reinf with ref 193
terrain
drop
15002600 to centre
of dam
140
channel zone - one
course of bricks
top of wall
Dwg 15 : Section B-B through Overflow Structure
flexible bandage where dam and
overflow structure touch
110 mm pvc
pipes x
300mm long
500
500
50
50
50
1500200
200
70
140
B B
overflow
level
- 143 -
concrete to secure
lugs - approx
1000mm x 100mm x
200 mm deep
12 x 100 = 1200
108
17 hole22
1500
100
all 13 mm
holes
50
4001100
300
30 30
30
30
710
13off x 12mm bar x
750 long @ 100 ctc16 mm bar x 1000 long
lug : 60 x 6 x flatbar
x 130 long
270400
lug : 60 x 6 x flatbar
x 300 long
beam : 60 x 6 x
1500 long flatbar
Dwg 18 - Lug detail : 4
off Dwg 19 - Beam detail : 2 off
Dwg 17 - Section KK
Dwg 16 - Plan of Protective Grate for Inlet
K K
60
- 144 -
Table 3: Additional Notes on the Drawings and Tables
Dwg 1: The quality of the eventual structure will be improved, and the time taken to build it will be reduced, if
profiles are erected before any construction commences. These should take the form of a Maltese cross, with
each profile approximately 4 800mm away form the centre of the RWH Dam. Nylon fish lines may be strung
between the the profiles (fastened to the nails in the horizontal plank). The two datum lines (AA and BB) so
formed, make it easy for subsequent measurements, and are used to establish the position of (1) the centre of
the RWH Dam; (2) the perimeter for excavating; (3) the walls; (4) the timber poles; and (5) the sheeting.
Dwg 2: The datum lines are equally useful for setting out the various key elevations, such as depth of
excavation, depth of floor-slabs, invert level of PVC pipes, top of the wall. The horizontal planks of all four
profiles must be 600mm above the 'crest level' of the yet-to-be-built inlet structure. The crest level is the
prevailing ground level on the perimeter of the inlet structure, 4 390mm from the centre of the RWH Dam – it
determines all the levels associated with the dam and inlet structure, but not that of the overflow structure,
which is determined by the 'overflow level'. (The overflow level is not related to the crest level or datum lines,
and is simply the prevailing ground level at a 4 240mm distance downhill from the centre of the dam – this
determines the level of the overflow's floorslab).
Dwg 3: The configuration of the assembled Ref. 193 mesh used to reinforce the concrete floor is shown. The
individual pieces of 1.2m x 2.4m (2 off) and 5.6m x 2.4m (2 off) are cut from a 60m roll. They are assembled and
tied together with 1.6mm binding wire in a suitable flat space somewhere outside the hole, and trimmed into a
circle of radius 2.8m. The assembly is now lowered into the hole, and then lifted onto 50mm high concrete
'spacer-blocks' every 800mm in both directions. This has the effect of positioning the mesh in the centre of the
100mm slab. Note that the minimum overlap is 400mm. There is a 40mm clearance to the sides of the
excavation.
Dwg 4: Three 6mm x 6m reinforcing bars are tied together, with a minimum overlap of 380mm, to form a hoop
that lies in the centre of the wall at the start of each course. At the top of the eighth course, 900mm long x
2.5mm sheet-anchorage wires, bent in half, are inserted into the hoop and made to protrude radially outwards.
These wires are spaced 350mm apart all the way around the circumference. In addition, four 4mm U-shaped
pole-anchorage wires are positioned directly below where the future timber poles will be installed, i.e. 870mm
off datum line BB. The legs of the U are unequal, being respectively 600mm and 1 250mm, while the base of the
U is 150mm, making the full length 2m long. These wires are also placed beneath the hoop steel. The long leg of
the U is on the outside of the dam.
Dwg 5: The key dimensions of the tank for a 30m3 capacity are indicated. The tank protrudes by 500mm out of
the ground.
Dwg 6: Three 110mm PVC pipes, each 300mm long and spaced 200mm apart, are positioned in the inlet and
overflow sides of the dam. Their invert levels are 670mm below the datum lines.
In the top course, two 125/100 treated timber poles, 5.4m long, are placed in prepared openings in the wall
and spaced 870 mm from datum line BB. If these roof poles are not straight, they must be rotated so that they
arch upwards, as this increases the stiffness of the roof. Finally, the roof poles are bricked in, and later fastened
using the 4mm wires, with the long leg of the wire going over the roof pole.
Dwg 7: This shows the layout of the IBR roof sheeting. The first sheet is placed such that its central ridge lies
directly below datum line AA. The other sheets are simply lipped in the sequence indicated. The sheets must
extend over the edge of the wall by the same amount on both sides. Although the sheets are 762mm wide,
after overlapping their cover width is only 686mm. One of the 5 400mm sheets is cut to make provision for a
trap door, which has two strong 100mm brass hinges to attach it to the adjacent 5.7m sheet. Six M5 x 20mm
gutter bolts and nuts are used to attach each hinge. (Consult Appendix F5 for the detailed sequence showing
how to make the trap door). The trap door is locked by means of a brass pad-lock.
- 145 -
The sheets are fastened to the poles using the appropriate screws (see Dwg 11), and to the wall by means of
wires as indicted in Fig 9 and 11. Finally, the sheets are cut to a radius of 2 800mm, which should ensure that the
sheets overlap the outside wall by approximately 60mm.
Dwg 8: This is a cross section through datum line AA and shows the various components of the RWH Dam. Each
component may be identified in Table 2, where the quantities are given.
Dwg 9: This elevational view of the outside of the wall shows how the roof sheeting is anchored to the wall,
using 2,5mm galvanised fencing wire that was embedded into the wall at least 400mm below the top of the
wall. The wires are spaced 350mm apart all the way around the circumference. Two wires are used at each
point, each 900mm long. The first is anchored into the wall in the mortarbed between the eight and ninth
course - as explained in Dwg 5. The second is bent into an upside down U, the legs of which are pushed
through 3mm holes drilled in the roof sheeting. The hole spacing should not be less than 30mm, and clearly the
base of the U must correspond with this spacing. The upper and lower wires may now be tied off as indicated.
Dwg 10: This is a view of the wall from the outside of the tank, and shows how the roof-pole opening is filled in
with brick and mortar once the pole is in the correct position. Thereafter the pole is fastened to the wall by
means of the 4mm galvanised wires that were previously embedded at least 400mm below the top of the wall.
See also notes under 'Dwg 4'.
Dwg 11: This shows a section of the wall built on top of a 100mm mesh reinforced concrete slab. In this wall,
10 courses of 390 x 188 x 140 blocks are used, with 12mm mortarbeds and perps, giving a vertical module of
200mm. Clearly this module will vary from area to area, depending on the height of the blocks. A hoop, made
up of three 6mm high tensile steel bars, is built into each mortar-bed in all but the bottom bed. 4mm galvanised
wires are built into the wall to anchor the beams – this is discussed more fully in Dwg 4. A 15mm thick layer of
plaster is applied to the wall's internal face (see Table 1 for proportioning). This is followed by the application of
two coats of 'Chryso L228' to the walls, as per the instructions on the packaging. Where the wall meets the floor,
a 200mm ABE membrane is placed, impregnated with 'Chryso L228'. The membrane reinforces the corner, and
prevents leakage in the event of cracks developing at the wall/floor interface (which may occur as a result of
thermal, or moisture, or settlement movements). The upper section of the drawing shows how the IBR sheeting is
fastened to the timber poles – every alternate ridge, there is a 65 x 6mm sheet-fixing woodscrew anchoring the
sheets to the roof poles. Around the circumference, U shaped 2.5mm wires (each 900mm long) are pushed
through drilled holes in the ridges of the sheeting and tied off against other 2.5 mm galvanised wires (also
900mm long) that were previously built into the wall approximately 400mm below roof level (see also Dwg 9).
Dwg 12: This is a plan view of the inlet, prior to the installation of the protective cover. It consists of a 1 650mm x
1 200mm x 80mm thick concrete slab reinforced with Ref. 193 mesh. The mesh is cut such that it has a 40mm
clearance relative to the walls of the excavation, and its cut size is therefore 1 570mm x 1 120mm. Prior to
casting, the mesh is supported on 50mm concrete blocks, spaced at 800mm in both directions. 390 x 140 x 188
high blocks are laid on top of the slab as indicated, with only one course in the 'crest' zone where the rainwater
runoff flows in, and an additional course in the 'berm' zone which touches the dam's wall. Finally, two coats of
Chryso L228 are applied in the areas where the inlet and the dam wall touch. Before the second coat is
applied, a 200mm wide ABE membrane is laid down, and this must be fully impregnated by the second coat.
Dwg 13: This is a sectional view of the inlet structure taken through the centre line. Note that the crest is 600mm
lower than datum line AA – and this becomes the reference level for the construction of the inlet.
Dwg 14: This is a plan view of the overflow structure. The same principles apply here as for the construction of
the inlet discussed above in Dwg 12. The main differences are that the floor slab for the overflow structure is
slightly smaller (1 500mm x 1 000mm x 80mm), and bricks rather than blocks will suffice (since the overflow
channel does not need to be deep).
Dwg 15: This is a sectional view of the overflow structure taken through datum line AA. Note that the elevation
of the structure is referenced to the prevailing level of the ground at the exit of the overflow, and thus bears no
relation to datum line AA.
Dwgs 16 - 19: These drawings show how a protective grill may be placed over the inlet. There is sufficient detail
- 146 -
given for a workshop to manufacture the grill.
Table 1: This gives the mix proportions for mortar (for building the walls of the dam, inlet and overflow); for
plaster (to render the respective walls on their inside faces); and for concrete (for the various floorslabs). In
each case, the proportioning relates to one bag of cement.
Table 2: This is a bill of materials for the complete tank. These quantities include a wastage factor on some of
the materials - see the last column for the percentage waste assumed.
Table 3: This table makes brief observations on the various drawings shown here describing the Standard RWH
Dam. For a more in depth discussion on the various materials and construction approaches see Appendices F3,
F4, and F5.
- 147 -
APPENDIX F2. Workshop Drawings for ‘Central Pole & Radial Arm’
Appendix F2
Workshop Drawings for 'Central Pole & Radial Arm'
These components increase the rate of building sunken RWH dams, and improve their quality.
This is achieved by simplifying the excavation, floor-slab, walling, and plastering processes.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715
- 148 -
`
2840
radial arm
central pipe
sheath pipe
pole stabilizers
View of 'Central Pole & Radial Arm'
PVC
wrapping
- 149 -
2840
diagonal member
horizontal member telescopic
member
sliding pipe
View of Radial Arm
Front Elevation
Plan
C C
View D
E
E
- 150 -
Views of Assembly Points
47
10
2
welding
M6 x 50 bolt & nut
25
32
20
35
40 x 25 x 5mm lug
32
20
35
2
32
M6 x 50 bolt & nut
20 x 20 x 2mm tube
25 x 25 x 2mm tube
25
20 x 20 x 2mm tube
M6 x 50 bolt & nut
48.5 x 2 pipe
40 x 25 x 5mm lug
25 x 25 x 2mm tube 90
Section CC View D Section EE
- 151 -
Workshop dwg for Sliding Pipe (1 off)
875
48.5
25
35
48.5 OD pipe
welding
825
48.5 x 2mm pipe
Front Elevation of sliding pipe (one off)
35
1025
Front Elevation of lug (4 off)
22
7mm hole
B
End Views A and B
A
2
25
47
- 152 -
137
1980
25
30 2000
2030
4010
3525
20 x 20 x 2 x 100 long
25 x 25 x 2
22
Workshop dwg for Horizontal Member (1 off)
Front Elevation
35 x 25 x 5 lug
(2 off)Plan
7 hole7 hole
- 153 -
2000
278
10
Workshop dwg for Telescopic Member (1 off)
Front Elevation
100
700
17
7mm hole - excavation setting
7mm hole - wall setting
7mm hole for pin - plaster
setting
20 x 20 x 2
Section AA
100
A A
welding
end plate
- 154 -
2145
975975
10
Workshop dwg for Diagonal Member (1 off)
Plan
Section BB
B B
10
20 x 20 x 2
215
65 65
2525
M16 x 105 long x LH thread
(part of turnbuckle)
M16 x 85 long x RH thread
(part of turnbuckle)
plug welds
7mm hole
M16 x turnbuckle
Note : The two eyes of the turnbuckle are cut off, so that the LH and RH threads can be inserted into the 20mm square tube as indicated
- 155 -
4m pipe
Drilling Positions for Central Pole
000
420520620
820
1020
1220
1420
1620
1820
2020
2220
2420
4000
10th course
9th course
8th course
7th course
6th course
5th course
4th course
3rd course
2nd course
1st course
top of slab
floor of excavation
FOR :
Note : A vertical module of 200mm
has been assumed for the hole
drilling (based on the blocks being
188mm in height on a 12mm mortar
bed). Adjust drilling module as
required for blocks of different height.
DRILLING POSITIONS -
7mm holes
42.8
- 156 -
7mm hole at drilling
position
30
105
5
6
2
42.8
Workshop dwg for Locking Pin (2 off)
Front Elevation of locking pin (2 off)
48.5
4002
Longitudinal Section through
Sheath Pipe (1 off per dam)
Longitudinal Section of
portion of central Pole
- 157 -
Materials List for Pole - Arm SystemItem no. Materials for use in … main component Quantity
1 48.5mm x 2mm x 875 mm steel pipe sliding pipe radial arm 1
2 5mm x 25mm x 35mm long steel flatbar sliding pipe radial arm 4
3 5mm x 25mm x 35mm long steel flatbar horizontal member radial arm 2
4 25mm x 25mm x 2mm x 2000mm long steel square tube horizontal member radial arm 1
5 20mm x 20mm x 2mm x 100mm long steel square tube horizontal member radial arm 1
6 6mm steel pin x 140mm long horizontal member radial arm 1
7 600mm long spirit level horizontal member radial arm 2
8 20mm x 20mm x 2mm x 2000mm long steel square tube telescopic member radial arm 1
9 100mm x 100mm x 10mm steel plate telescopic member radial arm 1
10 20mm x 20mm x 2mm x 975mm long steel square tube diagonal member radial arm 2
11 M16 turnbuckel diagonal member radial arm 1
12 M6 x 50mm bolts and nut radial arm 3
13 42.8mm x 2.5mm x 4000mm long steel pipe central pole 1
14 6mm steel pin x 140mm long central pole 1
15 48.5mm x 2mm x 400 mm steel pipe sheath pipe 1
16 M12 turnbuckle pole stabilizer 3
17 400mm portion of 1.2m steel fence dropper pole stabilizer 3
18 1.6mm binding wire x 5m long pole stabilizer 3
19 6mm steel bar x 200mm long (hook at top) pole stabilizer 3
- 158 -
APPENDIX F3. Standard RWH Dam: Specifications
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
2. Excavation ..................................................................................................................................................... - 158 -
3. Floor .............................................................................................................................................................. - 159 -
4. Walls .............................................................................................................................................................. - 160 -
5. Roof Poles ...................................................................................................................................................... - 162 -
6. Waterproofing ................................................................................................................................................ - 162 -
7. Inlet Structure ................................................................................................................................................ - 163 -
8. Overflow Structure ......................................................................................................................................... - 163 -
9. Roof Sheeting ................................................................................................................................................. - 164 -
10. Trap Door .................................................................................................................................................... - 164 -
1. Introduction
These specifications should be read in conjunction with:
� Appendix F1: Standard RWH Dam: Drawings – where the shape, size and dimensions of the
dam, inlet and overflow structures are detailed in Dwgs 1 through 19
� Appendix F4: Standard RWH Dam: Construction Manual – where the various construction
processes are described in considerable detail
� Appendix F5: Standard RWH Dam: Step-by-step Illustrated Construction Sequence – where
the complete construction process is described in a step-by-step manner
With construction processes and design details covered adequately in the above named
documents, the focus in this Appendix will be to:
� define dimensions and tolerances, in reference to Appendices F1, F4 and F5 for details;
� describe the various materials briefly, again making reference to Appendices F1, F4 and F5
for details; and
� interpret the dam, inlet and overflow structures in the light of the relevant SABS
specifications.
Construction processes will only be discussed where a desired outcome is required (since these
processes are adequately covered in Appendices F4 and F5).
2. Excavation
The excavation shall be cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 5 680mm ± 50mm and a depth of
2 200mm below the datum lines (see Dwg 1 and 2 of Appendix F1). The floor shall be compacted
using hand-held stampers to the extent that when maximum pressure is applied to the surface by
the thumb, no noticeable depression shall be observed. The final level of the excavation’s floor
shall be level to a tolerance of ±15mm. (Note that the diameter of 5 680mm assumes that the wall
will be made of 140mm wide blocks, and will need to be adjusted if the width of the blocks differs).
For more information, refer to steps 1 through 18 of Appendix F5. Steps 1 to 4 illustrate the setup
procedures that that take place ahead of the excavation process, step 5 shows the excavation of
the trial pit, while steps 6 through 16 are devoted to the setting up of a ‘central pole & radial arm’ in
preparation for the main excavation, which is shown in steps 17 and 18. Similarly, sections I through
IV in Appendix F4, describe in words the same processes illustrated in F5.
Reference may be made to Appendix F2 for detailed Dwgs of the ‘central pole & radial arm’.
