SCIAF
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
19 Park Circus
Glasgow
G3 6BE
Tel: 0141 354 5555
Email: sciaf@sciaf.org.uk
© SCIAF 2008
Registered Charity No: SC012302
Company No: SC197327
Registered Office: as above
SCIAF Photo Friday - Bbilibisi Village
Meet Mwiya in SCIAF Photo Friday and see just how droughts have effected farming
This is Bbilibisi village, in Sikaunzwe. It is a very dry region, plagued by droughts. The soil can be very sandy, making it difficult to retain moisture. Our advocacy team recently visited the area and met people like Mwiya, a farmer in the region.
Mwiya told SCIAF:
"The dam in this area was built in December 2010. Our village suffers from a lack of water so we built a dam where the water collected so we could access water for drinking and irrigating our crops. But we still have no water. By October there won’t be any water there. [referring to small amount of water in the reservoir- this is in July]. The women have to walk 50km to the Zambezi to get water. We don’t want to do that any more. Our animals die from lack of water."
Mwiya explained that farmers in the area know when to plant by using traditional practices. However, the changing weather patterns have made these techniques increasingly unreliable. He said "The rains have reduced, last year my harvest was very low."
Please leave your comments here or on Flickr. Feel free to share with your friends.