Arresting the runoff: the final choice

Meket, as with many Woreda of North Wollo, has great variation in altitude (ranging from 1700 in Tekeze river gorge to over 3400 m a s l.). As a result the opportunities and constraints for developing protected water varies greatly. In the highland and midland areas, capped springs and hand-dug wells represent appropriate technical protection measures for the great majority of populations. Being relatively straight forward and “user-friendly”, such technologies allow development and use of methodologies for promoting community participation, ownership and management. However; the lowland ( Kola) present a more challenging technical problem to water development. Natural springs are very scarce, the water table is often to deep for hand dug wells and the prevalent geology is dominated by hard pan and rock outcrops. This paper describes the experiences of an alternative solution in one of the villages (called Cherkos) located in the Kola agro-climatic zone, namely damming the existing gully to collect seasonal run-off and looks at both the technical and social implications involved.