- 159 -
3. Floor
a. Dimensions: The diameter of the floor-slab shall match the diameter of the excavation, i.e.
approximately 5 680mm, and shall be 100mm thick (see Dwg 5 of Appendix F1) with a maximum
out of level tolerance of ±10mm at the surface. It shall be made of mesh reinforced concrete.
b. Reinforcing: The reinforcing shall be Ref. 193 mesh (5.6mm high-tensile bars with a characteristic
tensile stress of 450 MPa. The bars are spaced at 200mm centers in both directions). When joining
mesh pieces, the minimum overlap shall be 400mm (see Dwg 3 of Appendix F1), with an edge
clearance of 40mm from the wall of the excavation. The mesh shall be positioned centrally in the
slab. Refer also to steps 22 through 27 and step E of Appendix F5, and points c through e of section
V in Appendix F4.
c. Concrete: The concrete shall have a characteristic compressive strength at 28 days of 25MPa –
see Table 1 of Appendix F1 for a typical mix design.
(The term ‘characteristic strength’ implies that no more than 5% of the cubes crushed
according to the method prescribed in ‘SANS 5863:2006 Concrete Tests – Compressive
Strength of Hardened Concrete’ will have a compressive strength of less than 25MPa at 28
days. It is a requirement that the cubes used in the compression testing are made in
accordance with ‘SANS 5861-3:2006 Concrete Tests – Making and Curing of Test
Specimens’. Either 100mm or 150mm cubes are permissible).
Refer also to steps 28 & 29 of Appendix F5, and point f of section V in Appendix F4. The concrete
shall be adequately compacted, and step 29 of Appendix F5 shows a ‘levelling/compaction
plank’, which should be regarded as an essential item of equipment and is included in
Appendix F6.
d. Water: It is a requirement that only water fit for drinking shall be used for the making of concrete,
mortar or plaster.
Table 1 in Appendix F1 does not specify the amount of water to be added in the mixing process,
since this will vary very substantially depending on the characteristics of the aggregates, and
especially those of the sand (e.g. characteristics such as grading, particle shape, surface texture
and specific gravity). See notes in point g of Appendix F4. It is the responsibility of the API to ensure
that the mix put forward in Table 1 of Appendix F1 satisfies the required characteristic strength for
the particular types of aggregates and processes used at a given site.
But, while it is not possible to specify a fixed number of litres for the mix in Table 1, it is possible to
specify a slump, and for an average quality sand, a slump of 100mm will likely achieve the desired
compressive strength of 25MPa. If the slump is less than 75mm, mixing should continue with more
water being added. If the slump is more than 125mm, the mix should be put on one side and
thoroughly blended in with a new mix where less water is used. Only mixes which have slumps
varying between 75mm and 125mm are acceptable.
The correct water addition is the single most important factor affecting the quality of the mix, and
each API should therefore ensure that all their builders are trained to do a standard ‘slump-test’.
For this reason the ‘slump test-cone’ is included in Appendix F6 as an essential item of equipment.
e. Cement: All cement bags purchased for any part of the dam shall display the ‘SABS’ mark
together with either ‘CEM 1 42.5’ or ‘CEM 2A 42.5’ or ‘CEM 2B – 42.5’. These are the only cements
permitted for the various floor slabs, the mortar used in the walls, and for the plaster applied to the
walls. (Note that the above stated cements conform to the strength and durability requirements of
- 160 -
SANS 50197-1:2000 Cement. Part 1: Composition, Specifications, and Conformity Criteria for
Common Cements).
f. Finishing: The surface of the floor shall be hand floated followed by cycles of delayed steel
floating as described in step 33 of Appendix F5, and point h of section V of Appendix F4.
g. Curing: Finally, the floor-slab shall be cured for a period of 7 days, either by covering it with
polythene plastic sheeting (see step 34 of Appendix F5), or by continuously wetting the surface.
4. Walls
a. Dimensions: The wall of the dam shall stand centrally on top of the floor-slab and shall be
cylindrical in shape with an internal diameter of 5 200mm and a total height of 2 000mm (see
Dwgs 5 and 6 of Appendix F1). The permissible variance in the dam’s internal diameter and internal
height shall be ± 20mm. The walls shall not be more than 20mm out of plumb at any point around
the circumference. The top of the walls shall not be more than ±20mm out of level.
b. Building units (i.e. blocks/bricks): The walls will normally be made of cement blocks or bricks. The
minimum thickness of the wall shall be 100mm in the case of solid bricks, and 140mm in the case of
hollow blocks. The SABS specification dealing with masonry units is SANS 1215:1984 – Standard
Specification for Concrete Masonry Units. The relevant aspects of this specification are dimensional
tolerances, compressive strength and drying shrinkage. The dimensional tolerances are given as:
- +2, -4 for length
- ±3 for width
- ±3 for height
It may be unrealistic to expect small brick yards in remote rural areas to achieve such tight
tolerances, and it is possible to compensate for higher tolerances by taking various measures. These
are discussed in point b of section VI in Appendix F4 under the heading of ‘dimensional tolerances’.
SANS 1215 also proposes a number of strength classes for blocks/bricks. For RWH dams an average
compressive strength of 8MPa (based on 5 units tested) is appropriate – this is explained in point b
of section VI in Appendix F4 under the heading of ‘compressive strength’.
Finally, the drying shrinkage limit shall not exceed 0.08%. This is also discussed in point b of section VI
in Appendix F4, under the heading of ‘drying shrinkage’.
In certain areas it may be advantageous from cost considerations to use clay bricks. But, great
care must be excercised to ensure that the bricks are fully sintered and not half baked – or they will
expand irreversibly and disintegrate over time. Such bricks should also meet the requirements
stipulated above for cement bricks.
c. Bedding mortar: The bedding mortar used to lay the blocks shall be based on Table 1 of
Appendix F1, and shall have the following proportioning:
- 1 x bag cement (Cem1, Cem 2A or Cem 2B) - 3 x wheelbarrows of builders’ sand (0.195m3 loose sand) - water should be added to render the mortar sufficiently workable to lay blocks/bricks
Any protruding mortar shall be trimmed off flush with the wall.
The quality of the bedding mortar will vary depending on the quality of the sand. A simple and
useful test for determining the suitability of a mortar is to place a handful of mortar on a flat plate,
and then push down on this lump with a bricklayer’s trowel. If nearly all the mortar is squeezed out
from beneath the trowel as pressure is being applied, then it is suitable. On the other hand, if
- 161 -
minimal downward or lateral displacement occurs, the bricklayer will have difficulty building with it.
Note that this test method is advocated by the Cement and Concrete Institute, Midrand.
d. Hoop steel: A closed hoop made of 6mm steel bars shall be built into the bedding mortar
between courses, at a vertical spacing not exceeding 230mm. The hoop shall be centrally placed
upon the wall and shall be fully encased with mortar (see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1). In order to
achieve this with hollow blocks that have open cores, it will be necessary to fill the cores with soil to
approximately 5mm from the top to support the mortar. Three 6m long x 6mm diameter bars shall
be required for one hoop, and they should be spliced together with 1.6mm binding wire, with an
overlap of 400mm (300mm minimum) – see Dwg 4 of Appendix F1. Preferably, high yield bars with a
characteristic tensile strength of 450 MPa should be used, as these do not kink and are easier to
form into a perfect circle/hoop.
e. Roof-sheet anchorage wires: Galvanised roof-sheet anchorage wires of diameter 2.5mm shall
be built into the wall approximately 400mm below the top of the wall, for the subsequent
anchorage of the roof sheeting (see Dwgs 9 and 11 of Appendix F1). These wires shall be cut
900mm long, bent in half, and then threaded through the hoop steel until steel-on-steel contact is
made at the bend. The wires should be spaced 350mm apart all the way around the
circumference, with the ends of the wires protruding radially outwards, as indicated in Dwg 4 of
Appendix F1.
f. Roof-pole anchorage wires: Similarly, four 2m long galvanised roof-pole anchorage wires of
diameter 4mm shall also be built into the wall approximately 400mm below the top off the wall,
and spaced 870mm away from datum line BB, as indicated in Dwg 4 of Appendix F1, so that they
are plumb below the centers of the future roof-poles (see Dwg 6 of Appendix F1). The wires are
bent as an unequal U. The short leg runs 600mm along the wall, on the inside of the dam; the base
of the U goes through the wall on the underside of the hoop steel (see Dwg 10 of Appendix F1)
and is 150mm long; the long leg on the outside of the dam is 1 250mm long, also running along the
wall. The wires are placed beneath the 6mm hoop bar – see Dwg 10 of Appendix F1. The U shape
makes it convenient for the wires to lie on top of the backfill layer, parallel with the wall, and away
from the activity of wheel barrows, etc.
g. PVC pipes: Three 110mm diameter ‘SV PVC pipes’ of length 300mm shall be built into the wall
corresponding to the position of the inlet structure (see later), such that their invert levels are
670mm below datum line BB (see step 46 and step F in Appendix F5). Similarly, three of the same
pipes shall be built into the wall for the overflow structure, usually on the opposite side of the dam,
and at the same level as the inlet pipes. Only SV PVC pipes displaying the SABS mark and
conforming to the SANS 967 specification for SV PVC pipes shall be used. Note that these pipes are
both tough (they do not easily crack) and UV resistant. APIs are cautioned against other types of
PVC pipes, which generally are not UV resistant and become increasingly brittle with time.
h. Plaster: The walls shall be rendered with plaster that is struck and finished to a thickness of 15mm,
made from a mix proportioned according to Table 1 of Appendix F1, as follows:
- 1 x bag cement (Cem1) - 2 x wheelbarrows of plaster sand (0.13m3 loose sand) - water as required to make plaster of a ‘creamy’ consistency
The plaster shall be wood floated to achieve an uniform and smooth surface, followed by steel
trowelling to further increase the smoothness, as well as increase the density of the surface zone.
This is enhanced by applying increasing pressure on the trailing edge of the steel trowel blade as
the plaster hardens.
- 162 -
As in the case of the concrete and mortar, the quality of the plaster will vary depending on the
quality of the plaster sand. A simple and useful test for determining the suitability of a plaster made
with a given sand, it to scoop up a lump on a bricklayer’s trowel, and then reduce the thickness of
the lump to a uniform thickness of approximately 10mm by making short but rapid sideways
motions of the hand to and fro (which will result in some of the plaster falling off the sides) until the
desired thickness is achieved. The trowel is now turned on its side, or even upside down, and if the
plaster sticks to the trowel, then it is suitable. If, on the other hand, it falls off, the plasterer is likely to
experience difficulty getting the plaster to stick to a brick/block wall. Note that this test method is
advocated by the Cement and Concrete Institute, Midrand.
The various processes involved with the plastering of the dam are described in detail in points a
through e of section VIII of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 52 through 59, and step G of
Appendix F5.
5. Roof Poles
Two 5.4m long creosote treated 125/100 gum poles are built into the top course of the wall such
that they lie parallel to datum line BB and at a distance of 870mm on either side (see Dwg 6 of
Appendix F1). Note that when building the wall, it will be advantageous to leave out four blocks of
the top course where the roof poles are to be built in. In addition, the top of the poles must be flush
with the top of the wall. The poles are anchored to the wall using the 4mm pole-anchorage wires
described earlier – see Dwgs 4, 6, 10 and 11 in Appendix F1.
The poles used for supporting the roof sheeting shall comply with the requirements of SANS 457
‘Wooden Poles, Droppers, Guard Rails and Spacer Blocks: Part 3, Hard Wood Species (Eucalyptus).
In particular, the poles shall not be more than 10mm out-of-straight for each meter of length, which
translates to a maximum out-of-straightness of 54mm for a 5.4m long pole, i.e. when the pole is
rolled over on a flat floor, the maximum distance between floor and pole shall not exceed 54mm.
The penetration of the creosote into the pole shall not be less than 13mm (H4 category). The top
end of the pole shall not be less than 100mm and not greater than 125mm. Up to four knots are
permitted over a length of 150mm, but the girth of the knot shall not exceed a quarter of the
circumference, and neither shall it protrude outwards by more than a quarter of the diameter at
that point (e.g. where the diameter is 100mm, the knot may not protrude outwards by more than
25mm). There appears to be no strength criteria, but experience has shown that two 100/125
Eucalyptus poles have more that adequate flexural strength and stiffness to support the roof of the
Standard RWH Dam, with minimal deflections experienced by construction crews working on top.
The various processes involved with the installation of the timber roof-poles, are described in detail
in points a through f of section X of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 49, 50, F, 69 through 76, G,
and H of Appendix F5.
6. Waterproofing
The walls and a 100mm strip of the floor at the wall/floor corner of the tank shall have a waterproof
coating of ‘Chryso L228’ (supplied by Chryso). This material shall be stored, blended, and applied
strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging.
The preparation, application and curing of the coating has been summarized in Appendix F4,
section XII.
From reports it appears that this coating is exceptionally durable, while remaining sufficiently flexible
to bridge minor cracks that may appear in the wall or at the wall/floor interface.
- 163 -
The various processes involved with the waterproofing of the dam are described in detail in points a
through e of section XII of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 86 and 87 of Appendix F5.
7. Inlet Structure
The excavation and construction of the Inlet Structure is described in detail in Appendix F4, see
section XI, and the associated dimensions are shown in Dwgs 12 and 13 of Appendix F1. The
materials used for this structure are Ref. 193 mesh in a 25 MPa concrete floor-slab, cement blocks
for the walls, which are rendered with plaster on the inside, a waterproof coating and bandage at
the interface with the main dam structure, and a protective grill made from steel which is hot dip
galvanized after the welding process. All these materials, along with the correct method of
application (other than the steel grill), have already been specified in the foregoing sections. See
Dwgs 16 through 19 in Appendix F1 for a set of ‘workshop’ drawings of the grill, with sufficient detail
for manufacturing in an engineering works. These Dwgs also show how to install the lugs into
concrete behind the crest section of the wall. These lugs form an integral part of the hinge
mechanism for the protective grill.
Pieces of fine chicken wire mesh shall be rolled into a ‘sausage’ and inserted into the PVC pipes to
act as a removable course filter, and to keep rodents and birds out of the tank. The exterior of the
pipes shall then be wrapped around with plastic sheeting and fastened with 1.6mm binding wire to
ensure a waterproof seal for seven days (when using Chryso L228) to allow the polymers and
cementitious materials in the coating to harden sufficiently.
The various processes involved with the construction of the inlet are described in detail in points a,
b, d, e, f, g and h of section XI of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 77 through 85, 103, 105
through 108 of Appendix F5.
8. Overflow Structure
The excavation for the overflow structure shall be 1 500mm long x 1 000mm wide, and it shall be
100mm deep with respect to the ground at the exit of the overflow (see Dwgs 14 and 15 in
Appendix F1). It shall be level (see Dwg 15 of Appendix F1).
The floor-slab of the inlet structure shall have corresponding dimensions in plan and a thickness of
80mm. Ref 193 mesh reinforcing shall be centrally placed in the slab with a clearance of 40mm
around the sides. The floor-slab shall be level. The absence of a gradient helps to reduce the
velocity of water exiting the channel.
Two brick walls form a channel to convey water exiting the tank away from the tank. The walls butt
up against the tank at the one end and have a clearance of 50mm with respect to the edge of
the slab at the other end. Likewise the clearances on the sides are also 50mm (see Dwg 14). The
wall is one course high for the most part, but should be two courses or more in the ‘splash’ region.
The inside of the walls shall be plastered according to the specifications given earlier for the dam
structure.
The corners and edges where the overflow structure butts up against the dam shall receive a
flexible bandage, as described earlier for the inlet structure.
As for the inlet structure, rolled ‘sausages’ of fine chicken wire mesh shall be inserted into the PVC
pipes, to keep rodents and birds out of the tank.
The various processes involved with the construction of the overflow are described in detail in points
a, c, d, e, f of section XI of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 77 through 85, 103 and 105 of
Appendix F5.
- 164 -
9. Roof Sheeting
IBR roof sheeting is specified by stating the thickness of the sheeting material as 0.5mm for the
Standard RWH Dam, the class of the corrosion protection as galvanizing class Z275, and the cover
width as 686mm (not to be confused with the actual width of the sheet, which is 762mm).
According to MACSTEEL Roofing’s Product Catalogue, these sheets have a span capability of
1 900mm for continuous spans and 1 650mm for simply supported spans. The Standard RWH Dam
has one continuous span in the center with a span of 1 740mm, and two end spans of 1 700mm.
Although the end spans are marginally more than the recommended 1 650mm for simply
supported spans, this effect is mitigated by (1) one side is continuous, which will increase the
spanning ability, and (2) only the sheet on the centerline spans 1 700mm; the others, on average,
are less than 1 657mm (see Appendix F12.10). Finally experience on site has shown that this
arrangement does not result in ‘uncomfortable’ deflections. It is however important not to reduce
the thickness of the sheets to avoid local buckling effects when someone stands on the a ridge that
is directly over a pole.
The central roof sheet shall be installed such that it bisects datum line AA (see Dwg 7 of
Appendix F1). The sheets must be trimmed such that they extend over the exterior of the wall
uniformly, by approximately 60mm.
The sheets shall be fastened to the roof-poles by means of 6mm x 65mm long sheet-fastening roof-
screws, at every second ridge of the IBR. The sheets should also be fastened to the wall on its
outside circumference by means of the 2.5mm wires that were previously built into wall. The
spacing of these wires is approximately 350mm.
