Abstract:
Thepurposeofthi sstudywast oassessth eimpact softh epracticeofrainwate r
harvestingtechnologie sasameansofwatersourcefo rdomestic,livestoc kand
agriculturalusesinpastoralareasofBoranazone,Oromiyaregion .Thestudy
employedParticipatoryRuralAppraisal,surveymethodsandanalysisof
meteorologicaldata.Discussionsalsowerecarriedoutatcommunity,woreda
andzonallevels .Thestudyalsoreveale dtha timplementatio nofrainwate r
harvestingtechnologie shadpositiveimpact sonminimizingth eburdenof
carryingwaterbywomenandchildreninadditiont osupplyingwaterfo r
householdconsumption.Relatively,les stim eisspentlookin gfo rwaterandthe y
areabletoconcentrateonotherdailyhousekeepingactivitiessuchascarefo r
children,cookingfo rthehousehold,andfeedin gandwateringofsmallruminants .
Besides,itwaspossiblet osustainth elive soflivestoc kduringdroughtperiods
(DecembertoJanuary,midMayt oJuly).Moreover,ther eisapromising
possibilityofpracticingagriculturalactivitiesusingthetechnolog yasa
supplementaryirrigation .Waterharvestingcanhaveanimportantroleinbridging
th edrytimesbetweentherainyseasontothebenefitofhumanandlivestock
consumptionandforagriculturalandgardenproductionthroughirrigation .However
th enaturalenvironmept,humancapacity,design,technology,typeofinputs ,size
an dcostarealsoTactorscontributingtosuccessandfailureofongoing
implementatio nprograms.Implementin gth eprograminapilotpackagefor mand
goo dwayofmonitoringandevaluatingtechnique swouldhelpt oimprov eth e
qualityandtoadjustth epreviousmistakesandtheprogramshouldbedonewith
som emodificationsandflexibility .
