December 8, 2020, has become a day to be remembered for 86 families in Zabadani, in Rural Damascus, after the Syrian Arab Red Crescent completed the rehabilitation of the Peasants Association well, which irrigates their agricultural lands whose area is about 300 donums.
After suspending their farming activity as a result of the damage caused to the water network, the families gave up their professions. However, this year the lands promise a good yield this year.
Needs assessment
In 2019, the Livelihoods team began assessing the status of the most affected families who practice agriculture according to the following criteria:
- Families’ need for agriculture as a source of income
- The problems that faced the return to agriculture in Zabadani
- Water shortage is a big problem
- A well that is out of service.
- The area of the land that could not be fed by water.
Repairing the well
Over 30 days, the water and rehabilitation teams worked on repairing the Agricultural Association well by cleaning and cladding the well with steel 10 inches with a thickness of 4 mm, installing a pump with a capacity of 20 m3/hour, in addition to providing a generator with a capacity of 30 KVA, and extending the network of water lines that covering more than 2 km, with the support of ICRC.
Projects in Coronavirus time
Since the beginning of Covid -19 pandemic, the Red Crescent has implemented 47 projects in the Rural Damascus, to provide water to thousands of families there.