10mm holes should be punched into the troughs of the roof sheeting, at intervals of approximately
500mm, but taking care to position the holes haphazardly so as not to create a line of weakness. A
funnel effect on each hole can be achieved by drilling the hole 8mm, and then punching it
through with a 10mm bar.
The outer lips of these sheets may also be turned upwards at both ends of each corrugation, to
create a damming effect in rainstorms, with all the resulting rainfall entering directly into the RWH
Dam via the 10mm holes.
10. Trap Door
One of the 5 400mm long IBR roof sheets should be cut short to create a trap door. It should have
two heavy duty brass hinges fastened to the adjacent 5 700mm sheet, and a 12mm hole drilled in
the opposite outside corner, to secure the door with a brass padlock to the 4 500mm long sheet on
the side of the trap door opposite to the hinges.
The various processes involved with the installation of the roof-sheeting is described in detail in
points a through h of section XIII of Appendix F4, and illustrated in steps 88 through 102, as well as
steps J through P of Appendix F5.
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APPENDIX F4. Standard RWH Dam:
Construction Manual
Construction Process
Explaining the HOW
Rationale of Design
Discussing the WHY
Summary
This construction manual sets out in chronological
order the various processes in building a partially
sunken rainwater harvesting (RWH) reservoir (or
RWH Dam), together with the ancillary inlet and
overflow structures – hereafter referred to as the
‘Standard RWH Dam’.
The manual covers all the topics discussed in
‘Appendix F3: Standard RWH Dam: Specifications’,
but in greater depth and detail, and introduces
additional methods and approaches. It makes
reference to Drawings 1 through 19 of
‘Appendix F1: Standard RWH Dam: Drawings’
where the main storage structure and ancillary
inlet and overflow structures are detailed. The
manual is entirely textual, but is closely related to
‘Appendix F5: Standard RWH Dam: Step-by-Step
Illustrated Construction Sequence’, which is
entirely devoted to illustrations. Reference to
Appendices F1, F3 and F5 will greatly facilitate the
reader as s/he continues below.
The construction process is discussed hereafter
and is set out in chronological order under
headings that indicate the various activities.
In this column, explanations are given for
recommendations made in the first column, such
as why a particular type of material is specified,
or why a particular construction approach or
process is used.
I. SETTING OUT – DAY 1
a. Inspection: Consider the three preferred
positions for the RWH Dam, previously determined
by the householder. Select a final position in
collaboration with the household.
The household must take ownership of the RWH
process as far as possible, and will have to live
with the choice of RWH Dam position in their yard
henceforth. Therefore the FFP Facilitator facilitates
the households beforehand to each draw their
‘helicopter plan’ showing their garden layout
planning, including three preferred RWH Dam
positions. At the final tank siting, the QA confirms
one of the household’s preferred positions, unless
all three are technically unsound, in which case a
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suitable alternative position is agreed with the
household. The most important consideration for
RWH Dam positioning is rainwater collection
potential, while proximity and elevation relative
to the garden, relation to other existing or
planned structures, and ground conditions should
also be taken into account.
b. Key Pegs: Marking pegs, ideally made from Y
standards, should be used to mark the following
key points:
• the center peg indicates the centre of the
RWH Dam – ideal peg length, 400mm.
• the inlet peg marks the position where the
inlet starts. This peg should be
approximately 400mm long and be driven
until it is flush with the ground. The top of
this peg represents the crest of the inlet,
and the profiles and horizontal datum lines,
(see later) are all referenced to this level.
• the overflow peg marks the position where
the overflow ends. It is also driven until it is
flush with the ground and this level controls
the elevation of the overflow. The length of
this peg may be 300mm.
The distance between the inlet peg and the
centre peg is 4 390mm, while that between the
overflow peg and the centre is 4 240mm (see
step 2 in Appendix F5). Usually, these three pegs
will all be in a straight line, and the inlet peg will
always be uphill of the center peg, and the
overflow peg downhill.
The ‘crest’ of the inlet, where the water flows into
it, should clearly be the same as the surrounding
ground level. If it is higher the water will dam up
behind it before it can flow in; if it is lower the
ground will progressively erode away until its level
is the same as that of the ‘crest’. Such erosion is
unsightly, and the eroded material will flow into
the RWH Dam requiring removal.
c. Profiles: Four profiles, each 4 800mm from the
center peg, should be set up in a cross formation.
Profiles No.1 and No.2 should be in the same line
as the three key pegs, with Profile No.1 on the
outside of the inlet peg, and Profile No.2 on the
outside of the overflow peg. These profiles may be
Y-standards of sufficient length to ensure that they
are at an elevation of 600mm above the inlet peg,
and also deep enough so as to be securely
anchored in the ground. Similarly, ‘datum BB’ may
be established by stringing a fish line between
Profile No.3 and No.4. These steps are illustrated in
steps 2 through 4 in Appendix F5.
Alternatively, conventional profiles may be
With the tops of all the profiles 600mm above the
inlet peg, it is evident that the two datum lines
provide a convenient horizontal reference in
both directions. The datum lines are set out such
that they are at right angles at the point that they
pass over each other, and this point is directly
above the center peg. Thus, the cross-over of the
datum lines maintains the center of the
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established, using short timber poles as the posts
and timber planks as the horizontal cross beam,
which should all be 600mm above the inlet peg. A
nail is used to fix datum lines AA and BB - see
Dwgs 1and 2 in Appendix F1.
excavation.
II. TRIAL PIT – DAY 2
a. Trial Pit: Excavate a trial pit approximately
1 500mm in diameter, at the centre of the RWH
Dam, to a depth of 2 200mm below the datum
line (see Step 5 in Appendix 5).
The volume associated with a diameter of
1 500mm is only 7% of the total volume that is
finally excavated, based on a diameter of
5 680mm (compare step 5 with step 18 of
Appendix 11). The hardness of the ground can
thus be explored with a minimum of wasted effort
should the ground become too hard to pick
before the design level is reached (2 200mm
below the datum line). In this event, an
alternative position can be chosen for a second
trial pit.
b. Sheath hole: Excavate a further hole at the
base and centre of the trial pit, an additional
400mm deep and 300mm in diameter.
This hole is required to house the ‘sheath pipe’
that later supports the ‘central pole & radial arm’.
It is important that the base of the hole is at the
correct depth, since this directly determines the
height of the central pole, which in turn
determines the height of the floor and walls.
c. Setup pipe: The ‘setup pipe’ that is 42.8mm in
diameter, 2.5mm thick and 2600mm long, may
conveniently be used as a gauge rod to establish
the depth of the sheath hole, which, as may be
expected, should be 2 600mm below the datum
lines. See step 6 of Appendix F5.
d. Spoil: The excavated material should not be left
directly adjacent to the hole, it should be spoiled
some distance away. Conveniently, wheelbarrow
loads can be tipped to form two berms to direct
the runoff towards the future inlet (see
Appendix F8.1).
Earth dumps that are too near the hole will hinder
subsequent construction activities such as
pouring concrete, and building the wall and roof.
These piles are also a significant safety hazard if
they are left next to the excavation.
III. –SHEATH PIPE – DAY 3
a. Sheath Pipe: The sheath pipe has dimensions of
48.5 x 2.0 x 400mm long. Its purpose is to later
support the central pole in an upright position at
the center of the excavation. The setup pipe is
used to align the ‘sheath pipe’ so that it is directly
The sheath pipe effectively has an internal
diameter of 48.5 - 2 - 2 = 44.5mm, while the
central pole (and the setup pole) has an external
diameter of 42.8mm. The clearance is therefore
1.7mm, which is enough to remove the central
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below the cross-over point of the two datum lines,
as well as plumb. This is achieved by inserting the
setup pipe into the sheath pipe, holding a spirit
level against the protruding pole, and checking
that the pipe is directly below the datum lines.
pole during and after the construction
process.Note that the sheath pipe will be securely
bonded to the soil:cement and cannot therefore
be re-used.
b. Backfill: With the setup pipe plumb and in
position, the sheath hole is backfilled with a soil-
cement mixture, where 5 shovels of soil to one
shovel of cement will suffice. The consistency of
the soil-cement should be moist to facilitate
compaction. Care must be taken to adequately
compact the mixture after placing it in the sheath
hole. See steps 6 through 10 of Appendix F5.
One of the functions of the central pole is to
ensure that the walls of the main excavation are
vertical, so that no more or no less than the
required amount of soil is excavated by the
digging team. A hole that was made too large or
deep means that unnecessary costs were
incurred in the digging process, but it also means
that additional costs and delays will be
experienced when it comes to backfilling the
hole later on. On the other hand, a hole that is
too small means costs and delays as the building
team will have to dig and trim before they can
proceed.
IV. MAIN EXCAVATION – DAYS 4,5,6
a. Setting up: The setup pipe is now removed from
the sheath pipe, and the central pole, consisting
of a 42.8 x 2.5 x 4 000mm long steel pipe, is inserted
in its place (see step 10 of Appendix F5). Following
this, the ‘radial arm’ may now be attached to the
central pole (see step 11). (Note: It may be simpler
to first slide the central pole into the radial arm
before inserting the former into the sheath pipe).
Thereafter, three ’pole stabilizers’, each consisting
of a 5m wire attached to a turnbuckle at the one
end and a hook at the other end, are installed as
indicated in step 12 of Appendix 5. The eye of the
turnbuckle is fastened to a stake in the ground,
while the hook hooks into the top of the central
pole. The three stablizers are spaced 120 degrees
apart in plan as may be seen in step D in
Appendix F5. When tensioning the stabilizers, a
spirit level is placed against the central pole to
ensure that the wires are equally tensioned so that
the pole remains vertical. The radius of the arm
should be set to 2 840mm as indicated in step 15
of Appendix F5.
The pole stabilizers are required to keep the
central pole from bending excessively from the
weight of the arm assembly, which acts at a
substantial eccentricity.
This dimension for the excavation (2 840mm)
assumes a wall thickness of 140mm. If the wall
thickness differs, the radial arm's radius should be
adjusted accordingly.
b. Digging: Using the radial arm as a guide, the
diggers excavate a near perfect cylindrical hole,
until the radial arm comes to rest on the top of the
‘pole-pin’ (previously inserted into the appropriate
The radial arm will come to rest on the pole-pin,
and thus the corresponding hole position in the
central pole determines the depth of the
excavation - see Appendix F2.8 for the various
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position in the central pole – see step 17),
indicating that the excavation is at the correct
depth of 2 200mm below the datum lines. This
method will also ensure that the excavation's floor
is level and flat, and certainly within a tolerance of
±10mm, providing the ‘horizontal member’ of the
radial arm is level – and this is achieved by
adjusting the turnbuckle on the diagonal member
with an eye on the spirit level (see step 16 of
Appendix F5).
hole positions in the central pole.
c. Compaction: If the soil at the required depth is
relatively soft, it should be compacted with hand
stampers, with additional compactive effort
applied where the wall is to be constructed. In this
case it may be necessary to backfill and re-
compact to re-establish the correct floor level as
dictated by the arm assembly. The backfill should
be compacted at optimum moisture content
(approximately earth-moist consistency).
V. FLOOR – DAY 7
a. Raise the radial arm: With the excavation
complete, remove the pole-pin from the central
pole (from its ‘floor-of-excavation’ hole), then lift
the arm slightly and re-insert the pin into the ‘top
of slab’ hole (see steps 19 to 21 of Appendix F5).
b. Debonding PVC: A strip of 110mm PVC damp
proof course (DPC) is coiled five times around the
pole at the point directly above the sheath pipe,
with the aim of preventing the concrete that will
later make up the floor-slab, from adhering to the
pole (see step 21a). A piece of 1.6mm binding
wire may be fastened around the outside of the
PVC strip to prevent it from uncoiling.
c. Reinforcing mesh: It is quicker and easier to
assemble the mesh pieces into the required
configuration (see step E of Appendix F5) outside
the hole on a nearby piece of flat ground. All
overlaps should be 400mm. The various pieces are
tied together using 1.6mm binding wire. After this,
the centre point of the assembled mesh pieces is
determined, and a circle is circumscribed with a
radius of 2 800mm. A bolt cutter is now used to trim
the mesh assembly along this circle (see step E of
The function of the mesh is to limit the size of any
‘drying shrinkage cracks’ that may occur if the
RWH Dam remains empty for any length of time.
The mesh tends to evenly distribute drying
shrinkage effects so that crack widths are
substantially smaller compared to an
unreinforced slab. Small cracks up 0.3mm are not
considered problematic in structural concrete
from a corrosion point of view – rather it is the
thickness of the cover and the cement content
of the concrete that determine the concrete’s
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Appendix F5). ability to protect the reinforcing, and these
aspects have been catered for. There is ample
cover to the reinforcing and the concrete mix is
relatively rich – see Table 1 of Appendix F1.
The mesh also gives the concrete slab a measure
of flexural strength, thus limiting the size of any
structural cracks that may occur as a result of
differential settlement.
d. Mesh installation: The assembled mesh
configuration should now be opened along its
middle splice (by cutting the appropriate binding
wires), resulting in two halves. The separate halves
are carried to the hole and lowered into position
one at a time, after which the two halves are
wired together again, with a 400mm overlap
along the centerline as before (see steps 22 to 24
of Appendix F5).
It is necessary to install one half at a time
because of the central pole.
e. Spacer blocks: Small spacer-blocks, 50mm thick,
are now inserted beneath the mesh. They should
be spaced 800mm apart in both directions. See
steps 26 and 27 of Appendix F5 and Dwg 3 of
Appendix F1). Ideally, these blocks should be
made of 25MPa concrete, have dimensions 80 x
80 x 50mm high, with a 200mm long x 1.6mm wire
that is bent into a U shape that is cast centrally in
the block such that the legs protrude upwards. The
base of the U is 10mm, and the two legs are of
equal length.
f. Concrete mix: The mix is proportioned according
to 'Concrete Mix' in Table 1 of Appendix F1, and
poured into the excavation. The radial arm,
supported by the pole-pin, may be used to skim
the surface of the concrete, thus achieving a level
floor-slab of the correct thickness. During the
spreading operation, compaction is achieved by
tamping with a ‘leveling compactor’.
The mix given in Table 1 (Appendix F1) should
exceed a characteristic strength of 25 MPa for
most aggregates, based on a 100mm slump.
g. Water: In order to achieve a characteristic
compressive strength of 25MPa with the mix given
in Table 1 of Appendix F1 (which assumes an
average quality sand with a water demand of
200 litres/m3), the water added in the mixing
process should be such that a slump of 100mm is
achieved in a standard slump test. The correct
water addition is the single most important factor
affecting the quality of the mix, and each API
In mixing the concrete, great care should be
exercised with the water dosage; too much
water results in 'plastic shrinkage cracks' during
setting, and later ongoing 'drying shrinkage
cracks' will appear if the RWH Dam remains
empty for a length of time. Clearly this is most
undesirable for a water retaining structure. On
the other hand, too little water makes
compaction difficult, leading to entrapped air,
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should ensure that all their builders are trained to
do a standard ‘slump-test’. For this reason the
‘slump-test-cone’ is included in Appendix F6 as an
essential item of equipment. (In this test, concrete
is placed inside a standard 300mm high truncated
cone, in three layers, and each layer is
compacted by poking 25 times with a 20mm steel
bar, after which the cone is carefully lifted and the
slump measured). A 100mm slump is ideal for a
hand compacted mix. Note that slumps less than
75mm run the risk of being too ‘unworkable’ to
expel macroscopic air voids and channels, while
slumps of 125mm and above will have excessive
microscopic voids and capillaries. Both these
cases render the concrete porous/permeable,
and substantially reduce its compressive strength
and abrasion resistance.
which is also very undesirable - it weakens the
concrete and makes it pervious. Builders often
use excessive amounts of water in the mix, as this
makes it much easier to mix and compact, but
this is very detrimental to the strength and
permeability of the concrete. The aim is to use as
little water as possible, consistent with full
compaction, and generally a slump of 100mm
will achieve this for hand compacted concrete,
providing the stone, sand and cement are
correctly proportioned as given in Table 1 of
Appendix F1.
Note, however, that Table 1 does not specify the
amount of water to be added in the mixing
process, since this will vary substantially
depending on the characteristics of the
aggregates, and especially those of the sand
(e.g. characteristics such as grading, particle
shape, surface texture and specific gravity).
Concrete made with a good quality sand may
only require 160 litres of water to make a cubic
meter of concrete, while a poor quality sand may
require as much as 250 litres/m3. In the former
case, strengths will exceed 25MPa for the
proportioning given in Table 1 of Appendix F1,
while in the latter case, they will be lower. It is
therefore advisable to have the ‘water demand’
of the sand checked to see if it is capable of
achieving the required characteristic
compressive strength of 25MPa before using it.
However, regardless of the quality of the sand
eventually selected, the quality and eventual
strength of the concrete made with it, is still very
dependent of the quantity of water used in the
mix – and this is where a slump tests plays a vital
role.
h. Finishing: When the bleed water has
evaporated, and providing the floor has reached
a measure of stiffness whereby a person can walk
on it without making a substantial imprint, the
surface should be floated off with a wood float.
This agitation will bring further bleed water to the
surface, and the finishing process should now be
delayed to allow this water to evaporate. To
reduce the waiting period, this water may also be
soaked up with rags.
