The traditional practice of collecting rainwater where it falls has been revived to provide inexpensive drinking water for thousands of people. Rainwater harvesting has been carried out for generations in many areas around the world, including Colombia in South America, the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, the Himalayas, the deserts of Rajasthan in Asia and the remote Pacific island of Fiji. Rural communities have the traditional skills and technical competence to collect rainwater. As they often cannot wait for Government action, a practical solution is that they come together to contribute labour and materials to construct their own rainwater harvesting structures. In the process, they collectively decide how much they are prepared to pay for the water that will be under their own ownership and management. The innovative aspect of the Barefoot College rooftop rainwater harvesting programme is the application of a centuries-old technology to benefit whole communities in schools, dispensaries and other public places so that everyone, including men, women and children from both rich and poor families and different castes have access to drinking water from a single source. During the 20 years of implementation of this project, more than 596 rooftop rainwater collection systems have been constructed. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that rooftop rainwater harvesting is the only sustainable alternative for ensuring continued access to safe drinking water, especially in drought prone areas or where the groundwater is saline.
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