Watermanagement in Tanzania

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We are Wouter, Juul and Nelene. As part of the minor International Entrepreneurship & Development of the TU Delft, we will go to the Misungwi region in Tanzania on 7 November to develop a water management system for agriculture in collaboration with the Sengerema Foundation and YEP Tanzania.

The aim of the Sengerema Foundation, in collaboration with YEP Tanzania, is to train Tanzanian youth to become young entrepreneurs and thus stimulate employment  in the region. They do this by providing intensive guidance to a group of young people each year, both during and after the start of their new business, and by providing them with start-up capital that must be repaid as a loan within four years. In Misungwi this is done in the agriculture sector and other related industries.

The mission of this project is therefore to develop a sustainable water management system for the farmland located near Misungwi, which will use the water from the nearby Lake Victoria to water the farmland and protect this farmland against flooding and crop loss during the rainy season. The focus is on co-creation together with the Sengerema Foundation and its students, so that knowledge can be optimally combined and the system is suitable for long-term use.

Why exactly there and what makes it so important? Despite Tanzania's economic growth in recent years, poverty and lack of employment is still a major problem with 44.9% still living below the poverty line (The World Bank Group, 2022). Especially rural areas where the population is still very dependent on weather-dependent agriculture have to deal with this problem. Teaching young people to start and maintain their own business in agriculture sustainable solution to this problem. However, infrastructure to properly distribute the water over the country and to protect the country against flooding when the rainy season finally comes is not yet available. In order to start a successful business in the agricultural sector, it is important that the land used for this purpose is used as optimally as possible. The arrival of a water management system makes local agriculture less dependent on the weather and the effects of climate change. This is exactly what is needed now to help set up more agricultural business and aleviate poverty. 


Help us boost employment in Tanzania and donate!

Thank you so much,

Wouter, Juul and Nelene

If you have any questions regarding the project, feel free to contact us via 

N.A.Augustinus@student.tudelft.nl

If you are interested in Stichting Sengerema, feel free to visit their website via https://www.sengerema.nl/ 

With this crowdfunding we hope to raise at least 3000 euros. This money will not be used for personal expenses such as transportation and lodging. This money will also not be used for the provision of microcredits to the young entrepreneurs or for other purposes within the Sengerema Foundation.

What will the money be used for then?

We have divided the water management system into different objectives and priorities within the project. Of course we hope that all the different objectives can be achieved. However, if the target amount is not achieved, the project is not doomed: the various objectives can be achieved independently of each other.
These objectives are as follows:
1.  Main objective: construction of pipes from the main water tank at the solar pump to two smaller 'daughter' water tanks at the separate fields. Subsequently, from these two water tanks, the construction of a drip irrigation system to water the fields in the most sustainable and efficient way possible.
2. Water drainage and storage during extreme rainfall in the rainy seasons November-December and March-May
3. Filtration system that keeps mud out of water and pipelines: better water quality, less blockages.
4. Research:
       - about support of the solar pump during night hours by means of small wind turbine.
       - about different types of crops and their water needs
       - about possible new partners and markets

The following budget is expected based on the above objectives, after consultation with the Sengerema Foundation and after consulting literature on similar projects:
1. € 2000 
2. Water drainage and storage: € 500 to € 750 
3. Water filtering: € 250 
4. N/A

We are Wouter, Juul and Nelene. We all come from different fields of study: international relations at Leiden University and civil engineering and technical public administration at TU Delft. This mix of studies makes us a dynamic team in which everyone has their own strengths.

Wouter

Hello! I am Wouter, 21 years old and currently a third year student of the bachelor International Relations and Organizations at the University of Leiden. My studies include international development aid. My strength therefore lies in maintaining contact with all stakeholders and developing the project, in particular with a view to the social impact that the project has on the local environment. It is important that the project has a sustainable impact on the local community and with the knowledge of my study I ensure that sustainability remains central and is applied to our project!

 

Juul

Hi! My name is Juul and I am 22 years old. As a Civil Engineering student at TU Delft, I am responsible for the technical aspect of our project within this project. The system behind the water infrastructure, from drip irrigation to efficient drainage. In doing so, I can apply the knowledge gained during my bachelor's degree to ensure that it becomes an optimally working water management system!

 

Nelene
Hi! My name is Nelene and I am 20 years old. I am now a third-year student of Systems Engineering, Policy and Management at TU Delft. My strengths are in stakeholder management and socio-technical problem analysis. I will therefore use this within the project by carefully examining whether the solutions that the group devises together correspond to the criteria and wishes of the various parties involved, and whether these solutions fit well within the socio-technical climate of the environment of Misungwi in Tanzania.