Zalmi Mohammadi, an elder of Raysang. @FAO/Shafiullah Baryalai

Raysang village is in the heart of Alasay district in scenic province of Kapisa. This community, with over 3 500 residents, relies heavily on agriculture and livestock. For generations, the villagers have been sustained by the agricultural sector. Over the past years, however, the village has faced flash floods during periods of heavy rainfall, as rainwater is not sufficiently absorbed by dry surface soils and the fertile top soil is washed out of agricultural lands. Additionally, the villagers are currently grappling with a water shortage due to the persistent drought, with little clean drinking water for their families and livestock, and not enough to irrigate their fields.

In response to this problem, FAO Afghanistan with funding support of the World Bank addressed the flash flood problem and water scarcity by constructing seven minor check dames to control sudden water surges. In each rainfall season, up to five cubic meters of water can be stored in each check dam. This ‘water harvesting’ structures will hopefully provide drinking water and allow irrigation, while shielding the village from the destructive forces of nature.

Mr. Zalmi Mohammadi, a lead farmer and community elder in Raysang, played an important role in the project's success. Community elders helped identify the most needy community members to receive a salary for their work building the water harvesting structures, helped identify the best locations to dig the trenches and build check dams, resolved social conflicts arising from this project, oversaw the work and functioned as intermediary between the implementing partner and the community.

As a beneficiary of the intervention, he shared his thoughts on the positive changes brought about by the initiative. "The check dams have transformed our village. We are now better equipped to let flash floods feed into our irrigation system for our crops and provide drinking water. Groundwater resources may also be restored, allowing us to use our wells. This project has provided useful income for our community and given us hope for a better future," Mr. Mohammadi remarked.

The construction of water harvesting structures not only safeguarded the village but also served as an economic spark for the community. Before the intervention, Raysang village faced a shortage of job opportunities, leaving many residents struggling to make ends meet. A total of 155 employment opportunities were created, focusing on the most destitute members of the community as decided together by community elders and FAO’s implementing partner, the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC). The construction of the minor check dams engaged 140 male workers, while 15 female workers played a crucial role in weaving the gabion sheets used for the minor check dams and riverbank protection walls.

This intervention is but a small example of the collaboration between the World Bank and FAO to help Afghan farmers improve surface water collection while providing income and avoiding damage to their communities from flash floods. In Kapisa, 6 769 people were employed, of which 6.2% women, to dig more than 100 000 trenches and build 171 dry stone dams and 98 gabion check dams in 46 different project sites. To accomplish this, FAO helped local communities establish 41 social structures. In all of Afghanistan, over a quarter million people were employed to dig 8,4 million trenches and about 9 000 dams, of which a quarter made with gabions– a vast project which hopefully will help Afghan farmers everywhere collect rainwater. But first it needs to rain and snow – the drought has still not passed.