After the placement of any concrete, 'bleeding'
commences, whereby water gradually comes to
the surface as the heavier materials tend to sink
in the lighter materials. [The stone has a higher
specific gravity (SG) than the supporting mortar
and hence sinks into the mortar, the sand in the
mortar has a higher SG than the supporting
cement-paste and hence sinks in it, and finally
the cement grains have a higher SG than the
supporting water and hence sink in it. This process
results in a degree of segregation of the
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materials, and an upward displacement of water,
evidenced by a layer of water appearing on the
surface].
The surface should now be steel floated, stopping
when the full area has been covered in order for
evaporation to once again dry out the surface.
Cycles of delayed steel-floating should continue
until no further bleed-water surfaces from this
action. With each cycle more pressure should be
exerted on the trailing edge of the blade to
increase the density of the upper surface. See
step 33 in Appendix F5).
This finishing technique will not only provide a
dense hard surface that has a lower permeability,
but also an increased abrasive resistance to
withstand the effects that occur once the RWH
Dam is in use when periodic cleaning of sediment
takes place inside the RWH Dam.
i. Curing: After the steel floating operation, the
surface of the concrete should be covered with a
PVC cover until the next day (see step 34 of
Appendix F5). Alternatively, damp sacks or moist
cement bags may be used if a PVC cover is not
available. Thereafter, the surface should be kept
wet continuously for 7 days.
It is well established that concrete that is exposed
to moist conditions until it is seven days old has
less permeability and substantially more abrasion
resistance relative to uncured concrete. Note
that while late curing will improve concrete that
was not cured in its early life, it never fully
recovers from what was lost.
VI. WALL – DAYS 8,9
a. Dimensions: Construct the walls with a radial
setting of 2 600mm on the arm assembly (ID of
wall = 5 200mm). If 188mm high blocks are used
with a mortar bed height of 12mm, then there will
be 10 courses to achieve a wall height of
2 000mm (see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1).
b. Blocks/bricks: The walls may be built with
cement blocks or bricks. Typically, hollow blocks
may be 390mm long, 188mm high and 140mm
thick, while cement bricks may be
220 x 106 x 73mm.
Building Units: The walls will normally be made of
cement blocks or bricks. The minimum thickness
of the wall shall be 100mm in the case of solid
bricks, and 140mm in the case of hollow blocks.
The SABS specification dealing with masonry units
is ‘SANS 1215:1984 Standard Specification for
Concrete Masonry Units’. The most relevant
aspects of this standard relate to (1) dimensional
tolerances, (2) compressive strength, and (3)
drying shrinkage.
The given dimensional tolerances are given as:
- +2, -4 for length
- ±3 for width
- ±3 for height
It is doubtful that these tolerances will be met by
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the smaller brickyards in rural areas, but this
should not be a major problem so long as the API
makes allowances for this. Variations in width
should not be too problematic, providing the
builder works on the inside face, so that any
variations will be unseen on the outside where
the backfilling is, except for the last 500mm of the
wall which protrudes out of the ground. Where
widths vary significantly, particular care must be
taken in the area protruding out of the ground to
hide unsightly variations, e.g. bagging.
Length variations should also not pose any great
problem, so long as the builder more or less
maintains a stretcher bond pattern, and this can
be achieved by varying the thickness of the
perps (the perpendicular joints). A more serious
problem lies in the height. The best thing to do
here is to make an inspection of a representative
sample of blocks from the supplier. Then the
vertical gauge for the wall should be set to 12mm
more than the highest block. It follows that in
places the mortar-beds will be a thickness of
12mm plus the difference between the highest
and lowest block. The API might decide that the
variation will result in a mortar-bed that is simply
too thick – mortar beds approaching 40mm
should be considered on the limit, since they will
require a lot of mortar on the one hand, and
result in a reduction in the interlocking and cross-
block shear transfer capabilities of the wall, on
the other hand.
Accoring to SABS 1215, cement blocks and bricks
should have an average compressive strength of
8 MPa (average of 5 blocks) with an individual
minimum of 5.5 MPa.
A number of compressive strength classifications
are proposed in SABS 1215: 1984 for different class
structures. For RWH dams, the lowest category of
average compressive strength, 4 MPa (with
3 MPa as an individual minimum), is deemed
insufficient to withstand circumferential
compressive stresses, which may be shown to
exceed 2 MPa for a wall made of bricks
subjected to ‘earth pressure at rest’ conditions of
clay in a near liquified state acting on the walls
when the tank is an empty state. Although 2 MPa
is still less than the minimum compressive strength
of 3 MPa specified for bricks, a consideration of
‘limit state design’ parameters shows that if the
‘partial factor of safety for loads’ of 1.6 is applied
to the applied stress (i.e. 2 MPa x 1.6 = 3.2 MPa)
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and the ‘partial factor of safety for materials’ of
1.5 is applied to the minimum strength of 3 MPa
(i.e. 3/1.5 = 2.25 MPa), it is evident that the
‘ultimate’ load exceeds the ‘ultimate’ strength.
(In this analogy, the minimum strength of 3 MPa is
assumed to approximate the ‘characteristic’
compressive strength of the blocks – a
reasonable assumption). The reader is referred to
SABS 0100 for a more in depth discussion of ‘limit
state design’, ‘ultimate’ and ‘characteristic’
strength, ‘partial factors of safety’ for materials
and applied loads. It is therefore considered
prudent to specify the 8 MPa class rather than
the lowest class of 4 MPa.
The requirement for drying shrinkage in SABS for
pre-saturated units is 0.06% for normal shrinkage
units and 0.08% for high shrinkage.
Since the walls are essentially unconstrained
(except at the base) and therefore free to move
and hence unlikely to crack from shrinkage
movements, it is probably permissible to accept
the higher 0.08% limit. On the other hand, cracks
may appear at the wall/floor interface as a result
of restraint against shrinkage movements
imposed by the slab, but any such cracks will be
masked by the flexible bandage applied in that
area (a woven polypropylene membrane
impregnated with ‘Chryso L228’ waterproof
coating).
Blocks made with a relatively clean river sand are
unlikely to experience high shrinkage, but where
blocks are made using soil-cement, shrinkage
values may be much higher. Regardless of what
material is being used for manufacturing the
blocks, the API must to ensure that the blocks will
not shrink beyond the prescribed limit of 0.08%.
To conclude, the API must submit representative
samples to a certificate concrete laboratory for
compression and shrinkage testing, and
furthermore must take sufficient measurements of
representative samples to ensure that the builders
will not be unduly troubled by dimensional
variations.
Clay bricks are also permitted if they meet the
dimensional, compressive strength and shrinkage
requirements of SABS 1215. But under no
circumstances may half-baked bricks be used.
If clay bricks are used in preference to cement
bricks/blocks (such as cost considerations –
perhaps there is a nearby clay factory), the same
tests and checks apply as described above. A
further precaution with clay bricks is to ensure
that they are completely sintered from burning at
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sufficiently high temperatures – beware of half-
baked clay bricks! They expand irreversibly in
moist conditions, and disintegrate over time!
c. Bedding mortar: See Table 1 in Appendix F1 for
mortar mix proportions for the bedding mortar. The
builders sand that is used, should be free of
organic matter such as leaves and roots, and
should not have too much clay on the one hand,
nor be too course, on the other.
It is important that the perps are fully filled with
mortar, followed by a second process of tapping
down and compacting the mortar in the perp
after 10 minutes has lapsed for ‘absorption
shrinkage’ to take place. This is important as the
circumferential compressive stresses in the wall
are transferred through these perp joints.
d. Hoop steel: Three 6m long high-yield reinforcing
bars of diameter 6mm (i.e 6mm Y-bars) are spliced
together with an overlap of 400mm to form a
hoop, which should lie centrally on the blocks (see
Dwg 4 of Appendix F1). This overlap length will
automatically be achieved if 6m long bars are
used on a 5.2m diameter ID dam with a 140mm
wall, providing the three overlaps are equalized.
For larger diameters, or where thicker blocks are
used, the overlap will be less, but at no stage
should it be less than 300mm, which corresponds
to 50 diameters of the 6mm Y-bar.
For high-yield reinforcing bar of diameter 6mm, a
minimum overlap length of 300mm will be
sufficient for the transfer of tensile stresses from
the one bar to the other, even for smooth bars.
Note that this equates to 50 diameters, which
may be considered conservative, but it must be
remembered that mortar typically only has a
compressive strength in the range of 5 MPa to
10 MPa, and at these low strengths, longer
overlaps are advisable.
This hoop should be placed in the mortar beds of
all the courses, except below the bottom course,
as indicated in Dwg 11 of Appendix F1.
This however, does pose a difficulty if hollow blocks
are used to construct the wall of the RWH Dam,
since the hoop would be unsupported where the
hollow cores are. It is therefore recommended that
the hollow cores are filled with earth, to about
5mm from the top of the block, which would allow
the mortar bed to be spread across the full width
of the block, and hence the hoop can be fully
encased by mortar. There is no need to compact
the earth inside the cores, as it only has to provide
support for a relatively thin layer of mortar, and
that only for one or two hours until the mortar has
gained sufficient strength to span the width of the
blocks and adhere to the walls.
The advantage of using high-yield bars is that
they are self-straightening, and it is therefore
relatively easy to achieve a smooth circular hoop
with these bars. Mild steel bars on the other hand,
are easily kinked in the transportation and
handling process, making it troublesome to work
with. (It is also possible to use two 4mm wires
instead of one 6mm bar, but two wires will always
be more troublesome than one 6mm bar, and
furthermore, experience has shown that the 4mm
wires tend to bend and kink substantially in the
uncoiling process, making it difficult to create a
hoop that lies centrally on the blocks).
It should be noted that the advantage of the
high-yield bars is limited to their self-straightening
ability, and their superior bonding capability. Their
high-yield strength does not improve their
structural performance in this case, since the
level of stress in the steel should not exceed
130N/mm2 (if crack widths in the wall are to be
limited to 0.2mm as recommended in BS8007 for
water retaining structures) and these stress levels
are well within the capability of mild steel bars.
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It should also be noted that if the backfill is well
compacted, the tensile stresses will be low or
even zero, and in this case there would be no
cracks even without hoop steel – thus the hoop
steel is there chiefly as insurance in event of
substandard backfilling.
On the other hand, if the backfilling is poorly
done, crack widths will increase substantially as
the wall moves outwards, and the steel is likely to
yield before sufficient passive pressure is
generated by the backfill. In such cases, the
flexibility of the waterproof coat is the only thing
that will save the RWH Dam from leaking. In
extreme cases, where for example no backfilling
is done, it is possible for the dam’s wall to burst
open.
In normal circumstances, where backfilling is
correctly done, the hoop bars higher up in the
structure where hydraulic pressures are reduced
may seem to be redundant. But, for the sake of
preventing errors related to forgetting to put in
the hoop bars, it was decided to include them in
all the mortarbeds (see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1).
But note that the hoop steel in the courses above
ground level are useful for anchoring the wires
that are used to tie the timber roof-poles, as well
as those used to tie down the roof sheeting.
During high winds, when the roof tends to lift off
the walls, the top layers of hoop steel will make
the top section of the wall act as a reinforced
concrete beam, this preventing local pull-out
effects where the poles are anchored, and
allowing a larger number of the blocks lying in the
zone between the poles and above the critical
hoop bar (that anchors the pole tie wires) to be
used in the stability calculation.
e. Construction:
-Radial Arm: The radial arm is used to establish the
correct height of each block in each course, the
radial arm simply being pushed along as the block
layer works. Once again, the turnbuckle in the
diagonal member can be adjusted to ensure that
the arm revolves in a horizontal plane.
In effect, the radial arm serves the same functions
as a builder’s line on a straight wall.
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-Steel hoop: Prior to the placement of the mortar
on a given bed, a steel hoop is placed centrally
on the wall, made up of high-yield deformed bars
of diameter 6mm. This was discussed in more detail
in point d above.
See notes in point d.
-PVC pipes: The 110mm x 300mm PVC inlet and
overflow pipes are built into the wall such that their
invert levels are at a height of 670mm below
datum line AA (see step 46 in Appendix F5) . There
are three pipes for the inlet, and three for the
overflow (see Dwg 4 of Appendix F1).
Three 110mm pipes will allow substantial inflows
into the RWH Dam, to maximise inflows during
storms which may be of a very short duration.
From standard hydraulic equations [V = sqrt(2gh);
Q = v.A; time to fill = dam capacity / Q], it may
be shown that if the level of incoming water
reaches the top of the inlet pipes (which may be
assumed to have an internal diameter of
100mm), then the RWH Dam can go from empty
to full in just 21 minutes (ignoring the relatively
minor energy losses). It may therefore be seen
that three 110mm pipes are a very effective
means of getting water into the RWH Dam
quickly.
-Pole anchorage wires: 4mm galvanised wires
should be built into the wall at a height of
approximately 1 600mm above the floor level.
Their function is to tie down the timber roof poles
to the wall. The wires are 2m long and there are
four in total, one for each end of each pole (see
Dwgs 4, 5 and 6 of Appendix F1).
Calculations made on uplift forces from strong
winds acting on the roof, indicate that one loop
of a 4mm galvanised wire for each end of each
pole is sufficient to withstand these forces.
-Sheet anchorage wires: The sheeting is anchored
by 2.5mm galvanised wires (each 900mm long)
spaced at approximately 350mm around the
circumference. The wires are bent in half, and
threaded through the hoop steel with the two legs
sticking radially outwards. Later, these wires are
twisted to other wires that are fed through the
sheeting from the top. (Consult Dwgs 4 and 11 of
Appendix F1).
2.5mm wires spaced at 350mm are more than
strong enough to resist the uplift forces on
individual sheets, but thinner wires are too easily
vandalised. Also, thinner wires may cut into the
0.5mm thick roof sheeting more easily, especially
during the twisting/tightening operation. Note
that the spacing of 350mm is approximately half
the cover width of an IBR sheet, and allows every
second ridge to be tied down.
In the final course of blocks, four blocks are left out
to create openings for the roof poles – to be built
in later. These openings should be s 870mm away
from datum line BB (see Dwg 6 in Appendix F1).
This opening is later closed off with bricks and
mortar once the pole is in position.
The spacing of 870mm corresponds to a pole-to-
pole spacing of 1 740mm. This spacing was
determined by dividing the internal diameter of
the dam by three, i.e. 5 200/3 = 1 733mm. (Note
that the maximum permissible span of
continuously spanning 0.5mm IBR sheeting is
1 900mm, and experience at Tshikonelo, where six
experimental dams were constructed, confirmed
that 1 740mm does not result in excessive
deflections).
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VII. BACK FILL – DAYS 9,10
a. 100mm layers: The digging team must backfill
the space between the excavation and the
outside of the wall in horizontal layers not
exceeding 100mm and thoroughly compact these
layers with hand stampers up to ground level – see
Dwg 5 and 11 of Appendix F1.
If backfilling is done correctly, there will be
minimal build-up of circumferential tensile stresses
in the wall, and the wall will remain crack free.
The backfilled layers should simulate closed
horizontal rings that exert a positive pressure on
the walls, resulting in the wall going into a state of
circumferential compression. If the backfilling is
not done in closed rings, but rather just on the
one side, this may result in the displacement or
collapse of the section of wall adjacent to the
backfilling.
b. Moist consistency: The backfill material must be
of a moist consistency (but not wet). This will
probably require a degree of wetting and mixing.
The degree of compaction is substantially
improved if the correct moisture content is
achieved.
c. Delay period: Only that part of the wall that was
built on Day 8 may it be backfilled and
compacted on Day 9.
Clearly, if backfilling and compaction is
attempted before the mortar has developed a
measure of strength, then blocks will be
displaced during the stamping process. For this
reason, backfilling should not be done in a violent
fashion – moderate compaction using hand
stampers is adequate.
d. Embankment: If the ground surface on the one
side of the RWH Dam is higher than the other, an
embankment against the dam’s wall should be
created on the low side using some of the
excavated material. This material should also be
placed and compacted in closed horizontal rings,
which means that the embankment must be built
up at the same rate as the rest of the backfilling,
again in layers not exceeding 100mm.
To prevent circumferential tensile stresses from
developing in the wall, it is most important to
equalise the final height of the backfill, and this
can only be done by creating an embankment
against the RWH Dam wall on the downhill side.
d. Final height: The final height of the backfill
should be approximately 500mm below the top of
the wall.
Having the ground level and/or backfill at least
500mm below the roof level will help prevent
animals and small children from getting onto the
roof and falling into the RWH Dam, particularly if
the trap door is carelessly left open.
VIII. –PLASTER – DAY 10
a. Thickness: Plaster the wall in a single application
to a total thickness exceeding 15mm.
A total thickness of 25mm, done in two
applications of 15mm and 10mm would provide
increased, but not guaranteed waterproofing
capability. Therefore it has been decided to go
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for just one layer of 15mm, and then make
reliance on a waterproofing coat on top of the
plaster. Note also that two applications would
increase the cost of the plaster without giving the
necessary guarantees of water tightness.
b. Radial arm: Use the radial arm at a setting of
2 585mm to trim off excess plaster to achieve a
uniform thickness (see steps 55 through 59 of
Appendix F5). The leading edge of the ‘arm-plate’
may be fitted with a steel float to ensure a good
cutting action, or alternatively the arm plate may
be beveled at an angle of 45 degrees to provide
this action (see Appendix F2.6). However, if the
latter approach is used, the leading edge will
require regular sharpening with an angle grinder.
c. Wood float: Float the plaster’s surface with a
wood float to achieve increased compaction,
and increased smoothness and uniformity – see
step 60 of Appendix F5.
