Making a Real Difference

Plastic Tunnels - Where there is a will there is a way

Qamar Gul is a widow living with her three children. Her husband died 13 years ago in the war and she is living with her brother in-law’s family.

Last winter Qamar Gul received training from Afghanaid to grow different vegetables and supported her in establishing a plastic tunnel under which she grew cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, coriander and lettuce. By selling her vegetables she purchased stationery for their children and some household commodities for her family. She sold tomato seedlings to the other women members and received Afs400 ($8). During the winter, she supplied vegetables for her family’s consumption.

She was very satisfied with plastic tunnel farming method of growing vegetables, so she decided to establish a second plastic tunnel by herself, but being poor she was not able to purchase plastic material. Instead she collected used plastic bags and cement bags, cut these on the sides and stitched them together. She used soft tree branches for the frames. Her resourceful ways allowed her to build an additional plastic tunnel on her own. Qamar Gul is very happy as she supplied fresh vegetables for her family during the entire winter and has a small amount of savings as a result. She is now motivating other women to grow vegetables in the winter under plastic tunnels. Her message for other women in her community is to use local materials and to preserve vegetables for off-season consumption and cash.

From substance earning to empowered business woman - Basira’s Story

Seeds Basira, 28, is the mother of seven children. She has been making a small income from embroidery and handy-crafts. There is little demand for her goods so business is very slow. Recently Basira attended a kitchen garden training session hosted by Afghanaid. In the session she received gardening and food processing training and was given five types of vegetable seeds, a plastic tunnel and food processing kit. Basir’s kitchen garden flourished and she used the food processing kits to produce jam, tomato paste and pickle for her family consumption and to sell. With the support of the project in less than a year Basir had earned 32,000 Afs ($640).

Afghanaid helps farmers produce higher yields

Shah Mohammad is a wheat farmer from Samangan: “I used DAP (a combination of phosphoric acid with ammonia) fertilizer introduced by Afghanaid on two jeribs where I had planted rain-fed wheat. To observe whether the fertilizer would benefit or not, I did not use it on my remaining two jeribs of land which I had also planted with rain-fed wheat. I had planted 35kg of local wheat seeds in each of these two parcels of land.

“After the harvest I found that the land on which I used the DAP fertilizer had given double the yield of the other land. I harvested 700kg wheat from the fertilized field and only 300kg from the other one.

“Local farmers have noticed the difference in the yield following techniques taught by Afghanaid. Most farmers want to apply fertilizer on their wheat crop fields, but they lack monetary capacity to buy fertilizer and other agricultural inputs. Most farmers are poor and if the government or NGOs help them in accessing agriculture inputs, including credit, they will be able to increase productivity and improve their livelihoods.”

Afghanaid’s horticulture and agriculture programmes support Afghan men and women to grow, process and store fruits and vegetables allowing them to provide a more diverse food supply, reduce the hunger period and generate an income for their families.

From passive beneficiary to active leadership – the story of Tajwar

Tajwar Tajwar is a young woman from Naramtar village in Ghor Province. Tajwar used to walk two hours each way in order to collect water for her household. She carried an 18kg container full of water on her head along with a 5kg container in her hand. The journey and the heavy load caused her a lot of pain in her neck, shoulders and back – but there was simply no alternative.

The route she used included a very fragile footbridge over the local river which would flood during the bad winter weather making the bridge particularly treacherous. Recently her friend’s young son was on his way to collect water and was swept from the bridge and died. This tragic incident affirmed Tajwar’s resolve to find a solution to the village’s lack of potable water.

She contacted the local WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) committee which had been set up by Afghanaid. She decided to stand for election and was elected as the chair. At first Tajwar was very reluctant to take on the role, because she did not think people would accept her or listen to her advice. In fact, she thought that people would be angry with her for intruding into their private lives and giving out advice on how they should live. But over time the local council and Tajwar’s family convinced her that she should take the position; they believed she had the determination and ability to change people’s behaviour.

With Afghanaid’s help, Tajwar has pioneered the introduction of piped water to the village, which has made a huge difference to the lives women and children from her village who previously spent hours going to collect it.

She is also trying to change people’s attitudes towards hygiene and has faced many challenges. She took it upon herself to go round the village collecting rubbish – only to find that the next day people had simply disposed of their rubbish in exactly the same place. She had to work very hard to convince people to stop letting their animals use the water taps and eventually they did.

Now that clean drinking water is piped in to her village through easily accessible taps, Tajwar no longer has to make the four-hour round trip to collect water. She uses the extra time to learn more about health and hygiene and teaching people about how they can help to keep the village clean. She is determined to keep the new WASH practices and facilities clean and functioning long into the future.

In the end she found that most people respected her and accepted her advice. Tajwar said: “Now I am more determined to continue to tackle all of our health and hygiene problems. If it benefits my community then I must do it.”

A simple sand filtration system saves lives

Nawroz from Sarqui Afghanya village said: “Prior to the intervention of the bio-sand filter, most of our children were infected with acute watery diarrhoea because the water was polluted. However, with the installation of bio-sand filter in our houses we have been able to access clean water and as a result we have noticed a dramatic decrease in the prevalence of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases. I can say with full confidence that this intervention has really changed our lives and continues to save the lives of our children.”

Afghanaid supports vulnerable communities to access potable water through wells, reservoirs and pipe schemes and promotes safe sanitation and improved hygiene practices and behaviour. The 2010 Human Development Report says that approximately 57.5% Afghans don’t have access to safe water and sanitation. The health and safety risks and hazards associated with drinking unsafe water are further exacerbated due to limited knowledge and application of hygiene practices, particularly among women and children.

This year Afghanaid introduced low-cost and sustainable bio-sand filtration technology in five villages in Samangan province resulting in the access to safe water by local communities.

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