DRFN

President’s IQP Award 2011 won by WPI@DRFN

patrikk — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:24:48 +0000

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
The DRFN congratulates Valerie Boutin, Caitlin Butler, Samuel Kesseli and Mary Clare McCorry, students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the USA, who were awarded the President’s IQP Award 2011 for their study titled: Improving Water Quality and Sanitation in Rural Namibian Communities: a baseline assessment on Odendaal farms and development of community-integrated implementation. This study was conducted under the rural component of the E-CAP project.

The Integrative Qualifying Project (IQP) is part of WPI’s innovative project-based curriculum. All students are required to complete a research-driven project known as the IQP. IQPs are conducted around the world at WPI’s 26 international project centers. These projects offer students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in tackling important problems that blend science, technology, social issues, and human needs. In doing so, students develop an understanding of other cultures and see how their lives and work can make a real-life impact on their host communities.

The best IQPs are honored each January at the President’s IQP Awards Competition. This year, forty-five teams submitted entries which were reviewed by a faculty screening panel.

- To download the report of the winning study, please click here.
- To learn more about the E-CAP project, please click here.
- To learn more about WPI IQP, please click here.

E-CAP internship

patrikk — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:36:35 +0000

DRFN is inviting students at Polytechnic of Namibia and University of Namibia to apply for an internship. The internship is part of the project “Sustainable use of Namibia’s natural resources: contributing towards enhancing the capacity of future decision makers”, referred to as E-CAP. You can find more information about the E-CAP project at this link: http://www.drfn.org.na/ECAP/

Only students that are required by their institution to undertake an internship as part of their studies can qualify for this internship. The internship will start as soon as possible, and would be for a period of 3 – 6 months, depending on the requirements from the tertiary institution. We expect the student to be full time at the DRFN for the duration of the Internship.

Deadline for submission of applications is 3:00pm, 22 February 2012.

For information about this internship and how to apply, please click here.

Signing of ECAP2

patrikk — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:52:18 +0000

The 24th of January 2012 the Finnish Embassy and the DRFN signed an agreement for funding of a second year of the E-CAP project. The event took place at the Finnish Embassy in Windhoek. Stefan Nel, the chief accountant is here seen with the acting charge de affairs Ms. Joki Kyyny after signing the agreement.

For this second year of implementation of the E-CAP project, DRFN will continue its work with rural communities and local authorities, contributing to improved sanitation services in the rural areas of Namibia, and to support local authorities in enhancing their capacity to deliver required water and sanitation services. Project activities are carried out in close cooperation with government, on national, regional and local levels. The project will put a strong emphasis on communicating findings, lessons learnt and best practices to decision makers on all levels to ensure that the findings can contribute to improved planning and decision making, towards improved water and sanitation management in Namibia’s rural and urban areas.

To read an article about the signing event published in the Namibian Newpaper, please click here.
For more information about the E-CAP project, please click here.

Inauguration of Tsumkwe Energy

patrikk — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:25:30 +0000

The Tsumkwe Energy solar/diesel hybrid system was inaugurated at a big media event in Tsumkwe on the 24th of January 2012. As the EU funding is coming to an end in February 2012, this marked the end of DRFN’s direct involvement in the management and monitoring of the system. Dr. Mary Seely (in the picture), representing the DRFN, gave a key note address at the event.

Discussions with EU, NamPower and Otjizondjupa Regional Council regarding sustainability of the plant and possibilities for DRFN to continue its involvement are still on-going.

To download the key note address given by Dr. Seely at the event, please click here.
To read an article about the event that was published in the Namibian newspaper, please click here.
To learn more about Tsumkwe Energy, please click here.

Finnish Embassy round table meeting

rkfn — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:24:19 +0000

Fransiska Nghitila and Faith Simataa attended the Finnish Round Table meeting which was held from 29-30 September 2011 at the NIPAM premises in Olympia, Windhoek. The first day was dedicated to a training workshop on HIV/AIDS facilitated by Positive Vibes, a local non-governmental organisation involved in capacity development of those infected and affected by the pandemic.

This was done to set the scene for the second day, where project partners had to provide feedback on project activities carried out by them thus far with the Finnish funding. As a result of this, the main aim is to mainstream aspects of gender and HIV/ AIDS into the planning and implementation of these projects in the future. The minutes and presentations given at this meeting will be circulated to all participants in due course.

Facilitator from positive vibes introducing one of the sessions during the workshop

Charge d’Affaires a.i. of Finland, Mrs. Anne Saloranta (left) welcomes the participants at the workshop, accompanied by the programme coordinator, Marika Matengu (right)

E-CAP Rural

rkfn — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:39:14 +0000

The Director of the DRFN, Viviane Kinyaga handing over a Otji-toilet to Mr Paul Gertze. The first year of E-CAP’s rural component saw the construction of 17 Otji-toilets at five communal farms in the Hardap region. Eight of these toilets have a urine diversion system (UDS) and the remaining nine a non-UDS system.
The five farms where toilets were constructed together with representatives from the community are Grundorn South, Nico Noord, Laurensia, Doringdraai and Nico, all situated in the Hardap region, southern Namibia. A signing ceremony was held on the 2nd of September 2011 at Grundorn South on the Odendaal farm, where a memorandum of agreement was entered into between the households where toilets were constructed and the DRFN. During this ceremony the toilets were officially handed over to the users. Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF); the Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination (DWSSC); the Regional council and the Traditional Authority were also present at the ceremony.