Arguably the most important function of the
plaster is to achieve a relatively smooth surface
over the wall, especially where blocks are used
that are relatively course. This will make the
waterproof coat go substantially further, and also
reduce the incidence of ‘pin holing’ in the
waterproof coating.
d. Steel float: Applying pressure to the trailing
edge of a steel float will increase the density and
smoothness of the surface – see step 60 of
Appendix F5.
A denser surface makes the plaster less
permeable (as a backup to the waterproof
coat). A smoother surface makes the relatively
expensive waterproof coat go further.
e. Mix proportions: See Table 1 in Appendix F1 for
the plaster’s mix proportions.
Note that the cement proportioning reflected in
Table 1 is relatively high, since this reduces its
permeability.
IX. PLUG HOLE – DAY 10
With the plastering complete, the ‘central pole &
radial arm’ will have completed their purpose and
may be removed. The pole stabilizers are
disconnected, the central pole is pulled out of the
sheath pipe, and together with the radial arm is
removed from the dam’s interior, and taken to the
next site (see step 61 through 65 of Appendix F5).
Next, the PVC sheath is pulled out from the hole. It
may even come out with the pole, uncoiling in the
process, and it may now be cleaned and made
ready for reuse at the next site (see step 66 of
Appendix F5).
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A sand:cement mix may now be made (4 to 1 by
volume), adding just enough water to make it
moist (see step 67 of Appendix F5).
The mix is poured into the sheath/pipe, 50mm at a
time, and compacted with a 20mm diameter steel
rod. This process is continued until the sheath pipe
and central hole are completely filled up - see
step 68 of Appendix F5.
It is necessary to plug the central hole so that
water does not escape via the sheath pipe.
X. INSTALL ROOF POLES – DAY 10, 11
a. General: As soon as the central pole is
removed, the roofing team may install the roof
poles. (see Dwgs 4, 10 and 11 in Appendix F1).
b. Place roof-poles: The timber roof-poles are
placed in the spaces that were left open in the
top course, directly above the pole-anchorage
wires – see step 69 of Appendix F5. The poles
should stick out the same amount on both sides of
the RWH Dam. If the poles are not perfectly
straight, they should be rotated about their own
axes to maximise the arch effect.
Note that most gum poles are not perfectly
straight, and therefore an arch effect can be
created by simply turning the pole and observing
the point of maximum upwards arch at the
center. An arch has more load carrying capacity
than a straight pole, resulting in a roof structure
with increased stiffness.
c. Channels: Two steel channels (e.g. 100x50mm)
are placed along the top of the wall, one on
either side of the RWH Dam, with their webs at the
bottom, to span the openings where the poles are
now lying – see step 70 of Appendix F5. Each
channel has two 7mm holes spaced 1 740mm
apart from each other, to ensure the correct
spacing of the poles. The poles are lifted and
screwed up against the underside of the channels
- use the M6 x 65mm roof sheeting screws – see
step 71 of Appendix F5. This done, the openings in
the wall may now be closed up with brick and
mortar – see step 72 of Appendix F5.
The channels achieve two important purposes:
Firstly, the channels ensure that the poles will be
at the correct distance apart from one another,
i.e. 1 740mm. Note that the spacing of 1 740mm is
within the recommended limit of 1 900mm for
continuously spanning 0.5mm IBR sheeting.
Experimental dams built at Tshikonelo, Limpopo,
confirmed that this span is acceptable, and
deflections at midspan from walking were slight.
Secondly, the channels ensure that the upper
edge of the pole is flush with the top of the wall.
d. The next day the screws are removed and the
channels taken to the next site – see step 74 of
Appendix F5.
e. Tie the pole down using the 4mm pole
anchorage wires that were built into the wall for
this purpose – see step 75 of Appendix F5.
f. Plaster the wall in the region of the poles, i.e.
plaster over the bricks used to support the poles –
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see step 76 of Appendix F5.
XI. INLET AND OVERFLOW – DAYS 11, 12, 13, 14
Detailed dimensions of the inlet and overflow
structures are shown in Dwgs 12 through 19 of
Appendix F1, where a list of the materials required
is included in Table 2 of Appendix F1.
a. Excavations: On Day 11, the digging team
makes the necessary excavations for the inlet and
overflow structures – see step 77 of Appendix F5.
For the inlet the excavation will be 1 650mm long,
1 200mm wide (see Dwg 12 of Appendix F1), and
880mm below datum line AA (see step 77 of
Appendix F5); while for the overflow it will be
1 500mm long, 1 000mm wide, and 100mm deep -
see Dwgs 14 and 15 of Appendix F1. It is
recommended that the digging team first
excavate the overflow, as this requires minimal
digging, and thus the building team will not be
unduly delayed.
b. Inlet Structure: In its simplest form, the inlet may
consist of a U shaped wall standing on a mesh
reinforced concrete slab (see Dwgs 12 and 13 of
Appendix F1). The open ends of the U will butt up
against the wall of the RWH Dam, and at this end
the wall will have two courses (assuming 188mm
high blocks) to retain the soil of the raised berm,
with the remainder having one course as
indicated in the drawings. If the slab is 80mm
thick, then based on the configuration in Dwg 13
of Appendix F1, a sediment pit 130mm deep will
be constituted below the invert level of the pipe.
The slab is reinforced centrally by Ref. 193 mesh.
The inlet structure has a two-fold function:
(1) It collects the water at a finite distance away
from the RWH Dam, typically 1 600mm, so that
water does not saturate the ground in the
immediate vicinity of the dam, which could lead
to differential settlement of its slab and walls; and
(2) It acts as a sediment trap.
c. Overflow structure: This structure is essentially a
channel that butts up against the RWH Dam. It
consists of two parallel brick walls standing on a
80mm thick mesh reinforced concrete slab – see
Dwg 14 and 15 of Appendix F1. Only one course is
required for the channel, although it may be
advisable to have two courses or more in the
splash zone, depending on how much splash there
is. This will depend on how far the water drops
before it reaches the channel’s floor-slab, and this
is a function of the local topography.
The overflow has a number of functions:
Firstly, it acts as a channel that conveys water a
safe distance away from the RWH Dam. This
prevents the ground in the immediate vicinity of
the dam from becoming soaked, thus reducing
the risk of differential settlement, for example
between the walls and floor.
Secondly, the hard concrete floor-slab of the
overflow prevents erosion in the near vicinity of
the RWH Dam, and particularly near the PVC
pipes. It is advisable that the height of the
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channel be increased in this ‘splash’ zone to
keep the surrounding ground from becoming wet
from the splashing action.
Thirdly, it breaks the energy of the water before it
exits the channel. In areas where the natural fall
of the ground is not excessive, this can be
achieved simply by making the floor-slab
horizontal, so that the energy of the water
leaving the PVC pipes will be substantially
dissipated on landing on the horizontal floor-slab;
thereafter the zero slope of the channel is not
conducive to unwanted acceleration as the
water flows along the channel.
In steeply falling terrain there will a significant
embankment on the lower side of the RWH Dam,
making the solution described above
problematic. In such instances, it is more
practical for the channel to go over the
embankment, with protruding rocks to slow down
the rate of flow all the way along the channel,
but especially at the exit point.
d. Plaster: On Day 12, the blocks and bricks should
be plastered on the side which will be exposed to
water (i.e. on their inside faces) – see step 85 of
Appendix F5.
Plastering the blocks on the side of the sediment
pit will reduce water from seeping out and
softening the surrounding ground.
e. Flexible ‘bandage’: On Day 13, a 200mm strip of
‘ABE fabric’ impregnated with 'Chryso L228' must
be applied to create a flexible bandage where
the inlet and overflow butt up against the RWH
Dam – see step 13 of Appendix F5.
The supporting slab of the inlet and overflow
structures are at a substantially higher level
relative to the dam’s slab. Swelling or settlement
of the ground in the intermediate zone will
therefore cause the higher structures to move
relative to the RWH Dam, resulting in the
formation of an open joint/crack at the interface.
Thus the flexible bandage allows such movement
while preventing water from entering the
joint/crack – which would further aggravate any
settlement or heave effects.
f. Chicken mesh: A coil of fine chicken mesh may
now be inserted into all six PVC pipes – see
step 105 of Appendix F5.
This precaution prevents rodents, birds and frogs
from entering the RWH Dam. The coils should be
cleaned regularly and especially after each rain
event.
g. Plastic seals: The PVC pipes are closed off on
the outside with plastic sheeting for seven days (a
good quality plastic bag will also suffice). The bags
are fastened to the pipes by using 1.6mm binding
wire, which should be twisted relatively tightly to
‘Chryso L228’ requires one week to stiffen
sufficiently for no re-emulsification to occur on
contact with water. Therefore it is important to
prevent any inflows into the RWH Dam for seven
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ensure a good temporary seal – see step 106 of
Appendix F5.
days after the waterproofing is applied.
h. Cover grill: Finally, a hinged grill is installed to
cover the inlet to prevent small children from
drowning (see Dwgs 16 to 19 in Appendix F1). The
grill hinges on lugs that protrude out of the
concrete. The hinge points are behind the the
front wall of the inlet structure, i.e. behind the
‘crest section’. The lugs are anchored to fill-in
concrete in this area as indicated in the drawings.
i. Construction time: The excavations, slabs and
block laying can all be completed on Day 11.
Note that it is permissible to build one or two
courses of blocks/bricks on the slabs once they
are 4 hours old, but the plastering of the
blocks/bricks should wait until the next day,
Day 12. On Day 13, the plaster will be hard enough
to apply the flexible bandage. Then the chicken
wire coils are fitted, the plastic pipes are closed off
with plastic covers, and the grill is fitted to the inlet.
This kind of multi-tasking in a single day is justified
by the smallness of the task, and the fact that the
RWH Dam is almost complete.
XII. WATERPROOF COAT – DAY 12
a. Preparation: The following sequence should be
followed and is most important if good adhesion is
to be achieved between the waterproof coat
and substrate:
-Make sure that all wall surfaces are clean, and
slightly damp.
-In the region near the wall, the concrete floor
surface must be scrubbed with a wire brush to
remove laitance (the thin layer on the surface of
concrete that is weak as a result of bleed water).
-Flush with water to remove all dust.
-Brush away all standing water.
-Allow surfaces to dry to a damp but not dry state.
‘Chryso L228’ is a cementitious/polymer based
product and is imported from France by Chryso.
Chryso have branches in Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
‘Chryso L228’ is sufficiently flexible to
accommodate slight movements at joints and
minor post-construction cracking in the substrate.
Preliminary investigations by the writer have
indicated that ‘Chryso L228’ is the best
performing product available on the market,
requiring no maintenance for the life of the
structure, and capable of performing in hydraulic
heads of up to 100m, and backpressures of 30m
for properly prepared substrates.
b. Application: Apply a waterproof coat (‘Chryso
L228’) to the plaster on the wall per the
manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging. Two
kits (each consisting of 10 litres of polymer and
18kg of sand-cement) are required to apply the
mandatory two coats.
Mixing should ideally be done using a 12mm T-bar
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inserted into an electric drill. Experience has
shown that a block brush is the best way to apply
the material – see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1 and
step 86 of Appendix F5. The first coat should be
slightly diluted as per the instructions on the
packaging. It is essential that the surface is fully
covered with no bare spots or even pin holes left
uncovered.
c. Corner membrane: Reinforce the corners where
the wall meets the floor with a 200mm ABE
membrane - fully impregnate with the coating
(see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1 and step 87 of
Appendix F5). The corners and edges where the
inlet and overflow structures butt up against the
dams should be similarly treated.
This measure makes allowance for possible
movement between the wall and the floor-slab.
Such movements may occur as a result of the
floor drying out and shrinking more than the walls,
and this could result in a crack developing in the
first mortar bed. Similar actions may occur as a
result of thermal movements in the slab relative to
the wall. It is also possible that there may be
some differential settlement, whereby the floor-
slab subsides relative to the wall, again resulting
in a crack in the mortar bed.
Note that it is by virtue of the L-shape of the
corner membrane that it can accommodate
both downward or horizontal movements without
developing leaks. For downward movements the
contact between the bandage and the
substrate will first be lost in the immediate corner –
for perhaps a distance of 10mm along the x-axis
and the y-axis, but there will still be 90mm left that
does not tear away, so that the overall sealing
action is not compromised. The 10mm portion
that tears away (both horizontally and vertically)
now assumes an angle of 45 degrees instead of
its previous horizontal/upright position. The
polypropylene fibres of the bandage have
sufficient tensile strength to break the adhesion
between substrate and waterproof coating,
while the impregnated coating has sufficient
flexibility to accommodate the miniscule bending
and stretching movements that occur between
and around the fibres of the bandage in this
process. For lateral movements as a result of
drying shrinkage or thermal movement similar
actions take place.
d. Floor: It should not be necessary to coat the
floor as this should be relatively impermeable if the
guidelines for delayed wood and steel floating
given under “Day 7 – Floor” were adhered to.
Any treatment of the floor with a coating will be
subject to abrasive actions when the sediment is
periodically removed from the RWH Dam – and
with care a well compacted and impervious
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concrete floor is achievable.
e. Curing: Allow one week for the ‘Chryso L228’ to
cure before filling the RWH Dam.
‘Chryso L228’ requires one week to stiffen
sufficiently for no re-emulsification to occur on
contact with water. The precaution of closing off
the inlet pipes as described in ‘Inlet and
Overflow’ point g, is thus necessary.
XIII. ROOF SHEETING – DAY 13
a. General: With the completion of the
waterproofing inside the RWH Dam on Day 12, the
roofing team may install the roof sheeting on
Day 13 - see Dwgs 7, 9 and 11 of Appendix F1.
b. Specifications: Use IBR sheeting with a minimum
thickness of 0.5mm. The galvanizing specification
shall be ‘Z275’.
A thickness of 0.5mm should be considered as a
minimum. Experienced at Tshikonelo showed that
even at this thickness there were occasional
instances of ‘local buckling’ of the ridges. This
generally occurs if a heavy person walks on the
IBR directly over the beam. In this instance there is
no possibility for the load to be spread, and
hence one or both sides of the ridge buckles
under the concentrated load.
Thinner classes of galvanizing, such as Z160 or
even Z120, will corrode substantially sooner than
the Z275, which is likely to last 20 to 40 years
depending on local humidity.
c. Laying: the first 5.7m long sheet is laid such that
its central ridge is directly below and parallel to
datum line AA (see step J of Appendix F5).
Thereafter the other sheets are sequentially lipped
in, with the sheets getting progressively shorter the
further they are from the datum line – see step K of
Appendix F5. The sheets should protrude equally
over both edges.
d. Fastening: Beginning at the central sheet, and
working progressively outwards, a hole is drilled
and then immediately fastened to the timber pole
below, using a sheet-fastening wood-screw. These
operations may either be done using hand tools,
or power tools. Every alternate ridge is fastened
(see Dwg 11 of Appendix F1). A roof washer should
be used with each fastener to prevent 'pull
through'.
It is important to finish fastening off one screw
before drilling the next hole, as the fastening
action has a tendency to spread the sheets
laterally, so that holes that may have matched
initially will not necessarily match later when the
fastening is done, if the two operations (drilling
and fastening) were not done consecutively on a
hole-by-hole basis.
e. Trap door: A trap door can be made by cutting The trap door so formed is comfortably large and
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off a piece of the 4 500mm long sheet. The cut
should be made about 200mm beyond the
supporting pole. The cut-off section is then moved
up by 60mm for overlap and support. Next, two
medium duty brass hinges are installed along the
side nearest datum line AA, to create a hinged lid-
type door that allows access into the RWH Dam as
indicated in Dwg 7 of Appendix F1. A detailed
sequence for making the trap door is shown in
Appendix F5, steps 93 through 95, as well as
steps N and O.
user friendly. The person drawing water is able to
sit on the wall in the process. The opening is also
large enough to make shoveling out of sediment
a simple matter. When open, it lets ample light
into the interior if at a later day a new application
of a waterproof coating is required.
f. Trimming: The sheeting is trimmed with an angle
grinder (9" works better than 4") to a radius of
2 800mm – see step 96 and P in Appendix F5. The
sheets should protrude approximately 60mm over
the wall.
g. Sheet Anchorage Wires: At the zone where the
roof overlaps the dam's walls, two 3mm holes are
drilled in the upper ridge of the IBR sheeting.
Typically these holes may be 30 mm apart. A U-
shaped 2.5mm galvanised wire (total length
900mm), is inserted through these holes. It follows
that the base of the U is 30mm long to correspond
with the hole positions. Thereafter, each leg of the
U is tied off with the corresponding wire that was
previously built into the wall (see Dwgs 9 and 11 of
Appendix F1, and steps 98 through 101 of
Appendix F5).
