Faber has often faced water shortages. While trekking through the Yemeni countryside, she came across a method used by local people to conserve water. The cisterns used by mountaintop villages led her to consider how this practice could be applied to Sana’a.
Many of Yemen’s cisterns are in a state of disrepair. Meanwhile, access to water is something many take for granted. But with rainfall being seasonal, water quickly becomes scarce causing major problems for burgeoning populations. The rise in unsustainable drilling of new wells in Sana’a also means that the little water that remains is rapidly depleting. As a result, bo ttled water is often the only option.
However, for much of the population, this is an expense they simply can’t afford. This in turn means infection, particularly among the young and elderly, is on the increase as many resort to the city’s heavily polluted water supply out of necessity. RAINS revisits the traditional Yemeni technique of harvesting rainwater from flat rooftops.
Faber’s scheme proposes the modification of the existing structures in Sana’a to capture, filter and store rainwater. Each modified cistern would be capable of generating 10,000 to 50,000 liters of clean, dependable water for domestic use annually. By working with local contractors and associations to identify pilot structures with decent viability, Faber hopes that this valuable method will be applied to any future construction in Sana’a, particularly residential building. More >>>