Receivers of Otji-toilets gathered at Grundorn south in the Hardap region for the handing over ceremony.

A complete Otji-toilet in Grundorn south.

Tsumkwe hybrid system

rkfn — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:47:03 +0000

The Tsumkwe Energy hybrid system was commissioned in early August 2011. This state-of-the art solar diesel system, with a capacity of 200 kWp solar and 300 kW diesel, is the largest of its kind in Africa, feeding its electricity into a mini-grid supplying the entire settlement of Tsumkwe.

Commissioning of the hybrid system: 13 August 2011

Installation of the hybrid system: 08-13 August 2011

If proven technically robust, the hybrid system will provide a feasible strategy towards rural off-grid electrification in Namibia and other developing countries. A training programme for technical staff from key stakeholders was conducted in mid August. While a number of technical intricacies still need to be resolved, the high degree of modularity was appreciated by the trainees, since it implies that hybrid systems can be reduced or expanded in size to cater for any electricity demand.

Installation of evaporative coolers

Hybrid system training: 15-18 August 2011

The hybrid system now provides 24 hours of electricity, 7 days a week, at 50% of the cost of the previous system, which only used diesel and only operated for 12 hours per day.

Relocation of genset

Filling up with diesel fuel

For further information contact: abrahamhangula@drfn.org.na

Adaptation fund

rkfn — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:32:49 +0000

Through the Adaptation Fund (AF), developing countries who are party to the Kyoto Protocol (KP) are eligible for direct access to funding in order to implement adaptation projects and programmes that will reduce the economic and environmental pressures caused by climate change.

On behalf of the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a workshop was organized to familiarize participants with the processes and requirements for the accreditation of the National Implementing Entities (NIE) under the AF. The workshop focused on African parties and was held in Senegal from 5-6 September 2011.

View of a sea protection wall, near Hotel Palm Beach in Saly, Senegal. Participants can be seen standing on the rocks put in place to prevent beach soil from eroding

Namibia was represented by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN) as a nominated National Implementing Entity (NIE). The workshop was attended by approximately 80 participants from 40 African countries. Institutions who attended the workshop ranged from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environment, potential NIE’s from four countries, representatives from Designated Authorities (DA), and National Focal Points of UNFCCC.

For more information about the workshop and the Adaptation Fund, contact Fransiska Nghitila at fransiska.nghitila@drfn.org.na.

E-CAP: Local Authority Support

rkfn — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:31:05 +0000

E-CAP: Local Authority Support in Gibeon and Stampriet through Performance Support Team approach.

Based on an approach piloted in Kalkrand, the Performance Support Team (PST) was implemented in Gibeon from 30 May – 01 June 2011, and in Stampriet from 27-30 June 2011.

The local authorities were visited with the aim of discussing challenges and finding solutions for them pertaining to water supply, sanitation and solid waste management in their respective areas.

Meetings were held with both the village secretary and acting CEO of both local authorities; the village council staff; councilors; as well as the community. Some of the identified challenges are listed below:
- Cost recovery
- Maintenance of vacuum sewer system
- Poor workmanship on sewage systems
- Collection chambers not protected
- Blockage of collection chambers

- Lack of technical skills
- Information management
- Staff shortages
- Boreholes on private property (in Stampriet)
- Effectiveness of prepaid metering system

Furthermore, a survey on water supply and metering systems was conducted in both local authorities, in order to determine the condition of the water meters; accuracy of registered water consumption; and leakages at meters and on private property. Preliminary assessments of the vacuum sewer systems in the two local authorities were also carried out.

As was done in Kalkrand, operational plans were made to map out how these challenges could be overcome. This was followed up by regular visits to the three village councils (Kalkrand, Gibeon and Stampriet) to support them in the implementation of their operational plans.

Leakage of a conventional meter on private property in Stampriet

Pin board illustrating challenges identified by the village council staff, councilors and the community in Gibeon

For more information contact: Fransiska Nghitila

E-CAP: Rural Component

rkfn — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:09:43 +0000

Dry sanitation for rural communities
The rural component of the E-CAP project is in the process of piloting dry sanitation systems at selected farms on Odendaal farms in the Hardap region. The specific locations where dry sanitation systems are piloted are: Grundorn South, Nico Noord, Laurensia, Laurensia Pos, Doringdraai and Nico.

Based on consultations with various stakeholders, including representatives from Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination (DWSSC) and users of existing dry sanitation systems, the Otji-toilet, a locally manufactured dry sanitation system, was selected for piloting. The first phase saw the construction of eleven Otji-toilets at Grundorn South and three (still in construction) at Laurensia and Doringdraai. Both urine diversion and non-urine diversion systems are being tested. The aim is to construct a total of 20 toilets in the area. In addition, the EnviroSan technology is also earmarked for piloting.

Community meetings were held with the beneficiaries prior to construction in order to discuss the following topics:
- Community participation and ownership
- Sanitation, health and hygiene
- The nutrient cycle (re-use of dried/treated waste matter for agricultural benefits)
- Monitoring and evaluation of the dry sanitation systems

The implementation was carried out with the assistance of Mr. Pelvin (a local entrepreneur in construction), Mr. Menthile (a local farmer), and officials from DWSSC in both the Hardap and the Karas regions.

For more information on the piloting of dry sanitation systems and other aspects of the rural component of the E-CAP project, please contact Faith Simataa

Community members taking part in the construction of an Otji-toilet at Farm Nico, Hardap region.