post-flood reconstruction, fruit forests, permaculture, water and resilience. 5,000 houses + 150,000 trees

1. Reconstruction after Disaster ACTED & DFID in Northern Sindh 2011 - 2012 Building Community Resilience

2. 1 st Objective: 5,000 flood-resistant houses are built To replace those destroyed by flooding in 2010

3. 2 nd Objective: 5,000 families receive fruit trees and kitchen garden inputs that they never had before the flood; to address critical malnourishment, deforestation and, in the future, earn a little money (this mango tree has grown from the height of the top brick in the last 3 months alone).

4. 3 rd Objective: empower communities to address critical vulnerabilities around their communities so they better resist future flooding and other climate disasters

5. Project locations (Northern Sindh)

6. Yousef, ACTED engineer explaining how they make sure the quality of cement-mortar is maintained, how communities hire skilled masons like these ones, following ACTED designs

7. Gul Muneer (son of Deedar), from Haji Jalal Din village, district Shikarpur in front of the materials needed to rebuild his house.

8. Note brick and cement mortar wall to window height for increased water resistance. 2’ foundations below ground of same material. Mango tree with wooden protection from goats. The extra shade should help cool the house a little.

9. Surrounding each house 17 fruit trees are planted including mango, citrus, guava, pecan, pomegranate, mulberry, neem – at a cost of around £7 (1,000 PKR) per house. The Community are trained on how to maintain trees, protect from animals and extreme sunlight, principles of mulching and soil regeneration.

10. Trends in Malnutrition - Pakistan 25 February 2011 Pakistan Integrated Nutrition Strategy Global Acute Malnutrition 2002 to 2010 Why access to micro-nutrients is so important – Sindh especially

11. Within one to three years this should be an orchard of multiple fruits – enabling access to micro-nutrients for children, who currently eat no fruit as families can’t afford them. Lack of micro-nutrients recognised as critical factor of malnutrition in Sindh imagine

12. One of thousands of households to have received the tree plantations Here, in front of a lemongrass bush, the owner explains all the health benefits of this plant And how she will protect it so it lasts for years, take cuttings to propagate it further. They already know so much – why they didn’t do this before is the question.

13. Who is chosen as a beneficiary? ACTED interviewed more than 26,000 families to determine who was the most vulnerable – based on a range of issues (e.g. single parents, widows, low income, few assets, etc.). From this 5,000 were chosen.

14. In discussion – what can you do to better survive future flooding? We talked about using the rooftops; safe havens for cattle, food stores. Most important of all: a house that won’t collapse in the next flood!

15. A neem tree about 5 years old (in background) This shows what how quickly trees can grow in this region. And how, once mature, they can survive major floods. Neem trees have multiple functions – their smell repels mosquitoes, their leaves make tea that heals various ailments, oil extracted from seeds is highly valuable and can be sold on the international market.

16. Mango flowers already out (a good sign)

17. Small lemons already growing!

18. Greening the desert? With advice from the permaculture team one family has started an orchard of mango and other trees. They plan to surround it with other trees and plants. What results in 1, 3 and 5 years? What impact will it have on household nutrition and economics?

20. Shafqat, project co-ordinator, in discussion with locals about access to land to grow food around their homes. Most people reported this would not be a problem. Landowners generally supportive.

22. The warehouse Bamboo – as rafters for the roofs

23. Locally produced “chique” – above the rafters, providing a little insulation

24. This represents about 1% of the total required for 5,000 houses. Everything here will have gone within 2 days.

25. Civil engineers inspect the quality of bricks – many of which have to be returned as they’re not good enough

26. Every recipient has to show up to the depot to prove they have received the materials. From there the family organises transport back to their village

27. Remains of their old house, washed away by floods in August 2010 Mango tree in 1 – 2 years (with a little imagination) A house rebuilt by ACTED – resistant to future flooding

29. Now trained in permaculture design – and inspired by its potential to transform communities everywhere. ACTED’s local team are now teaching people how to apply these principles; To make sure the young trees survive and how linkages can be made between organic waste, water run-off and productive forestry around communities.

30. Catching the run-off from a hand-pump this “banana circle” takes up excess water. The water on the right will now be absorbed with another plantation, banana, bamboo or other water-hungry plants.

31. This is what usually happens to run-off from hand pumps: Stagnant water ponds – creating problems not opporunities!

32. Discussing options for better management of liquid overflow from latrines (this one installed by another NGO) People now recognising the benefits of capturing waste water for forestry

33. Simple frame for local compost; vine / vertical growing plants introduced, eg. beans, tomatoes, melon, cucumber, squash, etc. Cheap bamboo frame as veranda structure for fruit plants Grapes, passion fruit, kiwi or other perennial vines create green veranda – for shade in summer & access to fresh fruit Next step: vertical gardens