Fortifying for the Future
A rebuilt dam restores the crops, and hopes, of a community
When Cyclone Emnati struck off the coast of southeastern Madagascar, countless communities were forced to evacuate to higher ground. The village of Amboafandra, located near a river with volatile flood patterns, was no exception. When the storm hit, all 130 households evacuated to the local school to wait in safety. Two weeks later, when the flood waters had finally receded, they returned to a scene of devastation.
Much of the damage was expected: fields washed away, fruit trees leveled, tin roofs ripped from the walls. What was not expected, however, was the total destruction of the local dam, the lifeblood of the community’s year-round irrigation.
“I was sad to see it, because the dam is required for the livelihoods of so many of us,” said Auguste, head of the village and the local Disaster Risk Management Committee (DRMC). “Normally, the strong men of the community would try to repair the damaged structure, but the destruction was so complete, that we did not have the technical skill to fix it ourselves.”
Gaston, one of the men of the village, remembers vividly.
“The big river flowed backwards up the tributary toward our village and flooded very high up the hill,” he said. “The water destroyed the foundation of the dam. All the trees were destroyed in the winds. I was very sad to see the extent of the damage, especially to our crops.”
Not only was the damage to the crops extensive, but without the dam, the entire future of the crops was at stake. Without the ability to manage water use during the dry season, the community was at risk for months of famine.
“As head of DRMC, when I saw the destruction, I reported it directly to FIOVANA,” said Auguste. “Not only did they replace our dam, but we learned many things, like how to manage the water for agriculture, improved crop rotation, and more.”
As a component of infrastructure activities, FIOVANA worked with a local engineering firm to rebuild the dam, and they partnered with the local communities in a Food for Work program to dig 4 kilometers of irrigation ditches.
Today, water flows freely, and even further than it did before the cyclone, which allows the communities to plant more crops than ever.
“Thanks to the dam, we can control the use of the water and guarantee a good harvest,” Auguste said. “Once it was repaired, we were motivated to extend our rice paddies.”
Gaston indicates the expanded fields, pointing to distant rice paddies that are newly planted because of the extended irrigation.
“This is the first time we’ve had such crops since the cyclone,” he said.
“The project really worked here. Many projects came her in the past, but none accomplished as much as FIOVANA.”
The villagers of Amboafandra cannot control the cyclones or the droughts, but now they can control the flow of water, and the increased harvest that will help them survive the disasters to come.