This method of fastening, where both legs of a U
shaped wire pushed in from the top is fastened to
two wires coming up from the anchorage point
lower down, is much simpler than if one of the
lower anchorage wires were to be made long
enough to thread through the holes in the top
ridge and then tightened by twisting with the wire
of the lower leg. The loop through the top also
tends to be loose and untidy, and also causes
tearing of the sheet in the threading process.
h. Padlock: To secure the trap-door, a good
quality brass padlock should be used, as the lock
will be exposed to the elements. A 12mm diameter
hole is drilled through the trap door in the outer
corner on the opposite side to the hinges, and a
corresponding hole through the fixed sheet. (See
steps 97 and Q of Appendix F5).
The lock to the trap door is a precaution against
children opening the trap door unsupervised and
falling in.
XIV. BAGGING – DAY 13
The section of the wall protruding out of the
ground on the outside is ‘bagged’. The ground
around the wall should be raked away to a depth
of approximately 100mm, to allow the bagging to
start some way below the surface (see Dwg 11 of
Appendix F1), in case there is some settlement or
erosion later on.
This action adds aesthetic value to the RWH Dam
and is not a time consuming or costly exercise.
- 187 -
Essentially, bagging involves the application of a
relatively thin layer of sand-cement slurry to the
wall – applied with a block brush. The mix
proportion for ‘plaster’ given in Table 1 of
Appendix F1 will suffice, but it may be necessary to
increase the quantity of cement if the sand is
relatively coarse. Add water until a slurry-like
consistency is achieved – similar to a PVA paint.
XV. LANDSCAPING AND CLEANUP – DAY 13
The type of landscaping that is adopted will
depend on factors such as the general
topography, the position of the RWH Dam in
relation to the garden, the elevation of the tank
out of the gound, etc. Consult Appendix F8 for
various options.
In the following points a through c, it has been
assumed that the various factors affecting the
landscaping make the layout described in
Appendix F8.1 the most suitable.
a. Berm: The two berms are in effect mini
embankments made up of the excavated
material, and their function is to channel the water
towards the inlet. The crest of the earth berm
should be horizontal – and say 300mm below the
roof of the RWH Dam.
The function of the berm is to divert the runoff into
the RWH Dam. When the runoff is slight, the berms
merely divert the water towards the inlet. But
when runoff is much greater, for example at the
height of a storm, it is possible that the inflow into
the inlet will exceed the flow capacity of the
three inlet pipes, and at such times the berms
becomes mini 'surge-dams'. The advantage of a
surge dam is that less water bypasses the RWH
Dam. Clearly, the greater the length and height
of the berms, the greater the temporary storage
of the ‘surge dam’.
b. Spillways: These should be created on either
side of the berm as ‘by-passes’ for potentially
destructive inflows during unusually large storms.
These may simply consist of grassed or stone-
packed surfaces that may be 3m wide. Sufficient
width is required to minimize the depth of flow. The
contours of the spillway should always be
90 degrees to the direction of the intended flow.
c. Embankments: In steep terrain, the excavated
material not used to construct the berm, should be
spoiled on the low side of the RWH Dam to create
an earth embankment, such that the final crest
This action is extremely important from a structural
point of view. The hoop steel is not sufficient to
resist the tensile stresses that will develop if the
RWH Dam is not surrounded by compacted
- 188 -
around the dam is horizontal and approximately
500mm below roof level.
backfill/embankment. See comments made
under the ‘Backfilling’ and ‘Wall’ sections.
e. Cleanup: All builders’ rubble and rubbish is to be
removed from site. This includes such items as
cement bags, tins, loose aggregate, loose stones,
piles of soil, etc. Hard areas where mixing was
done are to be broken up, with all
cement/concrete residues being disposed of.
(Note that this material can conveniently be used
in the berms or for backfill). Finally, the site is to be
raked to create a tidy and uniform appearance.
- 189 -
APPENDIX F5. Standard RWH Dam:
Step-by-step Illustrated Construction Sequence
[This Appendix consists of 110 sheets with detailed step-by-step sketches of the construction sequence.
Please see these on the enclosed CD: Excel Worksheet: Appendix F5_Step-by-step Construction Sketches.xls]
- 190 -
APPENDIX F6. Standard RWH Dam:
Construction Tools & Equipment needed
Appendix F6
Construction Tools and Equipment
In this Appendix, the various tools that are required for the construction of a RWH dam are shown.
A number of options are given based on the RIA's attitude towards using power tools, versus hand tools, or
mechanical devices such as the 'central pole & radial arm', versus working without this aid.
Finally, a few tools are suggested for a simple field workshop, but clearly this list is very short
and each RIA will decide to what extent it should be expanded.
Whatever approach is used, the list serves as a useful checklist for RIAs getting ready
to start up a new site.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715.
- 191 -
Item total
sit
ing
ho
le
flo
or
mesh
flo
or
blo
ck w
all
back
fill
pla
ste
r
plu
g h
ole
roo
f p
ole
s
inle
t &
ov
erf
low
wate
r-
pro
ofi
ng
roo
f
sh
eeti
ng
wo
rks
ho
p
eq
uip
men
t
4 lb hammer 1 1 1 1 1 1
5m tape 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1200mm spirit level 1 1 1 1
600mm spirit level 1 1
builders square 1 1 1 1
wheelbarrows 3 2 3 2 2 2 1
shovels 5 3 5 3 3 3 1 3 1
10 litre bucket 3 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 3
picks 3 3 2
5l watering can 2 2 2
200 litre dums 2 2 2 2 2 2
Hose pipe and fittings 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2m ladder 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
10mm x 300mm long fish line pegs 4 4 1
chisel 1 1 1 1
steel stampers 3 3 3 2
3m aluminum straight edge 1 1 1 1
1.5m aluminum straight edge 1 1 1 1 1
300mm high slump test cone incl plate and poker 1 1
Levelling / compacting plank cw handles 1 1
fencing pliers 3 3 1 2 1 3
bolt cutter 1 1 1
steel rake 1 1 1
wood floats 2 2 2 1 1 1
steel floats 2 2 2 1 1 1
hack saw 1 1 1
pvc curing cover 1 1
bastard file 1 1
bricklayers trowel 2 2 2
20mm steel rod x 800mm long 1 1
block brush 3 2 3steel brush 2 22 lb hammer 2 2
centre punch 1 1
10mm socket for turning screws 1 1
hook-on-line level 1 1
hand drill 2 2
hack saw 1 1
dumpy-tripod-stand or hook-on-line level 1 1
setup pole (2.6m) 1 1 1 1 1
central pole (4m) 1 1 1 1 1
radial arm 1 1 1 1 1
pole-pin 1 1 1 1 1
arm-pin 1 1 1 1 1
pole stabilizers 3 3 3 3 3
600mm spirit level 1 1 1 1 1
1m x 110mm pvc dpc 1 1 1 1
adjustable builders scaffold 1 1
228mm x 38 mm x 3000mm scaffold planks 3 3 3
100 x 50mm steel channel by 2.5m long 2 2
concrete mixer 1 1 1
power drill 2 2
9" angle grinder 1 1
electric generator 1 1
night lamps 2 2
30m extension cords 2 2
Steel Table with Vice 1 1
welding machine 1 1
welding electrodes 1kg 1 1
set screw drivers 1 1
set spanners and sockets 1 1
lockable trunk 1 1
pop riveter 1 1
Appendix F6 - Construction Tools and Equipment
Recommended Workshop Items
Additional Items for Power Approach
Essential Items
Additional Items for Hand Approach
Additional Items for Mechanical Approach
- 192 -
APPENDIX F7. Standard RWH Dam
List of Consumable Items needed
Appendix F7
List of Consumable Items
In this Appendix, the various 'consumable items' are listed. A consumable item may be described as a
simple tool or piece of equipment, or accessory to a piece of equipment, that is consumed in the course of
building a RWH Dam. It is not claSsified as a 'raw material' since, generally speaking, it does not become part
of the structure, and for this reason it does not appear in Table 2 of appendix F1 where all the raw materials
are listed. Neither do these items belong to Appendix F6, which lists the items of equipment - which are not
consumed and may therefore be used over and over.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715.
Item total siting excavationfloor
concrete
inlet &
overflow
roof
sheeting
Y standard x 1200mm (setting out profiles) 4 4
Y standard x 400mm (marking pegs) 3 1
Y standard x 300mm long level pegs (floorslab) 9 7 2
50m fishline 1 1 1 1 1 1
concrete spacers for supporting mesh 41 33 8
1m x 110mm pvc dpc 1 1
permanent marking pen 1 1
3" nails 20 20
4" nails 4 4
400mm sheath pipe 1 1
3mm drill bits (holes for roof-sheet anchorage wires) 3 3
5mm drill bits (holes for roof-screws) 3 3
8mm drill bit (drainage holes in roof-sheets) 2 2
9" steel cutting disc 1 1
30m extension cords 2 2
roll pvc tape (to fasten level to radial arm) 1 1 1
Appendix F7 - List of Consumable Items (required to build a Standard RWH Dam)
Essential Items
Additional Items for Mechanical/Power Approach
- 193 -
APPENDIX F8. Rainwater Harvesting Layout: examples
Appendix F8.1 - Earthworks to direct run-off and to stabilise the RWH Dam walls
Appendix F8.2 - Steep terrain
Appendix F8.3 - Large uphill catchment (e.g. field, road)
Appendix F8.4 - Main catchment a large roof
- 194 -
Appendix F8
RWH Layout Examples
In this Appendix, a number of examples are given for the positioning of a RWH Dam relative to an intensified
garden. Factors such as the steepness of the terrain, the size of the uphill catchment area, or the presence of
an elevated catchment such as a large roof, will influence (1) the position of the tank relative to the garden,
and (2) the elevation of the tank. In addition, structures for dealing with potentially large and destructive
inflows are also considered, and the essential provision of an embankment on the downhill side of the dam
is amply illustrated.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715.
- 195 -
contour linessome of the excavated material can be
used to create a berm to divert the water
to the inlet. The crest of this berm should
be horizontal.
create a grassed or rock spillway on either side of
the berm as a bypass for stormwater
horizontal crest of berm
embankment
constructed
from spoil
overflow
structure
horizontal crest
of embankment
and backfill -
approx 500mm
below roof
RWH dam - roof off
Notes:
When the garden is downhill of the dam, it will normally be
advantageous to construct berms to divert the rainwater runoff into
the dam. When the runoff is slight, the berm merely diverts the water
towards the inlet. But when runoff is much greater, for example at
the height of a storm, it is possible that the inflow into the inlet will
exceed the flow capacity of the three PVC inlet pipes, and at such
times the berms act as a mini 'surge-dam'. The advantage of a surge
dam is that less water bypasses the tank, and more ends up in the
tank. Clearly the greater the length and height of the berms the more
effective this is. The crest of the earth berms should be horizontal -
and say 200mm below the roof of the tank. The sediment pit forms
part of the inlet, and reduces the coarse sand and grit that enters the
dam. The floor of the pit is approximately 130mm below the invert
level of the 110mm PVC pipes.
Spillways should be created on either side of the berms as by-
passes for potentially destructive inflows during unusually large
storms. These may simply consist of grassed surfaces of sufficient
width to minimise the flow velocity. The contours of the spillway
should always be 90 degrees to the direction of the intended flow.
The excavated material should also be spoiled on the low side of the
dam (in addition to using it for constructing the berms) to create an
embankment, and this is structurally important where the terrain is
steep. The top of the embankment and the final crest all around the
tank should be horizontal and approximately 500 mm below roof
level.
Any backfilling done near the tank should be placed and thoroughly
compacted in horizontal layers not exceeding 100mm. This will
equalize the earth pressure all around the tank - and hence minimise
circumferential tensile stresses in the wall.
Appendix F8.1 - Earthworks to direct run-off and to stabilise the RWH Dam walls
inlet
structure
incorporating
sediment pit
- 196 -
`
Appendix F8.2 - Steep terrain
Situate the garden downhill of the RWH Dam, and provide an outlet and valve for gravity flow to the garden
intensified
RWG garden
Outlet pipe
and Valve
overflow - protruding rocks
embankment
inlet
- 197 -
contour
lines
inlet
overflow
backfill
inlet
Appendix F8.3 - Large uphill catchment (e.g. field, road)
In this case, the intensive trench garden can be situated below the uphill catchment, but above the RWH Dam.
Once rainfall run-off has saturated the garden trenches, the overflow would fill the RWH Dam.
The RWH Dam should be close to the garden trenches, to facilitate irrigation by bucket or treadle/manual pump.
pervious
soil bunds
collector
pathways
Flow from
adjacent
field
deep trench
gardens
compacted
bunds
roof not shown
shallow overflow ridges to
encourage temporary ponding in
the collector pathways, and thus
infiltration into the trench beds
- 198 -
`
Appendix F8.4 - Main catchment a large roof
Situate the garden downhill of the RWH Dam, and provide an outlet and valve for gravity flow to the garden
intensified
RWG garden
Outlet pipe
and Valvesplash slab
large roof
inlet
overflow
pipe
NOTE : The 'hoop' reinforcing
in elevated tanks is critical and
must be designed by a
competent engineer.
hoop reinforcing
- 199 -
APPENDIX F9. Excavation considerations
Appendix F9.1 How to deal with variation in ground hardness
Appendix F9.2 How to deal with soft ground
Appendix F9.3 How to design for a high water table
Appendix F9
Excavation Considerations
In this Appendix, problems associated with building a RWH Dam in difficult ground conditions
or a high water table are considered, and various solutions are proposed.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715.
- 200 -
soft ground
hard ground
soft ground
hard ground
Statement of the Problem:
In steeply sloping terrain, coupled with a variation in the hardness of the ground layers, the RWH
Dam's horizontal floorslab could be in harder ground on the uphill side relative to the downhill side (see
sketch). The softer ground would consolidate more easily, particularly under full dam conditions, which
would mean less support for the slab in that zone. With no reduction in load from the full dam, the slab
would be pushed downwards until equilibrium is re-established. Thus the softer ground would continue
to consolidate and the slab would continue to deflect downwards until it cracks. The nominal reinforcing
in the standard slab mainly controls drying shrinkage, and would be insufficient to prevent the slab from
bending and cracking under the conditions decribed above. It is also unlikely that the minimal tensile
bond between slab and wall would be able to prevent a crack developing here, and water would begin
to leak out. This leak would further soften the ground in this area, leading to more consolidation and
hence larger cracks/leaks developing. This effect would be especially troublesome if there is a sudden
transition in ground hardness along or near the centreline of the floor-slab.
Five possible solutions:
(a) dig a deeper excavation so that the entire floor slab is supported by hard ground
(b) remove the soft ground and bring in suitable ground, spread in layers of 100mm, and thoroughly compact at optimum moisture content with hand stampers, or preferably mechanical
compactors if obtainable
(c) use steel reinforcing bars to tie the floor into the wall (note that the wall is much stiffer than the floor and will not as easily bend downward, particularly if it has reinforcing between the courses
(d) use a high quality flexible bandage in the corner to prevent leakage through the crack. The bandage should go all the way around the circumference
(e) cast the reinforced concrete slab between the walls rather than under the wall, again with a flexible bandage all the way around the circumference to accommodate the movement in the slab
as it flexes. The slab is likely to flex less (and hence not crack) as it is free to move, while the flexible bandage will accommodate any movements at the corner.
Solutions (a) and (b) may be regarded as best practice as they prevent bending effects in the slab.
(a)
(b
)
(c)(d)
Appendix F9.1 - How to deal with variation in ground hardness
deflection of slab (exaggerated)
soft ground
hard ground
(e)
- 201 -
soft ground
Statement of the Problem: Soft ground will consolidate in time from
the pressure applied by the weight of the tank. However, there will
always be more pressure applied to the rigid zone beneath the wall and
less pressure applied at the middle of the floor slab - firstly because of
the additional weight of the walls, and secondly because the flexibility
of the floor-slab has the effect of lessening the pressure in the middle
zones. (Note that the floor slab derives its flexibility primarily from
being thin, typically 100mm, and secondly from being lightly rather
than heavily reinforced, typically ref 193 mesh). When the tank is full of
water, this pressure differential will be relatively minor, but when it is
empty the pressure below the wall will be significantly more than at the
centre of the slab - leading to substantially different rates of
consolidation over time. The settlement of the structure (possibly
10mm in soft ground) is generally of no concern where the ground is
uniformly soft over the full area of the floor slab, unless there are rigid
plastic pipes exiting the reservoir that may shear off. On the other hand
the deflection of the floor-slab as indicated in the sketch will be
accompanied by a rotation at the region below the walls, leading to the
possible formation of cracks and leaks.
Three possible solutions:
(a) dig a deeper excavation so that the entire floor slab is supported
by hard ground
(b) use a flexible bandage in the corner to prevent leakage through
the crack
(c) place the reinforced concrete slab between the walls, with a
flexible bandage all around the circumference to prevent leakage at
the corner. In this case the floor slab 'floats' on the supporting
ground and the pressure below the floor slab will be uniform over the
full area of the floor, and there will therefore be minimal flexing of the
slab.
(d) same as (c) but as a further precaution a foundation is provided
to limit settlement of the walls, especially where there are pipes that
may shear.
Solutions (a) and (d) may be regarded as best practice as they
prevent/limit bending effects and differential consolidation. However,
they are also more costly, and providing settlement is likely to be
excessive, options (b) or (c), where provision is made for settlement,
may be quite acceptable.
soft ground
hard ground
(a)
(b)
Appendix F9.2 - How to deal with soft ground
(c) soft ground(d)
- 202 -
Statement of Problem :
Where a high water table occurs,
followed by rapid emptying of the
reservoir, substantial uplift pressures
will act on the underside of the slab,
and if the resultant uplift exceeds the
combined weight of the tank, then it is
possible that the tank may float out of
the ground, or at least be partially
displaced.
