A truly multi-purpose pond provides through the seasons
Ponds built by communities in South Sudan with support from the World Food Programme give much more than just water
By Anna Soper
Looking at the dust clouds that form behind us and parched clay soil all around, you would never be able to tell that this land was once flooded.
In this part of South Sudan water flows the Lol River to the Sudd — the world’s largest swamp. The area is prone to flooding. During the rainy season from May to August water spills over river banks and collects in low lying areas.
At the mercy of the elements
“The flooding destroyed homes and affected our other means of survival, such as collecting firewood. It made movement in our village very difficult for many months,” says Riing Tong.
“We’re now rebuilding houses affected by the flooding and those whose houses were ruined are staying with relatives and neighbours.”
Despite unusually heavy flooding last year, many homes in Riing’s village were spared thanks to BRACE II, a UK aid-supported project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Through the project, households create a multi-purpose pond that minimizes damage from flooding. This is transformative. Flood water enters the pond and is sufficient for cattle and goats during the dry season while other sources dry up.
Nyankiir Ngong, one of the women who helped build the pond, stresses how important the pond is during floods: “The pond helped us because houses near the pond were not affected during the flooding. They don’t have to rebuild.”
For households who have to rebuild their homes, the pond provides an easy to access source of water for moulding bricks and mudding the walls of the thatched houses, known as tukuls. Residents are confident they’ll be able to rebuild.
Countless Benefits
The pond has at least three main uses: protecting households from flooding, providing water for animals and helping in rebuilding of damaged houses.
Support doesn’t end with digging the pond. Project participants were also supported to cultivate staple crops in an effort to improve their food security.
“I tried to farm but not consistently because I had to spend time foraging for wild foods, harvesting water lilies, and collecting firewood to earn a meager income in the market” says Nyankiir.
With seeds and training from FAO and cash transfers from WFP, she was set to start farming herself. What’s more, she had enough enough food to engage in the heavy cultivation work. “I’m concentrating on farming now and I get a lot of benefits from the group farm we’ve made through this project,” she says.
Onwards and Upwards
Looking forward to the next two years of the project, Nyankiir hopes that she’ll be able to grow more in her farm and in a vegetable garden the community is establishing. “If there’s no flood, we can produce enough food so that we can save money and buy small animals. I’ll be able to sell some of my produce but will consume most of it at home with my children,” she says.
Crop farms and vegetable gardens established through the project help households meet their immediate food needs and provide an income source when there are surpluses.
Combining food production and creation of assets such as the pond, BRACE II helps households to build their resilience to future shocks floods or dry spells.
Find out more about WFP’s work in South Sudan
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