The Raindrop Project

In rural Masaya, during the region’s 6 month dry season, piped water, if available, is at best intermittent and unreliable and families living off the land struggle to survive.

In collaboration with a partner organisation in Masaya (ADIC)*, which specialises in development projects for farming communities, the LMLG supported a project to build water storage tanks to enable subsistence farmers to grow crops throughout the year.

A water tank may not be high-tech but to struggling farming families, it is an essential piece of equipment which provides a simple and effective solution for small-scale producers to improve the lives of their families in many ways. They benefit from a better diet and a more stable and sustained income gained from selling their produce means they can send their children to school and in time, they can invest in better housing.

The RAINDROP PROJECT initially provided funding for materials and technical support to help 50 farming families build their own tanks. As productivity on the land improves and their incomes increase, the farmers contribute to a revolving fund which allows the scheme to be extended to other families. The long-term vision is to cover 120 farms.

*ADIC (Association for Community Integration and Development), is a local organisation which is running an organic farming initiative for farmers in Masaya, helping them to improve productivity, diversify their crops, conserve and increase soil fertility and reduce dependency on expensive chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

The Raindrop Project is part of a larger housing project called AGROVIVIENDA which aims to improve housing and living conditions amongst subsistence farmers in the region of Masaya. It is supported by the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Leicester Masaya Link Group.

For further information on the project click on PDF LINKS listed below
Or go to their web site at :-
Chartered Institute of Housing

Background - How the project started