Solutions :
(a) Ensure that the walls of the tank
stand on top of the floor-slab (a
floorslab that is built between the walls
will be displaced upwards from uplift
pressures far more easily than one that
has the wall built on top of it).
(b) Before the slab is cast, a
compacted stone blanket may be
installed together with a non-return
valve. The valve provides a channel
for water that migrates into the blanket
to exit upwards into the empty tank,
and this action prevents the build up of
any significant pressures.
(c) Increase the thickness of the slab,
and hence its total weight.
(d) If the slab is made to extend further
out from the walls, then it will carry a
significant weight of backfill.
Note that it is relatively simple to
determine the uplift forces if the height
of the water table is known. However,
all the solutions discussed here need
to be built in at the time of
construction. It is therefore important
that high water tables be identified at
an early stage.
Appendix F9.3 - How to design for a high water table
non return valve
stone blanket
backfill
thickened slab
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Level of ground
water
- 203 -
APPENDIX F10.
RWH Dam Safety & Maintenance Manual
Introduction
All structures require maintenance if they are to last for many decades and continue to operate at
an optimal level, and RWH Dams are no exception.
There are principally three types of safety and maintenance actions that are discussed in this
Appendix.
F10.1 deals with safety issues associated with the daily operation of the RWH Dam, in addition to the
issues related to post-rain safety measures discussed in F10.2, and the annual maintenance and
safety inspection discussed in F10.3.
F10.2 deals with the maintenance and safety inspection that must be carried out after each and
every rainfall where the runoff was sufficient for water to enter into the RWH Dam via its inlet. The
checks and associated tasks are relatively simple, but these must be done on many occasions in a
year, after each significant rainfall event.
F10.3 deals with the maintenance and safety inspection that must be carried out annually. The first
step in this checkup is the removal of all sediment that had accummulated in the RWH Dam over
the past year, followed by an inspection of the various infrastructural components of the RWH Dam.
This checkup will usually be done towards the end of the dry season when the water in the RWH
Dam is depleted.
Several of the maintenance tasks discussed in F10.2 and F10.3 are especially important in that they
render the RWH Dam and surrounds ‘unsafe’ if not attended to – with the possible loss of life and
limb!
The tables in F10.2 and F10.3 are arranged in four columns. The 1st is the number of the point under
consideration, the 2nd refers to the part (or component) of the RWH Dam under scrutiny, the 3rd is a
statement of one or more problems that may be noticed during the inspection process, while the
4th proposes one or more solutions, but also cautions how ‘unsafe’ the RWH Dam will be if nothing is
done about the problem.
It is the responsibility of the APIs to impart the necessary level of understanding to the householders
before handing their RWH Dams over to them. It is suggested that training sessions are conducted
in groups of 10 householders at a time, where the API’s technical officer goes through the various
steps in F10.1, F10.2 and F10.3. Most important is that a local builder who has been involved in the
building process, and who is willing to undertake some of the more technical procedures on behalf
of the householder, should also be present at these sessions, so that he is sufficiently knowledgeable
to apply the Proposed Solution if ‘Problems’ arise at a later date. Finally, each householder should
be handed a complete copy of this Appendix F10, with steps 109 through 117 of Appendix F5
attached to it.
Some of the ‘Proposed Solutions’ associated with Appendix F10.3 require ‘repair kits’ of
‘Chryso L228’. Because this material is only available from Chryso’s regional centres based in
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth, it is essential that the API gives each
householder a repair kit to repair any accidental damage to the waterproofing coat when the
RWH Dam is cleaned annually (e.g. see F10.3.2). The repair is very simple to do, but if the
householder is not sufficiently confident to do it, the builder may be called upon to assist, but some
- 204 -
compensation will naturally be involved. It is recommended that each repair kit consist of 500 ml of
the polymer, with the companion cementious/sand component being 900grams. These two
components should be kept in sealed plastic containers (e.g. 800 gram peanut butter type plastic
bottles are ideal and will keep their contents in a good state for many years). The supplier’s
preparation, blending, mixing, and application instructions should also be included in this repair kit.
Finally, the repair kit should also contain 1m of ABE membrane (a 200mm wide ‘bandage’ made
from woven polypropylene fibres). At current prices the repair kit would cost under R30, but allow
an additional R10 to R20 for packaging the materials. It is likely that if Chryso are approached to
assist with this matter, they will be quite willing to do the packaging of the ‘repair kits’.
If for whatever reason the RWH Dam’s floor or walls are not watertight to the extent that a major re-
sealing repair is required (e.g. F10.3.7 and F10.3.9), this clearly would call for one or more full
(standard) kits of ‘Chryso L228’. The API must secure an assurance from the main local supplier
involved in the supply of the building materials in a given area that they will assist in obtaining one
or more kits from Chryso on behalf of the householders in such cases.
Note that Appendices F10.1 through F10.3 make reference to various physical components that are
detailed in Appendix F1 and F8, to construction procedures that are detailed in Appendix F4, and
finally to illustrations of maintenance and safety procedures shown in Appendix F5.
After the API has given all the essential training regarding maintenance and safety,
it is the ongoing responsibility of the householders to ensure that their RWH Dams
are operated in a safe manner at all times.
F10.1 Daily operational Safety Measures for a RWH Dam
The focus in this Appendix relates to safety measures to be implemented on a day-by-day basis,
relating to daily usage of the RWH Dam, as opposed to post-rain safety issues discussed in F10.2 or
annual safety issues considered F10.3.
Possible Problem/s Proposed Solution/s
1 The trap door is not
closed and locked
after opening it to
draw water for
irrigation.
The API must make a sign printed on a 0.8mm thick stainless steel plate,
warning of the dangers of leaving the trap door open. This sign is to be
pop riveted on the roof-sheet next to the trap-door.
Before handing over the tank to the householder, the API must impress
upon the householder that it is unsafe to leave the trap door unlocked.
2 The water is used
for drinking
purposes.
The API must also include on the sign printed in 1 above, incorporating
a skull and crossbones, the dangers of drinking the water from the RWH
Dam. As in 1 above the API must impress upon the householder that it is
unsafe to drink the water from the RWH Dam.
3 There is water in the
sediment pit
Following a rain event, water must first be taken from the sediment pit to
empty it - as an additional safety precaution.
4 The inlet’s
protective cover is
open
The inlet’s protective cover/grill must be kept closed at all times, except
when the sediment pit is being emptied as described in 3 above.
- 205 -
F10.2 Post-rain Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam
After every significant rain event that results in water flowing into the RWH Dam, there are certain
checks that should be carried out if the RWH Dam is to function at its best and serve as a safe and
useful water storage facility for gardening. The various checks that should be carried out are listed
under the headings ‘Inspection’, ‘Possible Problems’, and ‘Proposed Solutions’.
Inspection Possible Problem/s Proposed Solution/s
1 Inspect the inlet Leaves and rubbish
cover the inlet’s
protective grill
Remove the leaves and rubbish and throw it away.
The organic material may be left on a compost
heap, or placed in a trench for enriching the soil for
an the intensive garden.
2 Inspect the
sediment pit
Sediment and
water are left in the
sediment pit after
the rain.
Open the protective grill, and scoop up the water
into a bucket. Pour it out over the vegetables in the
garden, then scoop up the sediment and throw it
away, or mix it with organic waste so that it may be
used for intensive gardening. See steps 110, and 111
in Appendix F5. Note that it is ‘unsafe’ not to remove
the water and sediment immediately after the rain,
as this represents both a drowning hazard and a
breeding ground for mosquitoes. It is further ‘unsafe’
not to close the inlet’s protective cover after
cleaning the sediment out, even if it is empty
following the cleaning operation. The cover must
always be closed except during times of cleaning
out sediment in readiness for its protective function
following the next rains.
3 Inspect the
chicken mesh
‘sausages’
inside the inlet
and outlet PVC
pipes.
The chicken mesh
‘sausages’ in the
PVC pipes become
blocked with leaves
and rubbish – this
will mainly occur on
the inlet pipes, but
the overflow pipes
may also become
blocked from time
to time and should
always be checked
at the same time.
Remove the ‘sausages’ in the inlet and overflows,
clean them with water, and re-insert then into the
pipes. See steps 112 and 113. Clogged or blocked
‘sausages’ will prevent water from entering the tank,
which defeats the whole purpose of having a tank in
the first place!
4 Inspect the
surface of the
roof
Dust and leaves
accumulate on the
roof, and block the
10mm drainage
holes in the
roofsheeting – see
This material must be swept off the roof – use a simple
broom. When working on the roof, only stand in the
troughs, not on the ridges, to prevent localised
buckling in the webs. It may be possible to use this
wind swept material to enrich the soil in an intensive
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step 102 in
Appendix F5 for a
view of a typical
hole.
garden.
5 Check the
functionality of
the padlock.
The brass pad lock
becomes
unlubricated as a
result of the rain,
making it difficult to
open. Furthermore,
the padlock may
be lost, or its key
may be lost.
Apply a few drops of oil to the lock after the rain. A
lost or non-functional padlock must be replaced
immediately. It is unsafe to operate a RWH Dam
without being able to secure the trapdoor, as clearly
this can lead to people drowning, especially small
children.
6 Inspect the
berms
The berms are
breached, or too
low.
The function of the berms (based on the general
configuration shown in Appendix F8.1) is (1) to divert
incoming rain-water runoff to the RWH Dam’s inlet
structure, and (2) to divert excessive runoff to the
spillways so that it safely by-passes the RWH Dam,
and thus keep water away from all other parts of the
RWH Dam’s perimeter, and (3) to create a surge
dam to capture some of the peak runoff at the
height of the storm when the inlet’s PVC pipes are
unable to cope with the inflow. Breached berms
must be repaired with earth, which should be mildly
compacted, and vegetation should be encouraged
to grow at these places to prevent future erosion of
the berm. Berms must be high enough to safely divert
excessive storm water around the RWH Dam, and to
act as mini-surge dams.
7 Inspect the
earth
embankments
The embankments
are eroded or not
at the correct
elevation.
The function of the embankments, especially in
steeply sloping terrain, is to ensure that the earth is at
the same elevation all the way around the
circumference (see example in Appendix F8.2). This is
a structural requirement for the stability of the
structure and especially the walls. Therefore eroded
embankments must be repaired, and grass
established. Note that it is unsafe to operate a RWH
Dam that has a variation in backfill elevation – in
extreme cases this may lead to the RWH Dam
bursting, cracking, or collapsing, possibly resulting in
severe injury or death.
8 Inspect the
spillways
The spillways are
eroded or too
narrow or not
normal to the
intended direction
Generally there will be two spillways in a RWH Dam –
based on the general configuration shown in
Appendix F8.1 – and accepting that there are other
configurations for other requirements. The eroded
areas in spillways must be filled in with soil and
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of flow planted over with grass. Eroded spillways are unsafe,
as they may concentrate the flow of water during
peak run-off, and this may result in drowning of small
children. Therefore spillways must be well maintained
and relatively wide, say 3m, to limit the depth and
velocity of the water, and to meet this requirement
they must also be landscaped such that their
contours are 90 degrees to the direction of the
intended flow for the water.
9 Inspect the
ground profile
around the
RWH Dam.
The ground level
slopes radially
inwards towards
the RWH Dam,
resulting in standing
pools around the
wall of the dam,
which will soften the
ground, increase
earth pressures
against the RWH
Dam’s wall, and
likely result in
unwanted
differential
settlement.
Landscape the ground in contact with the wall of the
RWH Dam so that it is approximately 500mm below
roof level, and so that it slopes radially outwards
away from the dam, for a distance of approximately
1m away from the wall. Thereafter the ground should
be landscaped to lead the water evenly in a
downhill direction.
10 Inspect the
overflow
There is erosion at
the end of the
overflow, where it
meets the ground.
Erosion at the end of the overflow must be repaired
by placing ground in any washed away areas, and
then planting grass. Rocks may also be used to slow
the water down if erosion takes place downhill of the
overflow.
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F10.3 Annual Safety & Maintenance Inspection for a RWH Dam
Once a year the RWH Dam should be emptied (ideally at the end of the dry season) and a
thorough check should be made of the various components that make up the RWH Dam and the
ancillary inlet and overflow structures. As for F10.2 the approach adopted here for each
‘inspection’, will be to list the potential ‘problems’ that may arise/accumulate in the course of the
year, and then recommended a ‘solution’.
Inspection Possible Problem/s Proposed Solution/s
1 Look inside tank
to see if there is
a build up of
sediment.
Sediment
accumulates inside
the RWH Dam,
consisting mainly of
very fine silt and clay
particles, but some
fine organic matter
will inevitably also
make its way past the
chicken mesh
‘sausages’ (inside the
PVC inlet and
overflow pipes) and
into the RWH Dam.
Towards the end of the dry season it is likely that all
the water in the RWH Dam will be used up. The
sediment will also soon dry up, and at this point
entry should be gained into the dam via the trap
door and the sediment scraped up off the floor
with a spade, and tossed outside the RWH Dam.
This sediment may be enriched with additional
organic waste or compost, and used in an
intensive garden. Alternatively it may be disposed
of. See step 115 of Appendix F5 for an illustration of
sediment being removed from a RWH Dam.
It is important to work carefully when approaching
the perimeter of the RWH Dam in the region of the
flexible bandage – making sure not to pierce it with
the spade.
From a drowning perspective, it is unsafe to have a
tank that is empty in regard to the water being
removed, but still with muddy sediment, and the
trap door must remain locked in the absence of
responsible supervision until all the sediment has
been removed. No drowning can occur in a clean
dry dam!
2 Inspect all the
flexible
bandages at
the wall floor
interfaces
Sediment covers and
dirties the flexible
bandage making it
difficult to inspect the
condition of the
bandage.
Carefully scrape excessive sediment off the
bandage using a wooden plank. Then scrub the
bandage using a nylon brush until it is clean, so that
it may be inspected.
3 Inspect all the
cleaned flexible
bandages.
This applies to
the bandage
inside the RWH
Dam at the
wall/floor
A hole or crack is
discovered
Carefully scrub the area around the hole with soap
and water to remove all traces of mud and
sediment. Use a fine sand paper to slightly roughen
the outermost skin of the ‘Chyso L228’ in this region.
This action will also remove any oxidised molecules
in this region. (Do not remove more than 0.1mm).
Mix the ingredients of a ‘repair kit’, following the
instructions on the packaging, and brush it on to
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interface, but
applies equally
to the bandage
at the interface
of the inlet and
the dam, and
the bandage at
the interface of
the overflow
and dam.
the prepared surface. Apply a small piece of abe
membrane to this area. Paint over the membrane
until it is fully covered. Leave RWH Dam empty for a
few days to let the patch cure and harden.
4 Inspect the
‘Chryso 228’
coating on the
walls, especially
in the region of
the trap door
Holes/ cracks/
abrasions are
discovered.
Same as in point 3.
5 Inspect the
wall’s plaster
The plaster has fallen
off the wall, or is no
longer bonded to the
blocks
Tap the plaster to determine where the loose area
ends. Chisel out a neat perimeter at this juncture.
Replaster the section and follow this up two days
later with a two coat block brush application of
'Chryso L228'. One or more repair kits may be
required. Leave the tank empty for a few days until
the coat has cured.
It is evident that the repair described here will
required the input of a local builder.
6 Inspect the
shape and
geometry of the
wall
The wall is bulging
inwards or outwards
This means that the walls have either been pushed
out by the water, or pushed in by earth pressure.
This situation is unsafe as the possibility for
overturning and collapse exists. An engineer should
be called in to assess the situation. The engineer will
assess whether the walls need to be demolished, or
if some other corrective action is possible.
7 Look for brown
stained
horizontal
cracks
corresponding
to the position
of the
mortarbeds.
The steel bars in the
RWH Dam’s wall are
corroding.
A temporary solution, which may be good for 10
years, is to apply a new coat of ‘Chryso L228’ to
the wall. This will prevent leakage, and either stop
or slow down the rate of corrosion. Take care to
prepare the existing surface as described in point 3,
prior to applying the coating. [Note that when steel
oxidizes it will occupy nine times more space
relative to its initial volume – and this is the reason
for the appearance of horizontal cracking. This
type of cracking is probably an indication the
waterproof coating was not correctly done in the
first instance – which allowed oxygen and water to
get to the steel hoops].
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8 Check the
blocks around
the top of the
RWH Dam, the
inlet and the
overflow.
The blocks are
cracked or loose.
Remove cracked/loose blocks, clean away the old
mortar beds and perps, and relay the loose blocks,
patching the plaster where necessary. It may be
necessary remove some of the roof-sheeting to
effect this repair – the repair should be done by a
local builder. Loose blocks at the top are unsafe,
as they may eventually fall on people, and weaken
the integrity of the structure, especially in regard to
their role in providing mass against wind uplift.
9 Inspect the floor
for cracks.
The floor is cracked. Cracking in the floor is normally an indication of
drying shrinkage. Try first sealing the cracks with a
‘repair’ kit. If this proves unsuccessful, the seal the
entire floorslab. This will require a full kit of the water
proof coat, 'Chryso L228', consisting of 10 litres of
the polymer and 18 kg of the sand/cement
pakage. Follow the preparation, proportioning,
mixing and application instructions on the
packaging, and the procedures set out in sections
a. and b. of section XII of Appendix F4.
