Irrigation system saves villagers’ crops
For the first time in over 20 years, 4,000 residents from four villages in the Librazhd area of Albania have a proper sewage and irrigation system for their crops.
Librazhd is in a poor region, and for the majority of residents crop cultivation is the only way to earn a living. With the old irrigation system only a trickle of water from a nearby mountain stream reached farmers’ fields.
“During the hot days [of summer] many of the crops we planted dried up and died," says Fatmir, 53, a village resident. "People didn’t have a way to feed themselves or their domestic animals.”
The initiative was made possible by an Economic Development interest group comprised of 15 people from the four villages, who raised awareness in their communities and advocated for the necessity of improvements to the irrigation system.
Gani, 70, one of the leaders of the initiative admits that it wasn’t easy to convince residents to work together. “Villagers here have lost their faith in volunteering, working together to solve a common problem,” he says. “That’s why no one has done anything for 20 years. But when they heard that World Vision was involved in leading the process they decided to collaborate.”
[A photo of Gani sharing the story about this initiative]
Gani says that villagers trust World Vision as an organisation because of the good work they have done in schools and with helping farmers in Librazhd tend to their agricultural and livestock products.
To help the group mobilise volunteers and advocate for the initiative, World Vision organised training sessions on leadership, team work and collaboration, building trust and creating a project proposal to submit to the community.
“Without those trainings,” says Gani, “it would not have been possible to analyse the problem and convince the community to help us [with the implementation].”
But the willingness to make it happen was not the only obstacle Gani and his fellow villagers faced. Because of the rugged terrain of Librazhd, there was no road access to the spring. So in order to transport the pipes and other necessary materials the residents had to create the access themselves.
[A photo during the process of building up the sewage and irrigation system]
The construction of the road took one month and required the work of twenty men and a digging machine. With the new road, materials could be transported by vehicle up to a certain point, but to reach the spring, villagers either used mules to carry the pipes and heavy sacks, or did the carrying themselves – for 100 additional metres! Thankfully no one was injured in the process.
“The risk was big but we knew we had no other choice,” says Gani. “Three times we mobilised ourselves and two times we gave up. On the third attempt we joined all of our efforts and decided to finish it at any cost!”
The completed sewage and irrigation system is 17 km long and required the investment of more than $ 91, 000 USD. The project would not have been possible without the volunteer work of the villagers, the support of the Librazhd municipality and the advocacy and organisational efforts of World Vision.
Fatmir, the villager who lamented the lack of water for agricultural use understands the value of the project as well as anyone. “This irrigation system will solve many problems for us and will save [our community],” he says. “It is the heart of the village and allows us to live. Now that [the system] is no longer broken we will [be able to raise livestock and cultivate] more land products.”