Those of you who have lived with me probably know I have a thing about water. It makes me quite literally crazy ("mentally deranged, especially as manifested in a wild or aggressive way") to watch it wasted down the drain. Taps running while water heats up, cools down, teeth are brushed, people are distracted, dishes are washed and rinsed. But I waste water as much as the next guy or well I certainly waste water and I am always reminded that I could do better, a lot better, when I am in Ethiopia, Malawi or Tanzania.
Water is a challenge in each of these countries. Not for everyone and not all the time but for many people, much of the time, I would say it's certainly not as easy as turning on a tap.
When I was in Bunda, Tanzania, the hotel I was in had a bucket in the shower, so I easily collected water when I showered. I noticed that by the end of my shower, which didn't include heating up water time because I didn't want a hot shower, I had almost a full bucket of water, clean water - no soap or shampoo or conditioner in it. The next day I figured I'd use that water for a bucket shower. I was actually shocked by how far it went (I didn't need the full bucket for my shower) and how much of that water would have just gone down the drain.
In Malawi, in every village we visited, the community asked for a borehole. If not for their village (as some had boreholes through a CPAR-run project) they asked for the other villages nearby who were also using their borehole. In some cases I thought to myself, "But your water source is only half a kilometre away, that's pretty good comparatively speaking." Wait a minute, if I stand up right now, I can be at a clean, potable water source in 5 steps. I can take 6 steps and be at a second source, and in 4 steps I can turn on a washing machine to do my washing. Comparatively speaking for Nkhotakota, Malawi I meant...
The place we stayed, well the whole town actually had a water problem so we had to either wake up around 4 am to get the morning water - so I heard - or stay up later to see if the water came back before bed. My colleagues semi-joked that it was best to wake up at 4 for water, bathe and then go back to sleep. I stock piled in the evening and then reused my water. Too much information? It was just a rinse and it was so hot there, 35-40 degrees, I probably almost would not have cared if someone else had used the water first.
I've been to Dibate, Ethiopia three times now. Guba is the one that is supposed to have the water issues (it does) but Dibate is supposed to have electricity and water. Every time I've been there, the town has had neither, for months.
So when I come home I become hyper-aware of water usage but never, ever do as well at conserving water here as I do in Tz or Malawi or Ethiopia. I go back to putting water on my toothbrush before brushing my teeth. I don't typically collect water when I shower - and when I do, the basin usually overflows and I actually don't know what to do with the extra water. I notice myself rinsing the sink when I could just wipe it down with a cloth. I don't use my grey water to water plants (okay I don't have any plants but still).
Anyway, I could do better.
Water is a challenge in each of these countries. Not for everyone and not all the time but for many people, much of the time, I would say it's certainly not as easy as turning on a tap.
When I was in Bunda, Tanzania, the hotel I was in had a bucket in the shower, so I easily collected water when I showered. I noticed that by the end of my shower, which didn't include heating up water time because I didn't want a hot shower, I had almost a full bucket of water, clean water - no soap or shampoo or conditioner in it. The next day I figured I'd use that water for a bucket shower. I was actually shocked by how far it went (I didn't need the full bucket for my shower) and how much of that water would have just gone down the drain.
In Malawi, in every village we visited, the community asked for a borehole. If not for their village (as some had boreholes through a CPAR-run project) they asked for the other villages nearby who were also using their borehole. In some cases I thought to myself, "But your water source is only half a kilometre away, that's pretty good comparatively speaking." Wait a minute, if I stand up right now, I can be at a clean, potable water source in 5 steps. I can take 6 steps and be at a second source, and in 4 steps I can turn on a washing machine to do my washing. Comparatively speaking for Nkhotakota, Malawi I meant...
The place we stayed, well the whole town actually had a water problem so we had to either wake up around 4 am to get the morning water - so I heard - or stay up later to see if the water came back before bed. My colleagues semi-joked that it was best to wake up at 4 for water, bathe and then go back to sleep. I stock piled in the evening and then reused my water. Too much information? It was just a rinse and it was so hot there, 35-40 degrees, I probably almost would not have cared if someone else had used the water first.
I've been to Dibate, Ethiopia three times now. Guba is the one that is supposed to have the water issues (it does) but Dibate is supposed to have electricity and water. Every time I've been there, the town has had neither, for months.
So when I come home I become hyper-aware of water usage but never, ever do as well at conserving water here as I do in Tz or Malawi or Ethiopia. I go back to putting water on my toothbrush before brushing my teeth. I don't typically collect water when I shower - and when I do, the basin usually overflows and I actually don't know what to do with the extra water. I notice myself rinsing the sink when I could just wipe it down with a cloth. I don't use my grey water to water plants (okay I don't have any plants but still).
Anyway, I could do better.
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| Pretty sure she's laughing because she's thinking 'why on earth does this person want a photo of me washing my hands? And what a waste of the water I had to collect.' |
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