Furthermore, a new 200mm wide flexible bandage
must be placed around the perimeter as prescribe
in point c. of section XII of Appendix F4.
If the cracks are open cracks, the problem is
serious, and may be the result of either heave of
settlement. In this case, cast a new 100mm floor on
top of the old floor, doubling up on the normal
quantity of mesh (use 2 x ref 193 mesh pieces).
Once again install a new flexible bandage around
the perimeter. [Note that the new slab will be less
prone to cracking as it is not constrained by the
walls, and can therefore accommodate
movements more readily without cracking].
10 Inspect the floor
for perviousness.
A good way to
check for this is
to flood the
floor with about
5 to 10mm of
water. Then
come back
when the slab
starts drying.
Areas that
remain moist
have a higher
There are poorly
compacted areas,
honeycombed areas,
or pervious areas
that may be the
cause of leaking.
If the problem is localised apply two coats of
'Chryso L228' to these areas, using a repair kit. If the
problem is extensive use a full repair kit to
waterproof the entire floor surface, following the
procedures set out in sections a. and b. of section
XII of Appendix F4.
- 211 -
rate of
absorption than
areas that dry
out quickly.
11 Inspect the
concrete in and
around the
central sheath-
pipe. It should
be dense, hard,
sound, and not
come away
when scratched
with a nail.
There is evidence of
poorly compacted
and pervious
concrete. This should
also manifest in the
flood test described
in 10 above.
Apply ‘Chryso L228’ waterproof coat, following the
procedures set out in sections a. and b. of section
XII of Appendix F4.
12
Check all four
roof-pole
anchorage
wires (4mm).
One or more of the
wires are broken or
loose
Follow the same procedure as described below in
13, but with a 4mm link wire. Clearly if the roof can
blow off this is unsafe for people living in
huts/houses nearby.
13 Check all the
2.5mm roof-
sheet
anchorage
wires around
the
circumference.
Some of the wires are
broken or loose.
Tighten loose wires by additional twisting at the
splice. Reconnect snapped wires by supplying a
link to connect them. (Wires snap from too much
twisting when tightening). Simply cut out a section
of the wire where the break is and splice in a short
link wire (another piece of 2.5mm wire) twisting the
wires together to tighten them in the usual way. It is
unsafe to have broken wires, as this increases the
possibility of these sheets from being blown off the
roof making them dangerous projectiles.
14 Check all M6 x
65mm roof-
sheet fastening
screws.
There are missing or
loose screws.
If loose or missing screws are detected, dip two
matchsticks in ‘Alcholin Cold Glue’ and insert them
in the hole, then re-screw a M6 x 65mm wood-
screw into the hole. It is unsafe to have loose or
missing roof-sheet wood screws, as this increases
the possibility of these sheets from being blown off
the roof making them dangerous projectiles – same
danger as in 13.
15 Inspect timber
roof-poles.
There are signs of rot,
termite activity,
cracks and excessive
sagging.
A double application of creosote paint, on an
annual basis, will be required to stop minor termite
activity if untreated poles were incorrectly used for
the roof. Creosote paint should also stop minor
rotting. However, if these problems are well
advanced, and/or the roof sags noticeably when
someone walks on top directly along a pole, the
roof-sheeting should be removed, and new poles
should be installed. Clearly it is unsafe to have a
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roof where the supporting beam-poles are in
danger of collapsing – this may result in drowning,
or broken limbs if the RWH Dam is empty.
16 Inspect IBR
sheeting, inside
and outside.
There are signs of
corrosion.
Scrub the inside and outside surface of the roof
with soap and clean water, and then rinse
thoroughly with clean water, then wipe dry with a
clean towel. After the roof has baked dry and is
slightly hot from the sun, paint the roof with a
galvanizing paint. Pay special attention to the
edges where the sheeting was cut at the time of
installation, and to the 10mm funnel holes in the
troughs of the roof-sheets, since the cutting and
drilling operations would have removed the
galvanizing from these areas and they are
therefore susceptible to corrosion. Note that it is
unsafe to allow roof-sheeting to corrode. Eventually
the sheeting will be so thin that it may collapse
when a person walks on top, resulting in a possible
drowning, or broken limbs if the RWH Dam is empty.
17 Inspect the
gutter bolts of
the trap door.
Some bolts are
missing or loose.
Replace missing M5 x 20mm gutter bolts and nuts
that fasten the trap door to the roof-sheeting.
Tighten loose nuts. Note that it is unsafe to operate
a trapdoor with missing bolts and nuts, as this may
result in the door being blown away or stolen,
making the RWH Dam a drowning hazard.
18 Inspect the
brass hinges of
the trap door.
The brass hinges may
get lost if (1) the
gutter bolts came
loose, (2) the hinges
are bent or too tight,
which both result in
tearing effects. Lost
hinges result in an
unsecured trap door,
which may
eventually be blown
away or stolen.
The two hinges should last indefinitely if they were
heavy duty brass hinges. But if light duty brass
hinges, or if steel hinges were installed, then the
hinges may bend, tear, break, corrode etc. In this
event replace the hinges with heavy duty brass
hinges. Note that unauthorised entry can be
gained into a RWH Dam if the trap door no longer
has functional hinges and is secured only with a
few rocks. Clearly this is unsafe as children may
remove the rocks, fall in and drown.
19 Inspect the
12mm hole in
the trap door
and
corresponding
anchor sheet.
The 12mm hole is
much enlarged and
is in danger of
becoming an open
slot, and will soon no
longer able to secure
the padlock or
trapdoor.
Pop rivet a piece of sheet metal over the ‘torn-
hole’ area, and re-drill the hole. Clearly it is unsafe
to operate a trapdoor that is not lockable –
drownings can occur.
- 213 -
APPENDIX F11. Alternative RWH Dam Designs
Appendix F11.1 Standard RWH Dam: cylindrical block walls on a mesh reinforced concrete slab
Appendix F11.2 Finnbuilder RWH Dam: incremental in situ sand-cement walls
Appendix F11.3 Gunite RWH Dam: cylindrical mesh reinforced concrete shell
Appendix F11.4 Hand-packed RWH Dam: conical mesh reinforced concrete shell
Appendix F11.5 Membrane RWH Dam: trapezoidal earth dam, lined with membrane
Appendix F11
Alternative RWH Dam Designs
In this Appendix, a number of alternative designs are considered, all of which were constructed in one or
another form during the experimental phase by one or more RIAs. The various advantages and difficulties of
the alternative designs, set out in F11.2 through F11.5 hereafter, may be compared with the Standard RWH
Dam shown in F11.1. While these alternative designs are viewed as a departure from the preferred standard
design, there will be circumstances when a variation is justified.
June 2007
Dr Nicholas Papenfus
Dams for Africa (Pty) Ltd
Suite 499,
Private Bag X 09
Weltevreden Park, 1715.
- 214 -
Appendix F11.1 - Standard RWH Dam: cylindrical block walls on a mesh reinforced concrete slab
Advantages
(1) Application : This method of construction has application where blocks/bricks are locally manufactured and reasonably priced. Generally this is the case for most parts of the country. Even in remote rural
areas cement blocks can be obtained at relatively low cost owing to cheap labour and the availability of 'free' river sand from rivers.
(2) Shape : The cylindrical walls go into compression when backfilling is correctly done, thus cancelling tensile stresses that would otherwise develop and possibly lead to cracks. Nevertheless, a nominal
amount of 'insurance' reinforcing is included in the standard design, in the event of sub-standard backfilling. (Square and rectangular shapes require substantially more reinforcing, and the placement is also
much more complex).
(3) Skills : The level of skill for the construction of the standard RWH Dam is readily within the experience of local builders. Tasks include: mixing and placing of concrete, laying blocks, plastering, waterproofing
with block-brushes, roofsheeting on treated poles, etc.
(4) Pole-Arm : Various construction processes can be substantially simplified and accelerated by installing a 'central pole & radial arm' (see Appendix F2). This simplifies the excavation, the floor-slab, the walls,
and the plastering.
(5) Cost : Assuming materials are locally available, the Standard RWH Dam has a relatively low cost structure.
(6) Time : A well organised site can complete a 'Standard RWH Dam' in 13 days - including excavation time, and including the inlet and overflow structures.
block walls
timber poles
waterproof coating
over plaster
galvanised IBR roof sheeting
overflow
inlet
steel 'hoop'
reinforcing
compacted backfill
flexible waterproof bandage at
dam/overflow interface
- 215 -
Appendix F11.2 - Finnbuilder RWH Dam: incremental in situ sand-cement walls
incremental in situ
sand-cement wall
timber poles
waterproof coating directly
on sand-cement wall
galvanised IBR roof sheeting
overflow
inlet
Advantages
(1) Application : This method of construction has application where course aggregate is
very expensive, while a source of fine aggregate (e.g. river sand) is available at low
cost. The only difference relative to the 'Standard RWH dam' is that the walls are
constructed in situ by making use of a travelling mould such a 'Finnbuilder', whereby a
semi-dry sand-cement mixture is used and tamped in position before the mould is
moved to the next position a few minutes later.
(2) Shape : Being of the same size and shape as the 'Standard RWH Dam' it has all
the advantages of that design.
(3) Pole-Arm : The wall building process is easily adapted to the 'central pole & radial
arm' system. Accordingly, the new position for the travelling mould is quickly and
accurately obtained every time the mould is moved.
(4) No Plaster : Unlike a 'block and mortar' wall, these walls are relatively smooth if the
water content in the mixture is correct and if correctly tamped. It is therefore possible to
proceed with the wood and steel floating operation soon after the mould is moved to a
new position.
Difficulties
(1) Unknown : The method of construction is not generally known and builders will require training.
(2) Special Equipment : It requires specialist equipment (i.e. a travelling mould such as a Finnbuilder), but since the
mould is robust and can be reused many times over, it adds minimally to the cost of the RWH Dam where many dams
are to be constructed.
(3) Sensitive : This method of building is relatively sensitive to the water dosage. Too much water results in the walls
slumping, while too dry a mix lacks plasticity resulting in 'brittleness', causing cracking at the slightest bump when the
mould is moved to the next position.
(4) Slow : The construction process is at least 50% slower than that of a conventional block wall. This is because the
'block' has to be 'manufactured' in position, and while this does away with a separate laying operation (as in a 'mortar and
block' wall), this saving in time is completely overrun by the slower 'manufacturing' process of filling and stamping in situ .
Where labour is expensive, this additional time is clearly a difficulty.
(5) Shrinkage : The wall is more prone to shrinkage cracks developing, since the wall is not 'pre-shrunk' as is the case
with a wall made from conventional precast blocks that have been cured for 7 days and then left to 'dry-and-shrink' till
they are 28 days old.
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Appendix F11.3 - Gunite RWH Dam: cylindrical mesh reinforced concrete shell
incremental insitu
sand-cement wall
timber poles
no waterproof
coating required
galvanised IBR roof sheeting
overflow
inlet
Advantages
(1) Application : This method of construction has application where the implementation agent is already equipped to do shot-basting ('guniting'), whereby a
sand-cement mixture is pneumatically applied to the shell (floor and wall). The method further lends itself to places where course aggregate is very expensive,
while a source of fine aggregate (e.g. river sand) is available at low cost.
(2) Fast : The shotblasting operation, complete with the finishing process, can comfortably be completed in a single day. This allows substantially more dams
to be constructed in a given timespan, with associated savings in labour, supervision, overheads, etc.
(3) Shape : Being of the same size and shape as the 'Standard RWH Dam' it has all the advantages of that design.
(4) Pole-Arm : The excavation, floor, and wall building processes are easily adapted to the 'central pole & radial arm' system, achieving accurate final
dimensions as a result.
(5) No Plaster : Unlike a 'block and mortar' wall, the wood and steel floating operation is done on the same day as the pneumatic process, with no separate
plastering process required.
(6) No Waterproofing : Shotcrete that is correctly proportioned, placed and finished, is substantially impermeable and does not require a waterproof coat.
Furthermore, since the shell is cast integrally with no construction joint at the wall/floor interface, no 'bandage' is required in this zone.
(7) Durability : This type of structure is virtually unrivalled in terms of strength and durability (only surpassed by the spherical tank).
Difficulties
(1) Unknown : The method of construction is
foreign to most implementing agents and local
builders. On the other hand most of the production
tasks can be quickly learned by local labour, other
than that of the 'nozzleman', where specialist skill
and experience is required.
(2) Special Equipment : Some items of equipment
are very costly - e.g. large compressor, blender.
(3) Sensitive : This method of building is relatively
sensitive to the water dosage (hence a skilled
'nozzleman') and the correct type of sand.
- 217 -
Appendix F11.4 - Hand-packed RWH Dam: conical mesh reinforced concrete shell
timber poles
hand-packed
mesh reinforced
concrete shell;
no waterproof
coating required
galvanised IBR roof sheeting
overflow
inlet
Advantages
(1) Application : This method of construction has application where there are large rocks in the wall or floor areas, since the mesh can be shaped around such.
The method further lends itself to places where course aggregate is very expensive, while a source of fine aggregate (e.g. river sand) is available at low cost.
(2) Shape : The inclined walls of this dam allow the walls to hand packed - using a combination of shovels and wood floats to place and finish the sand-cement
mixture.
(3) Skills : The level of skill required for this type of construction are readily transferable to local builders.
(4) Pole-Arm : The excavation, floor, and wall building processes can be done with a 'central pole& radial arm' system, achieving accurate final dimensions as
a result.
(5) No Plaster : Unlike a 'block and mortar' wall, the wood and steel floating operation is done on the same day as the pneumatic process, with no separate
plastering process required.
(6) No Waterproofing : Sand-cement that is correctly proportioned, placed and finished is substantially impermeable and does not require a waterproof coat.
Furthermore, since the shell is cast integrally with no construction joint at the wall/floor interface, no 'bandage' is required in this zone.
(6) Durability : This type of structure is virtually unrivalled in terms of strength and durability (only surpassed by the spherical tank).
Difficulties
(1) Depth : The inclined walls reduce the capacity
of the dam, and thus for a given footprint the
depth needs to be increased to achieve parity.
(2) Pole-Arm : The pole-arm assembly requires an
increased level of sophistication to cater for the
inclined walls.
(3) Sensitive : This method of building is relatively
sensitive to the water dosage and type of sand.
(4) Sheeting : Profiled corrugated sheeting is
required as a mould for the section of the wall that
is above the ground.
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Appendix F11.5 - Membrane RWH Dam: trapezoidal earth dam, lined with membrane
concrete strip-foundation
timber poles
Advantages
Accessibility : This design has application in inaccessible areas where materials have to be carried by
donkey, as there are a minimum of heavy materials.
Flexibility : The liner is flexible and will accommodate settlement and differential settlement. The liner is
approx 1mm thick and has substantial tensile strength to resist tearing.
Impermeability : No seepage will occur in PVC and bitumised geofabric lined dams - but special skills and
materials are required to lay and seal the material.
Roof : The rectangular shape means all the poles and sheets can be the same length
Maintenance : A PVC liner can be repaired by gluing on a patch. Geofabric/bitumen liner may be repaired by
the home owner by applying a patch of geofabric painted over with bitumen.
PVC liner, OR
geofabric& bitumen liner
brick infill around
perimeter
Difficulties
Complexity : Specialist contractors are required to weld the PVC liner together. Achieving the correct
excavated shape is relatively complex. On the other hand a geofabric/bitumen liner may be installed by
local builders - after some training.
Footprint : The dam has a relatively large footprint owing to the inclined sides of the trapezoid. In loose
ground, inclinations less than 45 degrees are required for stability against shear failure (slides) and this
substantially increases the footprint.
Durability : The liners are not as durable as concrete floors or block walls. The geofabric/bitumen option
will require resurfacing within five to ten years, while the PVC guarantee only extends for 10 years.
Scooping : The inclined angle makes it more difficult to scoop water with buckets, and increases the
likelihood of damage to the liner during scooping actions.
galvanised IBR roof sheeting
overflowinlet
- 219 -
APPENDIX F12. RWH Dam Design Routines
Please see CD: “Appendix F12 – RWH Dam Design Routines.xls”
An Excel document on the enclosed CD contains the Design Routines for the Standard RWH Dam. These routines may be used to recalculate the
parameters for a RWH Dam when the need arises, for instance where topographical conditions require a shallower, and thus larger diameter RWH
Dam to be built. These routines recalculate the RWH Dam dimensions and design quantities through to Bill of Materials and thus enables costing for the
chosen parameters.
These Design Routines are meant to be used by a competent engineer who would be able to interpret the consequences of design decisions.
DISCLAIMER:
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry takes no responsibility for any mistakes
that may exist in these design routines. Adjustments to the standard designs supplied
by the Department may be made only with written permission from the Department,
and the consequences of such adjustments will remain the professional responsibility
of the API.
The API is also reminded of the following requirement:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In instances where deviations from the Standard RWH Dam are necessary, the API must report these instances to DWAF/PIA for monitoring purposes,
but may proceed with the construction of an alternative design approved by a professional engineer recognized by DWAF/PIA as having the
necessary level of experience in this field. These structures must also be inspected and signed off by the engineer prior to handover. The structure
may not exceed the accepted cost of the Standard RWH Dam without specific written approval from DWAF.