Nadooshoke is a remote sub-village in Mondorosi, Loliondo division of Ngorongoro District a few kilometers from the Kenyan border. It is inhabited by the Maasai who depend on tradi onal pastoralism for their livelihoods. They take care of livestock in vast rangelands relying heavily on herd mobility. Pastoralists also trade their livestock to a ain income for food, health services, and their children’s educa on.
Pastoralist communi es across northern Tanzania have over the last couple of years iden ed drought as the main challenge a ec ng their wellbeing and economic status. To mi gate this PWC’s members and stakeholders priori sed drilling and equipping of deep water boreholes across the region.
Maasai women fetching lodged run-o water for household consump on, 2021.
A Maasai lady fetching water in a very deep well using a log as a ladder.
“The well is very close to our boma [tradi onal Maasai household and livestock enclosure] and I am one of many women who bene ted from this water project. I no longer have to walk long distances to search for water and even more importantly, my children will no longer leave for school or to herd ca le on an empty stomach, which is usually quite common when the drought is severe. ’’
Noolamala Lemakat Yesho is a middle-aged Maasai woman, a mother of eight and a resident of Nadooshoke. As a tradi onal Maasai woman, she is responsible for caring for her household which includes milking the family’s livestock every morning and evening, preparing meals, fetching rewood and water.
For Noolamala and hundreds of other women in the area, the drought season meant walking upto 30km in search of water for their families and livestock, o en wandering into the neighbouring country Kenya.
During the rainy season they would fetch water
from nearby seasonal streams, runo s and puddles
where hygiene is out of ques on.
The Nadooshoke deep water bore-hole drilled by PWC with the support of ICONIQ is a life-changing facility for the over 1200 pastoralists of Nadooshoke and nearby sub-villages and their livestock.
Noolamala fetching water in the recently installed water facility.
Noolamala and her neighbour at the water facility
Access to clean water close to them means be er health, hygiene, and climate resilience for the residents of Nadooshoke and their livestock. For the women, this also frees more me and energy to partake in development activi es.
groups] member, and because of having water very close to my home, I can now spend me with my children, a end our group mee ngs, develop my business, par cipate in community mee ngs, and even to rest.’
As a PWC member, Noolamala feels like a cri cal need of the women, families and livestock in Nadooshoke has been addressed through the borehole.
‘For a long me, we felt forgo en and le out, but PWC has opened the doors for us, rst through VICOBA, and now through this water facility. I believe other important services will soon come to Nadooshoke including a school and a health dispensary. As a community, par cularly women, we will sustain this investment for genera ons to come. ’
‘I am a VICOBA [Village Community Banks, PWC’s flagship women’s economic empowerment